In the twenty-first century, computers are necessary for most aspects of life. Nearly all business, education, and recreational activities operate digitally or online in some capacity. It’s important to have devices that allow you to complete tasks for both your professional and personal needs. But do you need 3 computers?
You need 3 computers because they give you access to online information wherever you are. A smartphone facilitates on-the-go communication, while a laptop is an excellent portable workhorse. Desktops are comfortable, easily customizable, and make fantastic additions to your home or office.
In this article, we will explain the benefits of having a smartphone, laptop, and desktop computer and why having all three is a fantastic choice if you can afford it. Let’s get started!
Benefits of Having 3 Computers, a Smartphone, Laptop, & Desktop?
The idea of owning three computers may seem excessive, but the pros usually outweigh the cons for most people.
The combined storage space, processing power, and unique features of each device are more than enough to invest in multiple devices. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of owning all 3:
You Have a Device for Each Part of Life
It’s important to set boundaries between your business and personal life, and you can easily do this by having a separate computer for each aspect of your life.
For instance, you can use your smartphone for personal communication, internet, and social media browsing, while your laptop can be used primarily for business. A desktop is also a great computer for working, studying, gaming, or conducting research at home.
You Have Multiple Ways To Work and Browse the Internet
A modern lifestyle requires easy access to the internet and a communication device, like a smartphone.
Although you can remotely access a desktop computer, it seems to be easier and more efficient to use a laptop or tablet to get your work done if you’re traveling or out for the day. In this case, having a laptop is incredibly useful as it allows you to work in coffee shops, airports, train stations, and more.
Smartphones are incredibly useful devices for instant messaging, creating short email replies, and conducting on-the-go internet searches.
You Have Optimal Space For Data Storage
A computer’s price is largely determined by the amount of random access memory (RAM) and storage space it offers. This is measured in gigabytes (GB). We recommend shopping for the features and prices that fit your budget in places that can show you high sales volume and lots of ratings like Amazon’s Best Laptops pages for instance.
The modern smartphone, laptop, and desktop computer models can hold similar amounts of RAM and storage, allowing you to make strategic decisions on where you want to store your data. For instance, you might store your digital photo and video collection on your desktop computer, work documents on your laptop, and important files you often use on your smartphone.
Also, with cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, you can access the same files from any device with an internet connection.
The Benefits of a Smartphone
Smartphones are distinct from regular mobile phones because they connect to wireless networks and function as pocket-sized computers. Here are a few benefits of owning a smartphone:
Smartphones Facilitate Communication
The most obvious benefit of owning a smartphone is its ability to make phone calls, send and receive instant messages, and take photos. However, its communication benefits don’t stop there:
- Smartphones help you reach your destination via navigation apps, such as Google Maps
- They enable you to make video or conference calls
- You can send and receive emails on smartphones
- Smartphones offer apps to make your life easier and more enjoyable (examples include podcasts, shopping, and banking apps)
Smartphones Are Considered Powerful Computers?
In an article by Samsung titled “Your phone is now more powerful than your PC,” it is obvious the progress smartphones have made in the last 10 years. They began as a really cool device when apple first came out with the to have world-class processing speed, AI capability, and chips, to having enormous storage capabilities.
It also did not go noticed by Tech Evaluate and we also wrote an article titled “Are Smartphones Considered Powerful Computers?” You can do more and more on smartphones every year and if Apple ever buys into what Samsung is doing with Dex, then your smartphone would work just like a laptop in a docking station.
Smartphones are Affordable
In terms of price, a smartphone is the most affordable type of computer. Basic smartphones from lesser-known brands can be highly affordable if you’re on a budget. However, you can own a popular iPhone or Android smartphone by taking out a cell phone contract at a reasonable monthly price.
Alternatively, you could always opt for a used or refurbished smartphone. This wide availability of smartphones makes their prices incredibly reasonable.
Smartphones Offer Fast Internet Connectivity
Despite their small size, smartphones often have fast and reliable internet connection speeds, which is thanks to them using 4G and 5G data from cellular networks. When Wi-Fi networks are crowded, or you’re in a rural area with a weaker Internet speed, a smartphone can be extremely helpful in keeping you online.
Smartphones also work as Personal Hotspots and can be utilized to give you an internet connection for other devices when one is not available through its cellular connection. For instance, to turn your Galaxy smartphone into a hotspot go here, or to turn on your iPhone Hotspot, you can use:
Personal Hotspot Connections
- WiFi
- Bluetooth
- USB
Mobile-Powered Smartphone Desktop Computing
We discuss “Is Mobile-Powered Smartphone Desktop Computing Good or Bad?” in a recent article and is a very interesting and promising technology because smartphones are faster and hold more data than some similarly priced laptops.
Mobile-powered smartphone desktop computing is similar to laptop docking but instead of using a laptop docking station, it uses a smartphone docking station. You can use it with a desktop monitor and keyboard or wirelessly on your smart tv.
The Samsung DeX Beginners Guide shows that the software platform runs on virtually all Samsung smartphones introduced in 2017. It starts with the Galaxy S8 and through Galaxy S22, S22+, S22 Ultra and select Galaxy tablets. This technology is most prevalent with the Samsung DeX Docking Station or Phone Cube which is easy to get on Amazon.
Benefits of a Laptop Computer
Laptops provide some of the best elements of a smartphone and a desktop computer. They are lightweight enough to carry around but have increased processing power to do more intense tasks. Here are their main benefits:
There Is a Laptop to Suit Your Needs
Since they are so widely used and since they come in so many varieties, it is easy to find a laptop that suits your specific needs. Laptops can be as simple or as complex as you need them to be, with some devices having just enough memory and processing power to use a word processor and browse the internet.
Meanwhile, there are newer (and more expensive) laptops that are powerful enough to run video games that take up a significant amount of space and energy.
Laptops Are Portable
A huge benefit of laptops is the ability to take them with you wherever you go. Most modern laptop models are more streamlined and made with lighter materials than ones from previous years. However, they do need to be regularly charged to maintain their battery life, but when fully charged, can run for several hours at a time.
Laptops and Docking Stations
Today’s laptops and notebooks work with docking stations and many have multi-manufacturer compatibility. You can basically just walk in with your laptop and plug into your docking station which is tied to a desktop screen or multiple screens, keyboard, and mouse.
Docks are also good for plugging in many other components like external drives, cameras, and speakers and leaving them in place as a workstation. Docking stations can be shopped online at Amazon and are a highly recommended tool in your technology arsenal.
Laptops for Learning
Laptops are available in many schools and learning institutions today often times free of charge. Teachers, students, and parents are constantly enhancing their computer skills on laptops often at an early age.
With access to the internet and the mobility of laptops, most students have access to the world’s biggest library and can learn on the go in almost any city in the world.
Benefits of a Desktop Computer
Desktops are often a person’s first experience with a computer. Although desktop computers are being used less frequently, they still have an important role to play in helping you to improve your life:
Desktops Are Ideal for Offices or Studying
If you work or study from one place, a desktop computer makes a fantastic addition to any work/home office or study. You can arrange a room around the desk or table your desktop is located on and enjoy its comfortable ergonomic stationing, storage capacity, and speed.
Compared to smartphones and laptops, one of the downsides of a desktop is its lack of portability. They must be plugged into the wall and can’t easily be moved from room to room. But many people who have desktop computers consider it their main computer.
You Can Customize a Desktop
Many people regularly upgrade from one smartphone or laptop model when a new one is released. This usually requires buying a new device and forgoing the old one. Desktops, however, have the benefit of being more customizable and upgradeable.
It is quite easy to upgrade the computer’s memory (RAM) or storage capacity with a Solid State Drive (SSD) from online places like Amazon, Best Buy, or Newegg. This can also be huge cost savings if you have the ability to do these upgrades yourself.
Although it’s easy to buy a pre-made desktop with an operating system (OP) already installed, with a little research and money spent on the proper parts, it is possible to build a PC at home. You can learn how from this video:
Keep in mind, though, this is more than what the average person will probably want to spend their time doing and requires one to be more than a little tech-savvy.
The Power of Desktops and Workstations
If we are going, to be honest, there is no comparison between the power of a desktop or workstation and its capabilities in comparison to other devices. If you want to buy or build a “Monster” of a computer, you can.
Desktops have way more processing power, memory, and storage available to them than smartphones or laptops.
For instance, as shown above, if you have in excess of $150,000 for your home computer budget you can get an extremely capable Dell Precision 7920 Workstation with Dual Intel Xeon Platinum 8280M processor with (38.5MB cache, 28 cores, 56 threads, 2.70 to 4.00 GHz Turbo, 205W) and 4 TB of Intel Optane 12 x 64 GB, DDR4, at 2666 MHz cache persistent memory.
These types of computers have up to 10 hard drive capabilities in addition to networking, this might be a nice surprise (dream come true) from Santa Clause for that young gaming aficionado in your house.
Key Takeaways
Computers are an essential part of daily life. Whether you use them for work, school, or leisure, having the right device makes all the difference. Each computer has its own unique features and benefits, but using all three will increase your productivity and give you plenty of space for storing information.
Having a smartphone, laptop, and desktop computer will ensure that you always have a device that can accomplish whatever task is at hand.
Who knows, maybe someday you will have a Quantum workstation in the den and quantum communication floating along with you as you teleport to your next destination.