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Why I don't care very much about tablets anymore

arstechnica.com

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

#101

Post by dasil003 »

ladon86 wrote: post #61
EnderMB wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The iPad has replaced a laptop or desktop for all casual browsing (I typed this comment on mine) and a lot of media consumption. It's great for technical books. And I play games on it. I live in a large city in the UK, and throughout the past year I've only seen two iPad's. I wouldn't even remotely say that the iPad has "replaced the laptop" in any way, shape or form. When the iPhone was released it was near imposs…

Which city? I've seen a whole bunch of people in London standing on street corners using their iPads. Granted they do look pretty silly... But I would certainly not say that the iPad has been a 'huge disappointment'; not for Apple, and not for the consumer. Or did you mean for you personally?

Less silly than someone standing on a corner using a laptop though.

That's no small feat for new tech. Imagine a world in which people riding segways looked less silly than cyclists.

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

#102

Post by bad_user »

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…

My wife, a non-geek by all measures, uses her Acer netbook for browsing / reading or watching movies in bed.

That netbook is not optimal for work either, but she can run Office on it, she can plug a real keyboard and a bigger monitor to it, and all the software she ever used is compatible with that netbook.

iBooks? How about Windows Explorer + whatever PDF viewer you'd like?

Laptops are big and heavy, but tablets compete with netbooks, not laptops.

There's only one thing for which I'd prefer an iPad ... technical books. The Kindle is too small for that, and Kindle DX too expensive. But as soon as Amazon drops the price on DX, I'll buy one.

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

#103

Post by billpaetzke »

EnderMB wrote: post #56
cletus wrote: post #21

> Don't get me wrong: I'll always have a tablet in my life... And how is this not a game changer? Would the author have said the before the iPad? The iPad has replaced a laptop or desktop for all casual browsing (I typed this comment on mine) and a lot of media consumption. It's great for technical books. And I play games on it. It is easily the most cost effective tech purchase I have ever made in terms of how much…

> The iPad has replaced a laptop or desktop for all casual browsing (I typed this comment on mine) and a lot of media consumption. It's great for technical books. And I play games on it. I live in a large city in the UK, and throughout the past year I've only seen two iPad's. I wouldn't even remotely say that the iPad has "replaced the laptop" in any way, shape or form. When the iPhone was released it was near imposs…

I live in Los Angeles, and I've seen several people using iPads on public transit or in cafes.

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

#104

Post by rkudeshi »

gms wrote: post #69
cletus wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won't disagree with your observations. I will however point out one thing: the sampling is skewed because you only really see what people are doing in public. I would guess that the majority of iPad usage is in the home and, to a lesser extent, in the office, so much so that I probably won't even buy the 3G version of the iPad 2 (I have the 64GB 3G iPad). Plus now I live in New York (rather than Australia, when I b…

Women especially love having the iPad at home.

If you're going to generalize like that, it's best to cite some evidence to back it up.

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

#105

Post by rkudeshi »

samtp wrote: post #81
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…

Try reading an iPad outside, it sucks. The Kindle lets you read in some fresh air without squinting your eyes out.

I may not be representative of most people, but I rarely read outside. I find myself reading more on plains, trains, and at home curled up on a couch.

Given that usage pattern, the glare makes little difference (but the iPad's increased utility makes it a worthwhile "upgrade").

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

#106

Post by vacri »

Zev wrote: post #54
joe_the_user wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

In my unscientific survey, MacBook Pro's outrank iPads, which outrank generic Windows laptops in cafe's. Moreover, in a further unscientific survey, paperback books outrank hardcover books, who's usage surpasses the Kindle and Nook, combined. And I live in San Francisco. Moreover, the people who bring any of these items don't seem to drink their coffee! feigned shock

Come on. Apple directly markets to the latte set - it's their target audience. It'd be as silly as saying that MS has the best OS because that's what all the high-end gamers use.

Also, on the hardcover thing, we must live in very different areas, because even excluding novels, most books people have lying around are paperbacks and while there are a few hardbacks, they're not used with anything like the regularity of e-readers.

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

#107

Post by enjo »

My completely unsolicited experience: I didn't think I really wanted a tablet until I went out and bought a Nook Color and hacked the thing. Even in it's really rough state, it's become a constant companion. I really like the smaller (7" I think) form factor of the device. I tried an iPad and it was just a bit bigger than I wanted to tote around. A slightly smaller version fits me just right... with a proper case it's as easy to carry as a book.

I can't wait for honeycomb to hit AOSP, then this $250 device is just a steal.

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

#108

Post by EnderMB »

ladon86 wrote: post #61
EnderMB wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The iPad has replaced a laptop or desktop for all casual browsing (I typed this comment on mine) and a lot of media consumption. It's great for technical books. And I play games on it. I live in a large city in the UK, and throughout the past year I've only seen two iPad's. I wouldn't even remotely say that the iPad has "replaced the laptop" in any way, shape or form. When the iPhone was released it was near imposs…

Which city? I've seen a whole bunch of people in London standing on street corners using their iPads. Granted they do look pretty silly... But I would certainly not say that the iPad has been a 'huge disappointment'; not for Apple, and not for the consumer. Or did you mean for you personally?

Bristol, although I do travel to Birmingham and Manchester quite a bit. I've not seen a single iPad in any of those places (except at the Apple Stores).

I think the iPad was always going to struggle because when compared to the iPhone it is less likely for someone to be seen using a tablet than a mobile phone.

As I said, the figures may be impressive, but I'd lump this in with Apple TV as being a good idea that will struggle to find a long-term market outside of the typical Apple users.

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

#109

Post by othermaciej »

samtp wrote: post #81
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…

Try reading an iPad outside, it sucks. The Kindle lets you read in some fresh air without squinting your eyes out.

People often say that, but I can read my iPad fine even in bright sunlight when I turn the brightness up. And I can also read it in the dark without an external light source.

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

#110

Post by vacri »

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…

esp. since I'm reading at night, and don't want to have a light on

Eh? So... a tiny booklight integrated into the Kindle's cover counts as a 'light' and is therefore Not Good, but a sizeable screen that lights up your face and what's behind it is apparently Kudos Awesome?

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