So after about 5 years of use, my old laptop died. I went to Best Buy the other day, and my options are more varied than ever. I’m a little lost and could use some advice.
I JUST got my first Smart Phone. It’s a Samsung Galaxy S4. When I went to Best Buy, I ran into a woman that worked for Samsung. I told her my situation and she was trying to push a Samsung Galaxy Tab® 4 10.1 16GB, (http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab/SM-T530NZWAXAR), to replace of my old laptop. I don’t mind the size of it at all, and I like the Android operating system and I LOVE that it hooks up to my phone. There are some issues I had with it though…
No USB ports. Once the battery is dead, she said it wasn’t worth getting another battery for it, (how long do the batteries last until they start wearing down?) There’s a mouse you can buy for it, but it’s extra money, (I don’t mind the touch screen for most things, but I get annoyed when I want to, say, ‘cut and paste’ text using my big, fat finger to try and highlight what I want to.)
I did want a tablet/laptop hybrid. Like I said, I liked that the OS was Android. Also looking at Samsung Chrome Book, however I think that runs Windows. Would I be able to get the same games and other apps on a Windows OS and I would an Android?
Any and all suggestions would be helpful. Thank you for reading.
Can you give us an idea of what you do on your computer?
Not much other than visit message boards… I’m on a few dating sites, I search the web. I want to get into games, but would rather invest in a PS4 than use my computer for games. I’m interested in downloading apps… which is why I asked if I could get the same types of games on a Windows OS as I could on an Andriod.
Good question.
I want a word prossesor too.
The usual rule of thumb is that tablets are great for *consuming *content, but real computers with real keyboards are better for *creating *content. So if you are doing word processing, you will be much happier with the laptop. That said, there are far more content consumers on the internet than there are content creators, so it is not surprising that tablets are eating into the laptop market.
And no, Chrome Books do not run Windows. They run the “Chrome” operating system, so you can not necessarily get all the same games as you would on Windows. You might be able to get your favorites, but you might want to check each one to be sure, if you go that route.
having a smart phone and game machine cuts down on some laptop demands.
a tablet/laptop hybrid convertible is a good idea though this raises the cost.
Chrome books run on the cloud and are not Windows, though you will find similar things there.
Windows would be a computer that is local and could run offline and keep things on it.
so you need to define your money and desires.
You didn’t specify a price range. The new Surface 3 is suppose to be a tablet with the power of a laptop. $800.
Before you spend any money do you know what is wrong with your current laptop? If it’s just the hard drive then you can not only revive it but make it much faster than it was before by installing a solid state drive. That would be about $170.
What it comes down to is - do you need a graphics card? If you’re only playing app-type games then no, the intel integrated graphics 4000 or better will be just fine. If you want the sort of games you’d play on the ps4, then you’d need a dedicated graphics card.
As it is, any off-the-shelf laptop is capable of internet browsing and light word processing.
I wouldn’t really recommend Chrome. You’d be restricted to Google apps, which are ok, but not nearly as nice as the current Office model. It would play Google apps, which, I think, are mostly cross-compatible with your phone.
OTOH, if you get a Windows 8 machine, it has a Windows 8 app store. Those games would not be cross compatible with your phone (but some of them might be cross-compatible with an Xbox One, if you get one of those.)
That Surface Pro 3 is pretty damn sweet, even if you have to pay extra for the typing cover. It’s app-type gaming, not full on computer games, of course.
Whatever you get, look for Windows 8, an i5 or i7, and 4gb RAM minimum (8gb is worth it).
I’m so sorry I haven’t followed through with this thread and I thank everyone for their suggestions. I ended up getting the Surface Pro 2. Pro 3 was way too expensive, (so was Pro 2 to be honest, even though I got the 32GB model.) It should be sufficient for what I will use it for. I really shopped around, and got a pretty good deal, (especially on the 2 year warranty), at Microsoft Store.
I tried to haggle, but didn’t get very far, and got the 10% Veteran discount because I had my father who served in the military buy it on his credit card. Best Buy would have matched the price, but I don’t think they would have matched the warranty price.
All in all, I spent more than I wanted to because I really wanted a Surface after seeing it. There were some cool laptops/tablets, but they that I could have afforded, but they were too bulky and ugly.
I got a black keyboard. The cheep one where the keys don’t press down and don’t light up in the dark. I figured black would be my best bet because the other colors I’ve seen displayed at Best Buy were all dirty.
I should get it by Monday, if not sooner. I’m sure I’ll be very happy with what I got.