Can a tablet replace a laptop?
Boom! Another question in the inbox! This one comes from Daniel:
could you purchase a tablet today that could adequately replace your laptop? (a possibility question, not a suggestion
Great question Daniel. The short answer is “yes” and the long answer is “no.” Let me explain.
I bought a 2.5 years ago that has a quad processor. At the time, very few laptops had a processor with that much power and I needed a quad processor to handle high-definition video editing for the new HD video camera I bought.
Can a tablet replace that laptop and do HD video editing? No.
But I don’t need to do serious editing more than once or twice a year. 95% of my time on the computer is spent on the internet. I have some Excel spreadsheets that I use for keeping up with a few things and on rare occasions I’ll use Microsoft Word. But most basic functions in Excel can easily be handled in Google Drive (formerly known as Google Docs).
So for my next computer, I plan to get a tablet. I want one I can hook a keyboard up to. I’m also reluctant to downsize to a smaller screen (I have a 17-inch laptop screen compared with tablets’ 10- and 7-inch screens) since we watch all TV and movies on our computer, but I imagine I’ll still have the laptop available for that.
Laptops aren’t going anywhere and they’ve gotten slimmer (I think 7-pound laptops like the one I have are a thing of the past, though I suppose today’s higher-end laptops are still relatively bulky). But I’d like to avoid buying another one anytime soon.
Have a question? Ask me anything!
I think my ideal setup would be a good tablet with a compact keyboard for when I’m on the go, and a decent desktop for more involved work in my office. For me a laptop is a compromise between those two desires — i.e. I want portability, but I also need something that can do more (and in an easier way) that a tablet can, plus I’ve only had the budget for one computer.