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N7 as a viable alternative to laptop?

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davo26

Android Enthusiast
My laptop looks like its died, and wondered rather than buying another, if I could realistically get by with an N7 instead. At the moment I'm trying my wife's to see what I miss.

Main thing is keyboard, so I wondered if anyone actually uses it stood up in a case for instance and has a Bluetooth keyboard maybe linked up to it. Is this a viable option? I certainly prefer the smaller size of the N7, far more portable for me, so if it doesn't work out with this is be looking at net or notebooks, but I'm told they're a bit rubbish compared.

I just like the idea of laying on the settee sometimes having a 'swipe' but then again using more like a laptop should I need to with a keyboard.

I'm interested to see if any of you use it like this please.

Thanks a lot

Edit: just thought about using mouse too, so as well as normal keyboards, can you buy keyboards with track pads like on a laptop too?
 
You can buy an otg cable and plug in a USB him then you can here any USB keyboard and mouse. Works out of the box and no rooting required :)
 
Excellent thanks chaps. Would bluetooth typing be instant on the screen or would there be a lag?

I know what you're saying about replacing a laptop, but for me I'm a light user really. Bit of internet surfing, messenger, email, that's more or less it. The odd letter or spreadsheet but only light editing, and hardly ever really.

I think I could make this work for me :-)

Thanks
 
davo26 said:
Excellent thanks chaps. Would bluetooth typing be instant on the screen or would there be a lag?

I know what you're saying about replacing a laptop, but for me I'm a light user really. Bit of internet surfing, messenger, email, that's more or less it. The odd letter or spreadsheet but only light editing, and hardly ever really.

I think I could make this work for me :-)

Thanks
Click to expand...

I had a bluetooth case/keyboard and there was a tiny bit of lag, I also have fairly big hands to I found typing to be a pain. In saying that, the keyboard was a cheapo so it may just be that particular model.

It would be fine for light editing of spreadsheets, but nothing fancy.

There are certain things I'd need/want a laptop for, but if you're a light user and only really use it for surfing, IM etc, I don't see how the N7 couldn't be an adequate replacement :)
 
Like the others are pretty much saying, it depends what your needs are.

Can it replace your work laptop? No. Not close.

It can replace your laptop if you just use it as a web portal and a media device, with the occasional game here and there to pass time. And if that's the case, you'll find there's so much more that your tablet can do that your laptop couldn't, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.
 
That pretty much does sum up how I use it. I spose at the moment I run Logitech server too but I intend getting a nas to run that eventually.

I'm sure you haven't got time to explain all the pluses of having a tablet, and what it can do that a laptop can't, but you fancy a brief overview to whet my apettite? :-)

Thanks
 
davo26 said:
Excellent thanks chaps. Would bluetooth typing be instant on the screen or would there be a lag?

I know what you're saying about replacing a laptop, but for me I'm a light user really. Bit of internet surfing, messenger, email, that's more or less it. The odd letter or spreadsheet but only light editing, and hardly ever really.

I think I could make this work for me :-)

Thanks
Click to expand...
I have the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 Student Edition, which came with the keyboard dock and USB adapter. These extras are what convinced me to get it, and I gave my Acer netbook to one of my grandson. The netbook small screen just wasn't cutting it for these old eyes, but with the tablet, I can hold it closer to my face and if I need the keyboard I can connect it to type something. I only do light surfing, browsing, watch videos or movies using it.

I'm sure you can use the N7 for the same purpose without issues compared to a laptop.
 
I don't use the home pc anymore now I have my nexus but I mainly surf the web, email the odd document and pdf.
Flash is the only thing missing now and then
 
littlejohno said:
I don't use the home pc anymore now I have my nexus but I mainly surf the web, email the odd document and pdf.
Flash is the only thing missing now and then
Click to expand...

You can sideload Flash if you want it and use a different browser like Boat which supports it.
 
davo26 said:
That pretty much does sum up how I use it. I spose at the moment I run Logitech server too but I intend getting a nas to run that eventually.

I'm sure you haven't got time to explain all the pluses of having a tablet, and what it can do that a laptop can't, but you fancy a brief overview to whet my apettite? :-)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Here's a few of the things I do on my N7.

Browse all of my personal email; Gmail and my Yahoo through POP. I also link to our Exchange to receive work email out in the field, but primarily use Outlook on my laptop for that.

Google Now is great. I make sure to enter addresses or real locations on my calendar entries when possible, and Google Now will tell me when to leave, considering traffic and bus/train schedules if I select public transit.

I've been using Smartphones before the iPhone was even a concept, and one of my favorite features of the original Windows Mobile phones was the built-in note taking app that would allow you to freehand notes. Stuff like this isn't native in Android, but thankfully I found a great app called Handrite Pro that lets me freehand notes on the fly and keep them organized in notebooks and using different pen colors. It doesn't operate quite like Windows Mobile did, however, and has a bit of a learning curve, but makes good use of my stylus that I keep clipped to my case.

The built-in webcam is decent, and I use my tab often for Skype to my family, especially my mother who's right now out of country. I don't do much online instant messaging (I'd rather text) but I've been a long time lover of Trillian, and the Android version lets me chat on any of my favorite chat protocols if I ever need it.

But speaking of texts, I purchased the 32G WiFi version knowing it would be an easy tether to my Android phone. But having 4G away from WiFi wasn't enough. I don't like to juggle my devices when I'm out. If I'm playing with my tab and my phone rings, I don't like to have to pull it out, answer it, and carry it with my tab. It looks dorky and my hands get full. :) So a great app called TabletTalk links my phone's other features to the tab, bringing my sms/mms messages right on my tab in an interface that runs as if it's native. It also controls the call logs, and incoming/outgoing calls. So at this point, my phone is almost just a hotspot, as I can check, dial, and make, and answer calls from the tab without ever touching the phone as long as I have my Bluetooth headset linked to the phone ready. If I don't have/don't use the headset, the tablet turns on the speakerphone instead.

Accessing utilities like calculators, alarm clocks or timers, translators, unit converters, etc, is much faster on the tablet. Not to mention the host of specialized apps that can utilize the devices internal sensors to provide tools you may not have realized. Like the bubble level app that I use to hang shelves and pictures. Or this nifty utility suite app called Smart Tools I found that has such tools as angle finders, vibration meters, a magnetic compass, sound level measurements, etc.

Using the NFC radio, I have a few card scanning apps that can read info from various NFC cards, like Clippers and credit cards. And since my primary payment card is linked to Google for app/media purchases, I can use Google Wallet at retailers which support NFC (like CVS off the top of my head) to quickly pay without pulling out my wallet, which I sometimes forget (but never leave my tablet!).

For the occasional work I do on it, I have Quickoffice Pro, PocketCloud RDP/VNC viewer, OneNote, and Adobe reader, to name a few things, to handle whatever I might need if pulling out the laptop isn't practical. With PocketCloud, I can log in to my company terminal server and do whatever I need on the fly.

IDK, I really could go on for a while about how great a small tablet is to have around. It's just something you have to experience for yourself.

BTW, works great with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I use my Logitech MX1000 mouse with it often, and even pull out my fullsize Logitech BT keyboard if I'm Skyping on the side while working on my laptop.
 
I hooked up an Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse and Apple Trackpad to the Nexus 7 a while ago to see if I could use it for work. I was able to get into the Office via AnyConnect but the resolution on the Nexus 7 wasn't good enough to do a lot of character-cell terminal stuff. I think that the screen is too small for that.

So I think that it depends on what you do. My desktops at home and at the office are setup up with 4-5 monitors - my home setup is 2 x 1920x1080, 1 x 1920x1200 and 1 2550x1440 and my office is 1920x1200, 1680x1050, 1600x1200, 1920x1080, 1280x1024. My laptop is 1920x1200 and I'm pretty used to that and would need high-resolution to work. Interestingly, that's the resolution on the next generation Nexus 7.
 
You could try using voice dictate by clicking the microphone icon,,,then the keyboard don't matter.

I think it learns as you use it more too
 
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