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Tablets

paulgraham.com

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Re: Tablets

#51

Post by roc »

patrickk wrote: post #25

Other stuff being replaced by smart devices: watches, alarm clocks, portable radios, cheap digital cameras, spirit levels, dictionaries and perhaps soon your wallet and physical mass-produced books. Looking at some of the creative stuff people do with mounting their iPad in vehicles, perhaps iPad-like devices will replace traditional dials in cars in the near future. The only reason we even consider calling them "mob…

> "perhaps iPad-like devices will replace traditional dials in cars in the near future."

The dashboards of the near future are going to start piping a lot of control over to paired devices, but I think they'll maintain their current level of sophistication in and of themselves. But those paired devices will be a huge opportunity.

And in the same arena: automotive diagnostic machines are going to be replaced. (e.g. OBD tools becoming an OBD->bluetooth adapter + software) As well as repair and service manuals. (Who needs a book to tell them when to rotate the tires if the car tells your phone?)

Re: Tablets

#52

Post by jodrellblank »

roadnottaken wrote: post #27

Tablets are obviously great, but does anyone think they'll really replace cameras or GPSes? It seems to me that tablets will cut the bottom out of these markets (those with casual interest in photography or GPS or computing won't need to buy a dedicated device) but they'll never approach the quality of an SLR or a dedicated GPS. Or am I just being short-sighted?

The SLR option depends on the future of imaging hardware in the near term, but what does dedicated GPS have that's so great?

Another generation or two to sort out the always-on/background bugs of current iOS GPS apps and the battery life bit, and tablets will take over - fast processors, big screens, easily available hardware already present to develop on (sound, internet access, etc). Why not?

Re: Tablets

#53

Post by cryptoz »

chr15 wrote: post #30

In 2001, Bill Gates said that by 2006 tablets would be the most popular form factor for PCs. They obviously weren't back then. It's funny how Apple changes ecosystems. http://gizmodo.com/5324866/vintage-bill-gates-predicts-table...

I think MS could have delivered on the prediction if they had changed their software to match the form factor. All Windows tablets run a (basically) stock Windows XP / Windows 7. If the iPad used a (basically) stock OS X, it would not have sold! Too many small buttons, mouse-centered experience, etc.

Apple's key was realizing that the software had to change, too.

Re: Tablets

#54

Post by theBobMcCormick »

someone_here wrote: post #6

The real thing that makes these "tablets" interesting is the number of features they have packed into them. The "ease of use" that people are talking about when referencing Apple's products is just a part of Apple's marketing for their devices. Android (and Maemo and MeeGo and etc) devices are much more capable and much more hackable. Why the praise for such a bland device such as the i-OSes when there's an awesome O…

IMHO, for the "average" consumer, there's very little difference between the either the capabilities or the ease of use of either and Android phone or an iPhone. It's almost Pepsi vs. Coke.

Hackability is completely off the average consumer's radar.

Re: Tablets

#55

Post by epochwolf »

roadnottaken wrote: post #27

Tablets are obviously great, but does anyone think they'll really replace cameras or GPSes? It seems to me that tablets will cut the bottom out of these markets (those with casual interest in photography or GPS or computing won't need to buy a dedicated device) but they'll never approach the quality of an SLR or a dedicated GPS. Or am I just being short-sighted?

A tablet will do most things well enough for most people but are always niche markets. Look at how music is stored. There is still a market for records. :)

Re: Tablets

#56

Post by seldo »

I look forward to the day when fat people everywhere will pulverize their iPads using them as bathroom scales.

Re: Tablets

#57

Post by [deleted] »

luigi wrote: post #15

I think they're still just computers, and will be thought of as such. Sure, they're computers you hold in your hand, not the kind that sit on your desk. Gaming consoles and set top boxes are morphing into general purpose computers too. Those are computers that sit on a table near the TV. But they're all computers the same. http://luigimontanez.com/2010/the-computer-for-the-room/

[deleted]

Re: Tablets

#58

Post by [deleted] »

drcode wrote: post #35

> I wouldn't be surprised if by playing some clever tricks with the accelerometer you could even replace the bathroom scale. Galileo might take issue with that: http://www.jimloy.com/physics/galileo.htm

[deleted]

Re: Tablets

#59

Post by chaosmachine »

pg wrote: post #34

Incidentally, I know the Wikipedia article has been deleted, but I'm assuming someone will fix that. (Is this the current world record for deletionism, or have there been more egregious examples?)

It looks like there wasn't much of an article to begin with. Here's a mirror:

http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/Etherealization

Edit: Someone has already undeleted it.

Re: Tablets

#60

Post by nodata »

ludwigvan wrote: post #48

"For historical reasons, the device in your pocket or purse - the one that you use to browse the Internet and send email, is called a "phone." We need a new name for that thing." Scott Adams. He suggests calling them "head". http://www.dilbert.com/blog/entry/phone/ On a side note, I really need an innovation for keys, they scratch my iPhone! So, go, that new yc company, go!

We don't need another name for it. Everyone knows what it is. Some people understand why it's called what it's called, the others can either read up on it, or never consider it.

What we now call a phone is developing so quickly now that calling it anything related to what it does now will mean we have to give it another new name in a few years.

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