Okay so my laptop is dying, and so is my tablet so I'm planning on replacing them both ideally on one device. But I have no idea on what to get... I would like something like a MacBook Air but it's really expensive and my second device is normally for stuff like word processing, web browsing, light gaming and music, my desktop is my go to for anything heavy and to be honest it's my go to full stop when I'm at home, but I am out a lot. So I was thinking iPad Air 2, that a8x is a monster, but I recently got an iPhone and it makes me miss android, as i loved my Xperia z to bits. So If I get a tablet which it seems like I will, I want to stay on android but go for either and exynos or k1 possibly, while the 810 is a nasty beast it's overheating issues worry me, unless I wait for the rumoured 820, but to be honest an exynos would do... I dunno what the k1 or the X1 is like so can someone info me on them in terms of battery and performance compared to apple and Samsung. I was also looking at cheap hybrids but the 2gb ram and windows worries me.
Just one point about the iPad. I used it as my only computer for nearly 3 years (on a first gen iPad, believe it or not), and I can tell you that it's completely doable. I would not go for an Android tablet, but instead a Surface Pro or an iPad. The Surface is shitty in the sense that it neither does Laptop nor Tablet entirely well, but it delivers solid performance in a nice package. The iPad outclasses pretty much all Android tablets out there right now, mainly due to the ecosystem and the number of people (Such as Federico Viticci over at Macstories.net) who use the iPad exclusively and devote their time to creating workflows around it. Don't count the iPad out.
If I could get the a8x on android would be no problem but idk iOS is brilliant but there's something about it, plus what's battery life like on it? Small batteries and low battery life compared to android it seems
Buy a Chromebook, you can't go wrong. Almost all of them are good. Just pick a screen size and find one. Here are my favorites (I assume you want a black one but there are other color options for most of these):
11inch:
13inch:
14inch:
15inch:
Edit: I would recommend getting one with 4gb of ram and a 1080p ips screen
The iPad doesn't have bad battery life, but it isn't top of the line. Unlike the iPhones, the emphasis on thinness over battery life helps on a large tablet so you can't really fault them there.
Careful with Chromebooks though. A lot of the earlier, cheaper ones are VERY SHITTY. I'm talking about trackpads that are so flimsy that they click when you tap on the keyboard, and the inability to load more than two tabs at a time.
Yes, especially with newer competitors. I was more suggesting that he be careful when looking for deals on older Chromebooks, which will come back to bite in the ass.
Personally I'd stay away from the touch pad devices, keyboards are just so much better. And you won't want the MacBook, you end up just paying more for the brand and bullshit that you just aren't going to be getting your money's worth on. That's just my two cents
Right now, the current (not the Macbook Macbook, that's basically an experimental product) Airs are the best PCs on the market at that price point. The Air is actually priced pretty competitively for it's category- $1k thin notebooks. It has the best battery, the best performance per weight, and has no glaring flaws. If you go cheaper than an Air, those flaws rapidly increase. Besides, @XDroidie626 is looking for something cheaper than an Air, but not a workhorse machine like his desktop. Besides a Chromebook, there aren't many options with a keyboard. The Surface is a tablet, the iPad is a tablet, convertible Android tabs are still touch devices, and those are the best cheap computers out there.
Unless you really want a solid hinge for using the device in your lap, but according to the front page of a google search the surface series is pretty solid with it's kickstand in the lap.
I agree with getting a Surface. It is a windows machine and a chromebook (all a chromebook really is, is the chrome browser which you can get and install the same apps on windows. The iPad MIGHT limit you pending on what you are doing but if you spend 799 on a surface you won't be limited.