Comments on: Tablet vs Notebook: The Consumer Decision

By: Charlie Sweeney

Charlie Sweeney — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:10:00 +0000

I was surfing for input on making my decision for a Netbook vs tablet. I thank you all for your valuable input. I am getting a Netbook. If I should win the lottery….then I could splurge for a tablet.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:23:00 +0000

David, I am also a Realtor in Florida and perhaps have the same computing needs as you do. I presently have a Laptop HP win 7, 17″ screen, I use an external full keybrd and mouse. I do not use anything in the field and would like to for Full MLS capability (KURIO solution for phones/tablets) may be weak in this area. I have email on my phone (windows, motoQ), thought about upgrading my phone but I don’t beleve this accomplishes my real need (MLS access) Looked into tablets only to realize these products like the phone doesn’t support “real internet” hence “KURIO)
My questions are: which one of these products will benefit me the most keeping in mind” what will I use it for” and Is there a way of consolidating services/products and connectivity expenses (phone,home laptop(s)/wireless network) notebook or tablet. What to do, what to get, what services can be combined/trashed? Tom

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:23:00 +0000

By: Diyi75

Diyi75 — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 03:59:00 +0000

I 100% agree, 10inch Netbooks are perfect! A 10 inch tablet takes up the same amount of real estate of a clam shell netbook without the storage capacity

By: Kittymac

Kittymac — Sun, 29 May 2011 04:13:00 +0000

I am thinking of buying a tablet, mostly for travelling. We need a GPS and would like to check our emails, do hotel bookings online, get info on the places we are visiting and uplpoad, photos etc

What do you recommend I buy. I am 64, know quite a lot about my computer, software, that is. Not technical at all.

I will buy prepaid data in the countries I visit.

Thanks for your help

Kitty

By: Ginger

Ginger — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:25:00 +0000

David, is there a reason you would need such a large hard drive? I assumed that if I buy the new Motion CL900 tablet coming out in April that I would not need a large hard drive as I would likely store documents in the cloud. I too am a real estate agent and I am looking to go paperless. I want something that is quick and easy to carry around. I considered the tm2 but heard there were some hardware problems. Is that not true? I am most curious as to why you ran out of space with the 80g hard drive on the LE1700. The CL900 only has 30 (or 64) gig and I figured it was plenty. Am I missing something. I too use Adobe Creative Suite but I figured I would mainly use it on my desktop computer. Any words of wisdom or advice?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:05:00 +0000

Unless the tablet runs a full desktop OS or you have constant remote access to one that’s always on through a VNC type of program, then I can’t see a tablet replacing a true notebook anytime soon. Personally, I would suggest that if you feel the need for a quiet, lightweight internet and media consumption device that has a much bigger screen than your phone but is not as large as your TV, then a tablet would be a great supplementary device given current technology.

For a tablet to become a true desktop or even notebook replacement for people who really need to get top quality work done, it needs to have true top quality work applications on it and non-Windows tablets do not currently fit that description. Current tablet hardware is incapable of running full-blown, CPU and memory intensive, serious work apps.

Now… if you are a writer or journalist who may only need to manipulate text and read media of various types, or a business person who only needs to view or do some basic manipulation of documents, then a tablet may be all that you need in order to get some work done if you are willing to deal with some inconvenient limitations–such as the types and functionality of apps and peripheral input (or lack thereof) available on a given tablet platform. If you are a consumer that only wants or needs an Internet experience device with access to some basic productivity apps, then you may want a tablet for the long battery life and light weight–again, with some limitations that you may or may not want to live with.

Today’s tablets are limited devices. That may change in the near future. I would want one of each–a laptop and a tablet–but maybe that’s just me… :-)

By: Manufactured Homes

Manufactured Homes — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:33:00 +0000

I find myself coming to your blog more and more often to the point where my visits are almost daily now!

By: Manufactured Homes

Manufactured Homes — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:33:00 +0000

I find myself coming to your blog more and more often to the point where my visits are almost daily now!

By: Ben Bajarin

Ben Bajarin — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:23:00 +0000

To your last point, i’ve wrestled with this a bit because i’m not convinced we have seen all the interesting form factors for tablets or even tablet / notebook hybrids. Something like the Lenovo U1 concept design where the screen detached to become a slate then re-attached to become a notebook is very interesting and could be a valid form factor.

Either way it seems stand alone computing devices whether its a phone, notebook, desktop tablet, etc will most likely all become more of a solution than a island of a product. Meaning computing is becoming more holistic where a combination of devices gives you all the possible solutions you need or want to get a job done.

I also completely agree with the luxury point. Most of the world lives on $2 bucks a day and we have 5 computers in our house?

By: Ben Bajarin

Ben Bajarin — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:23:00 +0000

I also completely agree with the luxury point. Most of the world lives on $2 bucks a day and we have 5 computers in our house?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 01:49:00 +0000

Ben loves tablets. I’ve seen the shirt.

Perhaps you should ask people whether they are looking for an ereader? I just wonder out loud how many people are interested in the ebook reader aspect of tablets. I mean you could get a Kindle, a netbook and still have money left over for another Kindle. It’s just that nuts, almost.

Tablet vs. Notebook is completely asinine. I would suggest 75% of the people coming into a store and asking that question have been brainwashed by the tablet coverage. I could be wrong but people think that a $300 Eee PC isn’t better than a touchscreen tablet? Consider the fact what comparable tablet can you get for that cost? Add the keyboard for the tablet and then the price difference?

People will decide with their pocketbooks. A primary computer/laptop that is 12 inches or less? I would strongly suggest that if you pay $500 for a secondary computer/laptop/tablet your are either a complete nerd, a nerd with money or just plain rich. If people are looking for a secondary device, the price is everything. Tablets need to get a whole lot cheaper because netbooks are cheap and guess what? They are getting faster and better.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:19:00 +0000

-if you already have notebook and doing serious work on it (i.e. video/image editing, design programmes, programming!)->take another notebook
-if you have a 2 or less year old (sometimes maybe more) notebook and doing mail/internet/social->keep that notebook and wait to see what the market will offer on the time to come.
-if you realy have to update your current notebook and doing mail/internet/social-> take a tablet on the low end (ie wifi-only)
-if you want a new portable device and you don’t have a notebook-> then it depends on what you want it to be, generaly you can’t go wrong either way, but i would suggest to wait a bit for the market to mature and take a tablet.
-if you want a gadget-> take a tablet

note: if you don’t have a computer at all, android is better since doesn’t need one to be activated or your own pc to tranfer files.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:19:00 +0000

note: if you don’t have a computer at all, android is better since doesn’t need one to be activated or your own pc to tranfer files.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:19:00 +0000

note: if you don’t have a computer at all, android is better since doesn’t need one to be activated or your own pc to tranfer files.

By: Jeroham Ortiz

Jeroham Ortiz — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:10:00 +0000

I differ, they are not a fad. It was just bad implemented in the past. Mostly, the prices were too high, no touch support at first (only stylus) and the OS wasn’t optimized for tablet use (Windows XP Tablet and 7 is still NOT ideal for tablet use)

I have been a firm believer of tablets and convertibles as the successor to the laptop ever since I’ve seen the first tablet (had a Gateway Tablet and now I have an awesome HP EliteBook 2740p). It is a natural and logical evolution. That’s where Apple comes in with a touch optimized OS to change the game. I have an iPad and I think it’s a wonderful platform with lots of potential.

In the end I personally like Palm/HP’s webOS better and hardware keyboards. I think that Sony’s UX form factor was spot on, hopefully there will be more like it.

By: David

David — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:04:00 +0000

I have used an LE1700 tablet by Motion Computing for 5 years. I love it! It uses a stylus or plug-in keyboard or a virtual keyboard. It is a full powered PC. I am running Adobe Creative Suite and MS Office. The one thing that has caused me to move from it to an HP TouchSmart tm2 is the harddrive on the LE1700 eventually became too small at 80 Gigs. The HP has 500 Gigs and a Quad Core Processor. I am a Realtor in SoCal and carry it with me most of the time. Clients sign their docs on it. I take notes on it and so much more.

By: geolemon

geolemon — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:53:00 +0000

Great article.

I love this quote:
“In some cases I have actually recommended the combination of an all-in-one desktop and a tablet over a notebook.”

If you think about it, it really sums up that there really are two practical choices for most people:
1) A desktop as a main powerful device, and a tablet for portability and browsing/recreational use.
2) A laptop when portable fully-featured powerful device is required.

Not that there aren’t cases where you wouldn’t own a laptop and want a tablet, but it’s more of a luxury item at that point. It’s really a luxury item at any point, we haven’t gotten to the point where a fully-powerful tablet device exists – and may never, simply due to a lack of keyboard.

By: geolemon

geolemon — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:53:00 +0000

Great article.

I love this quote:
“In some cases I have actually recommended the combination of an all-in-one desktop and a tablet over a notebook.”

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:23:00 +0000

Tablets are a fad. They will still be around in a few years, but once the novelty and cool factor wear down, people will remember what a pain in the butt it is to type on touchscreen keyboards. Why do you think no one buys the stupid membrane style keyboards anymore?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:22:00 +0000

I see netbooks ALL THE TIME… I love mine and they are hardly dead in the water. My netbook gets over 10 hours of battery, has a 160 GB HDD, is significantly more powerful than any tablet and can do much more…. sales aren’t on a huge upswing because the market has stabilized… you can only sell so many. IMO the 10″ tablet is simply too large and heavy… you might as well use a netbook or SFF notebook for that size

That being said, I also have a rooted Nook Color which I feel is the PERFECT size for a tablet….. easy to hold for long periods in one hand… pocketable in some clothes….

I think both technologies have their place… and I find 7″ to be a great sweetspot for the tablet

By: xguntherc

xguntherc — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:56:00 +0000

Die notebooks, die.

Great story ben, I enjoyed it and I can relate as I recommended Apple to my non tech brother that struggles with everything, but Android for others and my friends. I feel the Notebook and Laptop are still here to stay for now, but the netbook is dead in the water with the ipad and Xoom tablet type devices taking over portability.