Sometimes, in life, the answers are very apparent, but that is not always the case. The matter of choosing the gear to outfit your office is not always as easily settled as one might think. Is it best to go with a PC or a Mac? Can I really afford the price associated with some of these models? What about the printer? Is the thought of printing the number of pages required in my office really practical given the cost of ink cartridges?
These are the sorts of questions that can arise when trying to make those initial decisions to build an office, or even the decisions regarding replacement of the out of date goods of yesteryear. Another question that many are finding themselves asking today is "Notebook, netbook, or tablet?" Consider this article for information to make that decision easier.
What are my options?
Buying a computer today is nothing like what it was ten years ago. First of all, walking out of the store with a computer might only mean carrying a small, traditional plastic bag. After all, many of the tablets and even some notebooks are so thin and light weight today that they could easily fit in a woman's purse and be carried without the person even feeling the added weight. Added to that, however, is the furthered agony of decision making. No longer is it as simple as choosing between five or ten desktop models in the local electronics store. Instead one is faced with a number of options for portable computing, including netbooks, notebooks, and the tablet. Most are familiar with all that a notebook (aka laptop) can do, so consider these evaluations of how the others stack up.
The newest thing in computer land is the tablet. These low cost, light weight handy devices are perfect for those looking for a secondary computer, or those who wish only to use the computer for photos, music, games, and email. They do have the internet as well, and a number of fun, functional, and funky applications, but they also have a couple major drawbacks. The first is that there is not yet a real functional version of traditional word processing and spreadsheet softwares that work on the tablet. Surely that will change in the near future, but as of now, that it something that one should not expect to accomplish on the tablet. Even Google Docs and Microsoft's online versions of word processing are not where they need to be to make this device functional in that way. The second major flaw is printing. You are not going to easily find ink cartridges that will work with these mini computers. This is going to change in the very near future as wireless printing has started to become a possibility, but you will still be limited when compared to the other computers that offer a wide variety of printer from ink cartridge or toner, wired or wireless, all-in-one or single function.
Netbooks, similarly, are newer to the market and have a number of advantages and disadvantages as compared to the more traditional notebook. These are not going to feature many of the added perks of a traditional computer, such as the DVD/CD drive and extended keyboards. However, the ultra-mini models, are light weight and easily carted from one venue to another, where they can be flipped open to do most everything that a traditional laptop can do, taking up a fraction of the space. The best part is, that unlike the tablet, these USB supporting mini pads are able to work with nearly every printer on the market, which means that you, like the rest of the computer world will also have another decision to make. Which brand? Which model? Ink cartridge or toner? Manufacturer's ink or third party?