Laptops/Tablets/Phones

[PhilDernerJr]

I currently operate on a desktop computer. I also now have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which is sometimes called a "phablet" because it is large.

I like it because it's large enough for me to do a lot of stuff on it, while still fitting in my pocket. Then I began wondering why anyone would want a tablet to begin with...I figure once you have something that you can't just put in your pocket, why not just go with a laptop anyway?

I figure the only difference is a touch screen. Are there any laptops out there that have touch screens? I feel like if/when those are available to the public, that people will have no need for a tablet.

What devices do you use? I'm curious to hear how other people use technology. It may shape my future buying decisions.

[Gintaras B.]

I have older desktop that I've bought in 2007 that not much in use today. My main computer now - Lenovo laptop G780(i7 processor, 6G RAM, 1TB HDD, 17" screen), Win8, but I do have Classic Desktop, not that kiddie/iphone Metro screen - I've purchased in February. No tablet, no iPhone, just an older Nokia flip phone - that I can use for what a phone is - to talk to people, I don't do texting(almost) at all.
I think, there are touch screen laptops, but why do you need one if there's a mouse and keyboard. I personally don't like touch screens - I do have with touch screens - have Panasonic HD camcorder and Astell & Kern AK100 music player. I would prefer buttons on these 2 instead of touch screens.

If you want a new laptop, I don't think, you can get better price deal than on Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/). I've purchased several laptops from Newegg - for myself and for other people that asked me.. Every tuesday & thursday they send e-mails with deals they do have.

[emshighway]

OK I know this is too much but no one can say I'm not connected

Classic desktop (never used because of the rest)
HP Laptop
iPAD
iPAD Mini
MS Surface Pro
iPhone

For work:
Dell Laptop
Blackberry

The MS Surface is nice but runs expensive and then there are added items. I wouldn't say it isn't exactly slip in your pocket but close. With Windows 8 there are many laptops that are now touchscreen. My wife has one but since it has a keyboard she really doesn't use it much.

You really have to look at what you really need the item for. If it is word, excel intensive then a laptop is the way to go. If it is more internet then maybe a iPAD or Galaxy tablet.

[gonzalu]

My desktop is an HP Z620 Workstation right now with a Apple 30" Cinema Display and a smaller Dell 24 inch S-IPS as a second screen.

Laptops are

Apple MacBook Pro 17" (latest model before they discontinued) for serious work
Apple MacBook Air 13" (summer 2013 model) for travel

Tablet is an iPad Air

Phone is iPhone 5s

...all the above is graciously loaned to me from work as part of my job title.

[NIKV69]

Phone is a Samsung Galaxy 2. I always go with the phones that are a year or two behind. I get them free and they work fine for me.

I have an iPad 3. Again always wait for the new one to come out so I get the older model free from a tech nut friend of mine.

I just bought a Dell Lat 6410. (I live in Microcenter) So cheap and I dump it in a year when I buy another old refurb for 300 bucks. I get the docking station so I can use it at my desk with big monitor and wireless keyboard when home. Then take it with me when travel.

Work issued Lenovo T400 for email at work and POS stuff.

Old Dinosaur Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop which I only use for editing photos since the monitor is huge and calibrated perfectly.

[megatop412]

I buy desktops from a local custom shop Alpha Computer(abestpc.com). Current desktop rig is from 2007 running XP. Intel P6600 @ 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, Nvidia 8800GT card, hooked to a 23" LG IPS display. Use that mainly for running FS9 and some music editing. Laptops are from compusa, current one for photo editing is an HP Elitebook 8460p. Core i5 2450m @2.5Ghx, 4GB RAM, Windows 7. It replaced a Probook 4310s that has XP on it and an Intel T6670 @ 2.2GHz with 3GB of RAM, which I still use to upload to my dropshots accounts because the Win7 machine doesn't upload by date correctly. Phones are a different story, I stay away from smart phones, every time I'm outside all I see is people walking around like robots, staring at their little screens and oblivious of their surroundings. That alone, plus the idea of paying for even more internet access that I don't need, completely turns me off of those things. I use an Epson Photo Viewer when I want to quickly show my work to people. I have been using flip phones and just recently got a slider phone to have a phone with a keyboard for texts.

[Landing Lights]

My desktop is a late-2006 20" iMac that I purchased in the spring of 2007. It has served me very well and only in the past 6 months has it reached the point where has become too slow for anything more than web browsing. I plan on replacing it soon with a new iMac.

Phone is an iPhone 5 I typically get every other model, since after 2 years with a phone it has generally earned its retirement. I keep my most recently replaced one that is in good condition as an "oh $*@#" replacement. Currently the 'ready reserve' is an iPhone 3G.

Tablet is an iPad2 wifi. I like having a device that has a similar UI to my phone but with a larger screen. I find it a lot easier to use a tablet than a laptop in many cases given its small size (no bag needed). I'd much rather browse the web on a tablet in my hands than on a laptop on the table in front of me. Its also my preferred way to edit photos while on-the-go. Its not a replacement for PS or LR editing but it definitely gets the job done very well with the proper apps. I have an inexpensive Bluetooth keyboard for it for writing if I need to, beats a virtual keyboard for anything more than a few hundred characters any day. Both my phone and tablet see varying levels of duty for work as well.

Laptops: Dell Latitude for work only. Its a few years old and I'll hold on to it until its totally obsolete for its purposes at work. Only thing aviation related on it is the desktop image. For personal use (though almost entirely blog-related stuff), I have a Samsung Chromebook with 3G. It fits that bill perfectly. Laptop form factor makes it easy to type with whether I'm at a desk or not. It's small, light and cheap, and can easily fit in the laptop pouch in my backpack along with my iPad. The 3G version comes with 100MB/mo of free Verizon data (upgradable as needed), so that I can write wherever I am if the need arises (such as at Imperial Hill :D). It does a passable job at light duty photo editing (crop, resize, maybe tweak some levels) through various versions of Pixlr. It is not a replacement for a normal computer, however as a secondary machine it works very well. The biggest downside is that it is heavily dependent on web access (though the new offline apps help a lot in some areas), but for writing/editing I typically need to be connected anyway.

Former: I had a Netbook for about 6 months a few years ago, and it was just too small and underpowered. Small wonder why that segment has pretty much dried up. The Chromebook works much better in that segment.

[tlabranche]

I currently use a Macbook Pro 13" at home. I keep it docked to a 27" LED monitor for my photo editing. I also have an iPad, iPad mini, and an iPhone 4S. I will be in the same boat as Phil in a couple of weeks. I will be going back to Android and will upgrade to the Note 3 as well. After doing some extensive tests with it, it will be used almost all of the time when I have one full time. As Phil mentioned, it will still fit into your pocket comfortably while still giving you 5.7 inches of screen. My entire iPhone 4s doesn't even take up the screen area. I will no longer need my iPads because the 'phablet' will take the place of those. And it is faster and the resolution is much higher than my iPad screens. My laptop will still be used solely for photo editing. With regards to touchscreen laptops, they have the Windows Surface tablets that double as laptops out right now. For my photography and photo processing, I will stick to my docked laptop setup. I hate having fingerprints on my screens and the constant wiping of a touchscreen laptop screen would drive me crazy.

[RomNYC]

Are there any laptops out there that have touch screens?

I see plenty of those in grad school. But please don't, unless you're craving a wrist tendonitis. I've never believed in touch screen desktops/laptops. Not to mention the software crapness that goes with it (*cough* Surface *ahem*).

I currently go with an old but faithful 2007 MacBook - still my number one device - an iPhone 5s and and an iPad 2. If I were Rockefeller, the update would be the iPad Air and the 15" MacBook Pro Retina.

I refuse to label myself an Apple fanb0i, but they still offer the best combination of hardware and software out there, imho.

[Landing Lights]

I refuse to label myself an Apple fanb0i, but they still offer the best combination of hardware and software out there, imho.

I couldn't agree more. I tend to buy Apple because the build- and component-quality is very high. Sure there are PCs out there with equally high quality, but you really need to know the specs of the parts that are going into them. I killed (beyond economical repair) 2 windows laptops in 6 years, dropping close to $4000 into both machines. Suddenly, a $1800 Mac doesn't seem like a bad deal at all.

Software wise, I have always been far more comfortable with the Mac OS (I started with System 6) than with Windows. That having been said, I would consider my self to be equally proficient with WinXP as I am with OSX. However, if you put Vista/7/8 in front of me, I'm totally lost. On my work laptop, I have it set up as a dual-boot of XP and Win7 and I think I have used the Win7 part once.

Sadly, most PCs have become a contest for who can offer the fastest processor/most RAM/biggest hard drive for the smallest price and that means everything else that goes into them suffers. I've never been one to do the Mac vs. Windows or iOS vs. Android bashing, all have their pros and cons. If you really take the time to research your purchase, and are prepared to spend north of $1200-$1500 for a computer, you can get yourself a high quality machine.

[tlabranche]

I'll stick with Apple for my computing needs, but my time with iPhone is over. I miss my large screen and Apple doesn't seem to innovate them anymore, post Jobs. Even if they put out the rumored 5" screen (as in Galaxy)on the iPhone 6, iOS is stale for me. On top of all that, I am on my fifth iphone in two years. The quality of them aren't what they used to be. All of my four predecessors had major hardware failures.

[lijk604]

Desktop: 20" iMac - which I do my main photo processing on.

Laptop: 15" - 2008 MacBook Pro. With the exception of replacing the battery, have not had 1 issue with it at all. That includes crashes. In 5 years, it hung up once, I reset the battery and it was fine again. You cannot ask for better reliability than that.

Tablet: iPad2 - Nothing I run has me aching for the faster processor.

Phone: iPhone 4S - Have had it just about 2 years now, and have had no issues. I am eligible to upgrade, but, as with the tablet, it works, and works fine, so why spend money to upgrade it.