The life of today has improved a lot and the people of this generation take advantage of the latest technology for their benefit. People today are fully dependent on technology and do almost all the work by using the latest available machines and gadgets. For example we use cars to travel long distances in just few minutes and use a mobile phone or a telephone to communicate with a people far away. Similarly, we use computers to do our everyday tasks and almost all official work is done on computers now. As if this was not enough, the age of desktop computers is also somewhat past us as it is common to work on laptops and tablets instead of the traditional desktop computers as a few decades ago. Although most tasks can be performed on either of the two, there are certain difference between them with regard to features and limitations.
To begin with, a laptop is a portable computer. This means that it gives all the options of a computer but is smaller and is easy to carry from one place to another. A tablet computer, however, is a computer that is still smaller and has better portability but fewer features and/or options. It has a touch screen display and its battery, display and circuitry is in a single unit.
Laptops are thicker and heavier in weight but tablets are more portable than laptops due to the fact that they are easier to carry owing to their lesser weight and thickness.
Another difference is that a laptop contains a physical keyboard whereas a tablet does not have a physical keyboard. As mentioned previously, it has a touch screen and typing can be done on the touch, on-screen keyboard. In addition to this, a laptop has a trackpad for a mouse whereas a tablet has no such facility. Selecting or scrolling can be done on the touch screen.
The life of the battery of the two is an important differentiating factor. In tablets the battery lasts for a long period of time but the battery of laptop will last lesser. This is because laptops need to power more devices for the working of the computer whereas the tablet does not require so much power. Furthermore, the battery of the laptop is quite large and is removable whereas that of the tablet is not detachable.
Moving on, there is a CD or DVD Rom in most laptops but this feature is absent in tablets.
The hardware of laptops can be upgraded. For example there are slots for upgrading the RAM etc. However, tablets can’t be upgraded and do not have any slots. There is greater memory for applications in laptops but in tablets there is lesser memory for applications. Also, the hard drive can be upgraded or increased in only a laptop.
Some tablets are very complicated and hard to use but laptops are very simple and we can easily use it and do our work comfortably. In laptop the length of the screen is big which benefits us when watching a movie or playing a game. The screen of a tablet is smaller.
There is also a difference between the prices of the two technology. Laptops come in a wide variety and are usually more expensive than tablets.
Summary
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- A laptop is a portable computer and a tablet is a touch screen computer device
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- Laptops are bigger, heavier and thicker than tablets
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- Laptops contain a physical keyboard whereas tablets have on-screen keyboards
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- Laptops have trackpads for a mouse; tablets have touch screen for all functions
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- Tablets have longer battery life whereas laptops have a lower battery life-this is mainly because of the fact that laptops need to power greater devices within the computer system
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- The battery of laptops is large and is detachable; the battery of tablets is not detachable
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- Some tablets have a slot for inserting a sim-card; laptops do not have a slot for sim-card
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- Tablets don’t have CD or DVD rom
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- Both can have software upgrades
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- Laptops can be upgraded but tablets cannot be upgraded (in terms of hardware); there are certain slots for RAM in laptops that allow upgrades, hard drives can also be upgraded; tablets’ hardware cannot be upgraded
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- On average, laptops have greater features and are therefore more expensive than tablets