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I need a noun that includes all of: (desktop computer, laptop, tablet,
smartphone).

Back in the day, in English, a "computer" normally only meant a desktop
computer. These days, I think most people understand that desktops, laptops,
tablets, and smartphones are all "computers", they just have different form
factors.

What about Japanese? Does "コンピュータ" mean: desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone?
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2015-06-16T02:40:46.787
25058
2015-06-16T16:26:41.500
10193
question
translation
Can "コンピュータ" be interpreted to include smartphones and tablets?
I'd say: **tablets, yes; smartphones, no**.

The word コンピュータ is not actually used all that much, it sounds a bit
formal/heavy iron. The everyday word for personal computing devices is パソコン or
PC, which by default means a desktop. [Subcategories of
パソコン](http://www.yodobashi.com/%E3%83%91%E3%82%BD%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3/ct/11970_500000000000000201/)
include laptops (ノートパソコン or just ノート) and tablets (タブレットPC).

Mobile phones ([携帯電話]{けいたいでんわ} or [携帯]{けいたい}), on the other hand, are a
[different
category](http://www.yodobashi.com/ec/feature/174101_000000000000024018/index.html)
altogether, further split into featurephones/dumb phones
([ガラケイ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_syndrome)) and
smartphones (スマートフォン, スマホ).

All that said, while this split made a lot of sense ten years ago, with
today's devices the line is increasingly blurry, particularly for tablets. For
example, while Kakaku.com's categories follow the Yodobashi split above, if
you [search for "iPad"](http://kakaku.com/search_results/ipad/) you get back
70k hits under パソコン and 50k under 携帯.
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2015-06-16T04:13:04.337
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2015-06-16T04:13:04.337
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answer
What コンピュータ refers to greatly depends on the context. When explicitly asked,
most people of course understand that a smartphone is also a kind of コンピュータ.
But in daily life, people tend to use コンピュータ to refer to bigger ones, such as
desktop PCs or supercomputers. If someone just says "昨日コンピュータを買ったよ", it
probably means they bought a Windows PC or a Mac.

One catch-all term you can use in business/formal settings is 情報機器, which
usually includes various products such as desktop PCs and tablets, and
sometimes facsimiles, game consoles, and so on.
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2015-06-16T16:26:41.500
25084
2015-06-16T16:26:41.500
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answer