Laptop/notebook. netbook, chromebook or tablet

elvisruns

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I asked this question in a different forum but thought I would ask here as well.

I am changing careers and will be going from a desk job to a sales job and need to start thinking about how best to accomplish things away from home. I'm a desktop user at heart. I see the benefit of having something very portable to use like a tablet, but have seen some of the struggles my wife has gone through trying to do business on her iPad. Granted, I am more savvy with hardware (and software) than she is.
It seems that a lot of documents that I'll soon be working with will be cloud-based (digital transmission and signatures, etc), but I still love the thought of and ability to dump something out of a PDF to Open Office, dump an image out and modify in Gimp - basically what I think a lot of us would normally do on a computer. I just haven't been convinced yet that the tablets are able to easily do everything I want.
I like the thought of constant connectivity to a network or wi-fi (tablet) but it seems like its a bit harder to come by if I favor a notebook/netbook.

Some guys in the other forum suggested touchscreen notebook, Surface Pro, or a Windows-based convertable tablet. I haven't begun my research in earnest. The touchscreen for me isn't a deal breaker - personally, I could care less if I have one. Does it look slick? Perhaps. But I can still do everything faster and more accurately with a mouse.

Any thoughts on this, and recommendations as to products I may want to research would be great as I'm trying not to have any preconcieved notions (even though I do!).
 
If this is going to be your primary device then I would avoid a tablet altogether. To me tablets are nice consumption devices meaning reading, playing simple games, watching a movie, surfing the net in a pinch. Yes, there are productivity software, but it's just too limited of a device in my opinion for any serious work. I have a Nexus 7 which I use mostly for reading, playing pinball from time to time, and watching a few movies. I surf the net with it from time to time, but nothing major since the screen is larger than my cellphone.

From my little understanding of Chromebooks everything is more or less stored in the cloud. That means you need to have an internet connection in order to do any work. If you are in a location with no such free service. Then you have a problem. You can get a mobile modem like Clear Spot, but it probably costs $50 for the device and then $50 per month for service which works out to $600 per year so that you can be mostly guaranteed to get access to the cloud; unless you are in a dead zone.

That leaves a netbook or laptop (Ultrabook). Netbooks are generally small, somewhat light, and inexpensive, but they don't pack much punch. Sure you can get by with a netbook, but they usually come with small screens and small keyboards which may or may not work for you. You should go to a store and play around with a few to test them out.

Laptops are generally the most power mobile device you have listed. But they can also be somewhat heavy as well. They weight on average about 5lbs - 6lbs. If you have a 5lbs weight at home just carry around with you at home to get set a feel for a laptop that is approximately that weight Ultrabooks weighs in at less than 5lbs and are basically 14" or 13.3"; some may 15.6". Laptops in general can give you a good amount of portability and power, but you should also consider battery life if you are no going to be near an A/C outlet or car most of the day.

Some laptops to consider:

Lenovo Yoga - Laptop / tablet combo, the keyboard folds back behind the display. In this configuration the keyboard is deactivated, but the keys are still exposed on the "underside of the tablet".

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/landingpage/yoga/?iPromoID=Yogacampaign&

Lenovo ThinkPad X series with laptops / untrabooks ranging between 12.5" to 14"

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/x-series/

ThinkPad Helix - 11.6" laptop / tablet. The screen detaches from the keyboard. Small and expensive. Weighs in at less than 4lbs.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets/thinkpad/thinkpad-helix/index.html/

Asus 13.3" Transformer Book TX300C - The Transformer series started out as an Android device which was a tablet with an optional attachable keyboard. It has now moved up into the laptop space. Starting price is $1,500 so it is not cheap.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2420385,00.asp

Asus Transformer Book T100 (just announced today) - The little brother to the above TX300C. This is actually a netbook not a laptop with a 10.1" screen and a $349 price. It uses an Intel Atom (Bay Trail generation) CPU. It runs Windows 8.1. I think I would prefer this to the Surface 2 running Windows RT which cannot run standard Windows software like Windows Office XP, 2007, 2010, 2013.

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/asus-transformer-book-t100/4505-3126_7-35827544.html

Lastly, are you getting bored during a sales meeting or whatever words your client is yapping away at you simply going in one ear and then out the other? Fear not!!! Simply whip out this 17.3" 9.90lbs monstrosity and start having fun by killing people (virtually speaking... yes unfortunately killing people in real life is a crime... if Congress could only pass an Amendment to change that...). That's right!! Just load up games like Crysis 3, Battlefield 3, Far Cry 3 (what the hell is this fascination with the number "3"???), Hitman:Absolution, and Skyrim. Freak out your co-workers and learn how mod characters in the games so that you can replace the default faces with your co-workers faces and start killing them!!!

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g750jxrb71-backorder-p-5969.html?wconfigure=yes


Anyway, that should give you a starting point for your research.
 

JD88

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Not knowing what your budget is, I would almost say get the $200 Acer Chromebook and use the Crouton mod to dual boot Ubuntu. Then you have all of the benefits of a Chromebook in addition to OpenOffice, Gimp, etc in a compact package for dirt cheap.

https://www.google.com/intl/en-US/chrome/devices/acer-c7-chromebook.html#specs

http://www.howtogeek.com/162120/how-to-install-ubuntu-linux-on-your-chromebook-with-crouton/
 
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elvisruns

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Both interesting thoughts JD and jag- you guys made me think even a little more in depth about this. Whatever I get won't be my primary device - I do have a lovely homebuilt desktop that does everything I need it to from a productivity standpoint. Originally, I guess I was thinking that I need all of that capability on the go as well, when maybe I don't. But I will be working from time to time in an off site office, where having some of the same capability as home could be beneficial. Completely necessary? Not sure on that yet. I guess I was thinking I should cover my butt for all potential scenarios as best I could.
Going the route with a chromebook as JD suggests would be a great way to get things going on the cheap, generate some cash flow and be able to move up to another device in the future. I haven't looked at Chromebooks at all since they were first introduced 2+ yrs ago. They seemed a little limited at that time so I didn't pay much attention. Will have to give that a look. I'm not familiar with OS other than windows, but would more than be game for giving it a try. Will Ubuntu allow me to save files out to a USB drive on a chromebook?

Jaguar - your take on sales meetings is hilarious. I can only get into sports games though..... :)-)
 

JD88

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Well you can move and edit files to and from USB from Chrome OS as well. It's actually becoming pretty full functioned. Ubuntu would just give you those native, open source apps you were talking about though.
 

elvisruns

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One final question for the moment - I ask this not nowing about other OS's: setting up printers in Ubuntu - is it as relatively simple as doing it in Windows? I'll have access to an office where they have a networked printer of some sort where I may need to print out presentation material, client data, etc., and will need to be able to install (or maybe the office's tech person does it for you -I don't know, haven't gotten to that point of orientation yet) print drivers and printers.

Thanks!
 

JD88

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I'm not sure on this. I haven't had any issues with my own print server, but there is no way of knowing what kind of software your company utilizes for this. This could be a downside of going the Chromebook direction. I will say that I know Chrome OS is only able to print using Google's cloud print service.
 
Before going with ubuntu you will need to ask the IT department if they are willing to give you support if you are having issues with that OS especially when interfacing with your company's IT infrastructure. If you are using an OS that is considered to by "non standard" for the company then they are likely not going to provide you much support (if any) because their primary responsibility is maintaining / upgrading hardware / software that the company uses. That means your technical issues may be low priority or zero priority.
 

elvisruns

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Thanks again guys. I haven't talked to the IT people in the office yet, but you've now got me a bit worried that it won't be so simple with this (printing at least). We'll see. From what I know, the company as a whole has gone to more web-based systems, but I do know that if I'm in the office and need to print, I have to give them my computer (chromebook, etc) and they will configure for me. I'll try to find out in the next day or two who's in charge and what they know (or don't).
If the chrome/ubuntu idea doesn't fly, I think I'll be resigned to going to a smaller notebook/netbook/ultrabook. But damn I was stoked at getting in at that $200 level!! :)-(