Tablets vs. Laptops: How far have we come?

The challenge

When the laptops first made the headlines in their earliest conceptual stage (known as the 'Dynabook'), it was all about the novel facet of portability of a personal computer. And then as years went by, laptops evolved beyond this strong essence of their portable nature. With faster processors, larger keyboards (with variations) and even better hardware, some of them actually took the fight to their traditionally more powerful cousins - home PCs. Now, when tablets entered into the commercial fray, they were touted as being even more portable than laptops. And like a rerun of the old story, they progressed beyond this convenient factor to feature more qualities such as good touch-screen display, a myriad of multimedia abilities, a plethora of apps and their own variations of the user friendly operating systems.

Tablets vs. Laptops

So, in the present context, the consumers are caught almost in a state of tug-of-war between these two equally exalted bantam computing contraptions. So, shall we go for the bit more powerful yet 'bulky' laptop, or shall we buy the newest and sleek yet slightly-weaker tablet? Read on, to find more about Tablets vs. Laptops:

Comparison attribute:

1. Hardware

When it comes to core hardware, a modern conventional laptop exhibits at least a 13 inch screen with 1,366x768-pixel resolution. It also adds a whole new facet to the section of peripherals by including an user friendly keyboard and a mouse system. Now, going by these standards, the bigger tablets come with around 10.1 screen with generalized screen resolutions of 1024x768 pixel (the smaller 7inch ones come with around 800 x 480-pixel resolution), while the whole contraption nullifies the advantages of a keyboard and mouse.

Winner

The laptop is the hands down winner in this case, with bigger screens and better screen resolutions. As for the average user, a full fledged keyboard is seen as a better and efficient typing device than most other components.

2. Personalized experience

It always gives a unique sense of freedom when you are interacting with your device directly, rather than some peripheral. Yes, we are talking about the more 'personal' touch-screen attribute of tablets as compared to conventional keyboard facility of laptops. Now, many of you must be thinking that we just painted a positive picture of keyboards in the first point. But that was from the perspective of an average user. When it comes to people with a more 'gadget flair', it is the personal experience of the interaction that appeals to them.

Winner

So, when it boils down to that intrinsic nature of user interaction, the tablets score higher with their stronger essence of direct user control and portability. Just think of a device which can be held in your (larger) pocket or at least vest, while the contraption will allow you to browse the net, snap photos and play music, all by the touch of your fingers.

3. Processing power and performance

Substantially powerful dual core processors (with more frequency) and dedicated graphics cards have long been the forte of the contemporary conventional laptops. Some of them (like the Asus U46E-BAL6) incorporate the even more boisterous quad core processor. This trend of course gives them more processing power and thus - easier and lag free access to software and data. On the other hand, tablets are also beginning to take up dual core processors, but with lesser clocked speed.

Winner

Laptops have the slight edge here with their better performance capabilities (in comparison to tablets). Moreover, considering battery life, tablets have not been actually able to take full advantage (of this criterion), considering their small size. At the end of the day, the modern iterations of both of these devices exhibit around 7 to 10 hours of battery life.

4. Apps and software

Now, apps can be considered as software, but in not-so-technical circumstances, apps are recognized to belong to the domain of tablets and smartphones. In this regard, software (for a laptop) needs an installation procedure with a certain bit of expertise on the part of the user. Apps on the other hand, present a simpler process with widgets and other interactive features being literally at the tip of your fingers.

Winner

Tablets emerge as the clear winner in this respect, with that ultimate form of hassle-free user experience.

The Verdict:

Given the complexity of a myriad of convenient features exhibited by both of these advanced devices, it is really not easy to nonchalantly point out which one is better. In context of our fast changing world, a tablet certainly has a bit of an advantage, with its allusion to that relatively cost effective, portable and 'small is beautiful' side to computing. But in regard to that, even laptops are going through an evolutionary phase with more thinner and sleeker 'Ultrabooks' entering into the commercial fray.