Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Laptop or Tablet?

We have a desktop computer, and need a 2nd unit.

whats the current trend and why?

There seems to be multiple choices in laptops, notebooks, Surface books, etc etc......

principal use would be a secondary unit for some browsing, paying bills online, and so forth.

What are the primary differences in laptops and tablets?

Do you want a 'bigger smart phone' with apps or a computer?

If you want apps, get a tablet, if you want a computer get a laptop.

For pure point and click browsing, I like my iPad Air.

For something you have to enter data ( paying bill, ordering and enter payment , etc) then I use my laptop.

Look for $150-200 laptops during Black Friday that some be more than plenty for everyday browsing.

Saw an ad for a Dell I7 laptop the other day for $599, now's the time to get a good deal if your looking for one.

Phil

"bigger smart phone", sounds like we're heading in the wrong direction, Can't think of any apps that might be useful, unless I'm missing something here.......

I bought a Dell 11" touchscreen laptop and got the best of both worlds. Very thin and light and 1/6th the cost of Apple Air

Exactly, forget the tablet and get a laptop.

A tablet is like dicking around with your smart phone on a bigger screen.

I'd have to look up an 'ipad air' just to know what the hell it is.

Notebook or tablet? or are those the same?

My tablet experience is with the iPad, and it's not a cpmplete substitute for a real computer. Not even just considering internet access. There are some things you just need a computer for. Then again, there are many functions for which the tablet is preferred. So having one computer and one tablet makes sense.

Touchscreen? I really need to get out more often.....

When would you prefer a tablet?

Over an Iphone or playing Angry Birds on it while dropping a deuce.

I like the touch screen interface better than the mouse, for example. It has its limits vs the mouse and physical keyboard,, but once you get thumb typing down, it works pretty good.

At this moment, for example, I'm on the iPad, while my MacBook is sitting a few feet away. That's typical.

Laptop it is, now lets talk realistic prices I can expect to pay, and features I need,or don't need.

Size, and where to buy..

I like a 14" for portabilty. But I dont watch movies on mine.

buy from an out of state retailer.

Fry's, tigerdirect, newegg, etc to avoid sales tax.

Got tablets for the wife and i about a year ago. Havent touched mine in 6 months. The kids love them for games and youtube. I dunno i prefer my desktop to do everything. When i was gone a lot i had a laptop but havent touched that either in a long time.

Wife just mentioned she would like a tablet for Xmas, looks like tablets are back in the mix.

I can actually see her liking the touch screen features of a tablet, but the boys would benefit more from a laptop with regards to homework...

Chromebook..Part computer and part tablet..

I picked up a "refurbished" HP from wallyworld (on line)a couple months ago for $250...1 yr. factory warranty lots of bells & whistles for the price...I'm very happy.

ETA: Windows 7 with free upgrade to Win 10

I like an upright screen and a separate keyboard and mouse. If I'm not mistaken, most of the better tablets can be attached to a keyboard and used like a laptop.

I bought an el cheapo toshiba laptop some years back and it has done everything I ever wanted it to. Just saw it's equivalent this week in an ad for $100 less than I paid 6-7 years ago.
The 15.6" screen is a good blend of portability and user friendliness.

Apps can be quite useful. I have apps for all of the financial/investment firms that I have accounts with. Apps for making quick notes, for setting reminders for appointments, birthdays, bills, and etc...
I even have an app that when opened shows all the theatres in order of their proximity to my location, and lists movies and showtimes.

Likely my most used app is a simple timer/stopwatch feature. When I'm busy I use it to parse out blocks of time for activities. If I have yardwork to do but need to leave for a meeting in 25 minutes, it takes about 10 seconds to set the timer and go about the yard work. Timer goes off and i know it's time to leave for the meeting.

Most things I can do with an app can also be done on full internet sites, but the apps are simple, secure, and quick. I find myself sitting in front of the computer and pulling my fone out to check financial accounts due to their quick access. I also believe them to be more secure than most net connected computers that are used by other family members for gaming and facebook.