04 DANIEL Making the case for laptops in this supposed post-PC world.03 RENE Tablets are the new portable computer for the masses.02 PHIL A smartphone, a tablet, a… phablet?.01 KEVIN Smartphones today are good enough and easy enough.So just which one is right for whom, and which one is right for you? Laptops are thinner, lighter, more powerful, and longer-lasting than ever before.Įven some old technologies - like the stylus - have found a new life in today's devices. Tablets have ditched their laptop origins in favor of chipsets that more closely parallel their smartphone cousins. Smartphones are available in a variety of form factors from numerous manufacturers on multiple platforms. And if you wanted a laptop, well, you could get one of those, but couldn't expect anything better than a few hours battery life in a slow and bulky package. If you wanted a tablet, you were looking at a thick stylus-driven experience mated to laptop-style internals.
If you wanted a smartphone, chances are you'd be getting one with a physical keyboard, either the Treo/BlackBerry-style 'candybar' smartphone or a horizontal slider.
For the longest time your options with mobile devices were limited.
