Now everyone says that the smartphone has become our universal companion in life, a kind of ultra-compact computer that can do everything, everything, everything and do some of the tasks on it even more conveniently than on a PC. I decided to ponder a little how much a smartphone can replace a full-fledged computer, and whether it is capable at all. Below I will give my main use cases and how convenient they are to be performed from a smartphone or tablet.
Web surfing, mail, social networks, instant messengers
Perhaps these are the use cases that smartphones and tablets are most comfortable with. Without much discomfort, I can read articles, flip through the VKontakte feed or Facebook, or correspond in Telegram from both a smartphone and a PC. Moreover, the same WhatsApp for phones is native, but for a PC it has only a poor crutch-web version.
Watching video
It's more difficult here. On the one hand, it's great to lie back on the couch or bed and watch a series or two from a large tablet screen. The extraordinary can hook up a Chromecast to it and set up the broadcast on a big TV. However, in my subjective opinion, watching movies is still more convenient using a computer when the same TV is connected to your PC. Here, the capabilities of the video player are wider, and the familiar interface, and much more. I have no doubt that many will disagree with me, because now there are many applications for watching videos, from legal Amediateka to pirated VKontakte, and even torrent clients are available for Android.
Reading
In my first year at the institute, I had an old Nokia 5300, and I had to read all the books in electronic form from the monitor screen. Sitting in front of the computer for a long time, without distraction, did not always work, so Socrates and Aristotle peacefully coexisted with social networks. Usually, if I sit down to read a book from a tablet or smartphone, then I am distracted much less.
Job
I work with texts, so the minimum required for me is a text editor, a physical keyboard, a simple photo editor and an FTP client. All this is enough for Android. And if it feels like it, then with a smartphone and a keyboard I will write two or three texts. I can even make a monthly norm, but the comfort will be much lower than when using a full-fledged computer with a large monitor.
Conclusion
I sometimes read the 'Overheard' site, and there was a question: 'What sites do you visit most often?' Surprisingly, the vast majority were limited to the trio from VKontakte, Facebook and Instagram! And for them, a smartphone or tablet can completely replace a full-fledged bulky PC.
But if we talk about work (even mine, where special software is not required), then mobile devices are not yet very suitable for these purposes.
Would you be able to ditch the PC at home? If not, what would hurt? Games? Comfort? Something else?