Transformer prime or Laptop?College Student

[andyp714]

Hey guys im thinking about getting the transformer prime , but am left wondering if it will help me through college. The things i need are writing documents and pretty much jjst browsing the web. Would the prime be able to get me through or should i just buy a laptop instead?

 

[yapkuen]

Call me old fashioned (well, relatively old fashioned but new fashioned in the grand scheme of things), but I don't think any tablet, even a transforming one with a keyboard dock, has reached the point where it's an adequate replacement for a student's full-blown computer. You'd probably be better served to put the $650 into a netbook, or to pay part of the cost of an ultrabook.

 

[EvanJ18]

I'm getting one instead of dropping the money on an equally priced laptop. Last laptop i spent under $700 on sh*t the bed after just a year. I mainly only use my laptop for watching netflix and browsing and a tablet would seem to fit the bill just fine.

 

[Rastor]

The Transformer can absolutely write documents and browse the web.

The problem comes in when you need to do anything else. If you have any class that requires you to use special software, you could find yourself needing a borrowed or lab computer...

 

[hmackenz]

Yeah, remember how little you can do at once. On a laptop you can have multiple windows open, sharing the screen. On this, you'll need to switch back and forth between windows, which could get pretty annoying for, say, research papers. I'm going from an iPad to the TF Prime (unless there's some big flaw with the Prime that makes itself known once it comes out), and part of the reason for that is that it'll be better for taking notes in class than trying to use my iPad, which I don't have a keyboard for and which has a hard time keeping up with my typing if im taking notes on a PowerPoint lecture. It'll be good to have on those days where I don't need my full computer and just want to carry a light load.

However, my computer still gets plenty of use, and if I had to keep only one, it would definitely be my laptop. In terms of downloading lectures, watching lecture captures, and ESPECIALLY in terms of taking notes while doing those things, laptop wins.

 

[Premium1]

I am also a college student and from first hand experience nothing beats a laptop. There are things that tablets are still not able to do or not as easy to do as with a laptop. I have a tablet for movies and times when I do not need my laptop but at times my laptop has been much better and smoother than any tablet.

 

[bentheredidthat]

Think really hard about what your main usage for it will be. If you really only need to browse the web and write notes (and you really like apps), then I would go with the prime, but if there is any specific software that your classes require, a tablet will not work.

I am also a college student and I am planning on buying the Prime + dock, BUT I also have a hackintosh at home (dual boot Windows 7 + Lion), that I use for everything else.

One MAJOR win that ANY laptop simply cannot beat is the 18 hour battery life you get with the prime + dock, front and rear cameras, and ultimate portability at its price point.

 

[andddlay]

Along the same lines, I'm still having trouble finding the reason to get a dock besides battery life...if you already have an ultraportable, why not just bring that to class and use it for note taking?