When tablets first came out, I ended up buying the old nexus 7 initially and that was good but rarely got use once I bought a bigger phone, as the screen sizes weren’t all that different. That got given to my dad and it wasn’t until Samsung bought out their original tab S that I bought another. I’ve got to say, I loved my tab S and it was a great tablet. The 10-inch screen had good crisp graphics so it was good for watching movies to pass the time when I was travelling around South East Asia.
When I got back home, I needed to get a laptop for my work as it would be much more ideal for spreadsheets and that sort of thing. I therefore just ended up grabbing a cheapish laptop with ok specs. I found myself using the laptop all the time and would hook it up to the TV, playing a film, music or youtube on the TV screen whilst working on the built-in screen at the same time. I’d also carry it around in my bag wherever I went so I could catch-up on work if need be. My tablet suddenly became redundant, there was nothing my tablet could do really that my laptop couldn’t but the same couldn’t be said the other way around. The fact is, the experience on my laptop was often better as the screen was bigger and I could type easier. I loved my tablet travelling as it was small, light and therefore easy to pack, but laptops are hardly that cumbersome these days anyway. I just find that my experience ultimately comes down to ease of use, versatility and performance. Surely a slimline laptop with good spec is better than a gimmicky tablet that’s the same price with a smaller screen and inferior specs? There is the touchscreen thing though and that can be good if you use ebooks. Its the only thing tablets really have over most laptops. A touchscreen laptop would obviously end up costing more, especially if you want the touchscreen to work well. I’ve got my phone for quick access and touchscreen capabilities anyway.
So, my old tablet was given to my sister a while back and now my laptop needs an upgrade so I’m wondering how to approach it. Of course, one of these hybrids that does everything does sound appealing but is it worth paying for the gimmicks or should I just get a solid laptop that’s nice and light and that will perform any task I need it to? Just wanted to know peoples opinions on it all, interesting to see what others think, maybe there’s a good recommendation out there of a good laptop or a hybrid to consider.
I use a Surface Pro 3 for grad school and I absolutely love it. I use it mostly as a laptop but when I do need a tablet (editing papers, marking files) it’s come in handy.
One iof each. I use my laptop as my main home computer, and I take my tablet along for travel.
When my desktop crashed, I quickly grabbed a laptop ($135 refurb) to tide me over until I could get a proper replacement. But I quickly bonded with my Dell Latitude, and now I’m perfectly happy with it as my everyday driver.
For travel, I have a Digiland DL701Q ($50 off the shelf) which is as much as I could possibly need, to drag around the world with me. When I’m traveling, any files I might need can be stored in the pocket or Google Drive.
So, for less than $200, I have access to both worlds.
I love my 2 in 1. It’s more bulky and heavy than a traditional tablet when folded all the way back but it still has all the power of a laptop. My next purchase will almost certainly be a Surface Book with dedicated graphics; I’ve used a friends and it really seems to hit the sweet spot of a very capable laptop that also works as a true tablet.
I have a Dell 2-in-1 using Windows 10. I really like being able to fold it back and use it as a tablet when it starts heating up, which is pretty often. I rarely fold it all the way back so it’s flat. The only problem is that it’s a little flaky. Sometimes the audio doesn’t work so I have to fiddle with that (usually closing and opening the lid seems to reset something). The autorotate wouldn’t work sometimes but I fixed that. It has a platter hard drive so it still takes a while to boot up sometimes to the point where I don’t know if it’s booting up or I need to push the start button. I had to update certain drivers one by one which is kind of a pain. So it’s more fidgety than, say, an ipad. I still like it though but it’s still very much a laptop when considering portability. I’m also still getting used to Windows 10.
How much of a road warrior are you? I think the MSFT Surface pro 4 with the new keyboard is the bee’s knees. By far the best road warrior rig I’ve ever had. I use it 95% of the time as a notebook, and occasionally flip the keyboard back and use it as a tablet. I never detach the keyboard. When I used a tablet only, a huge drawback for me was that when I did want to use it as a backup laptop then I had to find a keyboard and mouse, and it was just easier to use a real notebook in that case.
TO save money, you could check out the Surface pro 3 with the new type keyboard that has a fingerprint reader.
I doesn’t sound like you’re a hardcore notebook user. You do some spreadsheets but that’s about the limit of what you use it for.
A tablet is much better for content consumption and “always on”/ “instant on” use. It’s not practical to use a laptop to listen to an audiobook through a 6-hour plane flight, for example. You can’t use a laptop to read an e-book while riding a subway. A laptop won’t beep when you receive e-mail, unless you have it plugged in and running all the time. Even a 2-in-1 device like my Surface Pro 4 isn’t very good for these uses (e.g. there’s no simple way to turn off the display but still keep music playing).
Of course laptops are better for most content creation, esp. typing. Even with an external keyboard, tablets just don’t work very well for typing long paragraphs.
Though one could argue that for tasks a tablet can do better than a laptop, a smartphone works just as well. If you have a smartphone + laptop, the only thing a tablet works better is for reading e-books and magazines. And perhaps some games that work better on a larger screen, but aren’t available on laptops.
I have a laptop which I have plugged into a large monitor and a smartphone, and see no need for a tablet at all. My new laptop is a 2 in 1 but I haven’t used it in tablet mode yet. I don’t read e-books since I’m so backlogged with regular books, but I’ve used my wife’s Kindle for the one or two I have read, and I’d definitely get one of them - much smaller, and just like a paperback.
I only rarely answer mail on my phone - most of what I get doesn’t need a response - since it is a pain, and it would be almost as much of a pain on a tablet.
I also would have no good place to put it when walking. My phone goes into my pocket, and I don’t have a man-purse for a tablet. So, no thanks.
If you want to consume content, get a tablet. If you want to create content, get a laptop. But… you can consume content on laptop a lot better than you can create content on a tablet, so if it’s a little of both, still better with a laptop.
And some content consumption is much better on a laptop. Doing any kind of research is vastly better on a laptop as you can more easily switch between browser tabs and whatever applications you’re using to take notes. Watching videos is a bit of a toss-up, and tablets tend to have a battery live advantage, but then again laptops have a built-in “kickstand”.
Its definitely during commutes where space is tight, that a tablet trumps a laptop. Most people have phones with decent sized screens anyway that can do the job though, depends what media you are using it for I suppose. I don’t have great eyesight so admittedly I’d rather watch a tablet whilst commuting than a phone but I could manage perfectly fine without. I think ebook readers are going to be those in most favour of tablets as they are perfect for reading but like most people have said here, all-in-all, laptops are better all-rounders. I think i’ll definitely be getting myself a new laptop, don’t think i’ll bother with a hybrid, will just get one with a decent enough screen size with a slim and lightweight bezel. I am considering maybe just grabbing a second hand tablet, just a cheap one that I can have in case I do a bit of travelling or long commuting as I had intended to do a bit of touring around the Country later in the year. I’ve found a website where there’s some classified ads and there’s some there that have been used for sale quite cheap. The bulk of the money is definitely going to be spent on the laptop though and i’ll see what I end up with once that’s bought.
Faced with the same dilemma a while back, I went with a Lenovo Thinkpad 10 tablet. It’s about the size of an iPad and now Windows does that thing where you can use apps and such so when in consumption mode it’s similar to using a tablet, with the upside that you’re not forced into a mobile interface when web browsing. The downside is a lot of sites/apps aren’t as good as full-on iOS or Andriod apps when it comes to an interface - even in tablet mode I can swipe or use gestures.
When I want to be productive, attach a keyboard and away I go. The only annoying thing then is screen size - I went with a iPad size device for convenience and portability, but a 10" display can get annoying when working on spreadsheets
Would I do it again? Most likely not. When I’m mobile, I’m now more likely to take along my Kindle for a portable device (I hate reading or watching video on my smart phone), so the laptop stays home - for that, I’d rather go with a full-on laptop with more storage, power, and media drives. I might go with something with a fold-away keyboard for when I’m just watching something on the screen.
Had been looking at the Lenovo’s actually but the larger ones where the screen stays attached but you can flip it backwards if you want to use it like kind of a touchscreen tablet.
I have a Lenovo Yoga convertible like this, 13 inch display I think. It is really nice and I recall looking forward to using it ‘tablet mode.’ I don’t think I’ve folded the keyboard all the way back since about two weeks after I got it. The only time the convertible feature gets used is if I’m watching something and want to save space (say, on the kitchen counter) by propping it up like a ladder.
The nomenclature is “detachable” and “convertible”. Detachable is where the keyboard actually detaches so it can be just a tablet., so think Surface Pro. Convertible is like the Lenovo Yoga or Dell XPS where there is a 360 degree hinge, the screen flips around, but the keyboard is always attached.
A detachable is lighter, thinner, and can be just a tablet.
A convertible generally is a full on notebook, that swivels into something akin to a tablet but is a lot thicker and heavier than a tablet.
To the OP, a 13.3" screen would probably work for you. Higher end machines have much thinner bezels (think the gap between the screen and the edge) than before. So a 12 or 13.3" screen with a thin bezel may have more actual useable screen space than your 14" expectation. Go try them side by side.
Jenstar - if you are within easy access of a Microsoft Store, I would highly recommend going to one and spend an hour trying out the different machines. They have a wide selection of detachables, convertibles Surface products, and all machines come with the Microsoft Signature Image - which means these pass performance tests, are optimized, and do NOT have crapware. They also have a 30 day no questions return policy, some help desks, and you can buy extended warranties (I don’t but individual choice).
I used to work at Microsoft, and I don’t think I’ll ever buy a Windows machine outside of the Microsoft Store ever again.