My HP laptop is coming up on 4 years old, and I haven't had a single problem with it. I went big... got the 17" monitor, which I love for around the house, but the thing is heavy for carrying around when travelling. Primarily, I use it in the yard, on the couch, on the kitchen counter (recipes)... around the house, so it's ok. But I do grumble when dragging it in my bag at the airport.
I love my Kindle Fire. It has everything I wanted out of a tablet, for far less money than an iPad.
I may give my Kindle Fire to my niece and upgrade myself to a Kindle Fire HD in January as my birthday present to myself and my birthday present to her.
I have a wireless network set up at home, so I just use wi fi for the Kindle Fire and for my cell phone when I'm at home, I use wi fi, too. My wireless network is set up super secure. I will use wireless outside of the home just for browsing, no banking or shopping (security concerns).
I have an Android 2 operating system Motorola Droid Pro cell phone, which has been terrific for a year and a half... no issues whatsoever.
So, I would recommend either an HP or a Samsung laptop for your purposes, Swiggles. And if you do get a tablet, consider the Kindle Fire. My library loans them for a week for free (as well as regular Kindles, Nooks, and a couple of other e-Readers). I checked out the Kindle and the Nook and used each for a week before I decided what I was going to buy myself. Maybe your library does that, too? Or you can go to a B&N store and use the Nook there to get a feel for it. Good luck!
_________________________
"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie