tablet vs. laptop for working from home Forum

[so ambivalent]

Hey,
I do need something to replace my (now defunct) MacBook Air. I was considering just getting a tablet but then I realized I may need to work from home occasionally and need something that I can review and generate documents on (mostly Word and PDF but the occasional Excel for a due diligence) and I've heard that tablets can be bad at that. I would love to get something that I can use for all my home needs (mostly streaming from Netflix/Hulu, web-browsing and Skyping) but that I can also rely on for occasional work needs. And I am fine with a remote mouse, keyboard, and even an additional larger screen if I need to type things out. I just need the tablet for the hard-drive/internet functions. Also, I would prefer an Android-based device since they tend to be cheaper (my firm won't pay for this and doesn't provide laptops and, anyway, I don't wanna ask since I'm new) and my phone is a Moto-X so everything would sync up.
Any advice or advice on how to research this? Thanks!

[NotMyRealName09]

I think the Microsoft Surface line of tablets are the wave of the future. I don't know about your price range, but the reviews on the Surface Pro have been positive. It's a fully functional computer in a tablet form. You can buy a docking station for home and connect a full sized monitor, keyboard, and mouse. But it also can function as a tablet just like an iPad. My firm is planning to migrate to all tablets like these in the near future. If you're looking for something as powerful as a laptop in tablet form, check out the Surface. If I was in the market for a new computer, I'd probably be buying one of these.

[patogordo]

i would just get a convertible ultrabook like the lenovo yoga or whatever. not much more than a surface pro + keyboard and you can use it on your lap and the keyboard is better, etc etc.

[Desert Fox]

Get your firm to give you a work laptop.

[Frayed Knot]

I think we probably need more info to give a good response. How often do you need to work at home? (How long is your commute? If you have major work on a weekend, do you work from home or do you head back to the office? During the week, do you stay at the office until you're done for the evening or do you go home for dinner and then plug back in for a bit more?)

When you do work from home, where do you work? (Do you have a home office setup or do you work on the couch? On a kitchen table? Do you have a desk where you spread stuff out, or do you pack things up each day?)

How might you use one or the other outside of working from home? Do you have a train or taxi commute either way where it'd be easier to read on a tablet?

If you don't mind paying for a docking station/monitor/keyboard and have the space to leave those set up in a home office, then I don't think it really matters whether you get a tablet or laptop—either way, you can just plug in. I'd probably go for the tablet, because I find it more comfortable to read on the couch. On the other hand, if you want to do serious work at home but don't have the space for a permanent monitor, I'd go for a laptop with a bigger screen.

(As far as hardware goes, pretty much anything should be fine. If you're worried on that score, though, the biggest hurdle is probably whatever software your firm uses for remote access. Those can be surprisingly resource-intensive).

[so ambivalent]

I think we probably need more info to give a good response. How often do you need to work at home? (How long is your commute? If you have major work on a weekend, do you work from home or do you head back to the office? During the week, do you stay at the office until you're done for the evening or do you go home for dinner and then plug back in for a bit more?)

When you do work from home, where do you work? (Do you have a home office setup or do you work on the couch? On a kitchen table? Do you have a desk where you spread stuff out, or do you pack things up each day?)

How might you use one or the other outside of working from home? Do you have a train or taxi commute either way where it'd be easier to read on a tablet?

i rarely rarely work remotely and when i do i almost always have a full desk i can spread out on. if i have to work late, i do it at the office. so the laptop functionality is more of a stop-gap measure if i'm on vacation and not in town and something comes up. in that scenario i would be on a plane or at a house/hotel where i could set my stuff up. and it's rare that i would use the tablet to work on my half hour commute; i am much more likely to use it as an e-reader on my commute for books i read for pleasure. in general, i will mostly be using it for netflix and browsing and reading.
i am looking at the surface and the samsung. but i really wanna keep it under $500 and have the windows/word capabilities. anybody have experiene with those or love/hate them? or think something else is better.