Help please - what exactly do tablets do?

[Kate355]

Hi All,

Sorry if this is a stupid question but ........

I know they've been around for a while but I've just started looking at the tablets and I'm not sure exactly what they do. Are they like a laptop that I can use word or skype? I understand you can download apps like on my phone and also watch films etc. Do you have to sign up to a phone company to connect or do you use it like a laptop and use wifi? Basically I'm not sure if I should buy a laptop or tablet. I'm grateful for any advice however basic.

Kate

 

[J515OP]

Hi Kate,

Basically a tablet is like a smart phone without the phone part, just bigger. Most are wifi only these days but you can get some with 3g or 4g connections, in which case you will have to sign up with a phone company if you want a data connection.

You can attached physical key boards to most tablets (either via bluetooth or usb) but primary input is a touch screen keyboard as on a smart phone. It is possible to use office applications such as word documents, slide shows and spreadsheets. It is also possible to skype.

The biggest difference is that if you need a laptop for productivity a tablet is not likely to replace it. First of all the tablet OS is limited compared to using a full OS like Windows on a laptop. You can also have far more memory on a laptop (hundreds of GBs compared to about 64GB max on a tablet). If this is a primary work device my suggestion would be to stick with the laptop.

If however, you are surfing the web, checking email, reading and watching netflix as your primary activities then a tablet will replace a laptop for these sorts of things. If you want convenience an portability for light tasks or entertainment then tablets are better than laptops.

This is a subjective question so there are no right answers. To make it even less clear you can buy tablet with keyboard docs which essentially turn them into net books blurring the lines of what is what. If it is for heavy computing use, needs to store lots of files, requires lots of typing then laptop. But if it is an entertainment device, a secondary device or light task device then a tablet may be the better option.

JP

 

[Kate355]

Hi JP,

Thank you very much for your brilliant reply. This was just the kind of info I was looking for. This would be for my hubby for Xmas and really all he uses the laptop for is email, games and the web. He does travel sometimes hence my question re skype. I really don't know what I'm looking for. Anything (not too expensive) that you would recommend?


Kate

 

[Spider]

This would be for my hubby for Xmas and really all he uses the laptop for is email, games and the web.

Hi Kate,
If that's the situation, a tablet should be fine for what he needs it for. I'd suggest you read the "Sticky:" posts in the Android Tablet Discussions area, which is where you are now. Then, look through the posts that are already there. That should give you a pretty good feel for what's out there and what people are doing with their tablets. If you have a question about something in an existing post, reply to that post. If something occurs to you that's not being discussed, create a new thread. So far, my friend JP has given you a lot of good information and others may still reply to this thread as well. Good luck in your search for that "Perfect Tablet".

 

[SpeMall.com]

Hi JP,

Thank you very much for your brilliant reply. This was just the kind of info I was looking for. This would be for my hubby for Xmas and really all he uses the laptop for is email, games and the web. He does travel sometimes hence my question re skype. I really don't know what I'm looking for. Anything (not too expensive) that you would recommend?


Kate

Hi, kate. maybe you can have a look at our: Android Tablet PC.
and for a tablet with skype, i would recommend the Zenithink C71 and Zenithink C91 for you.
Zenithink C71 is a 7" tablet PC, with android 2.3, Cortex-A9 processor, five-point capacitive touch screen, and it can support flash and skype video chat. It's now $150 with shipping in our site. A really worthwhile device.
and if you want to buy one with bigger screen, maybe 10", then, you can have a look at the Zenithink C91.
Hope you can find what you want, and enjoy your online tablet buying!