Tablet V Laptop

[andy-hughes]

I am thinking about buying a tablet, mainly for portability on planes and so on.

What are the pluses and minuses of a tablet over a laptop please, I am bit ignorant on these things.

Can I watch films on a tablet, plug in a portable DVD player, send mails etc?

Any advice appreciated.

[Gromit]

Tablets are great for consuming content. Ie, listening to music, podcasts, watching streams, reading books, viewing your photos and surfing the web and email/messaging. For all those things they are as good if not better than a laptop.

For creating content, ie, writing, editing, image manipulation, then a desktop computer gives you more control and functionality.

A bit pointless plugging in a portable DVD, you should download a digital copy of the film or stream it (if your wifi is good enough).

Tablets are more portable, desktops are more functional. So for recreation a tablet is better, for work, a proper computer is better.

[barry1010]

Think about laptops that can function as a tablet, too, where the keyboard folds right over.
https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/2-in-1-laptops/1413987/best-2-in-1-laptop

[barry1010]

A tablet is a big smartphone that uses apps. You have a choice between Apple and Android.
If you decide on a tablet make the hard drive is big enough.
It is not worth paying the extra for a 4G/5G model as you can easily tether your smartphone via WiFi hotspot.

[Peter Pedant]

laptop anysay
bigger
but some say - bigger is better !

[barry1010]

PP, Samsung have a 18" tablet. If you want a lightweight, portable device for travelling then bigger isn't always better.
Tablets are usually used closer to the face than a desktop or laptop so size isn't such an issue; my 10" tablet is more than adequate and is better on planes than a laptop

[Old_Geezer]

One assumes you meant laptop rather than desktop, Grom ;-)

[Gromit]

IG
Yep. A laptop has a proper OS and are mainly used on desks funnily enough.
Tablets are used mostly handheld.

[Gromit]

OG, not IG.
Damn tablet on-screen keyboard :-)

[ToraToraTora]

as gromit says, tablets and laptops do the same things but if you do anything creative you want a laptop with a proper keyboard and probably a proper cordless mouse.

[Gromit]

Tora,
Mouse!? Everyone uses trackpads these days :-)

[ToraToraTora]

not me! Too slow, can't get on with them, I use a proper optical mouse with a USB dongle.

[Old_Geezer]

Used a trackball for decades. I only use a mouse reluctantly. Not so much with laptops though as I'm not keen on them, have little use for portability (save for surfing and other leisure activities).

[Khandro]

I recently bought this laptop,
Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

Great price a & smashing product, seems it's not available from Amazon at the moment (I may have bought the last one !) but you might find one or something like it elsewhere.

As TTT says, I bought with it a Logitech mouse & a small USB thing. One of the keys switches off & on the front scrolling pad (don't know what that's called) so I have a cordless mouse which is worthwhile.

My techie friend to whom I would normally turn, is laid up with a broken leg so I set about setting it up by the installed voice instructions & I amazed myself how easy it was.

I shall be travelling to the UK soon & have for the purpose, emails, Libre office & Goole maps etc. installed.

Highly recommend a small laptop Andy,

[Gromit]

AH
You are a writer so a laptop is better for writing. But if you want to mainly use your device for leisure, for consuming content rather than creating it, then a tablet is better.

[Gromit]

I bought the first generation iPad 12 years ago. At the time I had a desktop and a laptop.
I hardly ever use the laptop anymore, and have not bothered to update it. I am now on my third tablet.

[bigbanana]

Tablet storage size is largely unimportant nowadays with the possible exception of the need to install and run huge numbers of apps on the tablet's dedicated storage. Most apps won't run from a SD Card. With regard to the SD card, many tablets nowadays can take at least a 125GB SD storage cards and will take your data but you'll need to check before you buy. For large amounts of data, simply plug in a micro USB male host to usb female adaptor into the tablet and then plug in a flash drive (usb key) to the other end of the adaptor. Lots of adapters available on Ebay for a couple of quid. Just check the tablet has ONG ("on the go") available for seamless transfer. Nowadays you can buy a 250GB usb for around twenty quid which is probably ample for data and around 60+ 4k films. A lot of films would need multiple keys obviously just check the usable space left on the key every so often. The tablet will read the keys just like a laptop. You will be able to plug in a portable dvd player, send emails and watch films as data transfer works both ways with the adaptor.

[barry1010]

I use an excellent, compact Bluetooth keyboard with my tablet if I want to do a lot of typing. It doesn’t take up much space when I’m travelling.
I cast from my tablet to my tv if I am at home and want to watch content on a large screen with the family.
This means that my tablet is portable, easy to use in tight spaces such as bus and plane and is extremely versatile.
I have a desktop with a large monitor but since I bought my first tablet some years ago have had no reason to use a laptop.

You probably could connect an external dvd drive if you really wanted to but will need an OTG cable and you must be sure that the dvd drive runs on Android (it is impossible to do with an iPad as far as I know). I wouldn’t do it.

[bigbanana]

Barry, makes some good points. You need to look for a tablet that has Android as the operating system. A usb key connected to you tablet will be easily read on a Windows PC. You can cast to your TV etc via a Google Chromecast device from the tablet.

[bigbanana]

Sorry, when I said ONG, I meant a OTG cable ("On The Go") as Barry correctly said.

[Zacs-Master]

I don't think anyone has talked about weight and heat. A laptop is far heavier than a tablet (especially if you buy an iPad Air) and this, combined with their size should be a big factor in your consideration of their use on a plane. Laptops also generate far more heat.