Electronics are expensive; they are quite the big investment. This is why choosing one’s home and outdoor experience is often a big choice between the many possible hardware combinations possible.
At the moment, smart phones like the iPhone are the gadgets of choice when it comes to outdoor experience. While netbooks provide more functionality, their bulk and limited battery life (well, at least they have less battery life than the typical iPhone), makes them less accessible in outdoor environments. For indoors, there is a tradeoff between the iPad (which is currently the only tablet), a netbook and a desktop computer.
Figuring out the right combination of the above is a pretty big choice and one that has to be considered properly.
For the outdoors, getting a smart phone is the most logical solution, it is accessible, easy to use and it also serves as you mobile phone (as opposed to carrying around a basic 2G handset and a netbook). Unless you spend hours outside the home but still have access to a table and chair, a netbook is difficult to use.
The big payoff with a desktop computer is that it can do everything –except be accessible. It is not mobile, it takes longer to open, it takes up more space and unless you really need all that hardware, users might be better off with a netbook instead. Unless you are a professional who needs a computer for heavy computing work (programming, graphic design and others), or a hardcore gamer whose games need the latest hardware, a desktop would be too much on an investment. Opt for a netbook for home use instead.
Tablets, particularly the iPad, are media access devices, so users should not expect to get much functionality besides web browsing, media playback and the occasional app.
