Should I buy and ipad or a mac notebook?

I have had my imac for a number of years and I am finding that I am not able to do some things like downloading the lastest version of flash player because I only have OS 10.5.8 and there isn't enough memory to upgrade to Mountain Lion. Because I don't have the lastest version of Flash Player I cannot run Google Chrome or Firefox as I used to.
I am thinking of buying a Mac Notebook as it will be more portable. I am also wondering if it would be a good idea to purchase a refurbished mac as advertised on the Apple Store website. Also should I perhaps consider an iPad instead.
Will I be able to use the same files as I have on my present iMac? I have many applications which came with it which I never use, and am therefore wondering if I need anything that could be even more advanced. Though I have to admit I need the latest OS.
I mainly use iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto and Mac mail. I also use Numbers, Pages and Text Edit.I use the Internet a great deal and play Games. I also burn CDs and DVDs.
Would I be able to use my Canon Pixma Printer with the Notebook and the iPad.
I would welcome some advise from a more experienced person.
Many thenks

I am not a laptop or MacBook user. Not knowing your budget is an issue,,also.
If you want the flexibility and portability with the instant on access of an iPad, the MacBook Air is a way to go.
If you need close to the same power as your desktop iMac, the you need to look at the MacBook Pro.
I like as large a screen as possible, so I will lean you toward the 15 inch screen model MacBook Pros.
If you can't afford the retina display model, the regular resolution screen will be just fine.
Get the fastest CPU options and storage size you can afford and max out the RAM to get best performance.
Also, if you decide on the MacBook Pro, get it with the anti glare screen.
As far as your iMac,
Your model can take 4 GBs of RAM, but it will only recognize about 3.2 GBs or so of that RAM.
The reason for installing 4 GBs of RAM is that the iMac and OS X like to see RAM installed in matched pairs.
RAM is end user installable.
How to install RAM iMac.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1423
Purchase correct and reliable Mac RAM from online Mac RAM sellers Crucial memory or OWC (macsales).
Once you have purchased, received and installed this RAM, you can purchase and upgrade  your OS X version to OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
Purchase here.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
Once you order, purchased and receive this new OS X version on disk, you should find a way to backup all your personal data. Either copy, burning data to discs, copy to  USB Flash drives or external hard drive storage.
Once you have your data backed up and duplicated elsewhere, you can begin the installation of OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
Once you completed the initial install, you can use the software update feature to update OS X Snow Leopard to OS X 10.6.8.
You also use software update to update all of your other Apple installed software, also.
From Snow Leopard, you could purchase and install OS X 10.7 Lion, but given the age of your iMac and the fact you can only use a little over 3 GBs of RAM, this is not really enough to run OS X 10.7 well.
My advice is to update to OS X 10.6.8 and stay there.
You'll find that you'll be able to update your version of Adobe Flash, and download and install newer version of Google Chrome and Mozilla FireFox.
Good Luck!

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