Laptop or tablet? It depends

Considering a new computer purchase this summer?

Whether you have a student entering middle or high school, are about to send a child off to college or simply feel like it is time to upgrade your own personal computer, you are probably looking at the bevy of currently available options and wondering what the best choice is for you: desktop, laptop, tablet or something else?

Desktop computers are generally lower in cost, but unless you have absolutely no need to move your computer, ever, laptops are almost always the better choice.

Years ago, laptops were more expensive and less robust than desktops in terms of processing power and memory, but these days they are pretty much the same, and at a comparable price point. If you need or want a larger monitor and full-sized keyboard, you can always keep one in your primary location — like home office, dorm room, etc. — and attach your laptop to them whenever you are there.

The more interesting consideration these days is whether to get a laptop or a tablet, such as an iPad, Samsung Galaxy or other Android device, Microsoft Surface, Kindle Fire, or similar. A regular question we get from parents this time of year is whether his or her incoming student can bring a tablet — and only a tablet — to college and successfully complete coursework. This is a difficult question, as there is no "one-size-fits-all" when it comes to laptops and tablets, and the answer is almost always "it depends."

In a perfect world I would recommend having both a laptop and a tablet, but if only one is an option, then you must consider what your primary uses will be and what each type of device is best suited for.

Laptops are, quite simply, portable desktop computers. They can (generally) load whatever software you need, attach to external devices like USB flash drives and printers, and maintain and process information and files locally, on the device itself. If you are an avid gamer, use specialized applications that need a lot of processing power or are unique to a specific platform (e.g., Mac or PC), or produce a lot of documents as part of your regular computer use, then a laptop may be the best bet for you.

Tablets are often thought of as devices for information consumption, not production, but there are cases where tablets outperform laptops. For example, although both types of devices have embedded webcams, videos are far more easily recorded on a tablet than a laptop, which can be difficult to negotiate into the right position, balance, etc.

Tablets are smaller and more portable than laptops, and have exceptional battery life, which makes them popular for traveling or those long days at school. However, they don't have built-in keyboards, rely on "apps" rather than installable software, and generally can process and store only limited information locally.

If your primary computer use is email, web browsing and social media — and you need to produce or edit documents only occasionally, or are extremely comfortable with web-based productivity software like Microsoft Office365 or Google Docs — then a tablet might be right for you. Although it adds to the size and weight of a tablet, you may want to purchase an external keyboard (some come embedded in a protective case) to maximize the use of your tablet.

There are some additional possibilities to consider in the laptop-versus-tablet debate. Many colleges, including the one I work for, are using a newer technology called "virtual desktop" now, which enables students to run a full Windows PC — including all of the associated software — on a tablet. While the screen size of the tablet is still small, this alleviates some of the lack-of-productivity issues previously associated with tablets.

There are also Chromebooks and other types of Netbooks to consider, which are similar in size to laptops, but more Web/app-based like tablets. And, of course, hybrid laptop/tablet devices are now entering the marketplace. These provide the processing power and features of a laptop, but include a removable portion that can be used separately as a tablet, when needed.

Raechelle Clemmons is vice president and chief information officer at St. Norbert College. She can be reached at raechelle.clemmons@snc.edu. You can also follow her on twitter @rclemmons.