The only computing option people had few years ago were desktop PCs; but the rapid advancement in the field of Information technology has left consumers with many options. The last decade was dominated by desktops and laptops, while the current market is flooded with innovative options such as Mini Laptops, Tablets, and Notebooks. With the desktop fading in its popularity, laptops and tablets have gained a reputation over the years becoming consumer favorite. With the advent of notebooks and mini laptops, there arises the big question of which device is best suited for consumers today.
Desktop: It might probablybe the time for desktop to retire, but it still remains the best option for many. Desktop PC is a good choice for those who work with videos, large graphics, or other high-end applications because of its more powerful components.
Laptops:Laptop PCs have compact components and a more powerful processor than desktop PCs. The key selling point of laptops is their portability. Laptops make a great choice for people who want flexibility in moving from room to room or if they wish to travel with their PC.
Tablets: Tablets are extremely portable and can be used in several ways. They have almost replaced laptops in many ways and are best for someone who is on the go.
How exactly do these devices differ? The following a quick rundown on the differences between the desktop PCs, laptops, and tablets. By examining the details, one can get a clear understanding of which computing platform would serve them the best.
• Desktop PCs are not portable and remain stationary in one location.
• On the other hand, laptops are highly portable and are good for people who are constantly on the move. Laptops can be used almost anywhere.
• While, Tablets are one notch ahead of laptop in terms of portability. They are designed to fit pockets and compete with Netbooks.
• Desktops come with many components—central processing unit, keyboard, mouse, and monitor, which are easily upgradable. Users can easily add a larger hard drive, video card, RAM or even a new processor.
• Laptops cannot be upgraded easily because of its all-in-one design. However, laptops can be configured with features as required by users.
• Likewise, even Tablets do not have an easy upgrade path because of different chipsets and unique drivers and builds.
• Desktops have a better battery life. Desktop batteries usually last for more than 3 years.
• Tablets are designed for efficiency with the battery taking up majority of the interior part. Majority of the Tablets can run upto 10 hours before requiring a charge.
• Whereas, the battery life of laptop is comparatively less. Even high-capacity laptop batteries do not run long like desktop or tablet. On an average, a laptop can run upto 3 to 4 hours.
• DesktopPC has a larger hard drive space owing to its design. High-end desktops usually have storage space ranging from 500 GB to 2000 GB.
• Tablet PC rely much on the new solid-state storage memory for storing data and programs. Though, this facilitates low power usage and faster access, a tablet has the major disadvantage in the amount of data it can store.
• By comparison, laptops have more storage space than tablets but lesser than desktops. Most laptops still run on traditional hard drives and come with storage capacity of 160 gigabytes; 10 times more than tablets.
• Desktops are comparatively cheaper than laptop and tablets because the smaller components of laptops and tablets are more complex and expensive to manufacture than desktop components.
• Laptops are slightly high priced than a comparable desktop. There are laptops that are slightly expensive than mid-range tablets. Due to the recent changes in the prices, laptop prices have become highly competitive.
• Tablets are a new arrival to the market and thus, are highly priced considering the new technologies integrated in them.
• Desktop PCs have a comfortable keyboard and easy-to-use mouse.
• Laptop PCs have a smaller keyboard that lack a separate numeric pad and less comfortable layout than desktop PCs.
• Tablets lack a keyboard and rely solely on the screen’s touch interface for all input. Since there is no keyboard, users have to use the virtual keyboard for typing. Most people find it difficult to type accurately or quickly on virtual keyboard.
• The size of a desktop PC requires it to remain fixed to one place. It usually comes with many components that are of considerable size.
• Tablets are hardly the size of a small paper pad and weighs less than 2 pounds. Because of its weight and size tablets are much easier to carry around.
• Laptops are heavy and large. This is because a laptop’s track-pad and keyboard require it to be larger. Further, the incorporation of other powerful components that require additional power and cooling make laptops much larger.
• Desktop PCs are more secure owing to their lack of portability and size. Desktops lower the risk of theft meaning less chance of losing important data.
• The portability feature of laptops makes it vulnerable to be stolen. However, there are security cables available today that reduces the security threat.
• Since Tablets use wireless connection, chances of losing data is more. Most of the attacks can be thwarted off by activating security mechanisms. Users must activate security mechanisms in order to offer the desired level of security and access control.
If the requirement is for everyday use like checking e-mails or watching videos then desktop PCs offer a good choice; are less-expensive, user-friendly, easily upgradable, and powerful.
Laptops make a good choice for mobile computing. In terms of software, portability, storage capacity, performance, and convenience, then laptops are the ideal choice.
If users want more advanced technologies, then Tablets can be given a try. Tablets rank higher in size and battery life.
On the whole, everything boils down to customer preferences and requirements.Depending on the budget and lifestyle, consumers can pick their choice.