All technology dies eventually and increasingly I am asked,”when a pc gives up the ghost”, if a tablet can replace the functionality of a pc. This article will hopefully help to clarify the differences between the two devices.
Short And Sweet Answer
Can a tablet
replace a pc functionality? : Short
answer: No.
Tablets are
not now, nor will they ever be a replacement for the traditional personal
computer. This is not to say the don’t have a role in technology but they
simply cannot be defined as a personal computer. Hence the term tablet and not
tablet pc.
The advantages of a Tablet
To be fair
to the tablet it offers some excellent features you won’t find on your typical
laptop and desktop. Chief amongst these is its light weight and portability.
The reduced threat of virus infection and the ease of use all add to its
appeal. You can do some things on a tablet but no all and certainly you won’t
be writing your memoirs on it, nor will you will sitting comfortably at your
desk researching.
The tablet
was never designed to fulfill all the functions of a pc. Having said that the
price of the higher end models might lead you to believe they were. Don’t be
fooled by the slick appearance and smooth front end. I’ve found many people grow
tired of it and revert back to the pc or just stop using the tablet as
originally planned.
What Tablets Can Do
- Tablets are great for apps. By this I mean the decent ones you will find on the iphone or google store. These apps are in many cases top class at what they do and rarely crash. There is also a huge amount of junk apps out there so resist the temptation to download a load of them. You will do it at first but if you find you don’t need them go back and uninstall them.
- Tablets are good at reading your email when out and about or sitting on the couch. The caveat of course is that you are aware connecting to hot spots when out and about is a security risk.
- Tablets are not good at handling attachments and you may run into incompatibility problems if the attachment requires a program not resident on the tablet.
- Tablets are at best adequate for general web browsing. I am being generous here as they simply are not good with older websites or websites not designed for mobile devices. I’ve given up using them for this task except when I absolutely have no other option.
I will
continue on this topic next month. Happy scary computing!
Oliver Reidy is a computer technician and has been in the industry since 1981.You
can contact him via email at help.desk@reidyonline.com or at the telephone numbers listed on this page.
