...Christian’s experience when he attempted to use only a laptop for a full week!
Only a tablet?
I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
21–30 of 115 posts
Re: I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
#22I find this wildly at odds with the experience of my friends. Granted they are early adopter type folk but they have taken to tablets extremely intently. They use them for gaming, and browsing, and other miscellaneous activities. Just because they are not great at everything doesn't mean they can't be incredibly useful tools.
I think the key difference there is that those are 'passive consuming', which is what tablets are excellent at. But those things are entertainment, not 'productive' in terms of output. I don't agree with the authors conclusion, but I do agree that tablets aren't usually the right tool to efficiently be productive on. But they're great for consuming. I don't see a problem with that.
I think that's actually more of an artifact of the nature of introduction of tablets than a fundamental limitation. Over time tablets will become much, much more powerful and standard peripherals (such as external keyboards) will become more refined and more commonplace. I don't see anything particularly odd about the notion that someone in, say, 2023 might use a stylus with a tablet to produce various graphic arts, or sit at a desk with a tablet on a stand and type on a keyboard to write, or code, or do any sort of creative endeavor that is now possible with a PC.
Re: I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
#23I've actually found a sweet spot for a tablet. More than a year ago I ditched my smartphone for a Nokia C3-00. This phone has 2 weeks (!) of battery life and I use it only as a phone - it never drops calls or dies. I use the tablet (Galaxy Tab 8.9) for everything my friends struggle on a phone - much bigger screen for reading, bigger keyboard, more battery. It fits perfectly in the bag I always carry with me. Note th…
Works for you because you always carry a bag. If you don't, pocketable smartphone can't be beat.
Re: I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
#24Tablet is primarily a media consumption device.
So - reading/learning. That can be productive.
I also reply to emails and schedule calendar events from it. As soon as I need to edit documents, manage servers, or write code - I move to a laptop or desktop, it's just more comfortable.
P.S. wrote this on my iPad
Re: I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
#25I use my iPad to read scientific papers as part of my Masters thesis. Saves me a lot of time and headache with regards to printing, and keeps my computers free for taking notes and looking up related research. Definitely a productive use.
Re: I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
#26I use it to play games on airplane rides and to jerk off in bed when a laptop would be inconvenient. Other than that, I'm also at a loss of what to do with it.
Re: I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
#27As a person who has had an iPad since the first generation (and at times used it as the only device in my apartment), I still think Steve Jobs' 2003 characterization is correct: it is a great device for rich guys who can afford a third computer.
Re: I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
#28This is timely. My company is building business software, and amazingly, it runs best on a tablet (iPad specifically).
Oh, it's perfectly usable on the desktop, but it's so much more effective on the iPad -- faster, more enjoyable, easier.
I'm still amazed; a month ago, I could have penned the OP's article.
Re: I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
#29It is not so much about trying to use the tablet for something you already have a device for as it is to figure out what the tablet is good for.
Re: I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet
#30This is another way of saying, "Why do I need that? I've always done it this way." It is also a form of soft ludditism. Why do I need a word processor? I have a typewriter. My regular use of a tablet (with a data plan): Reading. It's almost energy replaced books for me. Email when away from my desk. Note taking. Reference. Lots and lots of it, whether through a web browser, PDFs stored in my Dropbox, or special purpo…
I feel tablets are more a case of "Why do I need a typewriter? I have a word processor." My laptop and phone already do most everything my tablet does, but better.
I gave up on my Nexus 7 after 3 months of trying to like using it. Somehow, every time I went back to my (Android) phone after using the tablet, it just felt 'better' - more responsive, better-designed, more comfortable. Perhaps it's an OS design issue, but I thought Android had been built with tablets in mind after 3.0?
What might get me interested again is when colour, touch-screen e-ink tablets become a reality. Until then, I'm happy with my laptop and phone - I don't need a 'happy medium'.
Just my point of view, of course: I can see that tablets offer a great way into computing for people who are largely information consumers, and for whom a laptop isn't appealing.