Laptops were the go-to portable device for people before the tablet came along. While the tablet offers great portability along with a wide range of functions, from easy-to-use apps and user-friendly interfaces, the laptop offers these and an even wider range of functions as well. The debate between which portable device is better goes on to this day. However, the real question to be answered is how one will use the device.
Both devices are great, sensible choices for a portable computer, but one trumps the other depending on how you intend to use the device. Once you decide which functionalities you value in your day-to-day use, then it becomes easier to choose. Here is a quick rundown on the pros and cons of each device to help you choose better.
Portability in Size
The tablet obviously trumps the laptop when it comes to better portability and difference in size and weight. Most tablets are the size of a paper pad, or roughly around seven to thirteen inches, and weigh only up to 1.5 pounds. Laptops, on the other hand, can have twelve- to twenty-one-inch screen monitors and can weigh up to a whopping 18 pounds. With this difference, the tablet’s smaller, more compact size makes it much more portable and better for travel compared to the laptop.
Performance
A tablet performs just like any mobile device, especially since tablets use low-power processors to maintain its small size. The laptop, however, has more powerful processors that can help it do more tasks than a tablet can. Both the laptop and tablet can do tasks like email, web browsing, and playing video and audio since these don’t require a lot of power. However, if you would like to do more performance-intensive tasks, then the laptop is your go-to device since it is made to multitask and is able to dish out the power required. Because laptops are more powerful, they are also more capable when it comes to gaming. Laptops can also be upgraded, although it can get expensive.
Productivity and Interface
The tablet can do just as much when it comes to productivity. However, because of its touch-input interface and lack of keyboard and mouse, the tablet lacks the ability to do more with performance-driven tasks such as writing. Some tablets do offer Bluetooth connectivity to allow Bluetooth keyboards to connect, but connecting a mouse is less convenient than it is with an average laptop.
This makes a laptop a much better choice for business people because of how much easier it is for them to confidently use any program or task, as well as the better connectivity laptops, have overall for other peripherals. A laptop is more of a fully self-contained system, with the power to perform more heavy-duty tasks like designing, gaming, developing, and even 3-D rendering. Backing up data is much easier on a laptop as well. While there are many cloud-based storage systems that a tablet can use, overall, the laptop far outweighs the tablet for serious task performance.
Connectivity
Both tablets and laptops have an easy time to connect to the internet, and both have the means for Bluetooth connectivity as well. The laptop does have more connections available to it that can even be expanded with the use of docking station hubs and other connecting peripherals that a desktop can use as well.
Pricing and Costs
Tablets have tiers when it comes to the costs since they are considered to be more like mobile devices. Budget models can be purchased at $100 or below and can do great at doing the most basic of tasks. There are professional tablets that are geared toward specific professionals, and these can get to at least $800 or more. Budget laptops, however, start at a pricier standpoint and are pretty great already for working professionals that don’t do heavy processing tasks.
Verdict
Both the tablet and laptop can be used on their own or together because of their different pros and cons. Tablets are great for more casual users while laptops are a better choice for professionals. Think of tablets as a secondary device caught in between a smartphone and laptop, in which it can do what it is meant to do better than either device. Whatever the choice, both devices are great portable devices available today.