OMG. I finally "understand" Tablets.

[Kaido]

The novelty wears off after a while. I've had 5 or 6 tablets now as I keep trying to convince myself that I can actually do anything worthwhile on one, it's a lost cause. If all you are going to do is consume media, sure, "good enough". But as soon as you want to type something...

Yeah, it had the opposite effect for me as well...I thought it would be a real gamechanger, but I ended up going back to a laptop (well, a Chromebook). I like having a real keyboard to type on, plus a base that I can stick on a table or my laptop to prop it up without having to hold it all the time.

I think of tablets as infotainment devices - they're great for looking up information (i.e. quick web surfing or checking email) or watching a movie or playing a game. I love the Android kid's version we have for my kiddo - tons of educational apps & stuff that makes your brain work rather than just vegging in front of cartoons.

 

[manimal]

the word Phablet makes me want to grab a razor blade and remove all the hair on my body and run down the street screaming and killing people. Hate that word. Glad OP didnt use it.

 

[JM Aggie08]

the word Phablet makes me want to grab a razor blade and remove all the hair on my body and run down the street screaming and killing people. Hate that word. Glad OP didnt use it.

Scroll up 3 posts, homie :sneaky:

Best get to cuttin'!

 

[manimal]

Scroll up 3 posts, homie :sneaky:

Best get to cuttin'!

 

[ultimatebob]

I hate surfing the web on a tablet, since it takes so much longer for the pages to load. I guess that I'm just spoiled by using PC's with a much faster CPU and AdBlock software installed.

They are great for playing casual games and kids games, though.

 

[Markbnj]

Tablets are great tools, but I think you'll find the e-ink Kindles are far superior for reading.

Yeah I have no doubt about that at all. The e-ink display has characteristics that make it phenomenal for long-term activities like reading. But it is so constrained in other ways that it looks like the market has spoken on this tech.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Yes, I got in on the HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 $99 tablet Hot Deal.

Now I'm finally starting to understand how they are becoming popular.

I guess they're somewhat like APUs. Not excessively powerful or productive for any one thing (no keyboard like a laptop, no powerful CPU and gobs of RAM like a desktop PC), but a decent compromise for a jack-of-all-trades product.

Best of all, it's kind of "fun", I guess. Another way to say, nicely, that it's essentially a "toy", and will be unlikely to replace desktop PCs and laptops entirely.

But overall, a nice addition to my harem of tech.

Crap, I'm going to tell all of execs and sales folks to stop using them with their bluetooth keyboards b/c they're just toys. :biggrin:

 

[Eug]

Yes, I got in on the HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 $99 tablet Hot Deal.

Now I'm finally starting to understand how they are becoming popular.

I guess they're somewhat like APUs. Not excessively powerful or productive for any one thing (no keyboard like a laptop, no powerful CPU and gobs of RAM like a desktop PC), but a decent compromise for a jack-of-all-trades product.

Best of all, it's kind of "fun", I guess. Another way to say, nicely, that it's essentially a "toy", and will be unlikely to replace desktop PCs and laptops entirely.

But overall, a nice addition to my harem of tech.

I'm not sure you "get it" in the same way others "get it".

The thing about good tablets is they're dead simple to use, do a few things very well (like surfing, email, and video playback), but are far from a jack-of-all-trades product.

IOW, the best tablets are great consumption machines. For productivity they have limited use. In some scenarios they can be used very well for productivity, but for most people they aren't used for that. Hence, they are not jack-of-all-trades products. Laptops are much better for that.

Furthermore, good tablets are extremely light with uber long battery life, and uber uber uber long idle life, while having awesome IPS screens at ultra high resolution. My 2048x1536 10" iPad Air 2 can sit for a day "on" and lose maybe just a few % of battery life. When I do use it, it's really easy to hold because less than a pound, but is quite fast for surfing. Faster than my Core 2 Duo laptop actually, unless I need to do a lot of typing.

In addition, if I want to use Netflix, I just install the custom-made Netflix app. It's well designed, and is simpler than having to say update my browser, install Silverlight, and play with browser windows.

Windows 8.1 machines come a lot closer, but still don't completely fit the true tablet experience as I've outlined above IMO. While 8.1 has been built to support tablets much better than previous Windows OSes, it still suffers from the fact it's Windows which has heavier requirements due to the fact it's built for desktop/laptop use.

I guess if you're talking Windows 8.1, they could be better for jack-of-all-trades work than iOS or Android, but in gaining that ability, you lose a little of the other parts of the experience IMO.

 

[madoka]

The novelty wears off after a while. I've had 5 or 6 tablets now as I keep trying to convince myself that I can actually do anything worthwhile on one, it's a lost cause. If all you are going to do is consume media, sure, "good enough". But as soon as you want to type something...

I've got over 20 tablets from every major brand in most every size from 5"-12" and I concluded the same. My go-to computing/internet surfing device is a Macbook Air. But when it comes to consuming media, then tablets really are the way to go.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I think my ideal (realistic) portable computer at this point would be thin, 11", 1080p or better, multipoint touchscreen, decent processor, integrated graphics (to keep it thin and less power-hungry), 256GB or better SSD, at least 2 USB 3.0 ports, microSD card slot, and a ridged, detachable keyboard (so that it can stand like a laptop on its own). All of that with 10+ hours of battery life for under $1,000.

I'm happy with my Asus T300LA, but it's a bit bigger and heavier than I would prefer. Also, the separate keyboard shutoff switch is annoying. I rarely use it as a tablet, but it's nice to have the option to remove the keyboard and leave it behind if all you're doing is showing some friends a video or two.

 

[Newell Steamer]

My home 'computing' is:
1) Gaming on my gaming PC (nothing else)
2) Surfing off of my iPad

I have a Mac (4 years old) that does nothing but store music and used as a screen to watch movies while I game (which I can play the music off of the gaming PC and watch movies off of the iPad,..).

I won't be getting another Mac when and if it dies - there is no need for it.

Point being, a tablet has worked out for me; I can't drag my Mac into the bathroom while taking a dump,.. or surf off it while smoking a cigar by the window.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Yeah, once you've gotten used to lounging in a chair or sofa with a tablet in hand, getting up to use a PC for anything a tablet can do seems stupid. By comparison, even a laptop feels clunky and unwieldy for simple browsing. For all the serious shit I do on a computer, I do at least as much dicking around on amazon or ATOT or somewhere. Why not spend at least that portion of my internet time reclined in near perfect comfort rather than sitting bolt upright in front of a computer or laptop? It's something that doesn't mean much before you've had a tablet, but seems like the new gold standard afterwards.

 

[WT]

Now I'm finally starting to understand how they are becoming popular.

But overall, a nice addition to my harem of tech.

How on Earth you missed out on the Touchpad firesale I will never know. That was the best tablet for $99 you will ever buy. Mine is used just about every weekend and 2x a week. I use it during the week with my favorite app, Zite, and over the weekend for watching movies that I encode in mobile format.

I dual boot WebOS and CM 10.1 on it, but unfortunately the WebOS servers will be getting shut down in a few more months. I still think WebOS was the best mobile OS I have ever used, and I am not alone in that assessment.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I simply wouldn't want to live without a tablet now. My tablet is my primary internet consumption device (I love my smartphone but the screen is too small for extended reading) and my primary gaming console. Sure its not as powerful as my laptop, or my desktops but the portability is huge.

I feel lucky, the rise of mobile happened just as I needed it in my personal life. My wife dislikes when I spend hours on my desktop, if feels to her like I am more distant than reading the exact same website on my tablet next to her on the couch. I would use a laptop, but honestly they suck in your lap and my dogs want that space.

Tablets allowed me to shift my consumption patterns to a more convenient form factor. I wouldn't go back.

 

[Sureshot324]

The fact that I can browse the web while lying on the couch alone makes it worth having a tablet. I spend too much time sitting already. It certainly doesn't replace a PC, but considering there are very inexpensive tablets now I see no reason not to have one.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Tablets do a great job occupying random people with bunch of completely worthless BS.

:biggrin:

 

[Printer Bandit]

I miss the times before the Internet.

All this mobile shit with people always looking down at their screens is getting old, fast.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I miss the times before the Internet.

All this mobile shit with people always looking down at their screens is getting old, fast.

Big question is, do you even call these creatures people anymore?

it's almost as if these devices have enabled companies to make people into robots and follow their ways.

:biggrin:

 

[Eug]

 

[Midwayman]

They're great for "stuff" in the shower.
http://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Sho...ds=ipad+shower

 

[Blanky]

Yeah, they are stupid to a lot of people until they use one then they are nifty

 

[VirtualLarry]

I will say this, I thought it would be great to Skype with, but it's a PITA to hold it up in front of me for an extended period of time.

I think I prefer my 11.6" netbook for that.

I will say, web browsing isn't slow, that I've seen.

 

[ultimatebob]

They're great for "stuff" in the shower.
http://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Sho...ds=ipad+shower

Damn... I'm not sure if I'd be willing to risk using a $600 iPad Air in the shower, but that is friggin awesome. Do they make one of those for a Surface Pro as well?

 

[Twista]

I just got a laptop with a touch screen and the experience is a lot better than I had expected. A keyboard is still invaluable to me

Same here. I was searching for a tablet couple months back and ended up with a HP 15 inch Windows 8.1 laptop with touch screen. Wasn't my intention to end up with something so big when i needed a tablet. At first i was looking at the asus tablets with keyboards but the specs sucked and the keyboard dock didn't have the extended battery built in like the older ones they made.

 

[HeXen]

I mostly use tablets to read emagazines, kindle books, weather or browse maps. On a separate note, I have read that the news is actually bad for your brain. It can make you more fearful, aggressive...etc.