Tablet/Slate or Laptop?

This question has often been asked, and as always, the answer depends on your individual needs. Can you give us a bit more info???

Well the question was more about what you would choose but ok.
I only really browse the web, fb, twitter, skype, don’t need it for school or work and generally like to watch movies online. I wanted to hear your experiences, because I’ve only owned a laptop.

Depends on what you intend to use it for.

Tablets SUCK for any sort of business applications (spreadsheets, extensive writing, etc.) but they are good for music and movies.

Over the last few years I’ve purchased tablets made by Samsung, Google and Apple, and have always wound up returning them. I thought I would like being able to stream movies and TV shows on them but I’d rather do that on my 24” iMac monitor or, more often, on my big-screen TV. I’m not a games-player, so those tablet apps never interested me. I check my email and do a little browsing when necessary on my iPhone. And as for reading, I own a Kindle Paperwhite which is really the best e-reader I’ve ever used… so really, a tablet/slate just never made any sense for me.

But that’s just me…

Thank you for your answers!
It’s a bit of a gamble getting a tablet, but something’s just drawing me in. Maybe it’s the excitement of new technology.
Seems like nothing can beat a good laptop.

I would choose a laptop. I like a big screen when I want to browse the internet, play games, watch moves, etc.

Tablets are good for light use. Keep it on the coffee table so you can pull up IMDB while you’re watching TV. Bring it into the bedroom for nighttime reading. Bring it into the kitchen to pull up a recipe for acorn squash.

But for anything resembling work or play that requires typing or detailed mouse-work, I need a lappy. Typing with one finger or two thumbs is just not fun for me.

I have a tablet and a laptop. I use the tablet far more often than the laptop – especially for the activities you describe. But if I had to choose between one or the other, I’d go with the laptop for full functionality. If you’re not opposed to Windows 8, you could check out the Surface… It’s an interesting hardware concept, but the software has not been very well-received.

I use my tablet more than my laptop as well. If I need a QWERTY keyboard, or just more processing/graphical power than my tablet has, it’s usually something best done on my desktop rig anyways. Spreadsheets are easier on a 31” screen than a 13” one, and games run better with a GTX465 than with Intel Media Accelerator HD.

I have a windows 8 laptop. While it’s a bit clunky on a traditional computer, it’s still a nice interface, and I can tell it would be great on a touch surface.

Maybe I am weird for liking it. It works for me, and I’m learning now the parental controls that come standard are awesome.

I have been looking at the new Surface RT, It looks interesting, but the reviews aren’t exactly glowing, like you said.

I prefer laptops, because performance wise laptop is better than a tablet. But if you’re looking for a lightweight device that fits in your bag and allows you to read or watch video on the go, then a tablet would be the best option.

@Seek_Kolinahr Win8 was designed for phones and tablets, not PCs. Some things just don’t scale well.

@confuzzlement The RT is the bargain basement, crippled sibling of the Surface family. If you’re not willing to spring for it’s big brother, choose another brand.

@Smitha For performance, I have yet to see a laptop outperform a desktop rig that cost half as much. But everyone seems to think they NEED a laptop, even if it’s a 17” monstrosity that is too heavy to carry, and never leaves one particular spot on one particular table :/

I have every device you can imagine, but my tablet is perhaps the most useful one for me. I have completely eliminated notebooks and pens when it comes to schoolwork: I do everything on my Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. I can draw chemical structures and work out physics problems right on the screen with the stylus. Then, I sync all my work to my phone, so I can study when I don’t have my tablet with me. It has completely changed the way I study and do homework.

Do you not find the typing situation tedious?

@jerv What is it’s “Big brother”? because the RT was the only one I was shown in the store.

@Seek_Kolinahr I bought a bluetooth keyboard for the rare occasions when I need to do extended typing. Fundamentally, it’s no different than having a laptop.

I’m sort of ashamed to say I haven’t figured out the whole bluetooth thing.

Well, the RT is last-gen and now deprecated anyways, but it’s “big brother” was the Surface (no RT after it).

It’s successor is the Surface 2, which shares it’s use of a phone/tablet-grade CPU and the neutered, restricted, and borderline useless Windows RT OS. I saw “borderline useless” as it cannot run Windows apps, or get any software in any way other than from the Microsoft Market. It’s as closed a platform as iOS is, but without the variety of apps that iTunes offers.

The Surface Pro 2 is about 1/8” thicker, about twice the cost, and is a full-on computer. It runs the full-blown Win8 (and thus can load and run any program that a laptop/desktop can) on a CPU that is ~40% more powerful than what I have in my three-year-old desktop.

The Surface Pro 2 is actually a fairly decent rig, but I cannot justify the cost. They run $900–1800 depending on how much storage you get, and since I wouldn’t dream of running a Windows rig with <256GB, I’d be looking at the $1300 model.

@Seek_Kolinahr If you can figure out wifi, Blue Tooth is simple. The hardest part is remembering to make your devices visible for that first pairing.

@jerv The Surface pro 2 is far too expensive for me, it’s outrageous. Sorry if I’m being a bit slow, technology isn’t one of my strong points. But you’re saying the Surface 2 is just as useless as the RT?
Thanks for all of your help by the way.

“Useless” is relative. I tend to do odd things like use my tablet to remotely control my desktop rig while I’m out on the porch having a smoke, use my smartphone to map wifi hotspots with a “wardriving” app,and other things that most people wouldn’t ever want/need to do.

I do have a thing against closed platforms though, and that is my main beef with WinRT and iOS; they lock you into one software repository under the complete control of the company that also sold you the hardware. Regular Windows and Android don’t have that sort of restriction, and that means more available software.

How useful an RT would be for you depends on what you plan to do with it, but for what I need, RT won’t cut it.

I just saw that Sony has a couple convertible devices that can be used as a laptop or a tablet.