Smartphones vs. laptops: Of mice and... touchscreens

10 May 2013
Greetings GSMArenians and welcome to an interruption in our usual program. No need to change the channel though. It’s still the familiar place and good old us, and no, we haven’t run out of phones to review. But are we likely to run out of laptops? Ludicrous idea...

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  • D
  • AnonD-96269
  • dPT
  • 13 May 2013

AnonD-90736, 13 May 2013I think you'll find that you have no idea what a work envir... moreAgain, I'm adding a thing or two to your list:

- Wi-Fi hotspot
- handheld gaming console
- personal training assistant
- voice-augmented personal digital assistant
- a medical diagnostic device
- augmented reality device
- remote camera
- handheld e-book and e-magazine /PDF reader
- handheld USB hosting device
- digital handheld note taking device
- radio
- NFC device
- mini meteo station
- barcode scanner
- remote control device
- metal detector
- handyman tool (ruler, water level etc)
- remote camera

All of this you have in a S4..on top of it being a telephone, a camera, GPS device, internet device and media player

    • D
    • AnonD-128067
    • NFv
    • 13 May 2013

    AnonD-90736, 13 May 2013Smartphones will be able to play the mobile version of skyr... moreYou seem to forget that next gen consoles are going to be released this year.

      • D
      • AnonD-128067
      • NFv
      • 13 May 2013

      In terms of resolution, the yoga isn't the best laptop to use for comparison. I dislike apple products, but the Macbook Pro would have been better suited for this competition.

        • D
        • AnonD-90736
        • 3Jd
        • 13 May 2013

        Anonymous, 13 May 2013When you can play Skyrim, and work in a fully functional bu... moreSmartphones will be able to play the mobile version of skyrim next year as next years chips will all be directx 11 compatible and have graphics better than todays consoles.

          • D
          • AnonD-90736
          • 3Jd
          • 13 May 2013

          Anonymous, 13 May 2013When you can play Skyrim, and work in a fully functional bu... moreI think you'll find that you have no idea what a work environment is, ive been working for over 20 years not scrounging on benefits like you. No one uses a laptop at work, yes we all use desktops thats fine but I'm sorry you really ought to get a job rather than pretending you do have one. You really don't need a laptop, smartphones will do most tasks but of course for a business environment you do need a desktop, I use one at work because we have to use special software, but for the home you really don't need a laptop or a desktop unless its for business purposes. Please remember you cant take pictures or video with a laptop or a desktop, you cant make phone calls or send text messages and also remember that you can use your smartphone/tablet as a sat nav.

            • y
            • yan
            • j8w
            • 13 May 2013

            great article, yet, one thing we need to be reminded of. We need computers to create smartphones. Its that simple. It may seem as if smartphones will overtake the throne. matter of fact, at this pace, they will. But still, computers are necessary. Now, for everything other than programming, they may not be as necessary as they are today, or were.

              • D
              • AnonD-145175
              • qnn
              • 13 May 2013

              Aussie Traveller, 12 May 2013I carry a top of the range Asus 13.3 laptop with me and a b... moreExactly! My wife, a teacher, has her laptop and Z10 for all of her computing needs. She can take notes in meetings w/ her Z10 and transfer them to her laptop without having to disrupt the meeting with any 'clicking' of the keys or diversion of a large screen.

                • D
                • AnonD-145168
                • 0U3
                • 13 May 2013

                i saw autocad in the google play store...

                  • D
                  • AnonD-96269
                  • dPT
                  • 13 May 2013

                  Next year, smartphone will have enough power to run games as heawy as Battlefield 3.

                  http://androidandme.com/2013/04/news/nvidia-shows-off-battlefield-3-running-on-tegra-5/

                    • e
                    • eidbest
                    • SaQ
                    • 13 May 2013

                    Let not this article confuse people, the issue is not one of competition between the different platforms but rather our growing list of options in having more choices to select from. It's all about our different lifestyles from which we need to make informed decisions. For instance my being in the IT world I have found that I could best cover my needs with a smartphone and a laptop. The PC in the office remains a dependable ally when it comes to demanding jobs.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • jCQ
                      • 13 May 2013

                      AnonD-90736, 13 May 2013Its very silly that people are saying that laptops are bett... moreWhen you can play Skyrim, and work in a fully functional business environment, get back to me.

                      YOU just don't need a laptop. In fact, lots of people don't when their needs are basic and simple like yours. But when you finally get a job you will soon find out how vital desk/laptops are in almost every work environment. Sure most smartphones can be useful on the go, but they're not even close to being replacement devices, yet.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • jCQ
                        • 13 May 2013

                        Pointless article. It's like comparing a skateboard against a car. No matter how cool you guys think S4 is, it's not that great. MS Office. Bam. Over.

                        Tablet vs smartphone is a better format for review though. Seriously, my tablet does a lot of the grunt work I used to give to my phone. It makes so much more sense to split the work between these two devices.

                        My Lumia 920 (iPhone 5 replacement) is a great device for on the go, and a Nexus 7 for everything else. Best of each world! + I also use a Asus Win8 lappy (office/study) and a 27" iMac (everything else) :P so I'm pretty covered!

                        But anyways - GSMArena, re-do the review as tablets vs smartphones, and make it multi-OS subjective too. (Frankly WP8/iOS is better to be compared against a lappy than droid is.)

                          • S
                          • ShAhY
                          • xv7
                          • 13 May 2013

                          AnonD-90736, 13 May 2013Its very silly that people are saying that laptops are bett... moreWhen you will be able to run Matlab, Autocad, any development, engineering or design software or Try rooting any smart phone with another smart phone, then come back and say phones are better then laptops.

                          Both are entirely different strands and represent different mobile usability concepts.

                            • D
                            • AnonD-1319
                            • Hx7
                            • 13 May 2013

                            You had a bad laptop only 16?

                              • D
                              • AnonD-90736
                              • 3Jd
                              • 13 May 2013

                              Its very silly that people are saying that laptops are better than smartphones. I have to completely disagree, you can't do much with a laptop whereas with a smartphone you can do anything you want, you can take pictures and videos anytime you want, you can browse and open upto 16 seperate web pages at the smae time which you can't on a laptop as it will slow down completely. I can multitask so easily on my lg 4x hd, I always have upto 10 applications open plus those 16 web pages and there is never any slow down. I can make phone calls and send text messages using my 4x hd which yet again you can't on a laptop, you can also use voice guided sat nav in your car using your smartphone which yet again you can't with a laptop. I have since thrown my £800 dell laptop away as it useless compared to my lg 4x hd smartphone. I now do all my excel worksheets and word documents and presentations using my smartphone and lets not forget lots of brilliant gaming. The present and future is all smartphones and tablets, laptops and desktops are now finished for good.

                                • S
                                • Simona
                                • n}u
                                • 12 May 2013

                                Phones will never replace desktops,tablets or laptops because smartphones has too small screen and it's would be discomforted to create important tasks, to multitask with multi-window mode like on Windows OS, for example, Samsung supports multi-window but you can open only two windows at the same time, and it's makes problems,because it's not very comfortable to work with it 'cause of small screen.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • s2w
                                  • 12 May 2013

                                  [deleted post]absolutely agreed. Nokia & sony Ericsson's competition with music phones is what created the idea for the iPhone. But with the superior advertising abilities that apple possesses due to nearly infinite financial resources....the iphone stole the show. Shame.

                                  Then you've got Symbian, which set a huge part of the stage for android. customizable, upgradable, third-party ecosystem support, plus many capabilities that weren't thought of for phones at the time (i.e. file browsers, built-in .zip compression, barcode scanners, so on)
                                  The writer's ignorance in thinking that Apple started the smartphone revolution is ridiculous. They stole everybody elses ideas and used their resources to do what nobody else could....Advertise themselves as a pioneer.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • tRe
                                    • 12 May 2013

                                    Android still not a good laptop replacement osx or windows. Because it cannot multi-task properly, and full support for all sorts of connections/drivers/etc.

                                    But for people who wants a simple web browsing.. maybe. But it still cannot replace laptop or desktops.

                                      • K
                                      • Khurram
                                      • 3Jn
                                      • 12 May 2013

                                      I don't agree with the statement in conclusion that "even tablets couldn't replace laptops". The hybrid tablets with keyboard dock completely replace the need of laptop. I personally have the tablet "Acer Iconia W511" & never missed a laptop as it becomes a laptop with the dock. I don't use graphic intensive programs or games otherwise I could always chose a more powerful similar hybrid device.

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                                        • eddy
                                        • wp@
                                        • 12 May 2013

                                        It is a question of time and you will only have pablets with an OS like Windows 8 like the Nokia Lumina 1002. For the desktop experiance you only need a screen etc or a kind of replicator. I never thought it, but it's a queation of a few years and the pc and the laptop you only will find in the museum.