18
Jun

[Weekend Poll] How Much Has Owning A Tablet Impacted Your Computer Use?

Posted by in Devices By Manufacturer, Off-Topic, Polls
Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Manufacturer UIs: Love 'Em Or Hate 'Em?
I have to admit: as a newly-former starving college student, it's hard for me to see the same sort of value in a $400 tablet that I see in a $200 smartphone or a $600 laptop (or even a $300 netbook). During my month or so with the O.G. Galaxy Tab, I found the tablet to be more of a complement than a replacement - though certainly the new crop of tablets with docks and keyboards has pushed them closer to laptops than ever before. So my question to those of you who own both a tablet device (be it Android or otherwise) and a computer is: how much has owning a tablet impacted your computer use?

You know what to do: sound off in the poll below, then head to the comments to spark some discussion.

How Much Has Owning A Tablet Impacted Your Computer Use?

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Aaron Gingrich
Aaron is a geek who has always had a passion for technology. When not working or writing, he can be found spending time with his family, playing a game, or watching a movie.

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  • http://androidactivist.org Nathan

    kinda hard to place myself.

    My tablet has basically replayed my laptop for everything except what it's absolutely needed for, which is only like 2 things.

    but i still use my desktop 95% of the time.

    My laptop was a huge and heavy 15" laptop so now with the asus transformer i have a android tabbook that i use in many many more places than i ever would my laptop.

    • Christo Acosta

      This. When I'm home, I'm on my desktop 99.8% of the time, but it serves as pretty much a full laptop-replacement when I'm out and about...

    • Jon Garrett

      My Shinny new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has very few tablet specific apps. the few that are available, either dont work properly, crash often or do not fill the screen.

      Even simple shit that should work (like the browser) dont work.

      So after a little over a week, my 10.1 is mostly for show but I'm still happy with it.

  • Joshua W.

    I have to agree with Nathan, above.

    My Xoom has replaced my laptop in a sense that most things can done on it, in a lightweight fashion, compared to my 17" HP notebook. I still use my laptop when I need to, but I use my tablet more often, and my desktop more often than my Xoom.

    • RandyB

      I have a 17" DV7 also. That thing is more of a portable desktop than a laptop. I got a Xoom mostly because when I go away for business or training, I never pull that laptop out anymore because it is a hassle. The Xoom allows me to bridge between my phone and laptop. I do still use the DV7 for heavy lifting; such as video editing, vector art generation, and intensive 3D gaming.

  • Murd0ck_

    I also have the transformer/dock and find that I use it almost all the time instead of my laptop since my other pc is a dedicated htpc l. It is way easier to take the tablet on the go and not to have to take the laptops cord, 16 hrs of juice is awesome. Now just need a get a 4g phone tether it and possible say goodbye dsl.. Lol

  • Hedson R.

    Ok so I havent had much time to play with my tablet, reason...
    My dog chewed on the cable and thus have no way of charging my tablet
    ;'''(
    I am on desperate need of of one. I have tried Asus eStore and currently trying to fix the cable...

    But when i did have it all web browsing, youtube, video and picture viewing, 95% music was all done on My Transformer. I have a laptop and desktop and when I had use of my tablet they didnt see light for days.

    I use my Droid X to tether so pretty much mobile with 9 hrs if battery.

  • Edd

    I bought a rubbish Archos tablet, so I use it bery little. However last weekend I got a proper play on an iPad 2 and found it very addictive... If I could get a proper Honeycomb I think I would be sold.

    On a different matter, I use a Desktop behind the TV purely as a media server, and I'm looking forward to a time when I can shove Android over the top of Windows and use it as a full Media PC, with my HD2 as a controller. Some necessary pices of software are not there yet... But it's coming...

    • Wam

      I do the same, try "Unified Remote"... Best remote app so far!

  • Bruce

    I use my tablets for reading books, catching up on the news, and playing games.

    I want to make one other point about tablets that this poll does not address. It would be interesting to poll people who own a phone but not a PC and ask them, will you buy a PC or a tablet first?

    There are billions of these people and I think a lot of them will buy tablets instead of PCs. I think that a tablet maker can make a lot more money by building a tablet for those billions of people than by building a tablet for people like you and me who already own computers.

    • fins1771

      Good question. I have an EVO, and pc which we don't use due to various problems with it. I will definitely buy a tablet before ever buying another pc. I hated sitting at the pc desk while using it. I never checked email it Facebook, but with EVO or tablet it is so much easier. No more pc for me.

    • edd

      Thanks for the tip!

  • Mike

    The tablet has not replaced my laptop for most tasks. Where it has had an impact is how much I use my smart phone.

    The tablet has taken over in the middle ground between the "take everywhere" smart phone and much more selective circumstances where I carry my laptop.

    The netbook tried to fill the same space but did not work for me since the form factor of the tablet is more flexible for "on the go computing" such as when on the metro or standing around waiting.

  • djembeman

    I have found that I use my home computer (MacBook) a lot less just because of buying a smartphone. I use my computer to load movies and music into my Android phones and actually have been doing most of my web browsing, emailing, youtubing on my phone.

    I don't have much need to create word docs or powerpoints or anything anymore since getting out of school, so my computer is already pretty much just for media consumption. The only thing I need my computer for is to load my phone and to create home videos or store photos taken with a real camera.

    Day to day though, I'm on my phone with a 4.3 inch screen and 48GB of total storage. Love my LG REVO!

  • L boogie

    Been trying to find a suitable replacement for my mac laptop for a while and though I had a hp desktop, getting my incredible was the beginning of something different then, I needed something portable for school work, web browsing etc and played around with tablets & netbooks till i tested a friend's transformer needless to say, my desktop gets a bi-weekly visit thanks to my incredible and my transformer

  • schmolch

    I disagree with the whole idea of replacing anything.
    My Tablet (Galaxy Tab) has neither replaced my dual-screen Desktop nor my 2 Tablet-PCs, but it has greatly expanded my computer-usage because it can go everywhere i wanna go (except swimming) and thats exactly what it does.
    It is my calendar, my todo-list, my shopping-list, my workout-companian for cycling, running, weight-lifting, my entertainer and book-library when i have to wait somewhere and the last computer i use before i fall asleep.

  • shane

    i couldn't vote on this poll because its missing what i now use a tablet mostly for..i use it to read blogs, news, magazines, and books. mabe some emails.. but my pc is still more productive for work.. forcing myself to dutch the tablet for those work tasks keeps my productovity up.. if iuse the tablet for browsing and work it wastes more time.. but reading on it is way better then the pc..

  • Mark89084

    I use my desktop just as much. The tablet, my CM7 Nook Color, supplements my phone. These 50+ year old eyes just don't see as crisply as before. With the 7" screen of the NC, I see everything clearly again. I will probably revert to a more basic Android phone now, along with a cheaper plan, like Boost's Prevail or Virgin's Optimus V. The Nook Color, along with my desktop, are keepers.

  • JayMonster

    So far my gTablet replaced my netbook for casual computing in front of the tv, and has replaced my pen and paper at meetings (SpringPad rocks!) But has not replaced my laptop in any meaningful way yet. Perhaps when I finally settle on a honeycomb tablet that will change and I can do more productivity work on the tablet.

  • Jaymoon

    I'm just here for the show! :D

    Still don't have a need for a tablet. Played around with a friend's XOOM, and it was cool, but I don't see me plunking down the cash for it.

    Between my Evo, my CR-48, and netbook, it would be hard to squeeze in time for a tablet too.

  • http://fc1032.blogspot.com Brian

    I hardly used my laptop before. Only brought it to UNI every now and then, it was too heavy and its battery life wasn't enough for standard use for the whole day.

    Then I got the galaxy tab 7, I bring it everyday and use it pretty frequently. So it's pretty much replaced what my laptop was supposed to do (simple pdf reading, some games... powerpoint)

    It won't replace the desktop at home though!

  • http://zalzalaweb.com/jens anakin78z

    More than computer use, owning a tablet has affected my phone use. I was already using my phone for casual browsing and gaming, and now I use my tablet instead. Battery life on my phone is suddenly phenomenal.

  • Alex1x

    My daily usage computer related:

    65% smartphone
    (browsing, email, info, games, communication)

    20% Desktop
    (work, documents, editing, print)

    10% Tablet
    (netflix,

  • TBDF

    I am looking to purchase an Asus Transformer in the coming months, and doubt I will be buying a pc/laptop anytime soon. Between ROOTing, running ROMs, and a dev. community that is willing to accept any challenge, I don't see a need for a less mobile experience.

  • rchrdcrg

    My boyfriend and I have both just replaced our computets with tablets, keeping one PC as a media server and anything we NEED a PC for, and so far we haven't even looked back. For many tasks that don't have a dedicated app, we often find that the web app version that usually coincides with many native apps works as well on the tablet as it did on the desktop... people need to start looking at web apps as REAL apps, just universal apps and not platform specific, which is ideal anyway.

    For the record, I typed this up on a USB keyboard attached to an Acer Iconia a500... I love this thing!

  • dol

    Got me an acer a500 tab about a month ago. Since then been fighting with my kids for usage time. Use my notebook only for serious work, or whenever the tab is prised away out from my hands. Seriously the tab could do almost all of my work requirement except for the damn ms access db...

  • Mark R Hudson

    Leaving this comment via an Asus Transformer, sat at my Computer table, says it all pretty much, lol..

    Main use of Pc is for Adobe illistrator, Photoshop, and Battlefield 2 etc, Also used for Converting movies to watch on the go .

    The computer has quadcore beast of a processor, 8gig ram ssd main harddrive and 3- 2Tb drives for storage. So it uses a lot of power.

    Funnily enough the Transformer dosn't, And is Quiet..

    The lack of "Proper editing programs" is an issue as it would be great to be able to edit files on the go..

    Apart from that, well worth the move and Getting Better all the time.

  • Bob

    Flexible and foldable 10-20'' screen - this is what I'm waiting for.

    CPUs and soon GPUs in mobile phones are already so powerful and will improve even further very soon. But I want to only have a small phone which is easily pocketable with perhaps a basic 2-3 inch "normal" screen for current tasks like seeing who's calling me. When I need a proper screen I press a button to open a flexible one - 10 or more inch of high-quality - and perhaps another similar one below - for the keyboard/controls. This will be true mobile experience and the tablets as such will probably disappear when this is implemented.

  • Kiamat

    My iPad has all but replaced my laptop for %99 of my computing. For that last %1 (hello, flash) I use Splashtop (it's available for Android, too, but I don't believe Honeycomb, yet, and it's missing some functionality like the ability to log in away from your home network which, ironically requires a gmail account.) to remote back to my laptop. I tether it to my rooted EVO 4G with Myn's Warm Two Point Two for internet access on the go.

    I'm keeping a close eye on Honeycomb tablets but right now they just don't have the app support to justify the purchase when a refurbed iPad can be had for around $300.

  • Rokclimbertx

    my EVO has replaced my lap & desktops for 90% of my computering... who needs a tablet....

  • George

    I love tablets. I use it much more now.