I mean I know $500 is hard to come by but I'm kicking myself for buying my laptop instead of a tablet. They really aren't expensive compared to your average laptop.

Desktop and tablet is by far the best combo and I can't wait until the new line of Transformers come out.

You're not going to get more than 64 extra gigs of relatively slow storage on an SD card (even where you can it's outrageously expensive). Not enough for me. I have to disagree on the keyboard as well. A friend of mine has an 11.6" sub-notebook with a far superior keyboard. No, you can't use an optical drive while you're moving much, but you sure can in cafes and hotel rooms (which is where I'm primarily using one). I totally agree with you on basic things, but there's no way I can do work on a tablet.

If by "most people" you mean your average home user then I'd agree. It's a deal-breaker for me because I need a stable platform that runs Windows "for real." There's a clear dividing line between home users and business users here...especially tech business users.

We'll have to agree to disagree, then. I'm not talking about video playback...I'm talking about "real" work. Sorry, the power just isn't there in current-generation tablets. The mobile versions of things like Photoshop are just that...mobile versions. Are you honestly saying that you could do large image manipulation on a tablet that would ordinarily require a decent processor and 4+GB of RAM to accomplish on a desktop/laptop?

You're complaining about the burden of all these peripherals (which weigh less than a laptop) and then go around carrying dvds with you everywhere?

Well, they should be out from businesses simply because you cannot integrate them into most security or authentication setups, especially not the most common one: Active Directory.


What I'm saying is that on an entry-level laptop, those power-user applications aren't going to function as well simply because they're slow. Running photoshop on a ~$400-500 laptop? Nu-uh, not for doing real photoshopping at least. Office suites run fine, browser runs fine, but as soon as you get into real multimedia editing on those things, it's no bueno. If it's just touchups, that's fine, but that's fine on tablets too. low-end laptops carry too much overhead from Windows and time only escalates the problem whereas tablets hold up better to time because the applications are self-contained. The SSD in tablets also makes a huuuuuuuuuge difference in performance, which you certainly cannot match in a laptop at the same price. Yes, laptops have more RAM, but that's because they need more RAM, and comparing x86 to ARM is like comparing apples to oranges and you're looking at it totally wrong if you're arguing because it's faster it's better.

They might weigh less, but you can't just close a lid and throw them in a bag. You have to deal with cables, potentially additional batteries, organization, etc. No, you wouldn't carry a bunch of DVDs with you (especially when you have a 500GB HDD at your disposal), but what do I do when I'm meeting someone at a hotel and they hand me a DVD with data that I need on it?

I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to here...

You'd be surprised, actually. This is where lots of cheap RAM can get you pretty far even on a low-end device.

This is pretty much irrelevant to me. Even a low-end laptop with a good amount of RAM can handle the way I need to work 1000% better than a tablet can. What tablet is going to allow me to run several instances of dev tools, browser window with 10 tabs open, and several corollary utilities simultaneously? You don't need a big processor for that...just plenty of RAM and an OS that's designed for those types of workflows. I've had to work on low-end laptops before, and it chugs a bit, but it works. A tablet can't even begin to meet my work needs for soooooo many reasons.

You're acting as though I haven't used a tablet before. I know what my minimum requirements are to do any actual work, and a tablet ain't it. Yes, it is "apples and oranges," because what I'm saying is that everything about a tablet is designed for home users doing light tasks without much multi-tasking, and even a low-end laptop is far better suited for work.

Even if tablets could do the things I need, and they can't for reasons that go way beyond processing power, why would I bother jumping through all those hoops? Why not just buy the low-end laptop and be done with it?

Once again work related...

Something along the lines of "since they fail the basic metrics needed for a work environment, quite obviously they fail in a work situation". It's quite obivous that'd be the case to me

Which is irrelevant for anyone not making a living with their computer. Once again, that's why I used the word "marginalize" in relation to what tablets do to laptops. I never plan on buying another laptop again because they don't serve a purpose for home use anymore. If I need one for work, then I'll get one from work. that simple.

Edit: actually, I'm pretty much already there. The only laptop I've ever bought I bought because I needed MS Access and refused to put it on my desktop. Laptops are more of a ball and chain than a liberator. Laptops just plain svck and I only use them out of necessity rather than any want, and those necessities are being heavily marginalized. As it is I don't bother with my laptop on mondays, just use my phone all day long at school because it has the battery to make it through my day.

I would get a tablet if I didn't already have a laptop, but since I already got a laptop I don't see the point in getting a tablet until my laptop bites the dust.

I do see that laptops will be a thing of the past in the next 5 to 10 years, and frankly I'm ok with that.

Um...I wasn't talking about your personal use. I was pointing out that there are reasons to use a laptop over a tablet, and that it would be a little while before tablets will overtake laptops for many uses beyond entertainment. I'm not arguing that laptops are better than tablets...just that there are plenty of reasons to prefer one (even a low-end one with pricing on-par with tablets) depending on what you're using it for.

I'm sorry...I'm not trying to be obtuse...I still don't know what you're referring to here, exactly. I mean, grammatically, I don't understand what you're talking about. Not your fault...I'm just lost as to what we're talking about here.

I've got a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and love it. The only complaint I have with it is that so many apps are made for mobile phones rather than the tablet.

I do not use one and do not understand the fad. I can see how they are more portable and help people with their ebooks but other than that I have multiple computers, including several laptops, and a smartphone so I do not need one. Plus for some of the stuff I do a tablet just cannot handle it or doesn't support it at all, and the lack of a decent keyboard is annoying. Sure they sell tablet specific keyboards but what is the point when I could just use a real laptop? At work my coworkers all use iPads and they are testing a Galaxy tab and some of them feel it is worth it but I just cannot justify the price and again it won't fit my needs at the current time.

I don't get the touchscreen keyboard hate, I can type faster on my iPad than my mechanical keyboard. They key is to type as quickly and as sloppily as possible, and not worry when you accidentally hit the wrong letter.

For everything your normal person does outside of their job, they make the cut is what I'm saying. A far better choice for a general computing device than a laptop in that respect. Hence it is marginalized.

I'm saying they lack the basic necessities of business computing like active directory integration, as they weren't designed for the work (as in job) environment, so obviously they will fail at tasks related to the work (as in job) environment

Because laptops have horrible battery life and are heavy, especially compared to a tablet.