[Stevey]

If yes then which one is more preferable between tablets and smartphones?

[compnovo]

Stevey, on 05 October 2012 - 10:21 PM, said:

If yes then which one is more preferable between tablets and smartphones?

Hey Stevey,
If I could have only ONE computer it would be a portable and, based on what I've seen so far, it would be the Surface tablet with the Intel processor (that opinion is subject to change once they're released and reviewed). I would surely miss the power and upgradability of the desktop but there are times when I NEED a portable, and any old cell phone will do in a pinch.

(Fortunately I'm not in a position where I'm restricted to one computing device )

[coastie65]

I don't know. I do have a Smart Phone, but when traveling, I prefer to use my laptop. No, I don't find it cumbersome in regards to having a Smart phone or Tablet. Having said that, I don't always have the laptop with me for sure, and do use the phone for email and such. The laptop is usually used in the Hotel room where I can use the mouse as I don't particularly care for the touch pad.

[LiveBrianD]

Personally, I have a desktop as my main machine (I prefer the ergonomics and power), a laptop as my second one, and a smartphone. If I were limited to one, I would probably get a decently powerful 14" laptop.

[njdirtybird7]

LiveBrianD, on 06 October 2012 - 08:27 AM, said:

Personally, I have a desktop as my main machine (I prefer the ergonomics and power), a laptop as my second one, and a smartphone. If I were limited to one, I would probably get a decently powerful 14" laptop.

Exactly this. Desktop is my preference.

[waldojim]

You know, if it comes right down to it, a decent laptop will do the trick. It can effectively replace a smartphone, tablet, and desktop quite easily. Sure, you compromise, but then again, ALL of those devices are a compromise. Only the laptop can do EVERYTHING that the others can. My W520 has all but completely replaced my desktop already. The only desktops left are servers and the media center. Besides, the next laptop will probably mark the end of the traditional desktop for me, as I intend to find something with real power, and upgrade room.

[smax013]

waldojim, on 10 October 2012 - 11:58 PM, said:

You know, if it comes right down to it, a decent laptop will do the trick. It can effectively replace a smartphone, tablet, and desktop quite easily. Sure, you compromise, but then again, ALL of those devices are a compromise. Only the laptop can do EVERYTHING that the others can. My W520 has all but completely replaced my desktop already. The only desktops left are servers and the media center. Besides, the next laptop will probably mark the end of the traditional desktop for me, as I intend to find something with real power, and upgrade room.

I agree. If I had to choose just one device, it would likely be a 15" (maybe 14") laptop. It is big enough that you can usually get such a laptop with a rather powerful processor and a pretty good graphics system, but small enough that it is not a complete pain to have to lug around if you do need to carry around a lot. Such a laptop can be pretty versatile. Hook it up to a monitor, a mouse, and an external keyboard and it can basically do most everything most desktops can do (this is actually how my current MBP operates 99+% of the time). You can then still disconnect it from the monitor, mouse, and keyboard and then take it with you for travel or meetings or whatever. Such a system can typically play most games, just not at the highest settings. If you need a larger screen, you hook it to a large monitor. These days with Firewire, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, etc, you can easily expand you storage if you need to.

Will such a laptop be better than a desktop for some specific tasks? Nope. You can certainly still get more bang for your buck with a desktop, especially if you want to game.

Similarly, will such a laptop be better than a laptop with a 11" to 13" screen for certain tasks? Nope. My 11" MBA is WAY more portable than my 17" MBP. Thus, it is way more convenient to carry around if I need to take a computer with me...and it does 90+% of what I use the MBP or my desktop for.

Point is to me, a decent 15" laptop would be the best all round machine if I have to pick one device.

[Hessam]

I ditched my desktop a few years a go. Now I just use laptop (if it is considered a portable device for you), since I play games on consoles I never owned a powerful desktop so I don't miss the power.
but between smartphone and tablet I go with smartphone, but Surface pro may change my idea and I get my first tablet.

[Szczecinianin]

Well, the choice now is so big that a new classification needs to be used. Generally, maybe except for smartphones, anything that doesn't have a keyboard is a toyand the rest is a tool. I used the word maybe writing about smartphones as I have no Idea how to,  say,  "press 2,"  when I'm asked to do it e.g. to choose a menu item.  And it's hard for me to say which one I prefer. True, desktops can be upgraded but that's to an extent (CPU, RAM, OS!) as sooner or later the time comes you need to change your motherboard. And that  is  like a new computer. Still, the room for manoeuvre is much bigger  than with laptops but here fewer options is the price of portability. Now I guess it's up to you and if you're happy with what you've bought or want more .     

This post has been edited by Szczecinianin: 24 October 2012 - 03:27 AM

[smax013]

Szczecinianin, on 24 October 2012 - 03:26 AM, said:

Generally, maybe except for smartphones, anything that doesn't have a keyboard is a toyand the rest is a tool.     

Could not disagree more. Tablets are not toys. They are tools that most people use as a toy, but they can still do "productive" tasks.

As a case in point, if a person buys a desktop computer SOLELY to play games on it (not an impossible scenario), does that make it a "toy"?

The point is the tablets CAN be used for "productive" tasks and many people do use tablets in that manner (more than 50% of my use of my iPad is for check emails, accessing eTextbooks for the class I teach, accessing documents on Dropbox for the class that I teach, etc). In my case, many times my iPad is the way better "tool" for doing some tasks than my laptop or other computers.

Now, admittedly, many people use tablets for "entertainment" type purposes rather than "productive" tasks, but that does not make it not a "tool". It just means that maybe for them it is more of an "entertainment" tool...i.e. maybe the tablet is a better "tool" for playing games than a Nintendo DS or watching movies/videos than a TV.

Just because you don't find something useful, does not mean that other can't find some good uses for it.

[LiveBrianD]

The problem is that, for instance, the iPad's document editing capabilities are fairly limited. Personally, for $500, I'm expecting more functionality than that. (Particularly compared to my netbook.)

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 24 October 2012 - 06:05 AM, said:

The problem is that, for instance, the iPad's document editing capabilities are fairly limited. Personally, for $500, I'm expecting more functionality than that. (Particularly compared to my netbook.)

So then...(you) don't buy an iPad. Simple solution.

And you miss my point completely.

Not everyone wants a device for using word processing...and even if they do, a lot of people can get by with limited capabilities. Such people want a device for maybe checking email, watching videos, reading news, reading eBooks, etc. and for such people a tablet (be it an iPad or an Android tablet or a Windows 8 based tablet or an RIM tablet, etc) might be just the "tool" for their needs.

Just because someone never use nails does not mean a hammer not a "tool"...it just makes it a "tool" that person doesn't need.

The same applies here...just because YOU don't find a tablet useful for the things that YOU do does not mean it is a not "tool"...it is just makes it a "tool" that you don't need.

And yes, an iPad is not as useful if you want to edit word processing files or spreadsheets, but it can be done. So, the corollary is maybe someone does not need a pneumatic nail gun when a simple hammer will do...in other words, for some, maybe the basic word processing or spreadsheets that can be done on an iPad are enough. And yes, you can get a $500 laptop that will be much better for those things (and more), but it will also be much more bulky and heavier.

You need to realize that not everyone uses computers, etc just like you do. And for many of those people, a tablet is more than enough for what THEY need it for.

This post has been edited by smax013: 24 October 2012 - 06:59 AM

[LiveBrianD]

For, say, $300, I think a tablet can be justified - I've thought about getting a Nexus 7 @ $200, for instance. It's just that $500 seems a bit steep for something that's basically an oversized smartphone.

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 24 October 2012 - 08:50 AM, said:

For, say, $300, I think a tablet can be justified - I've thought about getting a Nexus 7 @ $200, for instance. It's just that $500 seems a bit steep for something that's basically an oversized smartphone.

I think you mean "oversized iPod Touch"...as all the iPad "naysayers" stated back when the first iPad came out.

And yet there are literally millions of people who think differently (no pun intended) that you when it comes to spending $500 (or more) for a tablet. Shocking. Maybe they find that the whole "oversized" part really matters. It makes using it for things like reading books MUCH better.

Like any purchase, it comes down to does the items purchased do what the person purchasing it wants/needs for a price that they find acceptable. Obviously, in YOUR case, a $500 tablet would either not fit you needs or would be too much for what needs it did fit for you. This does not make it a "toy". Just an expensive "tool" that does not do what you need it to do.

Look, I don't disagree that in many ways a tablet is just an oversized iPod Touch. But that screen size difference matters. That is kind of like saying a 24" monitor is just a "oversized 13 in monitor". Yes, they may nominally functionally be the same, but the extra 11 inches diagonally makes a HUGE difference in what you can do with the monitor. Same thing happens when talking about an iPad (or any other tablet) versus an iPod Touch. Yes, they both can do basically the same things, but the larger screen matters.

[Szczecinianin]

OK, you may say tablets are tools if you want, but don't call them productive. Productivity means making things and tablets are mainly about retrieving/viewing. You hardly make anything with them. And I mean not only spreadsheets or word processing but also 3D modelling, drawing with special regard to CAD or architect apps, posting, (un)zipping and many other. And that PCs/laptops are used by some people only for gaming doesn't mean they are not tools as they are. And it's those mentioned things they can do that decides that. 

[smax013]

Szczecinianin, on 27 October 2012 - 12:40 AM, said:

OK, you may say tablets are tools if you want, but don't call them productive. Productivity means making things and tablets are mainly about retrieving/viewing. You hardly make anything with them. And I mean not only spreadsheets or word processing but also 3D modelling, drawing with special regard to CAD or architect apps, posting, (un)zipping and many other. And that PCs/laptops are used by some people only for gaming doesn't mean they are not tools as they are. And it's those mentioned things they can do that decides that. 

You mean like this:

CAD (one example for the iPad):

https://itunes.apple...d393149734?mt=8

3D modeling (one example for the iPad):

https://itunes.apple...d417187334?mt=8

Zipping/unzipping:

https://itunes.apple...d479665601?mt=8

Or maybe structural analysis (part of what I do a for a living):

https://itunes.apple...d371089612?mt=8

The reality is that an iPad* can do a LOT of things that a "full blown" computer can do. It may not always be able to do it as well as a "full blown" computer can do, but then many laptops and low end desktop cannot do as much as top end workstation desktop can. But, for a lot of people it can do enough "productivity" stuff if they need it.

So, again, while many people choose to use it as a "toy", it is in fact a "tool"...it is just that most people don't want/need to use it for that purpose.

* I would assume an Android or Windows RT tablet can similarly do such tasks assuming developers make the apps for them, but have not looked myself. I would guess that Android might do OK in this area, but the Windows RT might be limited for now until more developers make apps.

[compnovo]

smax013, on 27 October 2012 - 07:04 AM, said:

* I would assume an Android or Windows RT tablet can similarly do such tasks assuming developers make the apps for them, but have not looked myself. I would guess that Android might do OK in this area, but the Windows RT might be limited for now until more developers make apps.

I just looked, and the only one on your list for RT is a Zip utility. I'll be amazed if anybody builds 3D modeling or CAD (let alone structural analysis) apps for the RT, but one never knows...

This post has been edited by compnovo: 28 October 2012 - 01:44 PM

[waldojim]

compnovo, on 28 October 2012 - 01:44 PM, said:

smax013, on 27 October 2012 - 07:04 AM, said:

* I would assume an Android or Windows RT tablet can similarly do such tasks assuming developers make the apps for them, but have not looked myself. I would guess that Android might do OK in this area, but the Windows RT might be limited for now until more developers make apps.

I just looked, and the only one on your list for RT is a Zip utility. I'll be amazed if anybody builds 3D modeling or CAD (let alone structural analysis) apps for the RT, but one never knows...

I think that will happen quicker than you realize. 3d CAD with Microsoft's surface is a real possibility. The Tegra 3 is more than powerful enough for medium complexity designs. Think real time adjustments on a flight to a presentation!

[smax013]

compnovo, on 28 October 2012 - 01:44 PM, said:

I just looked, and the only one on your list for RT is a Zip utility. I'll be amazed if anybody builds 3D modeling or CAD (let alone structural analysis) apps for the RT, but one never knows...

I can certainly see someone at least making an app to view AutoCAD drawings for the same reason that such apps exist on the iPad...it is MUCH easier to take an iPad out in the field and use it in your hands while standing looking at something in the field. As to editing, again, it might easier to take a tablet to a meeting and you might want some minimal ability to edit a CAD file. Same basic reasoning would apply to structural analysis software (I have not had such a reason myself yet, but I could see it potentially being a reason at some point in the future).

[snorg]

I like the desktop PC best cuz mine super fast and powerful.
I would like to have a good laptop tho.