content: For a long while, I've said that a 3 tier computing strategy makes sense:  A smart phone for at a glance data gathering and mobile computing A tablet or netbook for something cheap enough to lose that nonetheless can be used for limited productivity. A desktop PC or powerful laptop that is powerful enough for your most daunting tasks, and has secure and large permanent storage for those things you don't want to get rid of.  Now, some people might be able to do without one or even two of the three, but it'll be because they aren't actually enjoying a fully featured computing experience. It's like you can live by just walking, but you simply can't do all the things you can if you owned a bike and a car or truck as well.