Laptop vs. Tablet: Which One Do I Need?
Despite the fact that the tablet market was virtually non-existent until just a few years ago, recent advances made by market leaders such as Sony and Apple have created something of a dilemma for consumers: should I stick with a laptop, or could a tablet be my only device?
The Laptop
Those who are more likely to need a laptop over a tablet device are users who require a significant amount of processing power and storage. Laptops still reign supreme when it comes to running a multitude of complex applications, as well as storing vast quantities of data – a feature that still remains just out of reach of the tablet market.
Laptops are also invaluable to business or personal users who rely on full versions of word processing suites such as Microsoft Office or Apple’s iWork as, whilst the tablet versions are functional, they often pale in comparison to their laptop counterparts. Overall, if high processing power, comprehensive software and storage are necessities, a laptop is the device for you.
The Tablet
Tablet technology, on the other hand, is making some headway, and now boasts a number of features that would have been unimaginable a mere five years ago. Video playback, gaming and even word processing are now possible on tablet devices thanks to the development of custom built apps, making a tablet a viable replacement for “lite” users of these types of software.
Their portability also makes them an excellent device for frequent commuters; indeed, advances in cloud storage have also gone some way towards eliminating the disparity between laptop and tablet storage capabilities – and with applications like DropBox, it’s possible to access an almost unlimited amount of data from a tablet device. Frequent travelers, lite users and those who don’t mind compromising could do worse than swapping their laptop for a tablet.
Compromise
The real question, however, is whether this debate should exist at all. Laptops and tablets are two separate devices, both with their own advantages and drawbacks, which complement each other greatly; heavy users can do the bulk of their work on their laptops, and use a tablet to transport and present the content, whilst cloud technology makes it easy to switch between devices at a moment’s notice. It seems that both – not either/or – is the real answer to this particular debate.
