> Okay, can you write a book, programm an arguino, produce a song, calculate in a spreadsheets expected payments for your mortgage, design layout of your house, map out your farm for planting? No, not really.

All of these things can be done on an iPad or a Linux tablet.

Is there something preventing them from being done on an Android tablet?

You can do all of the above on an Android tablet actually. Maybe you can't do all types of programming but you can definitely write a book, produce a song, use spreadsheets, and work with maps.

and the software has 1/10th the capabilities of it's desktop equivalent, and the experience is terrible. HN people commenting here live in a fantasy world

You have no internet access in sub-Saharan Africa with a traditional laptop. 4G LTE USB dongles basically don't exist or they're as expensive as a cheap Android phone. WiFi and copper to the home isn't widespread in developing countries. Without the internet you have no ability to learn whatever you want or communicate with anyone.

It's you that's living in a fantasy world. Why don't you try using a laptop without internet, or with intermittent internet access, for a month and then come back and see how productive you were?

"Why don't you try using a laptop without internet, or with intermittent internet access, for a month and then come back and see how productive you were?"

I did that for 5 years

Pretty sure there are Arduino IDEs for Android.