What specifications should I look for in a laptop? Or do I actually need a tablet?

[BornToFolk]

My laptop is on the way out. I've only had it less than a year but it doesn't reliably start up - I have to run a systems restore thing at least 50% of the time I try to start it up. It was a replacement when we were burgled so suspect it was the cheapest option possible.

What do I need to look for in a replacement? I use it for the internet, itunes, photo storage (though most of these are on an external hard drive), the occasional Microsoft Office thing. I never use it for gaming or watching DVDs (so screen size not an issue). I also never take it out of the house, so weight not an issue.

I want to get something decent that doesn't die on me within a year like my current one but because my needs are fairly basic I'm don't want to get something that's over-specified. What are the key things that I should be looking for?

Or would I be better to get a cheap tablet, considering 80% of what I use it for is internet? What about itunes?

Budget is...flexible! I don't need to buy immediately as I can struggle on with my current one while keeping my eye out for a good deal. It would be £500 max but if it's got to be reliable and last me a good few years!

What do you use Office for? Do you print things out?
I got an iPad for Xmas and use it a lot but I don't think it would be that good for writing big documents (though I am typing this quite fast, so it may be possible), plus I can not see how you print things out. I expect there are new printers which are totally wireless and have an iPad app, maybe that is how printing is done.
A tablet may well be a possible option, but may mean buying a new printer if you need to print things.

Photo storage: could you use online storage? How valuable to you are the photos, do you need them stored in various places?

I use Word for the odd letter, and Excel for budget spreadsheets and general organisation, like Christmas card lists.

I rarely print at home because the printer is rubbish so I just print anything I need at work (not very often, I don't take the piss!)

I use a laptop at work that I can bring home so if I ever needed to write a big document, I'd have that option available.

nannynick - You need a WIFI printer with 'Airprint'. You can get one quite cheaply, I think ours was about £70, and its well worth it for docs and photos. You can also print from your Iphone.

They are just general family photos so v. important!

As I say, I have them all on external hard drive and some on online storage. However I do need to download from camera and upload to online storage - can I do that on a tablet?

BTF - It will depend on your camera, and tablet. My Archos 70 tablet (12 months old, running Android, cost 100 quid) has a micro-SD slot so if I took a pile of photos on my phone, I could transfer them via micro-SD card.

I've never tried the micro-USB on the tablet to connect to anything else. I've connected the tablet to a TV (HDMI connection) so could have a slideshow played on the tablet displayed on the TV if need be.

Growlithe - there are also free Apps from some firms - I set up my sister's iPhone last Christmas to use her Epson wireless printer, but the control over layout and quality / colour that you get on Windows in the printer driver/ options was sadly lacking, so could be that an Airprint compatible printer is costly (if they have had to pay Apple some licencing fee to get their printers approved).

Forgot to say that some laptops will have multi-function card readers (for micro-SD, etc) but even if not, a cheap USB card reader would work, and of course most cameras would come with a USB cable and maybe even software to download any new images.

Think a laptop beats a tablet for lots of reasons, but having said that, OP has access to work laptop so maybe a tablet would be OK. Depends how much typing one does in general.

I certainly would not use a tablet exclusively without a bluetooth keyboard, as most e-mail I send is of a technical nature and I'd throw a tablet out the window after all the errors it could introduce!

Thanks Network Guy, that's really helpful. If I could get a tablet for £100 it would be worth giving it a go, and if I really didn't get on with it I could always fork out for a laptop then.