Tablet VS. Laptop – Which One Should You Get?

Are you torned between a flashy tablet and a luxurious laptop? Today, this question puzzles a lot of consumers because they are having a hard time in picking their desired gadget. In this post, I will cite a few points to help you decide on what do you really want or need among the two.First, let us have a small trackback of the basics for a better understanding.

What is a Tablet?

In simple words, we can define it as– a touchscreen device with a new and innovated operating system and is equipped with some PC features. It includes the ability to play, create, and store multimedia files and run various applications. Additionally, it can connect to the internet thru Wi-Fi and 3G (or a 3G USB dongle) to keep updated in the online world.

What is a Laptop?

Well, do I even have to say something about this? Just kidding. A laptop is a portable version of a PC. And yes, it carries almost all (if not all) goodness its big brother have, but it is way smaller in terms of size. The laptop usually have lower specs than a PC but some laptops are more advanced. It also have a built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth receiver.

Comparison of Features:

Screen Display

When it comes to high quality display, the tablets tops the race. With the release of the Retina display from the new iPad, it surpasses the Super AMOLED feat from other top tablets. This kind of display is capable of producing clear and vibrant colors.

While the tablets and smartphones have HD display, laptops were not left behind because it also has crisp and outstanding display which delivers a great user experience for your eyes.

In a tablet, the only let down is the small screen size (it depends on every tablet though) but it make sense because it was really designed to be portable anyway. Laptops usually have larger displays but there is also a tiny version in the form of netbook.

MS Office

There are a few MS Office app for tablets although I’m not quite sure if Microsoft has made the real thing available. Despite being substitute apps, it offers a lot of functionalities that is similar to that of from the PC. My only concern is about the difficulty in typing fast because it is a little harder but it can be combined with a physical keyboard to make up with that.

In terms of Laptop usage, this will rank within the top 3. Well, I must say that using the genuine MS Office is still better a idea because it’s comfortable to use and I assume that almost everybody is quite familiar with it regardless if it’s MS Office 2003, 2007 and even 2010. Additionally, you can use all the features of it. There is also no problem in typing here against a tablet.

Web Browsing

Surfing the web using a tablet is much easier because you can just glide your fingers into the screen to switch to a new web page or post a tweet. It is very comfortable if you like you’re getting tired in holding the mouse while trying to point it to its right destination.

Even though some prefer the new wave, there were still some who enjoy the simplicity of PC desktop browsing. Plus, by using a laptop, you can fully enjoy a certain website unlike in a tablet wherein it is somehow limited. In short, you can have the ultimate browsing experience in a laptop without a sweat.

Both devices support Wi-Fi. They can also use 3G through a USB dongle broadband. Moreover, some recent tablets now has SIM card for built-in 3G or even 4G.

Gaming

If you’re already an android or iOS user, I bet you already know how many games you can possibly smash into a tablet. With the use of their respective app stores, there are plenty of enjoyable and fun-filled games to choose from. However, it is enjoyable only if you’re fond of the touchscreen technology.

The laptop, being a smaller PC, means that it will be able to play almost all games that is available in a PC whether it’s offline or online. Also, it has vast amount of files scattered around the net so looking for you’re favorite is not that difficult. But we should note that I used the words and almost. Why? Being small indicates that its hardware is limited thus, making some games that use high resources incompatible. Some upgrades are available to make it playable but if you’re really a hard core gamer, I suggest you get a powerful PC for that.

Battery Life

The battery life of a tablet and a laptop were neither very long but this was acceptable taking in to consideration how compact they were in their packaging . Given today’s standards, the charge of a device was quickly depleted by their advance features and power hungry hardwares. However, the duration of a battery heavily depends on how a user use it so there is not so much to argue here.

Conclusion

These comparisons were only partial because I only tackled a few points and the statements above may vary depending on what device will be used. I recommend you to conduct a research in the two products you are eyeing to buy about their functionalities and performance then compare them yourself. If there is anything I forgot to mention or you would like to add something, I will appreciate it if you can share them in the comments section.

Choosing, when presented with a lot of options, is surely a daunting task to many. It is really very hard but when you already realized what you really need, it is not a problem anymore.

Now, let me ask you. A tablet or a laptop — which one will/did you get?