Tablets!! No idea are they suitable for school work????

apples1

tonyh66 wrote: »

I would definitely go for a laptop, tablets are not used in schools (yet) and there is no really suitable software for her to do school work with. Get a laptop and don't forget to budget for the student edition of MS office. Whats the budget, check out the sub £350 laptops thread on here.

Agree laptop but disagree tablets not used in schools. Our state primary has more iPads than the Apple Store!

zzzLazyDaisy

Really, for producing documents, a laptop is best (in my view).

Yes, a tablet can be adapted to do the job, but a laptop gives you a proper keyboard, plenty of storage space on the hard drive, and USB ports for taking work to and from school on a memory stick, if she doesn't want to carry the laptop around.

Tablets are fun, and great for checking e-mails, browsing, watching movies, playing games, and so on, but for serious typing up, saving, amending and printing of long documents, assignments etc, I would go for a laptop.

[Deleted User]

neilwoods wrote: »

Firstly there numerous apps free and paid for that will handle microsoft office documents pefectly fine.

Not very practical for typing out long essays, but most tablets have bluetooth and there are quite a few bluetooth keyboards on the market, and cases for tablets with either usb or bluetooth keyboard built in.

So would depend on if there is any specific software the school needs to be used.

As for tablets not being used in business sector that is so far from the truth.

Well true, our sales director has one to look snazzy in front of clients with

Good luck effectively editing a spreadsheet with a tablet. I've tried - it's a complete pain

neilwoods

Yes granted editing spreadsheets that was created on a pc can be a pain sometimes, mainky due to people using various fonts, some formulas can be effected as well. But as long as the spreadsheet is created on tablet and edited on tab, then all is fine.

They are used as more serious items than just to look snazzy

poppellerant

I have seen tablets which can be attached to a keyboard and trackpad, allowing the tablet to be used just like a laptop. However I think your main problem will probably be compatability and the possibility of your daughter not liking the Android software, which can be found on many tablets.

In terms of power and multi-tasking, you can't beat a laptop in my opinion. I've tried tablets for multi-tasking, but I can't move away from the trusty Start menu key and Alt-Tab for switching between programs.

Sharon87

I would say no

Typing on a laptop is so much easier than typing on a tablet, especially if it's got stupid autocorrect on it. I had to use one for work on location where I did a lot of typing on it and it was the worst thing I've used to type on.

Go for a laptop for school work, no doubt about it. Tablets are most for play and downtime, even if they can view or edit documents on it, they're not designed for it, so get her a laptop.

grizzly1911

I'm with Penrhyn.

Tablets for most are "toys".

Yes they can be stretched to do useful tasks too, a bit like carrying an interactive brochure around, but for serious work, I would recommend laptop.

The laptop will be more capable overall.

DD has both, final year 6th Form and uses a PC to do all her work.

Tablet is used for social stuff.

paddyrg

Laptop for work, tablet for play.

thelawnet

Microsoft Surface comes with MS Office, keyboard is around £60.

chrislynch

There are a growing number of tablet/netbook hybrids and they are usual cheaper than a Windows netbook because the Android tablet OS does not have the big license costs of Microsoft Windows.

Google Docs does a decent job of managing files from Word, Excel, and Powerpoint and is certainly up to dealing with homework assignments.

Add in internet access, and that covers most activities.

If you do go the netbook/tablet hybrid route, remember that using Google Docs will keep all your data in the Google cloud, so you can jump to any available PC or laptop later.