Business travel companion: A laptop or a tablet PC?
Whether you are an entrepreneur or a professional, there will be times that what you are working on requires you to travel. Business travel will need you to bring your work with you, and thanks to the mobile technology advances, you can do so by bringing your favorite mobile devices with you.
The always-popular option is a laptop. However, with the rapid advances in mobile technology and recent boom of tablet PC, you can now have more options (or confusion?) So, with that being said, here’s one thing to think about: Should I bring a laptop or a tablet PC? Well, there are some things to consider before you can decide:
Convenience
Laptops offer you convenience, but tablets are even more convenience that laptops. Your iPad is a big as a mini laptop (your smartphones are even smaller), but it’s even more convenience with all of those easy swiping motions, device shaking and stuffs.
Power
In term of power, unfortunately, your laptop is arguably more powerful than your tablet PC; and it’s compatible with more applications, a fact that leads us to the next thing to consider…
Compatibility
My iPad runs on iOS. My Dell Inspiron 13R runs on Windows 7. Software that is compatible with my mobile devices is not always easy to find. Sure, the popular software I use have apps associated with them, but not that many, really.
Workflow
I am a webpreneur running many websites, and managing my websites using my iPad is really, really a hassle. My colleague is a copywriter, and while she insisted that she can use her iPad for work purpose (with the USB keyboards and stuffs) she admits that it’s taking a bit of a learning curve to get used to a new way of working. Our works involve WordPress, and WordPress app for iPad is cool, but need some adjustment in the way we work.
With all of those being said, in deciding between a laptop and a tablet PC, you should ask yourself: What kind of work I expect to do during my travel?
If your work involves with website building, then you probably should go for a laptop, as a tablet PC will not really be helpful in accessing web servers. If your work involves presentation, your tablet PC can do great. If your work involves a lot of typing, then you should consider whether you are willing to bring additional USB devices to help you work better with your tablet PC versus an integrated keyboard in a laptop.
So, how about you? What did you choose and why?
