Tablets

illithid235

In order to spruce up discussion a little bit, I'd like to gather thoughts on tablets.

We started selling them at Staples a few months ago but nobody buys them. To me, they just seem like smartphones with a bigger screen, but the ones we sell only have Wifi, not 3G, so that may be part of it.

And honestly, I'm not a huge fan. Now the Nook Color, that's something I can get behind: E-reader with web and app capabilities. But tablets overall don't seem that amazing to me, and I hate what they're called. It annoys me for some reason.

So, all you tech-saavy people out there, what's the word on these little beasties?

X'o'Lore

I think the theoretical tablet market is pretty much filled by the iPad. Realistically I'd be a bit surprised if any other tablet on the market sold worth a damn, because they are mostly useless. They aren't good enough for any serious writing, they aren't really cut to serve the artist community, they are maybe a bit awkward to watch movies on, they are a bit too big for simple games, but too small for serious games and maybe too expensive and power hungry to make a really good e-reader. You can kinda browse the web on them? I guess? They just don't quite fit any purpose just right. People may eventually find a use for them. Personally I think it'll probably pick up when they can make a tablet suitable for artists using photoshop and the like. Wacom will be sad if and when that happens.

Still, seems like everyone is trying to steal a slice of Apple's pie. Problem is it's Apple's pie. The market for tablets consists mostly of Apple users, and they'll never serve that market with a non-Apple product.

Also, tablets have existed for years. I used tablet pc's back in like 2004, well before there was ever an iPad. The difference is that it had more powerful hardware (and more power hungry), Windows XP and a touch screen that required a special pen instead of allowing you to use your fingers. Those never really caught on big though they are honestly a bit more useful than a modern day iPad clone tablet. MS also had good old project origami. That one sort of evaporated. Never really happened and I don't recall if there was ever any real clear info about it. Probably for the best. Interesting ideas aren't always practical.

Serephel

As my building is part of a technology supercenter where the first five floors can be fairly accurately described as five best buys stacked on top of each other, I see a lot of new tech products coming and going, like smartphones and tablets.

At least here, I've seen Samsung's tablet, Tab, selling fairly well. The Apple brand is powerful, but not as powerful here as in the West, so price-conscious consumers may go to Samsung (though is it cheaper? I'm not actually sure).

But as for tablets in general, I think it depends on what your needs are. Out in the open, I usually see them two places: travelers at airports often bring them as a portable and conveneint way to kill time, and miscellaneous people at Starbucks use them as a portable and easy way to look like a pompous douche.

My parents both have iPads and love them though. My dad is a home inspector and spends a lot of time visiting individual homes to perform inspections, and yes there is an app for that. Instead of manually recording all of his observations and then reentering the data at his office later, he just does it all on an iPad and instantly synchs it with his office computer afterwards, which is actually pretty cool. It's saved him a lot of time.

My mom has one because my dad bought an iPad 1 shortly before iPad 2 was announced, so he cursed the gods, gave my mom the first one, and got himself an iPad 2 when it came out. I think my mom just uses it casually around the house for fun, as she can check email and search the web without hauling around her old and heavy laptop. Plus, when they want to Skype with me, they find casually carrying around an iPad to be much more convenient.

I find myself sort of wanting an iPad 3 eventually. I'm partially enticed by the easy Skyping, but I'm also interested in using a 3G network that isn't spited like Android tech is. China knows how to hold a grudge. I refuse to buy a new phone, but buying a tablet from Apple feels like a decent compromise to me. And although my company sure as hell won't buy its sales people iPads to use, if I had one I could certainly find uses for it at work and on sales calls.

hlavco

I'm mad at them for calling them 'tablets' when I already have a 'tablet' that plugs into my USB slot and lets me write things with a weird plastic pen.

We develop iPad apps where I work, so the boss is all about the things. There's this game we're making that's actually a lot of fun with the iPad, but I wouldn't buy one just for that. The verdict of most of the people I know is "I'd take one, but I wouldn't spend money on one".

DustinTheWind

I don't understand the "need" for a full-fledged tablet computer, m'self, but I have long been intending to buy a Wacom for my artwork. Unfortunately, despite how much I want one, I can never convince myself it's worth parting with the money. (I'm a bit of a spendthrift)

mario

Personally I love my iPad as a portable computer replacement. My desktop computer provides all the computer-specific functionality I need (particularly when it comes to Photoshop or video/music-editing), but when I'm on the go the vast majority of my computer activity involves consumption and communication: playing videos/music, surfing the Web, Twitter and email. A tablet does all these activities splendidly, not to mention completely blows away full-fledged computers when it comes to battery performance and portability.

If your primary computer is a super-fancy capable laptop you bring with you wherever you go, then yeah, I could see how a tablet would provide little added value, but it's done wonders for me.