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I don't get it: Why would anyone buy a tablet, and not a laptop?

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badb0y said:
For those of us that just use a laptop for browsing the internet or fooling around the tablet replaces a laptop completely. I haven't touched my Envy 14 in MONTHS.

I use my desktop to do all the productivity work.
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Yea, my work uses SAP, imagine throwing that kind of bloat at a tablet!. Tablets are neat cause you can take 'em in the crapper, there I said it...
 
Use my iPad more than my laptop. Games, reading the news, google reader feeds, books, games, my son uses it more than I do some days
 
When I was in school I was using my laptop (and then netbook when the laptop died) quite extensively for work, be it spreadsheets, word documents, presentations,etc. Since I've graduated though, I've shifted from using it for work to using it for media and internet browsing. My laptop is by no means outdated, but it is getting there and I've been thinking of a suitable replacement. I can buy a T2 and get the keypad and I've got a device that gets 15+ hours of battery life, the interfaces of a netbook, and the keyboard, but when I'm done with it I can take it off and I'm back to a tablet.

Tablets will eventually replace laptops/netbooks for those individuals who use those devices purely for media and internet browsing due to their ease of use and increasing power.
 
We've had some employees transition from laptops to ipads for work. As a general rule you get a device thats lighter, more portable and has a longer battery life when moving to an ipad. You do give up some functionality however if you do not need that then it really is a win win situation.

Heres 2 examples.

We have a plant manager (Plant as in our outside plant, the physical network) who spends a lot of time reviewing maps, looking up addresses and sending email. In fact thats about all he does (At a high level of course). He makes sure that what was designed on paper for an expansion can actually happen in the field. The ipad is perfect for him. Its more portable and lighter plus gives him a longer battery life. Its great for setting in the truck and driving down the streets and when he gets to the area hes inspecting grab the ipad and get out and do a visual survey. Then compare that to the map, sign off (or red flag it), send an email and move on.

Now in my case I am the director of the NOC. The CTO has been trying to convince me I should move to an ipad which I could do and still get 90% of my work done. The problem is that theres a few tasks you CANNOT do with an ipad. Multitasking is one as well as a console port of course being a huge downfall. If I could get 100% of the laptop functionality in a tablet I'd move in a minute. I'm tired of lugging around a laptop and shit every time I need to travel. I'm tired of packing the thing home every night.

Tablets definitely have their uses. The point is you need to break out of the existing mindset that a laptop is the full featured device to use on the move and that tablets are just some designer fad. Move to the mind set of what allows me to do my job while also being the least hinderance. For some it really is a tablet. For others theres features on a laptop that do not exist on a tablet.
 
If you can only have one of the two a notebook is a better choice. My tablet is in addition to my notebook.(I don't have a desktop and likely will never have another one) My notebook basically takes place of my desktop and I use my tablet as most would a notebook. I use it to mostly consume video while on the go. I don't need the excess weight and bulkiness of a notebook to do that. Not to mention to battery life is north of double. I'll do light browsing if I can find a hotspot, some reading, and also some light gaming. A tablet isn't for everyone and isn't the perfect device by any stretch. If they fit into your lifestyle, great. If not move on.
 
I can definitely see a tablet becoming a useful tool in construction management and my company has already started trying to demo them out with our quality control managers. If they can be connected to the network and are capable of downloading and reviewing documents they would be perfect. Walk out to the building, and pull up the drawings. Got a question about installation, pull up the specs. Want to double check that the right product is being used? Pull up the submittal. No surface needed, no awkward cradling of a laptop.

My computer at work right now is just a terminal and everything is stored server side. A rugged tablet that I could dock and then take out in the field? Awesomeness.
 
I hate laptops and prefer a desktop for my main computer. Something about laptops just doesn't work for me. They're portable and newer ones have pretty good battery life, but they still usually require a desk or table to use and with a keyboard and trackpad I never feel fully in control. Like I said, I prefer a desktop for that stuff, plus desktops are actually useful for gaming, which is important to me.

Long story short, a laptop does all the stuff a desktop does but not as well, whereas tablets are usually better for portability and usability while not at a table. So I'd rather have a desktop + tablet instead of just a laptop or a desktop + laptop.

You can pull my desktop from my cold, dead hands.
 
GoodEnough said:
A $300 laptop is far more useful than a netbook
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And it'll be doomed to be outdated in a year.

I think that's another issue, tablets power up (at least the ones I've used) very quickly, a throwaway notebook takes forever, looks and feels cheap, forever.

The other truism seems to be that a lot of people are happy with light email capability, surfing the web, playing app based games and using a tablet in a relaxed setting, not sitting at a table/desk surfing...

I'm seeing a lot of iPads out in public now, I work in a hospital, and is not unusual to see our inpatients with an iPad or visitors or outpatients hanging out in waiting areas and cafeterias with iPads.

I'm seeing so many, I'm wondering what exactly the saturation point is for iPad sales....

Mine is primarily used at home for light web surfing and watching NetFlix movies and other content based media apps, like ABC's app, CW's app, CBS's app.. Granted I don't have cable, and that's unusual nowdays so far, but I think it won't be soon...
 
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badb0y said:
For those of us that just use a laptop for browsing the internet or fooling around the tablet replaces a laptop completely. I haven't touched my Envy 14 in MONTHS.

I use my desktop to do all the productivity work.
Click to expand...

This
 
Well when I'm on the Star Ship Enterprise I can just whip out a tablet to check for trakeon particles, whereas with a lap top, it's just too bulky to mess around with really.
 
Bateluer said:
Its a status symbol right now. Technology is evolving though, and the two may eventually merge, ala the Asus Transformer.
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Android 4.0 (and beyond) + a beastly Intel x86 CPU + a beastly GPU ... all in a package like the ASUS Transformer = epic win
especially if I can dual-boot with Windows 8.
If ARM can seriously compete, that could still be possible too.

This isn't all that far away either. I think I might try and hold out for such a tablet (and this would be awesome if such can be launched well prior to Windows 8... and all the better if it can be dual-booted hassle-free).
 
They way I see it, tablets are most useful for commuters watching media and e-reading. If I needed the portability and battery life in a plane or train, it'd be golden. I do no commuting, so I have no use for one. I have a nice laptop next to my lazy-boy. If I need media, it's right there. And I can play the occasional heavier duty game, as needed.

My old Droid1 does bathroom/bedroom duty just fine, and it'll be that much better once I get my Galaxy Nexus.

My brother had shown me his iPad, and I was minorly impressed. But everything he was showing me was stuff laptops had done for ages... Nothing mind blowing...

Again, they'd be golden for commuters and e-readers, but I don't get the 40 million statistic. My bosses have been checking them out, so I guess there is the business/toy aspect, but to each his own, I guess.
 
I bought two firesale touchpads (gave one to my dad) and they really are nice for casual web browsing/emailing. In comparison to my netbook, the battery lasts a lot longer, it's much more portable, more durable (no hard drive) and the OS doesn't need any maintenance or updates like Windows. The splashtop remote desktop app was $5 when it first launched for webOS so I got that and it basically turns the touchpad into a PC.

That being said, I wouldn't have bought one at full price nor would I ever consider buying an iPad since I'm sure they aren't coming down in price anytime soon.
 
Got a touchpad and hardly use it..would have rather gotten a netbook personally? It is good for commuting but I don't commute. I see people at the bar with tablets more than lappys.
 
i like waking up, pulling my touchpad out and reading the news for 10 min before jumping in the shower.

I can leave my laptop in my backpack that way. It's easy to get a lot of info in 1 shot. With a laptop I can bet you I'll nef for 8 minutes out of the 10 because 2 minutes in I'll be curious what ATOT has to say about a certain article I read.
 
Why would anyone buy a laptop over a desktop?

Why would anyone buy a laptop over a tablet?

Why would anyone buy a tablet over a smartphone?

The overwhelming majority of people fall somewhere in that spectrum. There are valid answers to both sides of each of those questions. Figure out where you are, then buy the device(s) suited for yourself.
 
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