Pondering Replacing laptop and reader with Tablet???

[wyndslash]

I recently bought a netbook against the protests of my brother who told me to just get a tablet, or an ipad. but i prefer typing on a physical keyboard, and it would just serve as a companion to my mac. not to mention the ipad has no usb ports, and i would have to shell out more for it.

i do basic computing and use dropbox to sync my files. i bought an asus eee pc; it's very cheap, no-frills, light, and has a great battery life. plus it's so cute, lol.

[exscentric]

I like the Asus Transformer idea, think dell has similar idea but don't know the specs.

There is also the netvertible or netbook convertible that the screen twists and lays flat or you can use it as a laptop. Google for lenovo s10-3t though I would not push that particular one.

Also know that they are heavier and probably will need windows home/premium minimum to work as a tablet nicely. (Starter does not have the tablet stuff for windows.)

Also if you want the best of both worlds there is the Entourage Edge which has an android tablet on one side and an eink on the other side. There is a 10 inch and 7 inch. KNOW the company is out of business so no further help from them though there is a GREAT subforum on this forum in the android section that has all the help you could want plus the archive of the old entourage forum.

Just go to youtube and search for entourage edge to get a feel of what it will do.

Options, options, options, along with confusion with all that is available.

If you don't see something you really like wait a month :-) something better will come along.

[Strayer]

If you need to save important data, I would use a cd. That would call for a cd rw drive.
You can put the cds in a safe deposit box.
I have a desktop and a laptop.
It depends on what you need to do.
I would like a nook color as well. That would make reading portable.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

I use the Asus Transformer with dock in place of a laptop for now until I can replace my desktop with a more full power machine. It can use an external HD, and has a SD card slot for expanding storage. It can run the Kindle App, The Nook App, and other readers like FBReader. It comes with Polaris office which is okay do to basic MS Office kinds of things with. It can handle all the basic functions, i.e. play video, games, flash, web, email, and etc.

Its NOT as nice as a low end laptop running Windows, and not that much cheaper, but I really like the touch interface of the tablet better then Windows for this kind of use. Plus the dock is optional, you can use it as a pure tablet with out the dock, or use the dock for the keyboard/trackpad like you would a netbook. In addition the battery life on the Transformer runs in to multiple days for me, low end laptops usually only run for several hours in my experience.

Before you make up your mind though, shop out low end laptops and decide if the trade off in features (full OS vs tablet OS) is something you are okay with.

+1
I've had my Transformer (w/Dock) for a few weeks and it get's a lot of mileage, especially with the Kindle App. A Kindle with lighted cover is about the same in weight. Snap out the tablet, lock it in portrait mode and you can read for hours and hours. With the dock you have a reserve energy source. Insert it and the battery in the dock starts to transfer energy to the tablet (fantastic for trans-Pacific, in my case trans-Siberian) kong haul flights.
The Kindle App isn't exactly optimized for the Transformer's excellent screen, but i'm sure there will come an update.
Browsing, E-mailing, Multimedia (music, videos) they are all a breeze. I am as excited by the Transformer as I was by the Kindle, then again i wet easily.

[FatDog]

You need a good Laptop or a desktop for serious typing and computer use. If you dont have one of these - a tablet will not work. A tablet is like a sports car - something you bring out on the weekend to have fun with. But dont trust it for commuting.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by FatDog

You need a good Laptop or a desktop for serious typing and computer use. If you dont have one of these - a tablet will not work. A tablet is like a sports car - something you bring out on the weekend to have fun with. But dont trust it for commuting.

....more like a skateboard than like a sports car

[frankelr]

I have a net book, kindle and an Android tablet, so I have some experience with
All three. The main thing to understand is that a tablet is NOT a PC or MAC.
If you believe that a tablet is a small, light, portable PC you are sure to be disappointed..
If you read the disclosures given when you download an APP, the APP can grab anything.
Qayou have much greater security on a laptop. As for other uses, the tablet has many limitations for example the browser is only a mobil version

:coo

[mldavis2]

Originally Posted by FatDog

You need a good Laptop or a desktop for serious typing and computer use. If you dont have one of these - a tablet will not work. A tablet is like a sports car - something you bring out on the weekend to have fun with. But dont trust it for commuting.

OK. I'll admit it. I'm a Luddite. I have a huge desktop custom-built, overclocked monster driving 24" and 19" monitors, 8GB of fast RAM, a fast 1GB graphics card, a Wacom tablet, laser printer, external 1TB backup drive, a scanner and a host of flight simulator controls plugged into the USB and SATA ports. I need the CPU power for running my flight simulators and editing big 16-bit, 18MB files in Photoshop in 'real' time. I use a laptop with 4BG of RAM and a 15" screen to access the 'net while on the road, mainly to keep up with e-mail and forums (I dislike the flat keyboard on laptops). And I have a lovely, light Kindle 3 eReader. Each has its own irreplaceable function and there is almost nothing in common between them except the ability to transfer files transparently when needed.

Having said that, I just don't "get" the tablet craze. They are bigger and heavier than a dedicated eReader. Their CPUs are slower than a desktop or laptop. Their screens are much smaller than a laptop. They lack a 'functional' keyboard. Usually when something tries to be everything, it accomplishes nothing very well.

When I was at a Books-A-Million store yesterday, there was a big 300-lb. man sitting outside at a table working on a tablet. I got a coffee and sat down a couple of tables away to peruse my book selections. I became amused at this huge man, slump-shouldered, bent over this tiny little screen, constantly adjusting his head angle for his tri-focals, trying to use his huge, fat fingers to select text letters to send (I presume) e-mails. Reminded me of Charlie Brown at his piano playing Beethoven. Wish I'd had a recording of that for YouTube.

So for my uses, a tablet is too large for some things, and too small and restricted for others. I know some people seem to love them. Thanks but no thanks.

[DixieGal]

Honestly, you are comparing apples and oranges. A tablet is good, but sometimes you just need a laptop for certain things.

Happily, they are cheap enough to get both.

[NightBird]

Check out the Toshiba Thrive. It has some of the same features as the Asus Transformer but is cheaper. It just came out in July.

It is a 10.1 screen.
It has a full-size USB port, so you could attach a hard drive or your own keyboard.
Full-size SD expansion card slot.
User-replaceable battery for $80.00 at Toshiba and $70.00 at Amazon. Toshiba claims battery life of 11 hours but per the reviews there seems to be a wide range, from 6-1/2 to 14, so it's hard to say about that.
Has a file manager.
Has Wi-Fi.
Has Bluetooth.
Can print over a wireless network.
Uses Honeycomb 3.1.

It comes in 3 different sizes: 8 gb, 16 gb and 32 g.

The 8 gb is $396.06 at Amazon.
They just lowered the price of the 16 gb to $399.00
32 gb $489.99

Comes in black or white.

It also has 2 different docking stations available if you need more ports.

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Thrive...5163923&sr=1-2

http://us.toshiba.com/tablets/thrive/10-inch

I just ordered this, so I hope I made the right choice.

[DuaneAA]

I just got a Lenovo Thinkpad tablet a couple of days ago. It has a 10" screen and runs Android similar to the Transformer, Thrive, etc.

In my view, the Kindle App at is absolutely unusable on this device. I find text more than about 4" wide to be hard to read as my eyes have to scan back and forth too much rather than absorbing almost a whole line at a time. Even with my real Kindle I have the text width set to the middle option rather than the max width. With the Kindle App as currently available for Honeycomb tablets, you can't control the text width and you have no option for going to two column mode like you can with Kindle for PC app. If they would implement a two column mode, I think it would resolve most of my issues.

The thinkpad tablet came with the full version of 'documents to go' installed for dealing with Microsoft office documents. But this software leaves a lot to be desired. In working with Word documents you again are stuck with a display format that stretches the text from one edge of the screen to the other with no option for adding any white space along the left and right edges to make it more easy to read. In a pinch it is almost okay if you stick to a portrait orientation, but word documents in landscape orientation are very hard read as your eyes lose track of what line you are on when you move from one line to the next. Also, this software doesn't even include something as rudimentary as a spell-checker. It will also open and edit Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, but again with very obvious weaknesses like no freeze pane option to keep the first couple of rows with column headings on the screen while you scroll down in a longer spreadsheet.

So in my view a 10" tablet is both a poor ereader and a poor laptop replacement if you need to deal with many word documents or spreadsheets. It is very good for surfing the web, watching videos, and the thinkpad tablet with its pen input is very good for scribbling hand-written notes or sketching out some quick figures. Tablets have their uses, but I don't think they are quite ready to replace either my Kindle or my computer.

Duane

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Honestly, you are comparing apples and oranges. A tablet is good, but sometimes you just need a laptop for certain things.

Happily, they are cheap enough to get both.

that's very true.

this reminds me of the time we bought a 3-in-1 printer. it had the functions of scanning and photocopying aside from printing. sad to say, it failed us early in its life, and it was then that we decided to simply get good, single-function devices. of course, it didn't hurt that we could afford it, so now we have a good old-fashioned HP black-and-white printer, an HP colored printer, a scanner, and a photocopier at home. they're all very good and durable

[taosaur]

Tablets are basically giant smartphones--very useful, but few people would find them adequate as a sole or primary computer. They're primarily for viewing or consuming data, and much less robust when it comes to producing or manipulating data--a 'client' device, not a 'host.' Their OSes are built on phone OSes, and do not run desktop applications, and even those tablets that can host USB peripherals have limited compatibility (though most can use bluetooth peripherals).

Now, if you have another PC to serve as your primary workhorse and storage, a tablet may fill the gap where you would otherwise be using a laptop (and/or ereader, and/or audio player, and/or be confined to your phone). My Nook Color is considerably more convenient to carry and use than my old netbook or any laptop I've owned. I could use a bluetooth keyboard, mainly for forums and email/social networking, but even for that stuff a decent software keyboard (I use Thumb Keyboard 4) does the job. For ebooks, comics, and newsreading, it's great. I'm not terribly satisfied with any of the pdf apps I've used, but pdf is a gadoffal format on pretty much anything except an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper.

Basically, a tablet is only a replacement for a laptop if you didn't need a laptop in the first place.

[allinhi/]

Originally Posted by taosaur

Tablets are basically giant smartphones--very useful, but few people would find them adequate as a sole or primary computer. They're primarily for viewing or consuming data, and much less robust when it comes to producing or manipulating data--a 'client' device, not a 'host.' Their OSes are built on phone OSes, and do not run desktop applications, and even those tablets that can host USB peripherals have limited compatibility (though most can use bluetooth peripherals).

Now, if you have another PC to serve as your primary workhorse and storage, a tablet may fill the gap where you would otherwise be using a laptop (and/or ereader, and/or audio player, and/or be confined to your phone). My Nook Color is considerably more convenient to carry and use than my old netbook or any laptop I've owned. I could use a bluetooth keyboard, mainly for forums and email/social networking, but even for that stuff a decent software keyboard (I use Thumb Keyboard 4) does the job. For ebooks, comics, and newsreading, it's great. I'm not terribly satisfied with any of the pdf apps I've used, but pdf is a gadoffal format on pretty much anything except an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper.

Basically, a tablet is only a replacement for a laptop if you didn't need a laptop in the first place.

I have a large 17 inch laptop and a co nk fore this reason. This allows me to carry the laptop only when needed. It mainly functions as a well integrated desktop. The nk is a good e reader and meets my limited tablet, entertainment, email, web needs the rest of the time. I recomend previous quarter models being discounted online or in office max etc., unless you really need the latest.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by allinhi/

I have a large 17 inch laptop and a co nk fore this reason. This allows me to carry the laptop only when needed. It mainly functions as a well integrated desktop. The nk is a good e reader and meets my limited tablet, entertainment, email, web needs the rest of the time. I recomend previous quarter models being discounted online or in office max etc., unless you really need the latest.

Right. Getting a "desktop replacement" laptop is a personal preference. A "desktop replacement" tablet is, for the near future at least, pure fiction.