QOTW: Is a big tablet a viable alternative to a laptop?

[CalumH93]

I have a tablet I bought thinking I'd use more for the basic stuff like emails and web browsing - however find myself going for the Laptop all the time as the tablet just doesnt cut it.

[spolsh]

I don't think it's at the replace stage yet, but it's getting closer. But, if they get much bigger they'll be the size of a laptop anyway. Maybe tablets are morphing into laptops ?

[tonyd223]

depends - my Notepro 12.2 and a bluetooth keyboard do what I need...

[enemys]

It really depends on one's needs - I've used 14' inch ultrabook for almost two years now and it's really handy thanks to it portability AND the ability to be used as a desktop (dual monitors + keyboard + mouse - I'm using it this way right now). But since I'm buying a desktop this month, I might be able to replace my notebook AND my tablet with a Surface Pro - it won't do desktop's job so good, but I won't need that anymore, and for light work on the go it would be more than suitable.

[Lucio]

A tablet is a better form factor for interactive work, looking at or manipulating visual objects, or limited data entry (barcode scanned sales, limited choice questionaires or most forms).

A laptop is there for heavy data work, word processing and the like.

For most members of the public, a tablet is all they'll ever need but in a work environment you want a laptop or a desktop PC

[mojothejester]

If money were no object, and I wanted a portable device, I'd like to have a gaming powerhouse of a laptop with the keyboard half able to fold completely flat behind the 17" 1440p touchscreen

[Mauley]

Big tablet, yes but silly, viable alternative to a laptop.........hell no. A high spec laptop costs about the same as the base model and has better hardware. It also isn't restricted to the Apple ecosystem. My surface Pro runs all of the same software that my desktop does. iOS can not do that.

[sirtrouserpress]

Well, from my experience, yes and no, about two years back I asked the forums here what would be a good yet affordable large tablet for use with keyboard as a laptop and there was a somewhat overwhelming response for the sony tablet z, which I have found an excellent alternative to a laptop, I have been using it for note taking ect in lectures and it has been mostly excellent. However, this is where the praise ends. I found, living in Aberystwyth where my only way of getting to friends and family is a five hour plus train journey through rural Wales with no mobile data connection, I miss the ability to play physical media and the better battery life of a laptop (when fully upgraded that is) such as an old thinkpad with batteries coming out of every port. And it is for that reason that there is a place in my heart for both a good old laptop like my old T60 running Linux Arch alongside a newfangled Android tablet.

[mikerr]

Surface Pro 3 for me ...really has replaced my ipad + laptop.

[Plasmastorm]

Ive had to repair a couple of Surface Pro tablets for customers recently. I must say I was impressed with them (core i5 versions) and if they had keyboards that were a bit more solid like a laptop then I would certainly use one.

That being said I currently use a dell xps laptop (macbook clone) with 8gb ram, core i5 , GT640m 2gb and a 256gb SSD.
It would take a a very good offer to make me change.

I do have a standard tablet, an original Nexus 7 which I have modified to fit the dash in my car where it is used as a juke box via the head unit.

[crossy]

Personally I think big tablets (larger than 10") are pretty pointless unless you've got a very specific need. I also find that tablet keyboard have unnatural feel and are unusable for anything more than hunt 'n' peck typing. You've also got the expandability - or lack there of - although I've got to say that Microsoft seem to have tried to address that idea as have some Android tablet makers. Apple and Samsung are pretty woeful.

Other issue I've got is that these "tablet max" devices also pretty much need to have a table to rest on if you want to use them in "desktop replacement" mode. The only one that doesn't force that was the Asus Transformers where the keyboard dock (with proper ultrabook keyboard please note) also had enough weight to be usable in your lap.

Whole selling point for tablets is that they're light and eminently portable - but those large screens seem to need heavy batteries, and the necessary bulk hits the "portability" too.

No, for me I'd be looking at one of the many excellent 2-in-1 devices. So that's laptops with either detachable screens or keyboards that fold back so you can use the laptop as a "large tablet". To me that give the best of all worlds, albeit at the price of some extra bulk and weight. You can also spec i7 in those form factors which - lets be honest - will wipe the floor with most tablets.

[Spreadie]

I suspect we'll see a marked rise in the Asus Transformer type tablets powered by Baytrail quads, with the keyboard dock adding additional connectivity and battery power. That will likely be the crossover point.

That being said, my tablets are purely for sofa-surfing and portability. Any serious work will be carried out on a laptop or desktop.

[pp05]

Most budget laptops have poor screens.
Most tablets at the same price point have very sharp screens.

[nichomach]

One of my directors has already shifted to a SFP3 from a laptop and is very happy, so I'd say the answer is a qualified "Yes, but that tablet ain't going to be running iOS crippleware...."

Nick

[snowsurfer]

Well I have a 4 year old iPad 3 (Retina/64Gb/3G) and I must admit that back when my phone couldn't hold a candle to it in performance and had a 4" screen, and my laptop weighed 2.5Kg, it was a very welcome addition to my gadget collection. I am still using it, but my phone is an octa-core 5.7" item with 64/3Gigs, and my laptop is a 14" mobile workstation on an m.2 PCI-E SSD and 16 gigs of RAM that weighs 1.5kg. I am seeing less and less need for that tablet, and I am pretty sure that I will not be replacing when mine dies, especially not with another premium price model. I think the iPad pro will not be a success, and that only Apple drones will buy it.

[jginnane]

We use two Nexus 5s, two Nexus 7s (2nd gen), and one Nexus 9.

There is no functional difference between the N7 and N9. The larger N9 screen is a tradeoff for worse battery life and more weight compared to the N7.

If you're using a tablet exclusively for Netflix and don't have a larger screen, or a way to hook up to a larger screen (like Chromecast), then it's possible that a large tablet might fit your needs. However, the input interface will always suffer. (Our homebuilt desktops use mechanical keyboards.)