Should I buy a laptop, tablet, or neither and wait?

Question

I'm a junior in high school and am considering buying a laptop, tablet, or waiting until college. My school has wifi and we can bring computers, and I think it might be helpful to be able to get work done on my own computer in school and at home (we have some school computers but they aren't always available). At home we have a family desktop that I do all my work on and an old laptop that doesn't really work at all and needs to be plugged in all the time. On the other hand, laptops and tablets are expensive and it may be better to wait about two years until college and get a new one that'll last all four years.

Pros for laptop:
-I can bring it to school to get work done
-Faster and does more than a tablet
-Will work for anything I do on a computer
-Will last at least partially through college
-Will work for my photography and music software

Cons for Laptop:
-expensive
-Won't be up to the same par as when I go to college in two years
-may not last through college
-most classes won't let me use it during class for notes

Pros for Tablet:
-very portable
-with wireless keyboard, can work on papers and such
-can use in class for e-books and notes
-will work any basic thing I want to do
-cheaper than laptop

Cons for Tablet:
-still expensive
-can't do as much as a laptop (and won't work for my photo or music)
-harder to write long papers on
-won't work for everything in college

Pros for Neither:
-save money
-get a better computer when I go to college
-neither is a vital necessity

Cons for Neither:
-it would be easier to get work done with a laptop or tablet
-if I get a cheap one now I can still get a laptop before college if need be
-I'm left at the mercy of spotty school computers

Answer 1

You should never buy a tablet if you don't have a laptop first, the laptop always gets priority since there are many things that a laptop can do and a tablet wont.

Answer 2

I think if I were you I would buy a low-cost laptop. For even just a couple of hundred dollars you will get something that will let you surf the net super-smoothly, and you can download free office applications like OpenOffice that will let you take care of all the zzz, sorry, college stuff.



Look out for Lenovo, or even a Dell. They're pretty sturdy and will get you through until the Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro becomes a great deal cheaper.

Answer 3

The foremost change between a laptop and a Mac is the program, and for an skilled windows consumer, switching over to OS X can be a chore. New OS, new program, new methods of doing matters, and so forth. One other most important thing to do not forget is gaming. Macs are a terrible alternative for a gaming computer. Practically all video games are designed for laptop and only a few ever make the port over to Mac. Yes, that you can set up home windows on a Mac, however you don't purchase a Mac to run home windows most of the time :) The price of a Mac is an trouble as well, however you already appear to have a manage on that notion. One thing I would like to add is that you could probably get a so much nicer pc for the equal rate as a Mac. Most university campuses use PCs, however the software of choice is Microsoft administrative center, which is on hand for each structures, so it can be not a enormous quandary. As for the battery problem, batteries wear out over time and it's no longer individual for battery life to dwindle like that. One other thing I want to add: expecting a lifespan of 8 years from a laptop is a bit unrealistic, but feasible. Most folks best preserve their computer systems for 3-5 years. After that, they both wreck or turn out to be so out of date that it's time to get a new one. Anyway, my individual alternative and also my advice can be a laptop. They're simply better total and for most humans, especally experienced home windows users. Just preserve in intellect a brand new laptop will come with Vista instead of XP, however I in my opinion love Vista and in finding it superior to XP.

Answer 4

I'm in college, been here going on 8 years now, I'd get a tablet it college. Easier because you can get textbooks right on in. Plus with a tablet like iPad, you can get the keyboard to it and it's like a laptop. I'd hold off until college, because as we know with technology, it changes quick. If I was you, I'd get something cheaper like a kindle fire or whatever they are and then invest in something nicer when you have graduated. Chances are you can use graduation money from gifts to help buy one!

Answer 5

best bet if you gonna be using it for school is get a net book or a 13" LAPTOP the not as expensive and there portable just like the tablet expect with a keyboard

Answer 6

If I were you, I would buy a Netbook. They're pretty cheap 150-300$, and they can be as portable and light as a tablet. I suggest the Acer Aspire One Netbook. Good luck!

Answer 7

You should buy