It seems like everyone is moving to tablets...

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ccookie66 · #1 Post by **ccookie66** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:38 pm

I was watching TV today, and I see all these ads about the iPad 2, and a bunch of other ads about tablets. It seems everyone is hyped about slates, tablets, and iPads. I have never used one before, all I have is an iPod touch.

Have anyone here used one before?

Colonel O'Neill · #2 Post by **Colonel O'Neill** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:59 am

Played with an iPad for a while, got bored within minutes.

The screen burns your fingertips, and the accelerometer lag sucks for games. Standard no-physical-keyboard argument applies.

bgalakazam · #3 Post by **bgalakazam** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:27 am

Tablets will never replace a working computer.

rumbero · #4 Post by **rumbero** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:38 am

ccookie66 wrote:I was watching TV today, and I see all these ads about the iPad 2, and a bunch of other ads about tablets. It seems everyone is hyped about slates, tablets, and iPads.

Never ever let yourself influence by TV ads, they are only created to make you believe in such an assumed hype.

I haven't bothered with any tablet, as they mainly reduce my possibilities in comparison to a good expandable Thinkpad. It starts with the choice of the operating system, which can't really be chosen anymore, and ends with the fact that it is a much less open hardware platform than any notebook.

No thanks, not at all suitable for me, and i'd rather spend my money in sometihing more rewarding.

dr_st · #5 Post by **dr_st** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 4:56 am

bgalakazam wrote:Tablets will never replace a working computer.

Indeed. Or to be more accurate - Tablets cannot replace a computer as a means of content creation. Even if the hardware is brought up to par with a super-computer, the interface is simply insufficient.

yak · #6 Post by **yak** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 4:58 am

Got an iPad (1) as a gift. It's good for light, consume-oriented couch web browsing and occasional puzzle game but nothing more. If I have to type more than a web address, I just grab my X200. Typing on an iPad is a pita without proper text navigation keys. And it would never be able to handle all the various apps that I use frequently on my notebook.

The fact that my 3 years old nephew loves to play with it just confirms it's a toy. I woulnd't get it if I had to pay for it.

A31 · #7 Post by **A31** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 6:07 am

"It seems like everyone is moving to tablets..." ...apart from me. They're useless IMO. Netbooks are better. More power, a proper OS (Windows or Ubuntu or another flavour of Linux) which you can install all your favourite programs on, and netbooks have a real keyboard, so typing is much faster. Honestly, within a few years everybody will have shut up about tablets and will have realized they should've stuck with netbooks.

dr_st · #8 Post by **dr_st** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 6:20 am

A proper tablet (not iPad) which accepts both touch and pen input can be very useful in certain tasks. It is also typically lighter and thinner than a netbook, so has its advantages. Everything has a niche, people should just realize that there isn't going to be one product that will make all others obsolete.

mpcook · #9 Post by **mpcook** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:08 am

I have a Blackberry Playbook. I love it. It does not replace a laptop, but in certain circumstances around the house or for quick trips, it is a suitable proxy. I spend most of my time now on this forum, for example, on my playbook rather than from my X60s. Use of my X60s has dropped 75%. However, 90% of my serious work still gets done on my T400s.

#10 Post by **underclocker** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:44 am

bgalakazam wrote:Tablets will never replace a working computer.

Well, for many they already have! It depends on what you need to do. For people that just surf the web, send email, do light word processing, watch movies, play games, and chat, then the iPad is a replacement and I am aware of people that have already replaced their computers. (Just read some of the eBay or Craigslist ads for laptops/Macbooks, many read "selling because I moved to an iPad" or something to that effect.)

For an office worker or user with more needs, they are not replacements yet. But I wouldn't say never. Imagine a bigger, more powerful tablet with a projected or thin, detachable keyboard. I wouldn't need much more.

I didn't understand the iPad attraction until I acquired one. Apple nailed it.

Colonel O'Neill · #11 Post by **Colonel O'Neill** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:10 am

Most people who can manage at least 50WPM on a regular keyboard will probably not want to use a touch screen for virtual keyboard input.

Word processing is next to impossible on an iPad, especially with regards to caret placement (FFFFFFFFFFFFFF-).

The iPad gaming market is essentially touch-capable Flash games. Serious games won't do with a touch screen (not even Tetris -_-). The accelerometer lag and lack of sensitivity is really really annoying with the racing games.

Then again, lots of people spend a disproportionate amount of time on Flash games anyway.

pianowizard · #12 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 8:32 am

ccookie66 wrote:I was watching TV today, and I see all these ads about the iPad 2, and a bunch of other ads about tablets. It seems everyone is hyped about slates, tablets, and iPads.

The reason that you see all these ads is the exact opposite: these tablets aren't selling well in the U.S., and so the manufacturers are advertising like crazy to try to get people interested. See this article: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20070 ... =mncol;27n

The iPad is the only tablet that sells well.

ausmike · #13 Post by **ausmike** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:28 am

Tablets always "compliment" most "business traveller" and would NEVER repalce a good reliable laptop. There is a specific 'sector" for their use & AFAIK ....IPAD (nor Iphone) has ever 'sort' to replace or hinted that way. It be silly for Apple to canobalize their laptop market with Ipad or Iphone......
I have tried SamSung, Vizio Andriod based 'tablets' and they all seem ok - not anything special as the IPAD/Iphone which seems to me well 'integrated' and 'complete' OS. Andriod seems to push for USER/Developer community to come up with 'unmanaged' additions etc THIS UNMANAGED additions often have the tend to "walk over each other" and noone seems to be able to MANAGE the 'boundary' where and what these 'additions and changes' can do. Thus making the USER experiance much more frustrating.
However I also know the other side where APPLE and MS have a very HEAVY HANDs ON approach to 'additions' etc. These also have user/developer hesitations .... etc etc ...

Blackberry TabBook is nice but still not there in IPAD league IMHO..... but then I am no teckie , just a user ,,,,,,, and not a hater of 'gadgets' but can live without them ....

Ipad/Iphone is still not ready for "ENTERPRISE" level workload and security ( apple did copy my VPN recommendations into Iphone) ,,,, Blackberry is just "flash happy" and dies under any heavy workload...

so guess I will stick to a GOOD LAPTOP .....and T420s (ITS light ENOUGH and fast with Slice battery lasts whole 11hr flight!!)

Cheers ...

#14 Post by **underclocker** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:53 am

I'm just sayin', "NEVER" is a long time!

pianowizard · #15 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:45 am

underclocker wrote:I'm just sayin', "NEVER" is a long time!

Let's put it this way: tablets in their current form can NEVER replace conventional computers. Most importantly, the lack of a physical keyboard is a serious drawback for productivity. Someday, some tablets may start to include physical keyboards, but these would no longer be "tablets in their current form". Instead, these would be more like the tablet-style laptops that have been around for almost a decade, e.g. the X41 tablet.

#16 Post by **underclocker** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 11:02 am

pianowizard wrote:Let's put it this way: tablets in their current form can NEVER replace conventional computers.

Since some people have already replaced their laptops with tablets, I'd put it this way: tablets in their current form can NEVER replace conventional computers for all people - this is reality...today.

#17 Post by **dorronto** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 11:04 am

Agree...............

Ron

dr_st · #18 Post by **dr_st** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 11:33 am

underclocker wrote:I'm just sayin', "NEVER" is a long time!

I'd change "never" to "until it is possible to have a complete subvocalization interface with a computer"

ozzymud · #19 Post by **ozzymud** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 12:57 pm

For me an Android tablet is a replacement to my aging Palm's (Zire 72S)... it has completely taken their place

My laptops serve as a replacement desktop when I'm away from the house.

The netbooks are for when I need to have some docs or schematics open for a project or when working on the car or just to do a wiki search or look up a movie on imdb when watching TV(The MythTV is my "couch potato" browser when not actively watching something). I could use the pad for all this, but I REALLY hate typing on them

(@Colonel O'Neill: None in my house can even get close to 50wpm and it's still a pain)

dsvochak · #20 Post by **dsvochak** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:29 pm

...tablets in their current form can NEVER replace conventional computers.

I remember similar comments about PCs never being able to replace main frames. Then VisiCalc came along, hardware improved, and here we are. Similar things are happening for tablets. For example: TrialPad.

Different users have different needs. I don’t think it’s prudent to assume my needs/wants are what everyone should, or does, want/need.

pianowizard · #21 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:57 pm

dsvochak wrote:Similar things are happening for tablets. For example: TrialPad.

How is this "TrialPad" going to solve the problem of tablets not having a physical keyboard?

I don't care how fast tablets are going to get or how many new programs are being developed for tablets. As long as these devices don't have keyboards, they cannot replace conventional computers for all people. Touch-typists can routinely type 60 to 120 words per minute. On tablets, few people can exceed 30 per minute. IMO, that's the biggest limitation of tablets. And like I said, one could overcome this problem by attaching keyboards to tablets, but such devices would no longer be "tablets in their current form".

dr_st · #22 Post by **dr_st** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:17 pm

pianowizard wrote:And like I said, one could overcome this problem by attaching keyboards to tablets, but such devices would no longer be "tablets in their current form".

The idea (at least the way I see it) is to have dockable tablets. At home you can attach it to external everything just like you do with a laptop. On the road - you take just the tablet. For someone who needs a real mobile computer, one can envision a laptop "jacket", which is like a small dock with the keyboard/mouse/basic connectivity built-in.

pianowizard · #23 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:57 pm

dr_st wrote:The idea (at least the way I see it) is to have dockable tablets.

I have read about these and agree that a tablet plus the dock can replace conventional computers. But the tablet+dock combination is pretty much just a laptop with a removable screen.

#24 Post by **JaneL** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:11 pm

dsvochak wrote:Different users have different needs. I don’t think it’s prudent to assume my needs/wants are what everyone should, or does, want/need.

I agree. I (obviously) have ThinkPads, and I have an iPad. I use them interchangeably for some tasks and not for others. Fortunately, it's not a zero sum game, I can have both and it's all good.

This is beginning to look like an OS war, so keep it chilly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mpcook · #25 Post by **mpcook** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:13 pm

I am reading through this thread on my Blackberry Playbook, at Fedex waiting for my color copies to be done. Able to check through and handle work emails, and once done, enjoy a good discussion on the forum. If I didn't have my Playbook, I would not have brought my Thinkpad, and I would be sitting here bored. Playbook is handy, more portable than ipad, and integrates well with the rest of my stuff. Of course it doesn't replace my laptop, but it's a great supplement. And a fun gadget. My wife has an ipad which is great for her but I prefer the Blackberry form factor and integration with my phone. It's also nice to have flash, that works just fine for me. I will always need a large screen and keyboard for major word processing, number crunching and creating powerpoint etc. however, but if I could dock the little guy, and he had more storage, it would be a good solution across the board. I expect that will come.

#26 Post by **bill bolton** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:27 pm

It seems to me that the netbook market niche is the thing that is getting eaten by tablets.

On the usability front, I've never really been able to get my wife into using a laptop or netbook, but then I bought her an iPad last Christmas which she takes, and uses, literally everwhere.

Cheers,

Bill B.

automobus · #27 Post by **automobus** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 3:07 am

pianowizard wrote:I don't care how fast tablets are going to get or how many new programs are being developed for tablets. As long as these devices don't have keyboards, they cannot replace conventional computers for all people. Touch-typists can routinely type 60 to 120 words per minute. On tablets, few people can exceed 30 per minute. IMO, that's the biggest limitation of tablets. And like I said, one could overcome this problem by attaching keyboards to tablets, but such devices would no longer be "tablets in their current form".

I don't care how fast laptops are going to get or how many cheap new models come out. As long as these devices don't have ergonomic keyboards, they cannot replace conventional stationary computers for all people. Touch-typists on sensible keyboards can routinely and continuously type lots of words per minute. On laptops, the flat, staggered, straight, dense keyboards cause pain or injury. IMO, that's the biggest limitation of laptops. And like I said, one could overcome this problem by attaching keyboards to laptops, but such devices would no longer have the handy folding single-piece form.

No offense, pianowizard.

pianowizard · #28 Post by **pianowizard** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:51 am

automobus wrote:As long as these devices don't have ergonomic keyboards, they cannot replace conventional stationary computers for all people. No offense, pianowizard.

No offense taken!

Do you really find laptop keyboards much worse than desktop keyboards? I am a huge fan of desktop computers, which you can tell just by looking at my signature. I use desktops about 90% of the time, and use laptops only when mobility is needed, but the keyboard isn't one of the reasons I prefer desktops over laptops. However, as much as I prefer desktops, I have to admit that desktops can definitely not replace laptops, since I can't lug around a desktop when I travel. On the other hand, laptops can sort of replace desktops. I would have to suffer the laptop's warm palmrest; it's more difficult to hook up multiple monitors; laptops actually take up more usable desk space than desktops that are placed under the desk; laptops and laptop parts are more expensive; and laptops aren't as reliable as desktops. So, it would be inconvenient to replace my desktops with laptops, but at least it's possible.

BTW, it seems that the word "replace" hasn't been properly defined in this thread. To me, if one says "tablets can replace laptops", that means "with this tablet, I will never need to use a laptop again, including when I need to type a 5,000-word document."

ozzymud · #29 Post by **ozzymud** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:53 pm

pianowizard wrote:However, as much as I prefer desktops, I have to admit that desktops can definitely not replace laptops, since I can't lug around a desktop when I travel.

Guess it really depends on the "laptop"...

Dell XPS M2010 @ cnet

I love how Dell decided smaller is not always better... these are down to like $500 on eBay, I really wanna pick one up to replace my kids desktop

ausmike · #30 Post by **ausmike** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 6:45 pm

no offence ,,,,,,to anyone

but it seems pple always PICK on Lenovo being expensive , and than say they buying something cheaper ,,,,,,,,,,,that cheaper brand is always trying to beat the KING OF HILL .... <juz a thought - dont want to start a Flaming Sessions over brands..... >> but over 40+ yrs of having laptops I seem them come and go ,,,,,,,,,,,,IBM/Lenovo is still SAME OLD [censored] - juz keeps on going...>
Thought this was a THINPAD forum ...uncle Bill ya sleepin !

tablets :
I was sooooo looking forward to the lenovo 'concept' laptop/tablet , LePAD - with Linux (LePad yet to came and ... still not sure they every going to release that in USA) ,,, but its the best compromise over IPAD/Tablet/laptop with HUGE potential......
I also heard that LePad will run into "Design Mark and Trademark/Product issues in USA....... similar to what APPLE had with Cisco over "IPHONE" ...... so am wishing Lenoivo Lega egales sort that out sooon ,,,,,,,,,,

tablet has a space , not sure it will ever repalce laptops !

edit > fixed links