Is it possible to “survive” with only using Android-based devices for a whole week? I have been using a Sony Xperia Android tablet for a year’s time now, mainly as a convenient note taker at meetings, but never really as a laptop replacement.
When I got the tablet I always thought that it would be interesting to see if it could actually be used as a proper working machine, particularly when used together with the accompanying bluetooth keyboard. Not for development, of course, but for everything else. Going on a week’s travel, I decided to try it out, that is, only bring the tablet, and leave my Ubuntu workhorse at home. It was a bit scary, particularly since I had several things I had to get done computer-wize this week, but I still decided to try it out.
A week later, and here is my verdict…
Writing
I have never really gotten used to writing on small bluetooth keyboards, but, as many things in life, this is a matter of practice. After a couple of days, I actually managed to get up to quite some speed also on the tiny keyboard. It still feels small, but I have learned to write with very few mishits and now manage to write without thinking about the keyboard as a limitation
Battery
I know that some of the best laptops (and particularly MacBooks) sport a full-day battery life, but my little thing easily runs for 12 working hours without charging. So this one is definitely a win for the Sony tablet.
Screen
One of the nice things with a tablet is that they are built for touch interaction. I have a touchscreen on my laptop as well, and Ubuntu even provides the relevant drivers for using it with for multi-touch control. But the bigger form factor of the laptop makes for a less than optimal touch-screen experience. So I rarely use the touch screen on my laptop very much.
Apps
The big advantage of a computer is that it is, well, a computer, with lots of programs. The quality of Android apps have increased steadily, though, and in my experience many apps are actually easier and faster to use than their computer/browser siblings. One example is the Wordpress app that I am currently using to write this blog post. It is really smooth and nice-looking, and provides a better end-user experience than the online Wordpress writing tool.
Wifi and mobile network
One huge benefit of using the tablet is that it has a sim-card installed, providing a mobile connection (4G in most places) when I don’t have wifi available. This is a huge plus, as I never need to worry about remembering to download files before I disconnect. As my mobile provider now also sports free roaming throughout the EU, I have fast and reliable access most places I travel.
File system
While all the above points have been positive, and in favour of the tablet, there are also some downsides. The biggest challenge is the of the lack of a proper file system. I use a combination of different types of cloud storage services (Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and UiO servers), so it is easy enough to get access to my files. But even though I can access, open files and move them around, it is very time-consuming and troublesome.
A big advantage with Android over iOS is that you can actually access your files in different ways. But I still don’t like the app-centric approach that seems to dominate the world of mobile devices. I like to be able to create the files I need, store them where I want, organize them in folders according to my own needs, and open them with different types of programs. The idea of locking files to particular apps and services may be good for some users, but not for me. It just slows me down and makes my computing life less than ideal.
So, all in all, while this week has certainly proven that I can get a lot of things done on a tablet, perhaps even more than I had thought, I am looking forwards to getting back to a proper computer again.