why tablet over netbook?

[das75]

Trying to sell myself on a tablet but not getting there.

Got a 10" netbook for travelling; allows me to check my mail in the hotel, has a keyboard, can watch movies on the plane. About the only thing would maybe for reading manuals as easier to hold than turning the netbook sideways but then don't do that much nor have gotten into ebooks.

What am I missing with them?

[Tikker]

if you have a netbook, there really isnt' much reason to switch to a tablet, unless you're dead set on having a touchscreen over a keyboard


as an e-Reader, there's definitely benefits, but as you don't do much of that (imo) you really don't have much reason to switch

[hugh]

With a tablet. Better screen, lots of useful apps, much better battery life, no boot up time, built in gps. Depends on your needs.

[recneps77]

The only real benefit is touch (if you prefer that input - many prefer keyboard and mouse/touchpad) and battery life.
Some netbooks give you ~12hrs battery life, though some tablets can get you a couple days' life.

It comes down to if you want to be able to use windows apps (assuming you're using a windows netbook and not a linux-based one) or (primarily) phone-like apps.

I got a touchpad for the hell of it (cheap price ), and it's useful, but I honestly miss the complete functionality of windows + mouse.
Despite being fullscreen, the browsers are still (usually) recognized as mobile and have reduced features. And being optimized for touch, many flash sites just don't work as intended.

[GSMfan]

Personally I think the best of both worlds would be one of the Windows7 tablets with a dockable keyboard. Most of the time I may not need to lug the keyboard around. Or when I'm travelling, I can pack the keyboard in my checked luggage, and just carry the tablet for web-surfing to kill time waiting for my flight, etc. If I had to pick one, I would still pick Windows OS, because, as someone else said, Android is still essentially a phone OS, with limited functionality.

[Tikker]

that, and being able to World of Warcraft with you everywhere is nice for some

[taxtwit]

We've got a Dell Inspiron Duo, which is a netbook/tablet hybrid running Windows 7 and it is perfect for our needs, i.e. tablet mode for websurfing, netbook mode for pretty much everything else. Windows 7 isn't great for touchscreen, but Windows 8 is supposed to be a significant improvement in that regard and if you really want a more tablet like experience, it is apparently possible to install Android and run it as a dual boot machine.

[sparky204]

I like the tablets as it gives me everything a netbook would give me but the portability of a cellphone. I use a 7" coby kyros mid7024 and it is just big enough for my pocket without becoming cumbersome. Anything I would do on a netbook I can do with said tablet. The best part is the tablet I got you can find in a sub $150 range. An added bonus is the awesome games I can play on the touchscreen tablet. Try playing fruit ninja or angry birds on a netbook.

[Wayne]

The biggest difference between a tablet and a netbook is the portability and the instant on feature. You are using a tablet within a few seconds of picking it up - that is not the case with netbooks/laptops. And the form factor of a tablet makes it very useful for reading, even while standing or walking.

I often take my tablet with me when I go down to the food court to get my lunch - and I see other folks doing the same. You never see that with a netbook. Same thing on the subway, GO train, etc.

[recneps77]

You can use a netbook with instant on if you use sleep mode as people do with smartphones and tablets.
If they actually spent time doing shut-down/booting-up they'd be waiting for just as long each time they pulled out the device

[hugh]

OP has not returned to thread so I am closing.