Do I need a new laptop/tablet?

CR CRUISER wrote:
The wife announced that she would like to get me a new laptop for Christmas. I am using a 5 year old Toshiba Satellite right now and it does everything that I need. It does have a few drawbacks though. It is brutally heavy and the battery is marginal to the point that I can only watch a 90 minute movie before recharging.

I use it mostly for a portable workstation for my business but I do take it with me on holidays. We are going on a Panama cruise this spring and she thinks that it will be too heavy and awkward to lug around with us. She has the same laptop as well as a Microsoft Surface tablet and can't decide which one is better.

A nice new tablet sounds inviting but without a DVD drive it limits me on some of my work projects. Is the battery life much better with a tablet? Is there such a thing as a portable DVD drive? I also need a proper keyboard as my calloused finger tips don't do well with a touch screen.

Decisions, decisions.

. .
I have had the same questions for the past year. I have concluded that I need a small laptop with good speed and a DVD player. The laptop these days may be easier to use, not as expensive as a tablet, will be faster than a tablet, and you can get the screen size you want.
ken