Tablets and netbooks

[nyskatefan]

I thought I would check with all the knowledgeable folks here, especially because being able to view skating competitions is a must!

I am most definitely NOT a techie, lol. My laptop is on it's last leg and I want to replace it with either a tablet or netbook. Am I correct that ipads do not support Adobe Flash, so viewing skating comps would be impossible?
If that indeed is true, I do see there are some other brand tablets like Samsung and Toshiba which might have that capability. Am I correct?

I do not use my computer for work. I basically use it for email, shopping, paying bills, twitter & Facebook, and of course videos and live streaming of events. Would that all be possible with a tablet, or would it be wiser to go with a netbook type device?

Thank you!

[Twilight1]

I have an Acer Iconia and love it.

[Buzz]

I have an iPad and I love it. and yeah iPad don't support flash but I do have YouTube and CBC for skating.

[myhoneyhoney]

I have the Acer Iconia Tab A200 and it does everything you've listed.

[MacMadame]

Am I correct that ipads do not support Adobe Flash, so viewing skating comps would be impossible?
If that indeed is true, I do see there are some other brand tablets like Samsung and Toshiba which might have that capability. Am I correct?

Yes and no. The iPad definitely doesn't have Flash. But I've never had an issue with watching an internet feed of a live sporting event because none of the ones I watched used Flash. In fact, I don't think a live feed could use Flash as it's not that kind of format. Videos are sometimes embedded into Flash files and uploaded to the web and you can't watch those with the iPad (or not without installing something that I've never installed anyway) but the live feed technology is different.

Mostly what not having Flash does is make certain websites very hard, sometimes impossible, to deal with. For example, I can't play Mafia Wars on my iPad. This annoyed me greatly at the time because that was one of the reasons I bought the iPad. These days I don't play Mafia Wars so I often forget that it's an issue. In fact, more and more websites are abandoning Flash and it's less and less of an issue for me.

But it definitely still is one.

I know people love their tablets, but my experience is that they would not replace a computer for me. I do use my iPad to sit on my couch and play solitaire or write stuff but I find it lacking in a lot of ways and I'm planning to get a laptop instead. I find I really want a larger screen and programs written assuming there is a keyboard. I bought a bluetooth keyboard for my tablet and that helped but not enough because a lot of the programs don't recognize it.

I didn't look into other tablets because I wanted something that would fit seamlessly with what I already have and also I bought the iPad on a whim with no research. Oops.

The good part is that the iPad does talk to a lot of what I already have and in a way that is seamless. For example, my iPad has a word processing program and it uploads whatever you write in it to iCloud without me having to do anything. Also, a lot of my data automatically moves around between my desktop, iPad and iPhone without me having to do anything either.

Maybe other tablets work better for what I wanted a tablet for than the iPad, but I don't know that for sure given the lack of research. All I know is I thought the iPad would replace a laptop but I'm constantly saying "I need a laptop" anyway.

[nyskatefan]

Thank you for the info! I am going to see what the best deals are this week leading up to Black Friday. The tablets are certainly enticing, but like you MacMadame, I'm still thinking I may need a laptop instead. I am still undecided.
I appreciate your taking the time to help me out here!

[shutterbug]

I have a laptop, netbook and tablet. If I had to go with just one of the three, it would be the laptop. The tablet stays in my purse most of the time, and is mainly used as an e-reader or for surfing occasionally when I'm waiting for an appointment, etc. I have watched skating livestreamed on it at while at the office, but almost never use it at home. The netbook is mainly for travel. I think you'll find that the prices for a top end net book aren't that much better than a reasonably decent laptop which will have a larger screen and a faster CPU.

Hope this helps!

[Twilight1]

A tablet is definitely not the thing to go with if you have to do a lot of typing. Typing on a screen can be around pain in the butt.

I use my tablet for everything including coming on FSU. I loved my little netbook when I was putting together my PowerPoint presentation for our annual big workshop/ convention.

[TAHbKA]

If you type fast and used to the standard keyboard typing on a netbook or a tablet would be close to impossible and quite frustrating. Unless it's a 14' or more netbook, but then you might as well go for the laptop. Just imho


ETA: and then I read Twilight1's reply

[Simone411]

I just recently purchased a new laptop because my other one is nearly 7 years old. When they start getting that old, anything can happen to them including the hard drive dying. I chose to get another laptop because I work with videos and graphics. It has intel turbo boost which makes it extremely fast. I just feel you can do so much more with a laptop plus the one I have has tablet pen input, but I only use that for drawing.

I'm afraid a netbook wouldn't be capable of doing everything I do with my laptop.

[madm]

My college daughter has both a netbook and a laptop, and she uses the netbook just for taking notes in class and accessing lectures on Blackboard, and then she transfers whatever she needs to her laptop back at home to work on presentations, homework, etc. on her more powerful laptop. Personally I did not get a Netbook when I needed to replace an old laptop because the Netbook does not have a CD/DVD writer and the font is really small to read especially on the really small screen. However, the Netbook is really portable and is great for watching movies (previously downloaded) on airplanes. For light use, the Netbook is nice, but I would not make it my main computer.

Recently my Windows-centric husband decided to buy a Dell desktop to do his heavy duty photography work, and a 13" MacBook for his laptop replacement. So far he likes the Mac but is having the usual issues learning the Mac interface after being a Windows guy. Also, some of his photography editing software is not available on the Mac or would cost a lot to buy a new copy for it. I had considered getting a MacBook a year ago too, but decided I didn't want to spend that much on my laptop, so I went the cheaper route and got a 15" Dell Inspiron, which I am very satisfied with.

[Prancer]

I think you have to have a very good idea of what you want to do with your device to know what to get.

I went to a seminar on technology in education a while back and we were told there, by people in the industry, that a tablet is a handheld media delivery device. IOW, it's not meant to be particularly functional. It's meant for internet surfing, video watching, game playing, and reading. You can do other things with it, but it wasn't designed for those things, and so there are shortcomings.

A netbook is meant to be a transitional device, meaning that it gives you some of the features of a laptop, but does not replace a laptop in terms of functionality. Most of my students who use netbooks use them as madm describes--as something they use in class in conjuction with a computer they have at home.

For me, both of those devices are things I would carry around for quick use, but I would not, at least at this point, replace a laptop with either one--although I still like having a desktop, so what do I know? But for me, tablets and netbooks are not replacements for laptops because they simply can't do as much. If nothing else, I like having a much bigger screen, especially for watching skating. In fact, my laptop is closed and tucked under my desk as I type this because I have a nice big monitor and a bigger keyboard sitting on the desk to use. The laptop is basically just my hard drive most of the time, although I can still haul it around if I need to take it somewhere. It is heavy and I wouldn't want to carry it around every day; at the same time, I don't think I could get rid of it entirely.

[nyskatefan]

I sincerely thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I'm leaning towards just buying a new laptop for now, based on all the good advice you have given me. I think I will go for a smaller one though. The one I have now is big and bulky and a pain in the butt to take with me when I travel.
I figure I can always get a tablet if I still want one sometime in the future.
I do plan on buying the laptop this week ... the Black Friday deals are just too enticing to pass up.
Thank you again!!!

[Lara]

A lot depends on your budget, but ultrabooks are in now so you'll have plenty of non bulky choices. If you go with Windows 8, you'll want a touch compatible screen to take full advantage. Make sure you're happy with the keyboard and trackpad. The 11inch MacBook Air would be awesome for what you want, but it's definitely over tablet price range.

Unfortunately Adobe is phasing out Mobile Flash - they gave up on improving it further. As of now, it'll still work on Android tablets if you download it outside of the Play Store and use a supporting browser like Firefox. But sooner or later an update from Google will break it, so it's hard to recommend as a long term choice. It's also buggier than on a PC.

[overedge]

My netbook (a Toshiba NB305) just went in for repairs, although it has been very good for the rest of the three years I've owned it. Because I was paranoid I checked to see what a new one would cost, and was to see that many of the manufacturers who once made netbooks are no longer producing them. It looks like they are going for tablets instead. So your netbook choices may be somewhat limited at this point.

I totally agree with the advice about typing. I have a tablet but I use it mostly to read things online and to write drafts of documents. If I have something that requires serious typing, I do it on my netbook or on my laptop. I travel with the netbook and it's been fantastic, especially since I often have to edit documents or presentations while I'm away. I could never do any of that on the tablet, at least not without my eyeballs falling out of my head, which is why I'm shelling out the $$$ to get the netbook repaired.

Also, take into consideration what size keyboard will be comfortable for you to use. I was lucky in that one of my friends, who has large hands like I do, bought a netbook before I did. She got one with an 8" screen and ended up exchanging it for one with a 10" screen ,because the keyboard on the smaller one was just too cramped for her to type on. So when I was looking I didn't look at anything with less than a 10" screen.

[Evilynn]

I think ultrabooks are edging out the netbooks, I know I'm considering getting one (right now I have a desktop + netbook combo). Since I have a Kindle I haven't really seen the point of getting a tablet. It's good for (some) games and reading, but I like to type, and they're kinda worthless for that, unless you get a slider that can be transformed into a little laptop like thing.

[nyskatefan]

I wanted to let you all know what I ended up getting.
I bought an HP Pavillion from QVC with an AMD A6 Processor and 8GB RAM & 1T hard drive // plus lifetime Trend Virus protection.
All this for just $549.00. I did a lot of shopping around and this was head and shoulders above anything else I found.

Thanks again to everyone for your help!

[Twilight1]

Cool. Glad you found something that works for you!!

[MacMadame]

And I got a 13" screen MacBookPro. I love it!