Tablet or laptop?

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There’s a lot of ink gushing about tablets with keyboards – neither a laptop nor a tablet, but both at the same time. Surface Pro 4, iPad Pro, Google
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Well now, let’s see…..

I have a tablet, mostly as an e-reader (yes, Woody’s latest book is on it!), a portable photo album, and a simple e-mail checker.

I have a large-size laptop which is used mostly for watching video discs and as an emergency backup computer if all else fails.

I have a desktop computer which is used for serious work, internet shopping, sending important e-mails, appointment reminder, calendar, and (blushes) some games.

Each does a task or two better than either of the others, but I would not want to try to combine them into a single “lapatabdesk”. Based on my experience “cumbersome” is the most polite term I can think to describe such a hybrid.

This comment was typed on the desktop. That should tell you something!

And a “funny”: The very first instruction in the owner’s manual for the laptop says, “Do not use this computer in your lap!”

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The Yoga 2 won this space over a year ago. It’s either that we’re supporting the Surface because clients are buying it for its name, or they’re buying the Yoga 2 Pro or Yoga 3 Pro to get the best of every world.

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Great anither pay to read article.

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Eh? It isn’t pay to read. You have to give up your email address… Many of my big roundups and reviews at InfoWorld require email addresses. None of my articles, anywhere, require payment any more, since I left Windows Secrets Newsletter.

It makes me feel better, but my bankbook suffers.

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I only use my tablet for travel and meetings (and perhaps streaming to a TV around my new apartment).

For those uses a cheap 2-in-1 like the ASUS Transformer Book works just fine. (This is a Microsoft Signature Edition, updated this year — but mine is from two years ago.)

At under $450.00 for the tablet (with a docking USB keyboard), I used the savings to make sure my bank account could survive upgrading from DSL and landline to AT&T UVerse Phone and Internet (with some TV services thrown in there as part of the bundle). I’m not on the fastest Internet around, but with just one person and no online gaming, this is just fine for me. The price is nothing to brag about, but the service is solid and reliable.

Not the most comfortable keyboard to type on, but these mid-sized, cheap tablets are a good solution for light computing and note taking needs when traveling or at meetings where a full-sized laptop would get in the way.

One day soon, I plan to replace my workhorse Toshiba Satellite laptop with an Intel NUC and a wireless keyboard and mouse. This will be the most powerful PC I have ever owned, and it has WiDi to use with any capable HDTV or dongle plus TV or monitor.

If folks have followed my comments here, you know that I also like to run Linux. The NUC PCs can do that.

Technically, the NUC setup is portable, but it does not run on battery.

With the NUC and the tablet (or an upgraded 2-in-1) I should be good to go for a few years to come. And at less overall cost than one business-class laptop or convertible laptop.

It’s like the difference between the ultrabooks and netbooks of a few years ago. Some power users may need the more expensive gear, but for the rest of us, the bargain gear works just fine.

Heck, for all I care, folks could go really cheap and use Chromebooks for travel, as long as there’s WiFi around. Not my choice, but a perfectly reasonable, cheap solution.

Just make sure you’re running Windows 10 Pro on all devices which use Windows, and things should be just fine.

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That’s as much for our protection as men, as it is for the laptop’s protection! (:wink:)

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Giving up an email address is paying with privacy. I know you’re not so concerned about that but I am. I could just use an alternate address… but I’m too irked everytime I’m asked to think of it.

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I’ll second the Asus Transformer for travel. Perfect size. Good price. Except for the flaky touch pad. I strictly use the desktop side of Windows 8.1and find it annoying. I’ve tried all the fixes I could find online and well, they don’t fix the problem.

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Fair enough.

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The touchpad driver issue was present in early editions of the Transformer Book t100ta.

A firmware update before the Windows 10 upgrade helped a lot with that issue, but some folks had the hardware (the dock) replaced free of charge.

Mine and its more recent replacement (the USB port got damaged) are working just fine with the current BIOS, SOC firmware versions, and Windows 10 Pro, Version 1511.

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