For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m in my early 60’s, and I absolutely love technology. I don’t necessarily have to have the newest gadget that comes out, but I do like the toys I have. I tend to let the companies work out the kinks and bugs before I dive into something unfamiliar, and I do a great deal of research before making a choice. There have been several times that I decided against a device altogether without going into which brand of the device I want. I don’t mind paying for a good, useful device, but I strenuously object to spending a lot of money on something that turns out to be a very expensive paperweight.
As technology has evolved, so have our options. It doesn’t seem like very long ago that the things I had to decide on were which planner to buy and what pen to use with it, but it was over 20 years ago. Today our choices have grown, and they’re going to continue to do so as emerging companies bring out new devices with new options we haven’t even realized we need. You think it’s confusing now to figure out where to put your hard-earned dollars?
When you consider your next device, what will it be? Will you be looking for a desktop computer, a laptop/notebook, a Chromebook, an all-in-one (a big monitor that contains the “guts” of the computer hardware, leaving only the mouse and keyboard to clutter up the desk), or would a tablet provide all the power you need? Or are you one of the lucky ones that could do it all with just a smartphone? Each of the types of computing tools has unique features, advantages, and limitations that you’ll need to be aware of and keep in mind as you’re shopping. Today I’m going to give a fairly detailed comparison of the different types of computing devices available to help you choose the best fit for you.
As you read through the guide, you’ll want to keep in mind the things that you need in a device. Is it a work, school, general purpose, or leisure device? Do you need to be able to work from anywhere? Do you do intensive processing like data analysis or media processing (music, video, photographs)? What is the primary use of it? What is your budget for the device? Give these ideas a good bit of thought, because if you buy the wrong device for your needs, you’ll be in for a good deal of frustration.
I’m going to present the different types of computing devices with some use-case scenarios, and a decision-making matrix to help you make a good choice that you’ll be able to live with for several years, barring accidents and device failure. Try and see yourself using the kind of device I’m describing to do the main type of activity you think you’ll be doing on it.
Traditional Computers
We’ll start out with the things we typically think of when we say “computers.” In this category we have several sub-types: Desktops, laptops, Chromebooks, and All-in-One computers.
Desktop computers offer the possibility of superb performance with upgradeable components, and this makes them extremely customizable. You can build them out with as much power as there is available, or you can tone them down for a more modest system. The cases offer space for multiple hard disk drives or solid state drives, providing a possibility for an enormous amount of storage. In terms of “bang for the buck,” desktops are typically a more cost-effective choice than the other types of computers. They are built with space for cooling, and, because heat is an enemy of electronic components, more cooling can equate for improved longevity and performance. Desktop computers also have more connectivity options for the other things you need to connect to it – printers, scanners, other hard drives or storage devices, cameras, etc.
The downsides of desktop computers are that they’re not “take me with you” devices. You can move them, but you’re not going to take one into your local coffee shop, set it up, and do your work. They also take more space than the other kinds of computers, and they require that you purchase a monitor (or two), a keyboard, and a mouse, separately from the computer, unless you buy a full, bundled setup, or you already have those things from another system.
What makes a desktop computer the best choice? They’re ideal for high-intensity tasks like gaming, video editing, mapping, and 3D modeling. These activities put a lot of work on the processor and graphics cards, which, in turn, generate a lot of heat that has to be drawn away from the components. If you have a spot in your home where space is not a factor, like a home office, a desktop computer may be the perfect solution to your computing needs.
Laptops or notebooks are designed to be portable and compact. They come with a built-in screen keyboard, and trackpad, but that doesn’t mean you have to be limited to what is built into the computer. You can attach an additional monitor, and there are times when it’s helpful to attach a separate keyboard and traditional mouse to the laptop. Most general computing tasks that don’t require heavy pulls on the processor, like the ones I mentioned in the previous paragraph, can be performed on a laptop. You can also find a laptop in a wide range of configurations and price points.
However, that portability comes with a couple of price tags. It’s hard to upgrade the components of a laptop, and some items can’t be upgraded. I can’t provide a comprehensive list of those components, because even within the same brand line, some computers will have a particular component soldered onto the motherboard, and others will have those same components provided as snap-in modules. It can also be hard to get them apart to change out the components that are snap-ins. It’s really best if you can get it configured the way you want it when you buy it, but fortunately, that’s not really difficult.
Price is another factor that might dissuade you from choosing a laptop. They are often more expensive than an equally-configured desktop. Your screen is also going to be smaller than the monitor size you’d be likely to choose to work with your desktop. Still, if you are looking for a work-from-anywhere device, or if you travel quite a bit, a laptop may be your best choice. Students find them ideal to carry from class to class, then back home. Most laptops are general-purpose machines, for web browsing, document editing, and light gaming, I do use mine for photo processing, and I purchased a higher-end system for that purpose. It’s pretty heavy, though, compared to lighter-use systems. We travel quite a bit, and I take it with me for photo editing and video streaming, as well as having a way to access all my education and training materials. It’s also handy for downloading a video to play when I’m presenting information in a class and the venue doesn’t provide WiFi to stream it.
A newcomer to the computing field is the Chromebook. These devices are laptops that run the ChromeOS operating system, rather than Windows, Linux, or MacOs. Although the hardware comes from familiar names like HP, the part you interact with is somewhat different than the other operating systems. They are generally very affordable for a decently-configured laptop. They have great boot times and efficient performance. They tend to be really lightweight and portable, and it’s easy to keep them secure with the automatic updates that Google provides (pushes) to them.
However, the reason they’re lightweight is that they aren’t built for the heavy computing of video production or gaming. They are designed to be used online, primarily. You can use it without an internet connection, but not nearly as extensively as with a laptop. They are highly dependent on the Google ecosystem and internet access.
Their light weight and portability makes them ideal for casual browsing and document editing. If most of your activity involves cloud-based applications and services, a Chromebook may be a good option, especially if you use Google products for most of your activities (Gmail, google docs, etc.). I had gotten a Chromebook on sale one year just to play around with (yes, it was inexpensive enough to just play around with), but I gave it to my husband when his iPad finally quit holding a charge for more than two minutes. It does everything he needs it to do, because everything he does is cloud-based.
All-in-one computers are truly beautiful to have sitting on your desk. The components are all built in, and that’s a real space-saver. It’s pretty simple to get one set up, because you only need to attach a keyboard and mouse, and you’re ready to go. Some of the newer ones even come with touchscreens, if you get used to using that benefit. My laptop has a touch screen and it’s handy when I want to make on-document marks.
The way they’re built, though, makes it hard to upgrade them and do any do-it-yourself repairs; you’ll want to take it to the shop to get those done. They’re also more expensive than traditional desktops. (You pay for that beauty.) You also may not get the same performance that you’d get out of a similar set of specifications in a desktop computer, because there’s just not room to cool an intensely powerful processor and graphics card.
It may be your best choice, however, if you have an environment that requires a space-saving computer, you don’t need a lot of customization in your machine, or if you just want a really nice-looking system on your desk. Don’t get me wrong – these computers can do most of the tasks that most people do – business documents and applications, and multimedia use (watching, not creating).
Ultra-Mobile Devices
Tablets provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional computers. Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab series are two examples, but there are many others. They’re highly portable and very lightweight (unless you travel with three of them, like I tend to do). The user-friendly touchscreen makes them easy to navigate. The battery life is excellent, while the battery is healthy; when the device starts getting some age on it, the length of time it holds a charge starts shrinking. Tablets are great for general web browsing, reading books, video streaming, and games. Most of them come with a camera, which makes them suitable for photography (on a limited basis) and video calls.
They’re not desktops and laptops, and they can’t do everything traditional computers do. If you need something for intense gaming or professional video editing, a tablet won’t be a substitute. Typing on a tablet can be frustrating unless you get a Bluetooth keyboard for it.
Even with those limitations, tablets are great for casual web browsing, keeping up with your social media accounts, and streaming media. They are excellent devices for reading e-books and other documents, and for light-use productivity, they work well. They can be useful educational tools for children, and some manufacturers make tables just for kids, with durable covers and parental controls built into the operating system.
Smartphones are the most portable computing devices we have, and they are always accessible. They offer a wide range of functionalities, like communication, photography, internet browsing, and GPS service. Remember the old Apple ad that said, “There’s an app for that”? Yeah, that’s pretty much true for just about everything you want it to do. Newer phones, especially the higher-priced ones, are coming with some pretty high-quality cameras.
Even as wonderful as my iPhone is, there are some things I just hate doing on such a small screen. There are some games I won’t play on the phone, and I refuse to try to watch a television show or movie on it. Phones also just aren’t suitable for heavy computing tasks. Even without doing “heavy computing tasks,” though, you will see your battery drain while using certain apps.
What makes a phone the single perfect device for you? If your priority is on-the-go communication and social networking, quick internet searches, email, and casual gaming, you may be able to get by with just the smartphone. It comes in extremely handy for navigation and music, as well as capturing photos and videos in daily life. I don’t use my phone’s camera as my go-to camera, though, because I can’t control it nearly as well as I can my camera. But it’s great for grabbing that “now or never” shot.
Key Comparison Factors
If that wasn’t enough to help you make a good decision, let’s refine it a little. Here’s a list of things you should consider when deciding what kind of device you need:
Performance:
- What is the processor speed?
- How much Random Access Memory (RAM) does it have?
- How much storage does it have?
- Of the suitable tasks I listed above for each device type, which ones are your priority, and which types of devices fit those needs?
Portability:
- Is the size of the device a factor?
- Do you need something lightweight to carry around?
- How important is long battery life?
Operating system:
- Does your new device need to be compatible with other devices you already own?
- Will the operating system of your new device be a factor in that?
- Do you prefer an operating system with which you’re already familiar?
Price range: Look at various devices in the budget or entry-level, mid-range, and high end to see how many of your needs can be met at each price point.
Display:
- How much detail do you need to be able to see on the screen?
- How big does it need to be to accommodate what you need to see?
Connectivity and peripherals:
- What all do you need to connect to the device?
- Does the device have all the ports you need for those other connections? (Many laptops are equipped with only a few ports now, and almost none of them have a CD drive anymore. Some have only one or two USB ports, some have only HDMI video output, some have no Ethernet port; you need to look at all the ports it has if you use peripherals that need to physically connect.)
- Will you need to buy additional devices to support your needs? (Chromebooks have a limited number of printers they can print to, and not all printers support over-the-air printing)
Special features: Consider if a touchscreen on a laptop adds value to the device, or if a 2-in-one laptop will provide a genuine substitute for buying a laptop and a tablet (it didn’t for me; I hardly ever use my laptop like a tablet.
Decision Matrix
Below is a decision matrix that can help you drill down into the questions that can help you figure out which device to buy.
| 1. Performance | |
| – **Processor Speed:** | |
| – High: Desktop, Laptop | – Moderate: All-in-One, Chromebook |
| – Low: Tablet, Smartphone | |
| – **RAM:** | |
| – High: Desktop, Laptop | – Moderate: All-in-One, Chromebook |
| – Low: Tablet, Smartphone | |
| – **Storage:** | |
| – High: Desktop, Laptop | – Moderate: All-in-One, Tablet |
| – Low: Chromebook, Smartphone | |
| – **Task Suitability:** | |
| – Professional Work/Gaming: Desktop, High-End Laptop | – General Use/Education: Laptop, Chromebook, Tablet |
| – Basic Use/Casual Browsing: Tablet, Smartphone | |
| 2. Portability | |
| – **Size Factor:** | |
| – Compact: Laptop, Tablet, Smartphone | – Bulky: Desktop, All-in-One |
| – **Lightweight:** | – Yes: Laptop, Tablet, Smartphone |
| – No: Desktop, All-in-One | |
| – **Battery Life:** | |
| – Long: Laptop (specific models), Tablet, Smartphone | – Short: Desktop, All-in-One |
| 3. Operating System | |
| – **Compatibility with Existing Devices:** | – Required: Match OS with existing ecosystem (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android) |
| – **Preference for Familiar OS:** | – Yes: Choose based on previous usage |
| – No: Open to exploring new OS | |
| 4. Price Range | |
| – **Budget Level:** | |
| – Entry-Level: Chromebook, Budget Laptop, Low-End Tablet | – Mid-Range: Mid-Range Laptop, Tablet |
| – High-End: High-End Laptop, Desktop, All-in-One | |
| 5. Display | |
| – **Screen Detail:** | |
| – High: Desktop (with high-end monitor), High-End Laptop, All-in-One | – Moderate: Mid-Range Laptop, Tablet |
| – Low: Chromebook, Smartphone | |
| – **Screen Size:** | |
| – Large: Desktop, All-in-One | – Medium: Laptop |
| – Small: Tablet, Smartphone | |
| 6. Connectivity and Peripherals | |
| – **Peripheral Requirements:** | |
| – Many: Desktop, Some Laptops | – Few: Chromebook, Tablet, Smartphone |
| – **Port Availability:** | – High: Desktop, Some Laptops |
| – Moderate to Low: Chromebook, All-in-One, Tablet, Smartphone | |
| – **Additional Device Needs:** | |
| – Likely: Chromebook (limited printer support), Tablet, Smartphone | Unlikely: Desktop |
Let me know if this was helpful in choosing your next device. Yeah, sometimes we just buy something because we want a new toy, but if you need to be choosy about where you’re going to put your money, I hope this gives you some decision-making tools. Let me know in the comments!