Five Advantages of Owning an iPhone over an iPad

If you already own an iPhone, you might have watched the iPad commercials on television with a little skepticism. After all, how can a gadget that really looks like a larger iPod Touch really be better than your iPhone? Sure, it might be bigger, but the iPhone allows you to stay mobile with one key advantage: bringing your phone with you! If you don't understand the need for a second iGadget, you're not alone.

But what specific advantages does the iPhone have over the iPad that will help you feel justified in sticking to your guns? In this article, we'll take a look at five specifications of the iPhone that you won't be able to explore as far with the iPad.

#1: The phone feature.

You didn't really think we were going to go a whole article in discussing the iPhone vs. the iPad without bringing up the fact that the iPhone is a phone, did you? Of course not: the iPhone is called an iPhone because it allows you to answer calls all over the world, coordinating many of your online activities with your, shall we say, vocal life. If you can't be without your phone for more than ten minutes, you'll probably want to stick to an iPhone, which can handle many of the same features of the iPad. Of course, if you can't be without your phone for more than ten minutes, you might have more problems than an article can solve for you.

#2: The camera feature.

According to About.com, owning an iPhone means you'll have access to a readily-available camera attached to your Apple gadget - while owning an iPad doesn't. The iPhone's camera actually comes with two features: both a moving camera and a still camera, which means this is really like two advantages over the iPad in one. If you're the kind of person who likes to record his or her outstanding moments by quickly grabbing your gadget from your pocket, the iPad is probably not the device for you. If you rely on your iPhone for pictures already, there's a good chance that the bulkier iPad won't be as much as an improvement as you may have thought.

#3: Battery life.

With the iPad's estimated battery life of about 10 hours, the iPhone has the iPad beat on another essential characteristic of mobility: mobile power. The iPad's 10 hours doesn't compare well to the iPhone's. Though the iPhone might only be able to surf the Web for nine hours, it can go longer if you're using the phone feature or simply listening to audio, such as listening to music or books on tape during a trip.

#4: GPS quality.

The iPad does have enabled GPS, but the iPhone's GPS capabilities, as well as its ready-to-go Apps, may present an advantage in the short term. If you've been relying on your iPhone for your GPS needs, you won't see much of an advantage to buying an iPad. We will give the iPad credit for this, however: holding it feels much more like holding a map than does the iPhone.

#5: Portability.

Depending on your individual style, you may love the portability of the iPhone over the bulkiness of the iPad. The iPad feels much more like reading a book, or a magazine - and that's perfect if you're actually reading a book or magazine. But for a lot of the other functions you typically associate with your smart phone, the iPhone's small stature can deliver while fitting in your pocket or purse quite easily. It's hard to ignore the advantage of a gadget that can perform many of the same functions at a drastically reduced size.