Take one table and call me in the morning
People keep asking me for advice on choosing between a tablet and a netbook and then which of the array of choices will suit them. It's an interesting question but one that has only a single answer. Uno problem, uno solution.
I have a MacBook Air. I have an original gangster iPad. I have a MacBook Pro. I have an iPhone 4. I have an iPhone 4S. I have every accessory. My first computer was an Apple Mac. My Dad brought home an Apple IIC. When it comes to the PC camp, I love myself a good Tecra. Toshiba makes the best hardware for running Windows. The Tecras are the membes of the Toshiba family that sip French Champagne at family dinners and watch amusedly at the Dells and Compaqs that can't hold their cheap beer and local house red. When it comes to eBook readers, I'm a Kindle girl. Seriously, choose a eBook reader based on what you're willing to drop on your head when you are reading in bed and doze off. The Kindle was gentle tap your skull while and iPad will brutalise it with a jack hammer.
So when I'm asked what tablet someone should buy and if they should wait for the latest release of iWhatever, I die a little bit.
Just choose. It won't be the last choice you make.
I spend ours with my iPad. It's not the latest. It's not the greatest. There are droids and Sam-hungs and lots of other choices. There are netbooks that can be like a tablet with a real life keyboard with slightly more peripherals. There are small full-sized laptops with minimum-expansion but more use. Each step takes you closer to… to what. Ask yourselves that question as you say "if I only spend this much more, I'll get…" because that will stop you.
My recommendation is buy whatever is good at the time. Use it. Don't just buy it if you don't really want it. Use it. Get your money's worth. Accept new stuff will be released within a blink of an eye. Whatever you buy will one day be retro.
Accept that and you'll forget the overload of choice and simply enjoy your next purchase.
2 comments:
Funny how us geeks get hit by family, friends and acquaintances about tech. My answer has always been "get the best you can afford that does what you need."
My response to such questions is usually: "What do you need it for?". Most people can't answer that question. Some people answer, and the class of gadget they want is pretty inappropriate for the task (and I tell them that). What it comes down to is that we really don't actually need all this stuff though. I honestly can't imagine what I'd do with an iPad. All it'd do would be take away time from doing something else, in a location that I'd be doing something else in. Then again, I'm the sort of person who doesn't own a laptop or smartphone. I'm actually scared of getting either of those things, because as soon as my son (and later on, my daughter, I'm sure) sees them, all he'd want to do is play on them. I'd rather play with him (and her)!
- Sara
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