Tablets vs. Laptops.

What an interesting topic! I myself have used both in many occasions and in the end, feel that the laptop has more to offer than the tablet. Oops! Did I just spoil my entire essay’s message? Haha, this would be the shortest essay I had to write about this week.

But since I need to fill up a certain word quota, then I might as well explain further.

There are four important variables I would like to bring up when choosing tablet or a laptop.

First is the quality of the device. As someone who appreciates a reliable and functional device, quality is important to me and I’m sure a lot of you out there also want a quality device that doesn’t die on you after a few short months. I mean, think about it. Would you buy a device from an unknown source for a hundred bucks and less than a year later, it stops working? Would you spend money on that? No siree. That’s just a waste of money and impractical. A true penny pincher would understand the value of good quality goods.

There are a lot of companies out there pumping laptops and tablets like there’s not enough of it. Every year, new versions come out, making the previous model slightly less valuable and obsolete which leads me to my next variable: Cost.

Everyone has a budget. This is where the tablet shines. Tablets are a lot cheaper compared to laptops because they’re basically large-sized smart phones. Everything a smartphone has, a tablet has too. Well with the exception of the call feature. It would look silly if you pressed your cheek against the full surface of tablet to answer a call. Imagine the looks you’d get.

Laptops can be cheap too but it comes with a sacrifice which leads me to my third variable: Performance. Ever heard the phrase; you get what you pay for? Well, the phrase would fit right in with the Cost variable but both performance and cost are tied together. If you spot a laptop at a low price, you have got to wonder what’s the catch right? Well, there are three reasons why the laptop comes at a low cost. It’s either the laptop model is a few years outdated and the store wants to get it of its remaining stock, or its a second hand laptop someone wants to get rid of because they’re upgrading to a newer and better one or, if the laptop is built with bottom rung components.

One example I would like to bring to your attention would be China made laptops and tablets. This is probably old news but I’ve noticed its becoming a trend for China to basically copy everything and resell them at a much cheaper price. Albeit their quality might be a bit dodgy, China-based companies have been competing at a global level at a frightening pace when it comes to gadgets and technology. They are even found in Amazon. Don’t believe me? Go check it out.

What China has got for them is their cheap price but then again, it a hit or miss with performance. Most often their products looks great on the surface. Even their official websites where they show case their products, you can’t help but think how impressive it sounds, but just a word of caution for those easily impressed buyers; if its too good to be true, it often is. Of course, I’m not saying its a scam although be on the look out for those too. I’m saying take what you see and hear with a grain of salt.

Most often they are cheap because they are equipped with low CPU and RAM. CPU is considered the brain of the gadget and RAM is how much it can read and process programs and applications. So if you see a gadget that’s advertising 8GB worth of RAM, that’s usually a good amount of RAM for the average user but then you check the CPU and oh, what’s this? It only has 1.6Ghz minimum with a maximum of 2.2Ghz. Lol. You can’t smoothly use photoshop with these kind of specs or even play Sims 4 without severely slow performance. Unless you use it for basic web surfing, document related office work, watching movies, or browse through social media, its not going to do much more than that.

But all that depends on how you use you gadget. Some prefer to use it for light stuff like web surfing, watching movies or checking their email. Others use their gadgets for everything, from video editing, programming and playing online games, whereas some are a bit of mixed light and heavy activities.

Finally, the last variable: Brand. Branding is important. It is basically a stamp of quality approval you get when you buy their products. A quality check, if you prefer, that separates their product from the rest of similar looking merchandise. Naturally, branded goods cost more but it has undergone several quality checks which means you do get what you’re paying for. Goods brands usually last a long time and brands that have been around for years are usually a testament of their quality.

Now, here again I want to point out that brands from China-based companies have reached on a global market. Some have earned an infamous reputation of delivering good gadgets at a wonderfully low price tag and personally, I think its awesome for long time electronic companies like Apple or LG, to have some competition. When looking to purchase a gadget, always consider the brand.

A responsible consumer should always do their research before buying something. That means reading good and bad user reviews, investigating user satisfaction, looking up videos and articles regarding the device, and most importantly, check the quality of their after sales service. A brand with an excellent after sales service is regarded as a solid impression for the consumer to keep coming back for new products.

So there we have it. Four variables when considering what to buy in a gadget. I guess it didn’t really answer the question of whether you should buy a laptop or a tablet, did it?

Well, that’s easy. Tablets are great for entertainment purposes and as I’ve mentioned before, they’re just smart phones, only bigger. You can do a lot light activities with a tablet. But what you can’t do in a tablet is play heavy online games or games that require a high CPU and RAM power, like Witcher 3 or GTA 5. You can’t use programs like python or java in a tablet nor can you use Adobe illustrator to its full capacity. However, I think there might be substitute apps you can find in google playstore that you can install instead. Overall, tablets are great for light to mid-level users.

Laptops would fall in the capacity of mid to heavy level users, depending on the specifications of the laptop but they also come with a hefty price tag, reaching as high as a thousand dollars.

And when you decide to either buy a tablet or a laptop, this is where the four variables come into play. There are lots of options out there. Each has their own strengths and weakness and its up to you to find that sweet spot that fits just right for you.

I guess that’s it.

Have a great day!