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Name: Sachin Aji Bhaskar

Instructor: Jonathan Lehtonen

Course: ESL 015, Section: 019

Date: 1/30/2015

Laptops Vs Tablets

In everyday life, would a tablet or a laptop be a more productive device? When it comes

to choosing between these two devices on the basis of productiveness, it is best to determine

what it is intended for. We see that these gadgets have a significant impact on our daily lives and

will eventually become part of our bodies. We use them everywhere, whether it be at home, the

office, parties, in leisure, or during travel. They impact the family and social life of people. The

world of tablets and laptops are converging toward wearable devices. However, we still require

durable laptops as they do some functions that the tablet or other wearable devices don’t. We all

know that they both can be used to browse the internet, but when it comes to accessibility the

tablet computers have an advantage. When comparing these two devices, productiveness refers

to the devices’ durability, compatibility and sociability. Before this comparison, let us look into

how these devices came into being.

The evolution of laptops from the bulky personal computer to a small portable device

started when William Moggridge in 1979 designed and fabricated a computer that was one-fifth

the weight and size of a personal computer. It was used by NASA on the Space Shuttle Program.

The tablet computing concept is a linear progression from the laptops. Both offer similar

functionality, but the difference is convenience and portability. According to Howlerda (2010),

the earliest known tablet computer, the “DynaBook,” was invented by Alan Kan. He designed

this focusing on young adults or the Gen Y users. Unfortunately, Mr. Alan revealed only one

prototype due to lack of technological advancement in the 1960s. (para. 6)

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When it comes to durability, laptops always win for two reasons. Laptops have extended

keyboards and robust structures with all parts integrated unlike the tablet where it is a fragile

device with a touch screen. This exposure often leads to “use and throw” for tablet devices

compared with “use and repair” for laptops. Protective cases could be used to make tablets as

durable and safe but this would make them bulky like laptops. Although according to Press Trust

of India (2015), researchers at Japan's National Institute for Materials Science recently

announced the development of light-emitting organic field-effect transistors (LE-OFETs), which

could be used to make computer screens more pliable. (para. 9) From this we can conclude that

this could aggravate the durability of tablets making them equal to laptops.

There has always been a debate on whether tablets are socially and mentally useful for

young children or not. According to Walters (2015), researchers at Boston University School of

Medicine warned that using a tablet to divert a child’s attention could be detrimental to his or her

social-emotional development. They also discovered that use of interactive screen time for

children under 30 months could impair the development of the skills needed for math and

science.(para 4) But the same cannot be told in the case of laptops because they need some

knowledge and basic understanding of how computers work to operate them. Whereas tablets do

not have the complexity of a laptop and don't require any training for use.

Everybody has their own likes and dislikes when it comes to selection of gadgets. Due to

this, the choice now lies on the one that would be more compatible for an individual. Tablets

could be used to do a variety of pleasurable activities such as gaming, hearing music, reading

magazines, watching a movie and many other low energy consumption applications. There are

some applications in tablets that may replace the software used in the laptop but at the cost of

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losing its originality. Laptops can do all this, as well as run high tech software like Solid works,

Mat lab and many more complex applications. Both of these devices use integrated graphic

engines to make the visuals more realistic. However, the tablets cannot replace the laptop’s

compatibility qualities due to its high-energy efficiency and boosted performance.

Preferences vary for different people based on the perception of “productivity.” For

example, if somebody envisioned portability as the main source of productivity, tablets would be

the best choice. On the other hand if the choice is durability, laptops would be the most

appropriate. Lately Intel has introduced a new Ultrabook laptop, which can be transformed into a

tablet. However, due to its cost factors, it is not affordable for the majority of people. For this

reason, it would be economically beneficial to buy a laptop as the latest ones are quiet slim and

light weight. They also offer most of the functions of a tablet but the vice-versa isn’t true.

According to statistics provided by companies such as Dick Smith, Harvey Norman, and JB Hi-

Fi, innovations will lead tablets to be more economically preferred by customers in the future.

Based on these facts, the selection of tablets or laptops is not a conclusive value

proposition currently due to mutually exclusive reasons for its demand in the market. There will

be convergence from laptops to tablets and from tablets to laptops in the years to come.

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References

Howlerda, T (2010, January 15). A Short History of the Tablet Computer. Retrieved from

http://www.osnews.com/story/22739/A_Short_History_of_the_Tablet_Computer

Soon, Flexible and Paper-Thin Displays With LE-OFETs Technology: Study. (2015, January 27).

Retrieved from http://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/news/soon-flexible-and-paper-thin-displays-

with-le-ofets-technology-study-654352

Tablet Vs. Laptop: A Compatible Choice. Retrieved from

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/tech-tips-and-tricks/tablet-vs-laptop.html

Cervantes, E (2011, August 26). Tablet Vs PC Can a tablet Replace a PC? Here is my

experience after two weeks. Retrieved from http://androidandme.com/2011/08/devices/can-a-

tablet-replace-a-pc/

Walters, J (2015, February 2) Tablets and smartphones may affect social and emotional

development, scientists speculate. Retrieved from

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/01/toddler-brains-research-smartphones-

damage-social-development

Tablets VS Laptops (2012) Retrieved from

https://sites.google.com/site/tabletsvslaptops/affordability-and-longevity