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-101244
  • ibf
  • 11 May 2013

How u can do all operating system without laptop? Dnt compare laptop with smartphone....

    • D
    • AnonD-134497
    • sSP
    • 11 May 2013

    Lord K, 11 May 2013Hahaha...this article had me laughing...clearly the dumbass... moreExactly my point. Comparing a high-end smartphone with a low-end laptop and then concluding Smartphones are so much close to laptops bench marks. Made me laugh out loud.

      • D
      • AnonD-134497
      • sSP
      • 11 May 2013

      Why laptop sales are getting lower or not being seen as smartphones sales?
      Because there is a HUGE size difference between Laptop and smartphones. Laptops doesn't meant for pocket portability such as smartphones. The x86, x64 processors outmatch ARM processors. I don't think this comparison is useful. Even though, GSMArena is comparing the most intelligent smartphone which is Samsung Galaxy S4 with just a low-range laptop. Try comparing it with Alienware type high-end devices and there will be huge differences found.

      I like to play high graphical games such as COD, Crysis, Battlefield, CS:GO, Need for Speed on big screens with high resolution as 1920x1080 with settings set to maximum as Extra High which can't even be achieved by smartphones. One more thing, S4, the most powerful Smartphone yet now costs around 600-650$ while a powerful laptop, not this ultrabook will be costing over 1900$. See the difference why the sales of smartphones are higher as compared to Laptops.

      This is not just a well done comparison. The batteries in smartphones, how much things they have to handle while running? Can it be comparable to laptops which is running a full OS and not just a mobile-OS.

      Even the battery in Lenovo Yoga is 4-cell lithium which is an IDEAL battery. It is comparable to an idea battery of mobile phones which is 2000mAh. Of course, the battery of Lenovo runs a big screen, keyboard, full OS, mouse pad, other devices and stuff so IT WILL CONSUME quicker as compared to a smartphone.

      As I said in the beginning, this comparison is being done between a High-end most powerful smartphone yet now with a low-end laptop. Still it gives differences. I prefer GSMArena to compare a high-end smartphone with a high-end laptop and then elaborate the results.

        • B
        • Black Xero
        • 38M
        • 11 May 2013

        Akash, 11 May 2013I have always wondered how much close smartphones are getti... moreJust tell me one thing. On which device the android jelly bean or any other was encoded..? Was it a google nexus.? Was it an S3. Or what..?? And remember Father always remains father. But his childs are obviously more stronger than him.

          • e
          • eidbest
          • 0v8
          • 11 May 2013

          Although I understand the intricacies of this article, and to be honest I found it pretty informative. But being a person in the IT world, and one who has been around for quite a while to witness the different evolutions of platforms, I can today say the following: That all platforms have their limitations. The smartphone, phablet and tablet cannot hope to replace the Laptop and neither can the laptop ignore the importance of these platforms either, each platform has its strengths and weaknesses. The smartphone for example is getting more and more processing power, but unless it will one day come with at least a 14 inch screen, then the laws of physical size will keep it in the area of phones. In brief, today people will tailor make their options to their practical requirements, all based on their lifestyles. For example my line of work and lifestyle have taken me to opt for this route, a smartphone, a laptop and the PC which is in my office. So far I couldn't see why I should own a Tablet or even a phablet, but I have come to find that I could cover my professional productivity requirements using these 3 platforms. It's about making the right choices, today we have more choices than before, so we might as well use them smartly.

            • D
            • DON
            • U2f
            • 11 May 2013

            AnonD-144317, 11 May 2013I think some of you are under estimating what's to come. In... moreGoing by the words people like you told twenty years ago, I would be typing this reply sitting in Mars.

              • k
              • kpk
              • t1$
              • 11 May 2013

              mixa, 11 May 2013Rename to SamsungArena already please.First you have to change your name to Samsung hater.

                • D
                • DON
                • U2f
                • 11 May 2013

                Its more like comparing a CB Twister with a CBR 1000RR (Fireblade)... Guess why?...Because both carry people, have two wheels, runs on petrol and runs forward only...Ohhh and yes both names starts with CB and ends with R. Also both are Hondas...WTH....Now tell me how to work with an excel sheet with 20Rows * 100 Columns of data, in your Octa- core Samsung Galaxy S4 or Quad Core HTC One, or how to make a presentation, that comes complete with animations, just like MS Powerpoint in any of these things? Dear friends, there is a lot more to IBM PCs (or Apple Macs for that matter), than just super high resolution screens, or video playback, or web browsing. Most of us use laptops not for running benchmarks, but for carrying out daily work which by the very purpose, needs an x86 machine. And our work needs applications not just apps... also, try playing a movie DVD in any of these superphones before jumping on to replace laptops with mobile phones.

                  • c
                  • crap
                  • tUh
                  • 11 May 2013

                  AnonD-96269, 11 May 2013What the article missed, though, is to mention the unique f... moreHow laptop can replace smartphone:
                  I am comparing it to Dell XPS 15:
                  - telephone - Dude you can make calls by connection VOIP to lap
                  - camera - You have a front-facing cam in laptop
                  - GPS - You have google earth
                  - Wi-Fi hotspot - You have this as well. Download an app from net and make your laptop a wifi hotspot
                  - handheld gaming console - buy a joystick it's more fun
                  - personal training assistant - You've got this and bundle more
                  - voice-augmented personal digital assistant - Youve also this
                  - a medical diagnostic device - Youve also got this
                  - augmented reality device - Youve also got this
                  - remote camera - Youve also got this
                  - handheld e-book and e-magazine /PDF reader - lol you an i***
                  - handheld USB hosting device - - Youve also got this
                  - digital handheld note taking device - Youve also got this
                  - radio - Youve also got this
                  - NFC device - Youve also got this
                  - mini meteo station - Youve also got this
                  - remote control device - Youve also got this
                  - metal detector - Youve also got this
                  - handyman tool (ruler, water level etc) - Youve also got this
                  - remote camera - Youve also got this

                  Things what smartphone doesn't match:
                  -i7 processor(since they are comparing the best smartphone they should compare to best laptop)
                  -1TB space
                  -3GHZ RAM
                  -NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM
                  -Silver Anodized Aluminum and 15.6" FHD 1080p Truelife -WLED Display and Skype-Certified HD Webcam
                  -High Definition Audio + Waves MaxxAudio® 4
                  2W x2 = 4W total
                  -Integrated slot load DVD-RW or Blu-ray Disc drive
                  -Glass integrated button touchpad with gesture suppor
                  -Magnesium palmrest with soft touch paint
                  -USB 3.0 (3, 1 w/Powershare), mini DisplayPort (1), HDMI (1), RJ-45 (1), 3-in-1 media card reader, headphone jack (1), headset jack (1), Kensington lock
                  -Height: 0.91" (23.2mm) / Width: 14.6" (371mm) / Depth 9.8" (249mm)
                  -There is almost everything you can do using a laptop

                  LAST BUT NOT LEAST FOR YOU P** BRAIN TO UNDERSTAND.. TO HAVE THE SMARTPHONE RUNNING... GUESS WHAT YOU NEED OS???? AND WHERE DO YOU DEVELOP IT PC/LAPTOP NOT SMARTPHONE...

                    • O
                    • Omar Mohamed
                    • fk6
                    • 11 May 2013

                    Hats off to one of the most interesting articles i have ever read in this site ( pureview shootouts and others ) .
                    But i really wished if the article was abit longer.
                    Here are the things that tablet needs to offer, to blow the laptop out of the competition :
                    - storage
                    - optimised design, productive and engineering programs .
                    - multiplayer games via dual usb playstation controllers ( ex: realfootball)

                    thats all.
                    :-)

                    i only bought laptop to store my contents and for professional programs.

                      • m
                      • mixa
                      • pwT
                      • 11 May 2013

                      Rename to SamsungArena already please.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-23624
                        • mT}
                        • 11 May 2013

                        Something fishy about this comparison...
                        What are the specs of the Yoga? is it a Core-I CPU?

                        Nooo way a mobile SoC(ARM) could come anywhere close to an Intel Core-I CPU currently. its just not possible.
                        They can barely match older Core Duo processors...

                        Maybe in the future, but not now.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • nau
                          • 11 May 2013

                          when the storage and gpu capability matches laptops then their dead

                            • L
                            • Lord K
                            • U{g
                            • 11 May 2013

                            Hahaha...this article had me laughing...clearly the dumbass who wrote this article doesn't know shit about laptops. Some simple reasons why this article is flawed :
                            1) Latop chosen
                            So, you compare the world's most powerful phone against a mediocre laptop, huh? And the laptop still comes out on top. Wonder what would happen if you compared the S4 with one of the more powerful laptops say, a Macbook Pro? Or better yet, a gaming laptop like Alienware M17XR4 or SagerNP9370?
                            2) Battery test
                            This one had me laughing my ass out. I'll just say one word : Experience. Is really browsing for 7 hours on a 5 inch screen a better browsing experience than browsing on a 13 inch screen for 5 hours? Is watching movies on a 5 inch screen for 7 hours a better movie experience than watching movies on a 13 inch screen for 4 hours?
                            The answer is no and no. It is stupid to compare battery life when your actual experience is inferior. To put it simply, does quantity really trump over quality?
                            3) Gaming experience
                            The less said in this department, the better for smartphones. When it comes to graphics, controls and gameplay, laptops beat the shit out of smartphones. As for anyone arguing about being able to play games for longer, *sigh* please fuck off. Any hardcore gamer doesn't give shit about the battery life as compared to the game graphics.
                            I am not blind to the advantages of smartphones and as far as that is concerned, there are two primary advantages of smartphones, portability and camera. Laptops come nowhere close in terms of portability and in the camera department, laptops seem to have a lot of catching up to do. However, these two categories aside, smartphones do not come close to the performance of laptops.

                            In conclusion, this article was nothing short of absolute rubbish. Had this article been about the evolution of smartphones over the years, I would have enjoyed it very much. But the fact that laptops have clearly not been compared properly incensed me. GSMArena team should continue writing smartphone and tablet articles and stay away from the world of laptop reviewing.

                            P.S. : Despite this poorly written article, GSMArena team is the one of the best reviewers when it comes to smartphones or laptops. So GSMArena, please continue the great work you're doing, bringing us live updates of the events in the mobile world and smartphone reviews.

                              • D
                              • AnonD-66012
                              • PBT
                              • 11 May 2013

                              To say that smartphone can replace laptop or desktop, it's impossible. In some ways..yeah. I still prefer to read pdf..,social facebook, browse internet...blah blah..over my Note 2.

                                • D
                                • AnonD-96269
                                • 6wk
                                • 11 May 2013

                                Oh and, have to say that this was a pretty darn great piece of writing.
                                Perfectly concise yet rich and creative, with spot on dose of humour and figures.
                                Combined with the subject, this article is a classic.

                                I wouldn't let this guy go if i were you, GSMArena :)

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-96269
                                  • 6wk
                                  • 11 May 2013

                                  What the article missed, though, is to mention the unique features and advantages of a smartphone.
                                  I know that wasn't the point of it, but rather a discussion on how much it can replace a laptop.
                                  But still, for the sake of mention, I'll do it.
                                  So, a smartphone can serve as a:
                                  - telephone
                                  - camera
                                  - GPS
                                  - 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
                                  - remote control device
                                  - metal detector
                                  - handyman tool (ruler, water level etc)
                                  - remote camera

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-48446
                                    • g5h
                                    • 11 May 2013

                                    I'd bet that what Asus thought when they came up with the Padfone. Just like windows phone though overpricing kills. I'm still waiting for that 15.6 Android tablet. Call it a home pad and give it a kickstand. Asus?

                                      • X
                                      • XATJX
                                      • Lim
                                      • 11 May 2013

                                      Smartphones or Tablets are just good for using the things which are created by Laptops or PCs!

                                      I mean you can't professionally create a movie or edit a picture or create 3D object and print it with 3D Printer or create software on Smartphone or Tablet ! instead you can use your smartphone or tablet to demonstrate those things which are created by laptops or PCs !

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-96269
                                        • 6wk
                                        • 11 May 2013

                                        Oh man I can hardly believe how much you nailed it with this article.
                                        It perfectly summons up my thoughts on the matter.

                                        I personally, have ditched my desktop computer, transferred all my data on 64gb flash sticks, and am now using my phone(Galaxy S3) as my only computing device.
                                        I just see no enough reasons to invest in a new laptop when I'm using a phone 90 percent of the time.
                                        I'll rather wait for the Note 3, sell my phone and then invest my money in that, knowing that I have a truly a bleeding edge device that can cover 95% of my needs.
                                        I mean read what a Note 1 was capable of:

                                        http://www.citeworld.com/mobile/21577/man-did-all-his-work-smartphone-one-year-heres-what-he-learned?page=0

                                        BTW, what's with the battery test data??
                                        They are way different than in your dedicated S4's battery test.