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Are there members that use only a tablet

whs37

whs37

Android Enthusiast
On another forum we recently had a discussion about the future of the PC in light of the fast growth of the tablet market. The question was whether there are people that rely solely on their tablet for their needs and can do without a PC.

I would be interested to know whether any members here work with that scenario.
 
whs37 said:
On another forum we recently had a discussion about the future of the PC in light of the fast growth of the tablet market. The question was whether there are people that rely solely on their tablet for their needs and can do without a PC.

I would be interested to know whether any members here work with that scenario.
Click to expand...

I still use my laptop a lot but I could probably do without it at home but for work I need a laptop or desktop a tablet wouldn't do.
 
I have a laptop and 7" & 10" tablets. I need the laptop for extensive photo editing using Adobe Lightroom and like the laptop screen size and response when I spend a lot of time on the 'net.
 
I use my Nexus 7 for almost everything I used to use my laptop for except my graphic / web design stuff and PC gaming. Web browsing reading, emails, messaging, shopping on Amazon, etc., I can all do on my Nexus 7.

Sometimes I fire up the laptop to update my portfolio, resume, and do the occasional Google doc.
 
If you want to research stuff, or do any kind of web browsing where you need to open and switch between a lot of tabs, you just can't beat a PC with a big monitor. A proper PC is also way better for ergonomics - if I spend an hour hunched over a tablet I'm likely to get neck or shoulder ache.

That said, I've had 10" tablet for ages and never really used it that much but after getting the N7 last week I can't put it down. It's such a lovely size and weight for viewing content while lounging around. The 10" tablet was just slightly too large & heavy.
 
I have a laptop that's used as my desktop with dual monitor setup, a touchscreen high spec'd laptop, a Galaxy Nexus, and a Nexus 7.

And I use each one equally :-)
 
For the moment I use a small PC laptop running Linux Mint. Mainly because of a real physical keyboard, and I often need to do office productivity type work(usually making and editing PPTs). An Ethernet jack is a must for me as well, because there's no WiFi at the school(work). Same in many hotel bedrooms here, Ethernet only, no WiFi.

I do see a lot of people with tablets these days, usually low cost devices though, generally used for browsing, IM and entertainment purposes. Where previously they would have been in the smoky and dingy internet bars for getting on-line.
 
Short of running virtual machines, long term typing, terminal use and other tasks not well suited for tablets due to lack of CPU power and keyboard, my Nexus 7 pretty much replaced my normal school laptop for entertainment use and browsing the web.

It won't ever replace my desktop(s) since I need the large screen and storage, and additional CPU and GPU power.

I will probably go without a laptop this summer, since my N7 can really do most of the things my laptop can do. Might replace a hard drive in an old Core 2 Duo laptop I have kicking around though and use that as a laptop. Or I might just buy a Bluetooth keyboard.
 
I love the tab, but it will never fully replace my laptop. There's stuff that's just so much easier to do using a bigger screen, mouse and keyboard.

Short term, it's fine as my only Internet capable device, but I could never see it being a full time replacement.
 
At home, I got rid of my netbook after getting my tablet. I mainly use it for surfing, email, entertainment, etc. It fits my needs fairly well, but I do have a desktop that I use for the large screen and heavy duty computer stuff also.
 
If it wasn't for photo and video editing I could definitely get away with just owning a tablet, but if that was the case I would prefer the Nexus 10 for its bigger screen. I used to be able to type with both hands pretty well on my Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1.
 
Since I already have a PC at home and work, I use them just for the bigger screen and speed. Photo editing is the main "must"; other use is just for less eye strain.

I dropped my bargain $25 unlimited phone plan with VM, since I decided I didn't need a phone anymore. I still keep my Optimus-V in the car since it can still dial 911 if it's ever needed.

I have a T-Mobile Hotspot device that I also keep in the car, gets great 4G and only costs me $17.50 per month for 3.5gb data (which I use less than 1gb of). That way my N7 is always connected. Used for email, browsing, nav, games, weather, voip calling...
 
The only things I use my netbook for anymore are logging into Army sites (requires a smart card most of the time) and -occasionally- entering scores for the sports leagues I work.
 
Need my 17 inch screen.

When a 17 inch (or larger) Android Tab (or laptop) comes along, I'll have my tent parked in front of the Verizon store the night before opening day. :D
 
Thanks very much for all your inputs. That is very interesting. I guess it comes down to the type of work. For information consumption, the tablet can do. But when you want to do serious work yourself, the PC is better.

I thought so too. But we have a heated discussion at another forum (Windows 8) where some guys insist that you can do away with the PC and do everything with the tablet. That is not so in my book. I do a lot of video encoding and editing, PowerPoint presentations and Tutorial creations (often with video captures from the screen). I fail to see how that could be done on my N7 - maybe on a Surface Pro. But then I still prefer my 22" screen on the desktop.
 
If I had only Windows 8 (ugh!) I'd probably use the Nexus 7 instead...

As it is I don't have Windows 8 (and probably never will) but I do tend to use my dual boot PC (Windows 7 for Lightroom, Xubuntu 12.10 for everything else) as my first choice for general use if it happens to be already turned on.

The Nexus 7 is my portable device of choice and gets a lot of use, including when I can't be bothered to boot the PC; I could live without it but it would hurt if I had to.
 
I fit into this category. I was always a windows PC guy. I grew up with windows PC's, and became an advanced user.

When I started using smart phones, that was my first experience with Android. When I bought a first gen 10" tablet running honeycomb, I saw how Google's services were synced across devices, and I really liked that. It was great having my schedule synced across devices automatically.

So when my PC motherboard died a few months ago, I didn't replace it. Now its just my HTC Evo V, and my Nexus 7 as my only computing devices. It's worked out OK, I'm able to most of the things I could do on my PC with my Android devices. I do miss the maturity and reliability of Windows on PC, though. The general clunkiness and "adolescence" of Android can be rather frustrating at times. If it weren't for Google's smart integration of their services, I would have run away a long time ago.



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
 
No, to me, too many important software are still Windows dependant, I can't replace them with apps on a tablet. Simple browsing can be done easily on it, but I can't do without a PC.
 
I don't think now we can replace the laptop or the PC with the tablet.I have a ASUS tablet and I just used it for reading books, visiting some websites and playing games. For work and other complex things, I still think laptops and computers are more convenient.
 
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