Laptop vs Tablet

[Mehta23]

Just thought several of you would be able to offer an insight to what is recommended for me.

I am a student, and in 2 years, I will be off to Uni. I was thinking of getting a Nexus 7 now, both for fun and to help me with my studies - trust me, I'd rather do anything than use the school computers.

But I've also wondered if it's better to get a laptop, or, because they're so expensive now, to wait until I actually need one, and get a suitable one later on. ( I have a pretty decent PC at home, so a portable PC isn't exactly necessary)

I pretty much immediately ruled out the tablet/laptop ultrabook thingys, as

 

[nickdalzell]

the one big disadvantage of tablets is 1) no physical keyboard which can make typing long documents a pain, 2) PC apps won't run on them--which may be required in your school

my college classes required me to install demos of WinNT and Win2K a lot, so i brought along a laptop then for that reason. none of the required software would run on Linux (or Android nowadays) in addition my testing software required Windows too (for A+ certification)

 

[Mehta23]

I was thinking that, if I needed to type lots, I could get one of those bluetooth keyboards (

 

[Davdi]

You can get a perfectly good laptop without spending

 

[Mehta23]

I had been using my sister's old laptop ( Intel Core 2 duo 2GHz, nvidia 9800, 140gb hdd) but I found it slow and hot. i also think that something with at least an i5 would be good and fast enough.

I think that I am used to the speed of my new desktop now.

 

[javasirc]

Ive tried doing document/typing work on my nexus 7 with a bluetooth keyboard. It was a real pain. I honestly wouldnt use a tablet for anything other than quick internet browsing and video playback. I dont even use my Nexus 7 any more. If i want to watch a youtube video or something in bed, i just use my phone. Any time i need to do typing, such as a post on this forum, i use my laptop. Whether its on my lap or on the table, my laptop provides a higher level of convenience in every way except mobility compared to a tablet. If your device is going to be sitting on the desk all the time, just get a laptop.

I would suggest using a laptop running Windows 8 and an SSD card for storage. Very fast boot times, and you can configure Windows 8 to be exactly like Windows 7.

If it wernt for the price, i would get rid of my current laptop and buy a Windows 8 convertible tablet with laptop dock. But i sure wont buy a stand-alone tablet.

 

[nickdalzell]

the closest i got is a Jelly Bean-running Kindle Fire. it's not a Nexus 7 by any means and types well, but it's usually only used for mobility, where a laptop (and its horrid battery life of two hours tops) is too bulky. my Android phone is great as an MP3 player/downloader at work, with the ease of being voice controlled to check my Facebook on break. or my email. but so far, despite how far they have come, a tablet is no replacement for a full-blown PC just yet. it's getting there but not yet. currently my laptop use is at home or at places near an outlet. if i am expected to be away from an outlet that is where i pull my tablet from behind my person like a cartoon character and catch up on some Netflix, Email, forum typing/lurking, catching Linux news, and so on.

around here at least laptops and tablets are on par with each other for price. good Android tabs can cost upwards of $499 and higher (making them as pricey as Apple products but they're the only 'good' ones you will get) and laptops are either $399 to $1999, depending on whether you are a normal user or whether you need a powerful desktop replacement/gaming PC. my newest is a previously Windows 8-equipped Toshiba Satellite which now runs Ubuntu 12.10/KDE for $399. it's decent enough to play Star Trek Online which is pretty much most of the use, other than instances where i need a keyboard.

 

[Mehta23]

Yeah, thanks.

I definitely think the laptop is the way to go still. Hopefully in the near future, quad core and good graphics performance (although will strictly be used for working ) will be more affordable.

 

[Speed Daemon]

Oh yeah, I could really use a quad-core i7 and/or a GPU that supports the CUDA acceleration that my transcoding software uses. Since I'm also the boss who would have to pay for it too, I can get away with using it to keep up with my favorite TV shows when I'm on the road. OTOH I know as a fact that my boss doesn't have the budget to pay the premium prices that those things fetch, even if the need is justified.

 

[Mehta23]

I mean, compared to the older computers in my school ( Core 2 Duo,1GB RAM) the newer computers that are being brought in seem so much faster comparatively (i3, 4GB ram)

But once I get my SSD/SSD's in my PC, I think i5's in a laptop and maybe a small SSD would be ideal.

 

[Bob Maxey]

the one big disadvantage of tablets is 1) no physical keyboard which can make typing long documents a pain, 2) PC apps won't run on them--which may be required in your school

my college classes required me to install demos of WinNT and Win2K a lot, so i brought along a laptop then for that reason. none of the required software would run on Linux (or Android nowadays) in addition my testing software required Windows too (for A+ certification)

I say try the keyboard. I use an iPad and I find the soft keyboard to be far better than either external keyboard or my laptop keyboard. I was amazed, too.

 

[nickdalzell]

the iPad has that one over the Android. better touch response and a better autocorrect system. however the fingerprint smudges make the screen completely ugly to look at if you type often enough. i hate having the OCD to constantly clean my iPad's screen when under heavy use.

 

[jhawkkw]

There are android tablets with keyboard docks, such as the ASUS Transformer series. Something to keep in mind, but these are generally on the more expensive side depending on which model you get. Something to keep in mind is that ASUS is going to release the Transformer AIO somewhat soon and that will come with the ability to dual-boot Android and Windows 8. No word on price yet though

 

[saptech]

My Student Edition came with the keyboard dock and it's pretty nice to use if I need to type alot. I guess if it's for school purposes, maybe a nice size laptop would be the way to go.

I gave my 8.9" netbook to one of the grandkids for Christmas because I wasn't using it much. The screen was just too small for these old eyes, but using a tablet makes it much better to view. I can move the tablet closer to my eyes and handle it much easier then a laptop.

 

[Bob Maxey]

the iPad has that one over the Android. better touch response and a better autocorrect system. however the fingerprint smudges make the screen completely ugly to look at if you type often enough. i hate having the OCD to constantly clean my iPad's screen when under heavy use.

I have written and edited large documents with my iPad and Pages. In my opinion, Pages is the best WP of its kind and like I said earlier, the soft keyboard is a joy to use. Not at all hard to get use to and I like it so much, I ditched the external keyboards.

This idea that the screen must be better or you need an external keyboard is accurate for some users but not for all users. I can earn my income with just my iPad.

As with all things technical, what will work for you ultimately depends on what you need to do. For most users, I say either will work. If you Tweet, Face Book, listen to music and fiddle with photographs, either will work. Most users are likely typical and a tablet is all they need.

That said, if you decide to heavily edit images, perhaps a laptop is the better choice.

Again, it all boils down to what you need to do. Hopefully, I will dump my laptop and use just my iPad.

I was considering going to work for a local group of folks that decided to see if they can start and operate a company using ONLY tablets. No DT/Laptop, just a tablet. Their contention is a good quality tablet is all you really need.

 

[nickdalzell]

most of the time my iPad is my laptop. i would like to find a good Android tablet that will replace it and offer similar performance but so far 1) any comparable Android tablets will break the bank worse than an iPad, 2) battery life still sucks in Android even on a tablet, 3) there is NO Android version of the retina screen to avoid migraines from LCD use, and 4) most high-dpi screens are AMOLED, and i have one of those types of screens on my PS Vita, and it's a migraine inducer, no thanks.

 

[Speed Daemon]

This idea that the screen must be better or you need an external keyboard is accurate for some users but not for all users. I can earn my income with just my iPad.

I was considering going to work for a local group of folks that decided to see if they can start and operate a company using ONLY tablets. No DT/Laptop, just a tablet. Their contention is a good quality tablet is all you really need.

(emphasis mine)

It's one thing to embrace new technologies, but quite another to make it mandatory to prove some point.

Personally I can't work for very long unless I have a good chair to sit in that keeps my back nice and straight. I suppose I could adapt to using nothing but a tablet, but I wouldn't actually like it. Since I'm not a touch typist, I once thought that being able to keep my eyes where I type would be a benefit. But the lack of feeling in on-screen "keyboards" and their unforgiving nature when it comes to fumble-fingering would make using one to write a long document a nightmare for me!

 

[Speed Daemon]

There are android tablets with keyboard docks, such as the ASUS Transformer series. Something to keep in mind, but these are generally on the more expensive side depending on which model you get. Something to keep in mind is that ASUS is going to release the Transformer AIO somewhat soon and that will come with the ability to dual-boot Android and Windows 8. No word on price yet though

The keyboard for the Transformer series is an option, so tablet purists don't have to get it.

 

[Mehta23]

the iPad has that one over the Android. better touch response and a better autocorrect system. however the fingerprint smudges make the screen completely ugly to look at if you type often enough. i hate having the OCD to constantly clean my iPad's screen when under heavy use.

Sorry. But my experience of the iOS keyboard wasn't pleasant. SwiftKey all the way.

Looks like I'm not gonna get a tablet now. :-( maybe a laptop later...

 

[nickdalzell]

the Android keyboard seems to never keep up with my typing rate. and the autocorrect is not as well implemented. (in the iPad if i hit the space even after mispelling a word, it tends to replace it with the correctly spelled word, in Android if i naturally hit space and not hit the suggestion, it just writes the misspelling and i have to go back and change it manually) and in some cases there is nothing inside the autocorrect dictionary in Android too, as i have found out at random times.

i'm a pretty good expert on touch typing on the iPad, mostly due to the large footprint i can almost naturally use it as if a netbook keyboard (only the smudging effect is horrid)

Many Android tablets are wider than they are tall, which gets a bit harder to type on what appears to be squashed keys. swiftkey in my experience was horrible--a lot like the old Apple Newton's badly-implemented handwriting recognition, not the same but just as equally bad with results. i would not be surprised if 'eat up martha' came up either. swiftkey is not natural...sliding across a keyboard is worse than trying to have Android keep up with an 80+ WPM typing rate

 

[Mehta23]

I don't know if you're referring to Swype... Maybe SwiftKey flow..

But it's strange that we've had completely opposite experiences

 

[nickdalzell]

perhaps i am just old fashioned, i like to type, not flick, swipe, tap or whatnot. i can type rather fast on my iPad just not on any Android device due to keyboard lag. Jelly Bean is nicer but it still has slight keyboard lag.

 

[mikedt]

I've only seen keyboard lag on budget Android devices, ones with weak or slow CPUs. Especially the cheap Chinese ones I'm so familiar with, some of which are truly awful The cheapo Ampe thing I've got, that can lag on everything, but on the other hand my Lenovo phone doesn't keyboard lag, that's instant.

I can never type at my full speed on any non-tactile glass virtual keyboard. Simply due to the fact I've got to keep on looking at it, and not concertrating on what I'm typing. I learned Pitman typing on a manual typewriter, using all fingers and without looking at the keyboard, and it's stuck with me. When you first start the course they would cover the keyboard, so you couldn't see your fingers and keyboard.

It's all about feel and touch for me, which is just something you can't do with a glass virtual keyboard. That's why physical keyboards have raised pips on the F and J home keys.

 

[nickdalzell]

problem is at least around here a 'decent' Android tab is as much if not more the cost of an iDevice.

 

[nickdalzell]

portability, battery life are indeed two of a tab's strongest points. it's the productivity and typing that keep laptops on the top, however. tablets are still catching up to netbooks, but they are almost the same