Laptops vs. Subnotebooks vs. Handhelds

Taorist, a friend of mine who’s looking forward to a lucrative career in pro-blogging asked me for advice on a gadget he’s planning to purchase. He’s looking into buying either a Palm-based handheld computer or a laptop. Budget’s a bit tight, he says, and he would make do with what’s available. Now I might be biased, but I responded with a resounding “Get a laptop!” Not that I’m saying handhelds are not good or anything like that. It’s just that you can do much more with a laptop as opposed to a handheld, which has limited processing and application capabilities.

This is especially so, if your gadget would be considered your primary computing machine (I think Taorist writes from the office computer). In my case, I have a desktop, but I still consider my laptop my primary work machine, especially for writing articles and reading websites (particularly while on the go). The desktop’s for games (and my wife uses it for her work)!

My Experience with Handhelds

I have nothing against handhelds, but for my purposes, I would think they wouldn’t be as useful for me as a full-fledged computer would be. I’ve had my share of using handheld computers and PDAs in my life, and this includes devices that ran on the PalmOS platform, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and even gadgets that ran on their own proprietary OSes. They were meant more to be productivity tools rather than computing machines, and even then, they had their drawbacks when serving the “personal information management” function. In simpler terms, my life was just so cluttered that even the PIM functions of these PDAs couldn’t do the trick in helping me organize.

These days, the only handheld computing device I own is a Windows-powered SmartPhone, and I use it mainly as–of course–my phone for texting and calling, and as an e-book reader. The PIM functions? Well, I tried to maximize them, but that just didn’t cut it for me. These days I usually keep my schedules on Google Calendar and my tasks on a Google Desktop Gadget (which gets the task lists from Outlook, which is synced with my phone).

The Price Factor

Back to my friend’s dilemma. His budget for a gadget was in the range of an equivalent of $300 to $400, and from where I come from that wouldn’t buy much in terms of high tech equipment, particularly the newer ones. I’ve seen midrange PDAs priced as such in retail stores, but as for laptops you’d probably be limited to the lowest-end, unless you went for pre-owned machines. So that’s what I suggested—I directed my friend to an online forum that offered hardware listings, including laptops. People there were mostly trustworthy because of the community-oriented nature of the forum.

The Mobility Factor

One concern, though, was mobility. The fact that you can take a handheld computer anywhere–even inside your pocket–sure beats the prospect of having to lug around a laptop in a bag. Also, being able to use a handheld just about anywhere is better than needing a chair or a desk, as with laptops.

The solution: get a subnotebook. Lucky for us we were able to find a shop selling refurbished Fujitsu P1010 and P1110 Lifebooks priced just right. You get a good balance between mobility and usefulness. You can run an operating system and install apps just like with any regular computer or laptop. These little critters aren’t as powerful as larger notebooks, particularly since they use low-power Transmeta chips, but they’re good for the usual productivity/office work and websurfing. I read the Lifebooks get eight hour batteries, too, which is great for mobility (the refurbished ones get about three hours or so). You can even install Linux, if that’s your thing.

So which one?

Laptops, subnotebooks and PDAs each have their pros and cons. And which fits you best really depends on your purpose. Some need mobility. Some need computing power. Some don’t really need a mobile computer, but simply something to keep information in (and run the occasional mobile productivity app or read ebooks). If you can afford it, then why not have all three, or at least a combination of laptop+PDA?

Or you can go for a tablet PC (which are usually even more expensive than regular laptops). You get the power of a laptop and the hand-or arm-held mobility of a touchscreen PDA, though not as small. It’s the best of both worlds. The Fujitsu P1510D seems like a good choice, if you have the dough to spare.

Personally, I’d go for a laptop.

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