At what point do you think a phone/tablet will replace a desktop?

[JEDI]

i stopped played games so i use my desktop for:
1) web surfing
2) word/excel

the limiting factor for my phone is the screen size.
i have the Droid which is 854x480.

the best bang for the buck tablet (~$100) in terms of screen size is the Nexus 7 (1900x1200).
but the limiting factor for the Nexus 7 (1900 x 1200) is that there's no microSD slot.
(what idiot approved of a no microSD slot design?!)

other phones/tablets that has good specs costs as much as a desktop.

so i guess for me is to wait for the 3rd gen Nexus 7 where they hopefully will include a SD slot.

How about you?

 

[biostud]

Never, since I use my desktop for gaming, TV/Movies, Music and working the excel/word and photo editing.

 

[Paladin3]

I don't know why people are so interested in seeing their favorite computing platform replace the rest. There is no perfect tool for all needs.

 

[IronWing]

When a tablet comes with a mechanical keyboard, an SD slot, 500GB+ drive, and a mouse, I'm all in.

 

[Imaginer]

Never.

I don't know why people are so interested in seeing their favorite computing platform replace the rest. There is no perfect tool for all needs.

This. The phone is good for QUICK bursts of small information pushing and quick, information access. For extensive work, the input is limited. Even if you have voice dictation, many areas where a phone would be used would be noisy to discern your work. Voice input is 1 dimensional and doesn't allow full editing. Voice doesn't allow full number and equation input that is needed. It cannot create visual models or paintings. It is also greatly limited in processing.

Desktops are always needed. I appreciate the raw, localized computing power that is not reliant on the "cloud" for processing. I can set up that power anywhere in a location I choose (if I need to move it frequently, a high powered laptop would be in mind), with no worries about the service to even supplement processing. Online is nice, but again it is a means of facilitating collaboration.

Now where I believe things can be consolidated, is the tablet/laptop/hybrid/convertibles. This is where like a good pair of shoes and to the user, there is many sizes that can cater to one's work and play. Of which up until the push for these hybrids/convertibles, there is a distinct segregation and pushed need to have these separate in laptop and tablet - to cumbersomely work in syncing, and software content working compatibility. Not to mention, the cumbersome physical nature of these being separate. These are needed over the phone for two reasons - keyboard being one for extensive typing input, the other being the screen size and information density display one cannot get out of a phone.

In many reality cases, phone + laptop/hybrid/tablet/convertible is the way to go. But for me, I will hold to the 3 tier device approach of a smartphone + Surface Pro 2 + Desktop PC with a good GPU and CPU with lots of expandable storage.

Docking a phone to a laptop shell dummy base, when one can easily have a better expanded hardware for the footprint one would have a laptop anyways, defeats the dockable phone for me. Which for on the go, outside of the home, I would stick to the smartphone + hybrid/convertible/tablet PC (Surface Pro 2)

 

[Capt Caveman]

When a tablet comes with a mechanical keyboard, an SD slot, 500GB+ drive, and a mouse, I'm all in.

You can get that all now. Never heard of MS Surface Pro 3 with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

 

[Red Storm]

For many people it has already happened. It's just places like AT where the majority will say that they need their powerful desktops, but there are a lot more people out there who don't need one, and smartphones and tablets (and Chromebooks) are meeting all their needs just fine.

Personally the only reason why I still have a desktop is because I play PC games. If I dropped PC gaming, I would have zero need for Windows or a desktop.

 

[KeithTalent]

I've been without a desktop for a couple of weeks now, stuck with only a phone and tablet, and it freaking sucks. No way I want to live like this forever.

KT

 

[biostud]

Working on a large screen is just better and mouse+keyboard is just faster and more precise, compared to touch interface.

 

[Kaido]

I think it could go two ways:

1. Portables get powerful enough to dock
2. DaaS gets popular for things like Android HDMI sticks

A lot of Android phones have HDMI output, quad-core CPU & GPU chips, a couple gigs of RAM, the ability to use a 128GB MicroSD card, etc. All it needs is a docking station into a monitor with a USB hub for the keyboard, mouse, printer, Ethernet, and speakers.

Alternatively, Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is starting to get popular, especially with Nvidia's GRID cards which give you real GPU performance instead of emulated graphics. Places like Onlive are basically going the Netflix route for VDI - pay a monthly fee to access a desktop from any of your devices via a custom RDP:

http://desktop.onlive.com/plans

Downside with that is that you always need a cloud connection, so if the Internet goes out, or if you're mobile & can't get a signal, you're hosed.

 

[John Connor]

How many fucking times are people going to ask this?

 

[Kaido]

For many people it has already happened. It's just places like AT where the majority will say that they need their powerful desktops, but there are a lot more people out there who don't need one, and smartphones and tablets (and Chromebooks) are meeting all their needs just fine.

Personally the only reason why I still have a desktop is because I play PC games. If I dropped PC gaming, I would have zero need for Windows or a desktop.

I used to be crazy about computers, but we only have one at home that we leave in the kitchen - my wife uses it for photo editing & I use it for video editing. Otherwise we use our smartphones, or I use my Chromebook. Modern Chromebooks are amazing devices, especially since so much of what we do is online now...

 

[Kaido]

How many times are people going to ask this?

Until the machines gain sentience, you know that :sneaky:

 

[Imaginer]

When a tablet comes with a mechanical keyboard, an SD slot, 500GB+ drive, and a mouse, I'm all in.

My Surface Pro 2 has a mechanical Type Cover keyboard, a Micro SD card slot, 512GB SSD, and I have a Unifying receiver for my Logitech Trackball. And the bonus, is a robust feeling pen that compliments touch and can work with the hands on the screen.

The recently released Pro 3, also caters to this as well.

Many more outside of the Surface Pro lines exist to provide what is quoted.

 

[Imaginer]

How many fucking times are people going to ask this?

They will ask to justify market direction and ask to possibly influence market climate.

 

[mmntech]

Tablets can do about 90% of what most people use their home computers for. Browsing, checking email, social media, watching streaming content. So we already kinda are at that point.

 

[Insomniator]

In the office probably never.

At home, already happening for many. Lots of people only surf the web and check email, both of which can be done as fast and as easy (if not faster and easier + while on the couch) on a tablet or phone. My GF doesn't even use her laptop anymore. I play games on my computer, but if I'm not doing that the computer is off and I'm in the living room on my phone.

And you can't really go by the use case for us nerds on ATOT. People like tablets because they are smaller, simpler, and don't have viruses or windows updates bugging them every singly day. The need for a dedicated computer 'workstation' is constantly being negated more and more. What is left that the average person might be doing? Homework, photo editing/printing (though everyone just uploads that crap instantly on social media these days)... what else... that can't be done on a $200 nexus 7?

 

[Fritzo]

It's already happening. We have 5 clients so far that have replaced all of their employee's workstations with iPads w/ docking stations. I suspect that eventually smartphones will be everyone's PC, using some kind of wireless connectivity to connect to larger displays and input devices when needed.

 

[nageov3t]

Tablets can do about 90% of what most people use their home computers for. Browsing, checking email, social media, watching streaming content. So we already kinda are at that point.

I don't know many people who actually prefer doing all that on a tablet, though.

I can see desktops/laptops becoming a very niche item for gamers, programmers, and office work, but not until docking integration has gotten a bit more commonplace.

 

[Red Storm]

I don't know many people who actually prefer doing all that on a tablet, though.

I prefer it. I'd much rather be lounging comfortably on the couch, in bed, or outside while doing all those things than at a desk.

 

[purbeast0]

never. good luck trying to develop on a phone or tablet.

 

[DrPizza]

I don't know why people are so interested in seeing their favorite computing platform replace the rest. There is no perfect tool for all needs.

I somewhat disagree. Among my other computers, the one I use most commonly is my ATIV SmartPC. I often take it to school with me, and use it as a tablet. At home, I click it into the keyboard base, and plug an HDMI cable, along with with a USB hub that has a few things plugged into it. That gives me the wireless mouse, keyboard, a large hard drive, and connection to a larger screen (my television in my living room).

Personally, I don't see things like the iPad replacing desktops; though a lot of people seem to like "cloud computing" - I'm not a big fan of relying on some other company to store my important files, especially things in more of a business environment; I want that storage local (and backed up). And, maybe I'm unaware, but the trend over the past couple decades has been bigger screens, and even dual screens in a work environment, not smaller screens. Perhaps, though, it's the IT guys where I work - a pair of them seem to really like using sites like dropbox for everything; iPads cannot connect to our network drives for storage. I'm not sure if this is necessarily a hardware problem limitation, or a preference. But, from my home environment, I can easily see fast tablets with the capability of running office software easily replacing desktops one day.

 

[shortylickens]

Never completely.

As small as you can compress a massive amount of processing power, you can always put more power into a larger case. People will always want better video and better games.

So, no, the desktop is not disappearing, just being used less as time goes on.

I see many kids in school trying to do everything with their tablets. It doesnt work so well for them. Sooner or later you need to use the full versions of Excel or Word for your classes. You cant do many things on the mobile versions.

 

[Markbnj]

I've been without a desktop for a couple of weeks now, stuck with only a phone and tablet, and it freaking sucks. No way I want to live like this forever.

KT

Stay strong, man. The sun must rise in the morning.

 

[KeithTalent]

Stay strong, man. The sun must rise in the morning.

Thanks, but it's really hard.

KT