Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

arstechnica.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 149 posts

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#41

Post by shantanubala »

epochwolf wrote: post #35
shantanubala wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the author misses a key point of tablets: they're not for information production. I can't think of anyone who prefers tablets for writing or coding, but I do know a bunch of people who like getting stock quotes, reading the news, using Instapaper, and consuming content. The analogy with the scribe doesn't really work because the purpose of the tablet is to consume content, and actual user input is minimal.

I beg to differ on the production thing. I do some of my fiction writing on my iPad using a Bluetooth keyboard.

I guess I overlooked the keyboard addition. But would you say that a laptop provides a better interface? Or do you like the iPad more than a laptop for writing? I haven't actually used a keyboard with a tablet, so I don't have any personal experience with that.

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#42

Post by burgerbrain »

rudiger wrote: post #11
6ren wrote: post #5

Convenience and price is how disruption starts. Why did anyone buy a cell phone if they had a landline? It was worse in every way, except portability.

To be fair, portability is a huge deal.

Since when are laptops not portable?

It's not even like the ipad is particularly portable, like my regular laptop (although unlike my netbook.....) I cannot fit it in my pockets, I would need to carry a bag for it anyway. Throw in having to carry a keyboard and some sort of stand as well to make the thing actually usable, and suddenly laptops start looking way more portable.

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#43

Post by joe_the_user »

Kylekramer wrote: post #4

I got to agree. I got caught up in the tablet fever like everyone last year, but in practice all the complaints that people had with the iPad release panned out. Tablets across the board are jacks of few trades, master of none. Terrible input, only so-so for web browsing/reading, and basically on par with a laptop for video and portability. To quote a very smart man in 2003 [1], tablets are still only good for "a bun…

In my unscientific survey, netbook usage far outstrips tablet usage in cafes. Moreover, the people who bring tablets don't seem to really use them, they just glance at them occasionally.

An iPad just seems like a very expensive Kindle.

If Tablet prices get down to say, $50, they'd be great to hang in the kitchen and get weather and recipes from!

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#44

Post by JeffL »

I think it's interesting that he mentions that monitor + keyboard is better than a tablet because it separates out the input from the output areas and the "hands don't get in the way". But if you take the total surface of the keyboard plus your desktop monitors, it's way bigger than the area of the tablet. Make a giant tablet that's 32"x32" or some such, and I think it could be superior to monitor + keyboard for some things. The tablet lets you mix what areas are input and what are output for various applications, and that's way more flexible than being locked into fixed proportions.

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#45

Post by ihodes »

jules wrote: post #29
ihodes wrote: post #19

The thing is, nothing beats a tablet (well, I use an iPad) for reading. Instapaper (articles, news), iBooks (pdf, ebooks), Reeder (rss), Safari (everything else) are all excellent. I can't lay in bed with my laptop or desktop, nor does reading on my phone cut it. The Kindle is nice, but it's black and white, and for me the lack of backlight makes it harder to read (esp. since I'm reading at night, and don't want to h…

How is the ipad on the eyes? My eyes get tired from reading from a laptop screen at night. Is the ipad better?

To be honest, I can read on my laptop for a long, long time without my eyes getting sore. I do think the iPad is better on the eyes, though, as I have read books on the iPad in few sittings without problems. My parents also report no eye strain.

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#46

Post by hammock »

cageface wrote: post #22

The thing is, most people aren't scribes. The iPad isn't a good laptop replacement. It's something new. Developers are still in the early stages of figuring out what this means.

Rule #1 of entrepreneurship? Make sure your product solves an existing problem. If tablets don't do this then they fail.

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#47

Post by beoba »

JeffL wrote: post #44

I think it's interesting that he mentions that monitor + keyboard is better than a tablet because it separates out the input from the output areas and the "hands don't get in the way". But if you take the total surface of the keyboard plus your desktop monitors, it's way bigger than the area of the tablet. Make a giant tablet that's 32"x32" or some such, and I think it could be superior to monitor + keyboard for some…

https://www.microsoft.com/surface/

All that's missing is a smug logo, and it'll be a hit!

(also mentioned in the article)

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#48

Post by epochwolf »

shantanubala wrote: post #41
epochwolf wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I beg to differ on the production thing. I do some of my fiction writing on my iPad using a Bluetooth keyboard.

I guess I overlooked the keyboard addition. But would you say that a laptop provides a better interface? Or do you like the iPad more than a laptop for writing? I haven't actually used a keyboard with a tablet, so I don't have any personal experience with that.

I find my ipad with a dropbox compatiable editor is sufficient for my writing needs, but my laptop is certainly more efficient. For anything other then sustained reading or using a highly specific app my laptop is definitely faster and easier to use. I just find portability to trump efficiency in a great may suitations. If am at my desk I want my MacBook Pro with it's vastly superior sound card and my Grados. Anywhere else, I'll take my iPad and same earbuds if I don't have any programming to do.

Edit: fixing overly zealous iPad autocorrect

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#49

Post by michaelpinto »

I've been following this industry now since the "old days" and the author is essentially saying that a miniframe will never be quite as good as a mainframe. Or that a workstation will never be as cool as a miniframe. Or that a PC will never be as cool as a workstation. Or that a luggable will never be as good as a PC. It's really about the right tool for the right job. Once tablets cost $10 each you'll be forgetting that you own a few of them...

Re: Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

#50

Post by beoba »

epochwolf wrote: post #35
shantanubala wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the author misses a key point of tablets: they're not for information production. I can't think of anyone who prefers tablets for writing or coding, but I do know a bunch of people who like getting stock quotes, reading the news, using Instapaper, and consuming content. The analogy with the scribe doesn't really work because the purpose of the tablet is to consume content, and actual user input is minimal.

I beg to differ on the production thing. I do some of my fiction writing on my iPad using a Bluetooth keyboard.

Where does the tablet go when you're not holding it?

This setup rapidly turns into a series of kludges to make the thing work.

Post reply on HN