Yes tablets have their strong points compared to laptops. Generally they have a better battery life, lighter weight, and some have sim card slots for easy data access.Then there is also the hotspot feature in android tablets.Oh and camera,tablets have better cameras than all the laptops i have seen so far.
Bear in mind also that he can just buy a windows slate and run programs just as he would on a laptop. But if i were your friend however,i would buy a laptop first if i didnt have one.