What’s the difference between your portable devices?

eReader vs Tablet vs Notebook  

With Christmas coming and some schools requesting that students have a portable device, we thought it would be good to give you our comparison for each type of device. There are many different brands with different specifications, so which one is the one you need to buy to suit your needs? 

eReaders  
 
These are the cheapest device: they are single purpose devices. They were designed for us to be able to read books, to save us carrying around the endless text books used in schools and universities. These devices do not give any other purpose than reading. But are lightweight and great for travel. You can store over 100 books on something thinner and smaller than a magazine. 

Tablets 

These devices allow you to interact with the internet so you can do email, run basic applications (apps) and perform basic tasks. These are an in-between device, a little more portable than a notebook and more functionality than a plain eReader. Tablets come in different sizes but are usually under 10”. They can also have different operating systems, Android, Apple, Windows, each of these provide slightly different functionality.  No matter which you choose, with additional features comes extra distractions! If you are looking at purchasing one of these a nice addition is a blue tooth keyboard so that your screen isn’t taken up by the pop up touch keyboard. Again it really comes down to what you want to achieve with this device. 

Notebooks 

These are better than tablets for processing speeds, screen size and storage. With the extra processing power comes lower battery life so there is always a compromise.  Notebooks are classed as a work tool and allow you to install more of your required software to complete tasks as needed. Manufacturers are getting clever though and creating 3-in-1 devices as they know we love tablets and touch. So now you can purchase a notebook that acts as a tablet with a detachable keyboard or a flip over screen.  These devices are generally more expensive than tablets as the components within are more powerful and run a different operating system, Microsoft Windows or Apple OSX.  Notebooks also have a larger screen as it is a device you will require to view and modify on.  

Overall you should be able to find a device that will suit your needs. Budget will of course play a part in your decision as well. For Notebooks we highly recommend that you install an Anti-Virus program to help deter any infections and unwanted pop-ups. There are now Anti-Virus programs for Tablets as well, which is also a good idea. 

As always, if you need more advice, don’t hesitate to contact your local IT professional.