Yeah, to me tablets fill an odd niche. Basically smart phone performance in a form factor similar to a netbook. Just makes no sense to me, smartphone + netbook is a better fit for me. Smartphone can fit in a pocket and be carried around anywhere, and if I'm going to bother carrying around a device that isn't pocket sized, the netbook has a physical keyboard and is far more capable than most tablets.
Thats pretty much exactly how I feel. But, I wont berate people who use their tablets. If they are happy with them and manage to have some fun, so be it. Just dont try convincing me that I need one.
One thing I have noticed is walking around at college no one ever tried to argue that I should get myself a netbook or a tablet.
Every other day somebody tries pushing me into an iPhone.
Think about it.
i liked the look of the ones at...was it CES recently? where a touch screen slid over a physical keyboard to act as a tablet? those would be ideal, depending on specs/price/etc
I just bought a new netbook.
I really wanted to sell myself on an iPad because money wasn't an issue (I figured I'd be spending $4-500 either way) but ultimately decided that it was just too inherently limiting.
my needs are pretty simple. the computers at work can't really handle playing audio/video, so I keep my netbook in my cubicle to listen to podcasts or watch movies/tv shows on a slow day when I'm the only one in the office (usually hulu/netflix, but I'll also download stuff at home sometimes and throw it on my thumb drive)
an iPad limits you to the video formats that are compatible with iTunes (aka: no *.mkv), I'd have to subscribe to hulu plus to view that content on an iPad (as opposed to just typing in hulu.com on my netbook), I wouldn't be able to use it as a hub to recharge other usb devices (ipod, cellphone... I also use my netbook at work to create new playlists for my ipod and add/remove music), and I wouldn't have the option of connecting a usb dvd drive any time I wanted to use it to watch a dvd.
I have an iPad. It definitely does not replace my laptop.
It is primarily a consumption device - a modern Gameboy for movies, music, games, web, etc. Personally, I use mine primarily for school - I scan in my textbooks & scan in my notes every night, so I never lose my notes and don't have to lug a bunch of textbooks around. I also use mine for niche applications - for example, my filmmaking hobby - it works great as a script reader, a teleprompter, a storyboard viewer, a digital smart slate, a movie player for reviewing video clips, etc.
I actually kinda hate it for surfing the web or doing anything typing-related. I'm 1000x faster on a keyboard and I feel really stifled with the large touchscreen keyboard (I even type faster on my iPhone). I've used both the dock keyboard and the Bluetooth keyboard, but the ergonomics just don't work too well, especially without a mouse. I sort of wish they would combine the iPad and the Macbook Air - an ultrathin laptop that has a keyboard that flips backwards and lets you use it as a tablet with touch-oriented apps, then flip it back to use as a keyboard with desktop apps.
Tablets are a fad, but I don't think they're going anywhere. Everyone buying them now is doing so to get Apple's newest shiny bauble. Once people figure out what they're good for, and what their shortcomings are, sales will taper off, but stay solid.
I have an iPad. It definitely does not replace my laptop.
It is primarily a consumption device - a modern Gameboy for movies, music, games, web, etc. Personally, I use mine primarily for school - I scan in my textbooks & scan in my notes every night, so I never lose my notes and don't have to lug a bunch of textbooks around. I also use mine for niche applications - for example, my filmmaking hobby - it works great as a script reader, a teleprompter, a storyboard viewer, a digital smart slate, a movie player for reviewing video clips, etc.
I actually kinda hate it for surfing the web or doing anything typing-related. I'm 1000x faster on a keyboard and I feel really stifled with the large touchscreen keyboard (I even type faster on my iPhone). I've used both the dock keyboard and the Bluetooth keyboard, but the ergonomics just don't work too well, especially without a mouse. I sort of wish they would combine the iPad and the Macbook Air - an ultrathin laptop that has a keyboard that flips backwards and lets you use it as a tablet with touch-oriented apps, then flip it back to use as a keyboard with desktop apps.
I've always wanted to see an apple convertible tablet. Air in tablet form would be FTW. Jobs couldnt make enough.
Course he'd have to a put an IPS in there. The Air TN is very good but not useful for tablet.
Personally, I am eager for tablets, but they still need to improve and evolve.
Its too bad the iPad 2 rumors didn't hold out. A high res display and an SD slot would have made it a perfect device for me. Oh well, hopefully in the meantime there will be some development on stylus input for tablets. That's what I'm waiting for on tablets, is for them to be able to function as a pen digitizer (it would be better for me, as you'd actually be writing/drawing on the display itself too) I could use anywhere. Plus having a device that could replace a low-end notebook (for browsing the web and possibly typing up e-mails or simple papers), an e-reader, and it would be better than a smartphone for media consumption (watching videos).
Tablets could have a huge impact on school. I'd say they're already better than a crappy laptop/netbook for that.
For many people, tablets are actually helping their productivity as its a better method for interacting with a computer than they're used to.
Eventually, I think we'll see tablets replace laptops, or them to meld into somewhat the same thing. Maybe split the display/input from the housing for the processor and other. This way you can keep the latter in your backpack while have the other out (so that the display/input is as sleek and minimal, while allowing you to carry around bigger battery/processing components. Tablets also are perfect complements for the move "to the cloud", where you don't need a super powerful device and high storage device.
We're obviously quite a ways from that, but I think tablets are going to become the norm for computer interaction.
Tablets are the new Netbooks... they are a fad. People will soon realize, "OH EM GEE. CANT TYPE FOR SHIT ON THESE THINGS. KINDA NEED THAT. Shucksbygolly, I r leotarded."
I have an iPad. It definitely does not replace my laptop.
It is primarily a consumption device - a modern Gameboy for movies, music, games, web, etc. Personally, I use mine primarily for school - I scan in my textbooks & scan in my notes every night, so I never lose my notes and don't have to lug a bunch of textbooks around. I also use mine for niche applications - for example, my filmmaking hobby - it works great as a script reader, a teleprompter, a storyboard viewer, a digital smart slate, a movie player for reviewing video clips, etc.
I actually kinda hate it for surfing the web or doing anything typing-related. I'm 1000x faster on a keyboard and I feel really stifled with the large touchscreen keyboard (I even type faster on my iPhone). I've used both the dock keyboard and the Bluetooth keyboard, but the ergonomics just don't work too well, especially without a mouse. I sort of wish they would combine the iPad and the Macbook Air - an ultrathin laptop that has a keyboard that flips backwards and lets you use it as a tablet with touch-oriented apps, then flip it back to use as a keyboard with desktop apps.
I've always wanted to see an apple convertible tablet. Air in tablet form would be FTW. Jobs couldnt make enough.
Course he'd have to a put an IPS in there. The Air TN is very good but not useful for tablet.
In my ideal world, we'd get the Retina display (the high-res model where you can't see the individual pixels with your eyes), along with a pressure-sensitive Wacom stylus for hand writing. Steve Jobs is against pen input, but that's how my hands work - I really enjoy using my iPad in my classes, but I can't take notes on it. There's no way to effectively sketch diagrams quickly, write out equations, doodle pictures, etc. Pretty much useless for math classes - you just can't keep up with the teacher given the current set of input features. I would always giggle when someone in class would take notes on their laptop and the teacher would draw a diagram on the board, because they'd try to quickly draw it in Microsoft Word using the art tools or in a vector line program and it was just too slow to keep up with. Pencils win for anything other than typing plain old words.
I really think that's the last block to going completely paperless - no one makes a good pencil replacement for mobile usage. I have an awesome Wacom Intuos4 tablet, but I have to tether it to a desktop or laptop. If you could have a nice, small iPad to tote around with a pressure-sensitive input pen and a display where you can't see the pixels so it actually looks like a good line, that'd be perfect! I don't think we're too far away from it. Display technology is almost there and we already have the pen input system from Wacom. They already make the Cintiq monitor, which is a monitor with a tablet built-in:
http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/
Pretty much exactly as I'd use it.
Yeah, I knew Wacom had monitors now, but $$$, I mean, people think Apple carries a premium. Its why, even without being as comprehensive for pen input as a Wacom digitizer, a tablet with a half-decent stylus input could function as a solid replacement for that, and so if you could get that along with everything else a tablet offers, for basically the same price as a comparable sized Wacom tablet, it actually ends up being a bargain.
If Microsoft or Google wants to get something to trump Apple, it would be developing and licensing good digitizer input for tablets. The Courier concept that Microsoft had would've been very cool. You could be typing and then when you're in class and you need to draw a diagram or something you could just pop up a note on the other screen and draw it there, then tie it to that part of your typed notes. Plus, you could have images up or whatever else (parts of the textbook or whatever).
I've been waiting for a digitizer where the pen is more like paint brushes, so that you adjust your input based on the pen you're using. This way you can change both your input but also get more realistic feedback through your hand (i.e. using a wider brush feels different than a narrow one, etc).
Dell actually has a touchscreen LCD that's interesting. I've been using it, and its...I'm not sure what to make of it. On the one hand, its a 21.5" 1080p IPS LCD for about $300 which is pretty good on its own. Then, you've got touch input. Its ok in that respect. The cool thing is you can use whatever as a stylus. I actually use paint brushes, but it doesn't function perfectly, because it doesn't work like my concept input in the previous paragraph. The big issue is that its aimed at using your fingers for input, and so the precision and responsiveness is a bit lacking. Also, since it views your finger the same as the stylus, it has this onscreen mouse that is infuriating when you're using something for drawing or things like that, which if it was a true stylus you could turn off touch input and just get stylus input. I'm probably going to sell it though, as I can't use it very well which would be able to be remedied with a nice flexible monitor mount but it can't (the back is a big piece of plastic with no mount points).
I've been waiting for a digitizer where the pen is more like paint brushes, so that you adjust your input based on the pen you're using. This way you can change both your input but also get more realistic feedback through your hand (i.e. using a wider brush feels different than a narrow one, etc).
Yeah, I knew Wacom had monitors now, but $$$, I mean, people think Apple carries a premium. Its why, even without being as comprehensive for pen input as a Wacom digitizer, a tablet with a half-decent stylus input could function as a solid replacement for that, and so if you could get that along with everything else a tablet offers, for basically the same price as a comparable sized Wacom tablet, it actually ends up being a bargain.
In my ideal world, we'd get the Retina display (the high-res model where you can't see the individual pixels with your eyes), along with a pressure-sensitive Wacom stylus for hand writing. Steve Jobs is against pen input, but that's how my hands work - I really enjoy using my iPad in my classes, but I can't take notes on it. There's no way to effectively sketch diagrams quickly, write out equations, doodle pictures, etc. Pretty much useless for math classes - you just can't keep up with the teacher given the current set of input features. I would always giggle when someone in class would take notes on their laptop and the teacher would draw a diagram on the board, because they'd try to quickly draw it in Microsoft Word using the art tools or in a vector line program and it was just too slow to keep up with. Pencils win for anything other than typing plain old words.
I really think that's the last block to going completely paperless - no one makes a good pencil replacement for mobile usage. I have an awesome Wacom Intuos4 tablet, but I have to tether it to a desktop or laptop. If you could have a nice, small iPad to tote around with a pressure-sensitive input pen and a display where you can't see the pixels so it actually looks like a good line, that'd be perfect! I don't think we're too far away from it. Display technology is almost there and we already have the pen input system from Wacom. They already make the Cintiq monitor, which is a monitor with a tablet built-in:
http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/
I disagree, I think eventually tablets will be the dominant portable computer in the market.
Speaking of brushes, my Nomad brush for iPad just came in - uses capacitive strands to manipulate the multi-touch for brush effects:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/02/nomad-brushes-work-on-capacitive-touchscreens/
Pretty spiffy...haven't played with it yet, but it seems pretty good from the video. Hope it works better than my Pogo pens, at any rate
Well speak of the devil:
http://nexus404.com/Blog/2011/02/06...ht-want-to-compete-in-graphics-tablet-market/
Please please please pretty please with sugar on top Mr. Jobs :awe:
you're a little late.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiotron_Modbook
plus the hp touchsmart convertibles have been around for a several years now.
I think smartphones will continue to erode away at all other forms of "convenience" use by most people. Checking email, facebook, scores, weather, looking up phone numbers...basically all day to day tasks that "normal" people would go to a desktop or other device to do. Except now they have it in device that doubles as a phone that fits in their pocket and flips seamlessly between cellular mode & wifi.
Tablets and netbooks were/are/will continue to be a niche product. Smartphones are where the real untapped market and money is.