Happier Abroad Forum Community

I need to buy a new computer for online teaching and I was just wondering what you guys recommend, iPad, Tablet or Laptop? Whats the price difference between them? Do they all come with built in cams? Thanks.

I think a laptop is overall more versatile and convenient than a tablet or iPad. I personally wouldn't waste my time with the latter two.

All_That_Is_Man wrote:I think a laptop is overall more versatile and convenient than a tablet or iPad. I personally wouldn't waste my time with the latter two.

Thanks, I was thinking the same thing.

Will you be carrying it around a lot or will it be stationary?

Anti-American wrote:Will you be carrying it around a lot or will it be stationary?

It will be stationary most of the time.

Why is a laptop better? Isn't it bigger than the other two?

What's the difference between a tablet and an iPad? Can someone elaborate?

Winston wrote:Why is a laptop better? Isn't it bigger than the other two?

What's the difference between a tablet and an iPad? Can someone elaborate?

Well the laptop has more storage space, far more powerful for tasks, you can connect devices to it especially a tablet to sync it in with your computer. Yes tablets have office programs and what not but still they are not as good as the normal computer wether they are mac or pc's. I honestly think tablets are still in early stages so it's not going to replace a laptop or normal computer any time soon. I myself have a nexus 7 tablet and I still feel that it doesn't replace my normal laptop in many things.

It depends on what you need it for. For business purposes, get a laptop with great battery life. For leisure, if you are only going to play mini games and read books, watch movies, and listen to music, pick a tablet or iPad.

I would go for a laptop. Tablets are mainly for leisure and consuming content. It's not really the hardware, since they're usually fairly powerful for daily use and you can always hook a keyboard and an external monitor... it's the software. iOS, Android and Microsoft RT are great, but they won't give you the flexibility of a desktop OS. If you use a laptop you can use any OS, any program, hook a second monitor, things like that. It's a more flexible ecosystem, and in my opinion worthy of the weight/energy consumption tradeoff. If you like the idea of the "tablet" you can try a convertible PC.

Of course it always depends on your personal situation. If you need horsepower, lots of hard drive space (500 gb or more) and the ability to run software like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and so on, most if not all tablets will fall short. But if all you do is skype with students, write documents, browse and perhaps watch a movie or two, then any piece of hardware that can support a Skype app and Firefox/Chrome (with extensions) will do.

If price isn't an object and you can wait a month or so, then you might be interested in the new Microsoft Surface Pro (not the Windows RT version). It runs Windows 8, impressive laptop-like specs, and it's both a tablet and a laptop.

Winston wrote:Why is a laptop better? Isn't it bigger than the other two?

What's the difference between a tablet and an iPad? Can someone elaborate?

Laptops have more power and are heavier, tablets are designed for 'on the go' , Steve Jobs invented it

iPad is tablet made by Apple, tablet is umbrella term for all devices that look like ipad(no physical keyboard)

ipad Mini looks interesting but its pricey like all apple products, nexus 7 seem to be bang for buck, i like tablets that can fit in one hand and pocket

Banano wrote:

Winston wrote:Why is a laptop better? Isn't it bigger than the other two?

What's the difference between a tablet and an iPad? Can someone elaborate?

Laptops have more power and are heavier, tablets are designed for 'on the go' , Steve Jobs invented it

iPad is tablet made by Apple, tablet is umbrella term for all devices that look like ipad(no physical keyboard)

ipad Mini looks interesting but its pricey like all apple products, nexus 7 seem to be bang for buck, i like tablets that can fit in one hand and pocket

As a Nexus 7 owner I can tell you you are right. The iPad mini has lower specs also than the nexus 7. Just the other day I read the comparison of both tablets and the iPad mini has the old processor of the iPad 2 also it's screen is lower resolution than the Nexus 7 tablet. For 80 bucks less the Nexus 7 has a better resolution screen, better processor and the price is just right for people looking for a good alternative. But I still stand by what I said before that a laptop is essential cause it can handle more than a tablet and far more powerful. Tablets are just in early stages so they aren't going to replace laptops or normal computers any time soon.

I agree with most people here that a laptop overall rules the roost and way more versatile, I use an iPad now for travelling though and to keep in touch, which does have skype cam etc built in.

If you have the money, I would seriously look at a Macbook rather than a laptop, I am sure to get shot down but I converted from PC to Mac 3 years ago, never had a virus and runs like a dream and whatsmore if I sold it tomorrow I would get half what I paid rather than nothing what I paid!

The laptop is the best for me personally because of the full-on keyboard, the use/option of a mouse, a disc drive, wide screen, less lag/delay than mobile devices, quick web browsing, etc. It's just overall the only option for me since I use programs like Illustrator, Photoshop, office software, web browsing, and all that other stuff. They've got some pretty good deals on laptops now, but I recommend you skip the ones that don't have built-in disc drives. You never know when and how often you're going to need those things.

mini laptop is best ...... its easy to carry & easy to use . high storage capacity .

Laptop is the best because it is the high storage capacity and easily you can carry but the most important differences from Laptop, Tablet, and iPad it's not every work you can work on Tablet and iPad but in laptop, you can do any work easily and any software you can download also easily in Tablet and iPad you can't download every software and also can't run but in laptop you can do. My suggest Laptop is the best more then Tablet and iPad.