Conundrum - Netbook or Tablet?

[AdamAnubis]

Right, so here's my position:

I want some form of portable internet device (I travel a reasonable amount, visit people via train) for keeping in touch with people on the move and while in the house so I'm less attached to the PC (e.g can chat to people on steam while watching TV).

I've looked into netbooks, and found some decent ones that would do the job, but I'm unsure whether it's worth waiting for tablets to be released to either: a) get one of them (thought the price makes me a bit :/) or b) let the price drop on netbooks once tablets are released (though how long with this take? Will it even happen?)

My final option is just get a netbook now as they're better for my needs than a tablet and cheaper, but will they fall in price much in the next few months?

Any thoughts/guidance?

[kalniel]

Also consider iPod Touch, or even, shock horror, an iPad.

I went through a similar problem a while back and got an iPod touch, and fairly amazingly it does exactly what I wanted. Nothing more, but you gain very good portability as a result.

Not sure about steam chat, but there's plenty of other chat things.

[matty-hodgson]

I can honestly say, if you can afford it, you wouldn't regret getting an iPad. I absolutely love mine and use it literally every single day.

[Flibb]

Have you looked at older tablet PCs? I recently shifted from a netbook to an old HP tablet, shoved some more memory in it, faster (larger) HD, and it now runs win7 happily. This one cost me £150ish and has a detachable keyboard and docking station. Batterys are cheap so picked up a spare. Only negative with this one is that it uses a pen for input, some tabelts out there are finger friendly. Depends if you like fiddling or want an off the shelf solution, main forums are
http://www.tabletpcreview.com/
http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/

[AdamAnubis]

Yeah, I did think of it but steam's a fairly major requirement as I use it fairly heavily :/ Plus I dislike apple

[matty-hodgson]

There might even be a Steam Chat app tbh.. There's an app for everything else!

Even if you do dislike Apple, you have to admit their products are pretty extraordinary, I've recently converted tbh, didn't really like them this time last year, but now I have a Macbook Pro, an iPad and an iPhone 4.

[AdamAnubis]

Flibb, how much did it cost in total? Just that I can probably pick up a netbook for around £200 and would rather go for that as it's newer and less hassle

And true, the iPads do look nice but lack of multi tasking, flash and just general dislike of the design makes me not want one I do like the look of the iPhone 4 though, but not enogh to get one (mainly due to pricing)

[matty-hodgson]

I do like the look of the iPhone 4 though, but not enogh to get one (mainly due to pricing)

£30 a month on 3 gets you 500 minutes, 5000 texts, 5000 3 to 3 minutes and 1GB of internet, and then £99 for the phone. Best deal around that, at the minute.

[Flibb]

Flibb, how much did it cost in total? Just that I can probably pick up a netbook for around £200 and would rather go for that as it's newer and less hassle

And true, the iPads do look nice but lack of multi tasking, flash and just general dislike of the design makes me not want one I do like the look of the iPhone 4 though, but not enogh to get one (mainly due to pricing)

Difficult question, I have two, one purchased to get the odds and sodds to upgrade the keeper. Have seen some upgraded ones going for between £150-200 depending on the exact model, accesories, and extras. Standards seem to go for £100-150, again depending on exact spec. The TC1100 seem to be popular because they are the only ones with a detachable keyboard. If your interested in tablets then uset he forums linked in my previous post for info, they can be tricky to upgrade, but I think well worth the effort.

[Pob255]

How about both in one
FizzBook spin
http://www.pcwb.co.uk/catalogue/item/ZOONET01
Asus eeepc T101MT
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductID=1209219

Both the fizzbook and eeepc T91 also come in 9" touch screen tablet versions

Also
Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t

[scaryjim]

If you're seriously considering tablets have a quick look at the Archos 9 - not because I suggest you get it (although IMNSHO it's a nice take on a 9" tablet and the price isn't ridiculous), but because it will give you an idea of the kind of devices that are likely to be coming out soon.

Like Flibb, I've recently acquired a HP TC1100 and today was my first day using it "in the wild" - I had a couple of meetings in London so I took it down to use as an electronic notepad. Not a word of a lie, I made more notes in today's meetings than I can ever remember making in similar meetings I had prior to getting the TC1100, just because it's so much more flexible and easier to take and modify notes with than anything I've used before. It was certainly a lot more convenient than a note- or netbook. My experience with the TC1100 has persuaded me that, when my current phone contract is up, I'll be investing in a newer tablet to use as a mobile internet device.

The advantage you'll get from going for a Windows-based tablet over anything else is the compatibility with software. I reckon that a fair few Steam games will probably run OK on a tablet (Torchlight, for instance, would probably be great fun!) and obviously anything you can on your PC you will also be able to do on your tablet. That's not to say that an Android or iOS device isn't worth looking at, mind you: but a Windows one might be a lower risk choice.

Obviously, the key to good decision making is good research - work out what you really want from the device, then find out which one can deliver that experience.

[Pob255]

Or howabout a 2nd hand HP Pavilion TX1200 series with the AMD Turion dual core and nvidia 6150
they where lovel and went as low as £500ish at one point