Should I get Hybrid Laptop-tablet or Laptop?

[Yuki Core]

I am looking for a laptop or a laptop tablet. Something with a screen and a keyboard, basically. But I want to find the best Price/Performance ratio, while maintaining the ergonomy, mobility and battery life.

I started out looking at iPad Air tablet, but came to a conclusion that I won't be able to do anything more productive than writing an e-mail. So I started looking at something in between the portability or tablet and operational capacity of a laptop. So these hybrid tablets stood out. I could use one as a laptop and as a portable reading tool.

But it only gets harder... I've found these two options - Lenovo Thinkpad 10 and Acer Aspire Switch 10.

But this is where it all breaks down. Neither of them have 3.0 USB port, Thinkpad 10 doesn't have any USB ports at all, even with the keyboard, and I am not sure that these devices can power an external HDD, which is very important to me.

Also I wouldn't mind better performance, so that I could play some games on the go. I already play on my desktop PC, so it's not the top priority. And these CPU's, while weak, the tablets benefit greatly from power usage decrease, thus better battery life. Which is a very important aspect to me.

I would really appreciate some help, maybe there's a Laptop that can do those things better. But I've searched so much that I don't know if I can come to a happy ending without some advice.

 

[Iron124]

Laptop/Tablet combinations are always going to be "underpowered" compared to conventional workstations, as they are designed to be light and portable with the option of sitting down at a desk and doing some actual work. If this is important to you, I would suggest a conventional laptop, unless you believe you need the "on-the-go" portability a tablet can offer you.

How much are you looking to spend?

 

[Yuki Core]

Laptop/Tablet combinations are always going to be "underpowered" compared to conventional workstations, as they are designed to be light and portable with the option of sitting down at a desk and doing some actual work. If this is important to you, I would suggest a conventional laptop, unless you believe you need the "on-the-go" portability a tablet can offer you.

How much are you looking to spend?

You see, this is making it really hard for me to choose. It's either battery life and portability or performance and clumsiness. Actually laptops are not that clumsy, but the better processors make them less power efficient. So naturally I am looking for something in-between.

I'd say about 400€ to 700€. I am also very interested in the device having a good bright and quality display, because I've seen some pretty bad displays out there.

 

[Yuki Core]

I think I shall wait for next Apple announcements, maybe they release a better and more affordable laptop or tablet with more uses with lightning USB output power enough to support external HDD's. Or Intel's broadwell chip. It's some time away, but I think it might be worth it.

 

[iBUYPOWER - Jason]

I had an iPad Air and I thought buying one would make it easier to do work and be more productive. However, I quickly realized that I was limited in basic functions and could not completely edit papers in its full capacity.

I recommend an ultra book on Amazon or Newegg. These are a better alternative to tablets, which are fun to use, but lacking in productivity capabilities (for me anyways).

 

[Yuki Core]

I had an iPad Air and I thought buying one would make it easier to do work and be more productive. However, I quickly realized that I was limited in basic functions and could not completely edit papers in its full capacity.

I recommend an ultra book on Amazon or Newegg. These are a better alternative to tablets, which are fun to use, but lacking in productivity capabilities (for me anyways).

Thank you for your answer. This is exactly what I was thinking. I love the design, the simplicity and smoothness of the iPad, but it can't do any serious work, it's only a really fun toy, unfortunately.

 

[iBUYPOWER - Jason]

Sad truth I wish these tablets could do more!

 

[Yuki Core]

Sad truth I wish these tablets could do more!

This is the reason I was targeting these LapTabs, they do both of those things. But they lack performance in desktop mode, so that got me worried, I'm not sure if I won't regret the purchese

 

[iBUYPOWER - Jason]

Sad truth I wish these tablets could do more!

This is the reason I was targeting these LapTabs, they do both of those things. But they lack performance in desktop mode, so that got me worried, I'm not sure if I won't regret the purchese

Yeah...! I'm not sure I completely trust these hybrids, but my friends love the Surface Pro. The fact that it's capable of running any Windows program, but with the capabilities of a tablet is great. However, it does cost a pretty penny.

I was thinking of getting a Macbook Air anyways to do work