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Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

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Re: Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

#91

Post by bphogan »

ako wrote: post #60
geuis wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it is, but as you said, a 3 year old isn't trying to get work done. What we need to see is how the kids first using phones from 7 years ago are doing with tablets and their ilk now in school. That's your earliest cohort of 10 year olds first exposed to the iPhone.

Yes, and watching tv or reading a book you are also not getting any work doen. What's the point? Computers are no longer just about getting work doen. For many, computers are more about entertainment and communication, than about work.

I've long argued that we, as tech folks, are not the target for tablets. The target for tablets are the Facebook Messenger folks. the people who want to watch videos and surf the web, chat with others, etc.

You know, the same folks Dell was able to con into paying $600 for a computer that needed GeekSquad to fix it every six months because computers are so unfriendly to non-technical people.

Tablets, especially ones with curated app stores, solve that problem. And people who are not techies love that.

Re: Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

#92

Post by jack-r-abbit »

sethhochberg wrote: post #73
jack-r-abbit wrote: post #50

I rarely use the keyboard on my laptop. The laptop is part of a larger setup that involves a larger external monitor (with the laptop screen being the secondary display) and a wireless keyboard and mouse. I would love it if the laptop was just a tablet "docked" to connect to the monitor and keyboard/mouse. Then I could easily undock the tablet and use it as a tablet when I wanted to. But then plug it back in for a mo…

Interestingly enough, you've pretty much described Microsoft's Surface / Surface Pro. I think, debacle about the x86 vs ARM (Win RT) confusion aside, they're onto something with the form factor and expandability.

My current personal use laptop is less than a year old. I'm hoping by the time I need to replace it things will have settled down a bit with the Surface... or some other device that fits the description comes along.

Re: Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

#93

Post by pedalpete »

bhauer wrote: post #65

Although I own three tablets, my love affair with the tablet as it exists today never really took off the same way it did for so many consumers. The primary reason is that I do not believe that tablets should be first-class computing devices. Tablets, and in my opinion, the entirety of what we today call "mobile," should be subservient to a general computing model of personal omnipresent applications [1]. Put more co…

I've always thought this is what I wanted too, and until now, never thought that maybe this makes the Chromebook the right platform going forward. Though still 'first class citizen' machines, they're probably the thinest client available, which kinda gets to where we're going.

Or maybe Microsoft (with that shiny new CEO) can deliver on the streaming OS vision and truly provide I/O focused devices http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/streaming-os-micr...

Re: Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

#95

Post by INTPenis »

My N7 is used for exactly these things, alarm clock, iTunes remote, Telldus remote (this controls lights and power outlets around the apartment) and browser for when my computer is being used by someone else or when I'm playing a game on it.

So it's not worthless, but I can easily imagine how I lived before it. :)

Re: Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

#96

Post by rtpg »

visarga wrote: post #49
taopao wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

? Sitting upright at a desk with a reasonably sized monitor placed at arm's length is much more ergonomic than curling over a tiny glossy screen.

Not to mention that curling up with a small laptop the size of an iPad (MacBook Air 11'') is even more ergonomic because it has a built-in stand and doesn't need a cover. Close to the same weight, same size as an iPad, but a full laptop.

have you ever tried using a laptop in bed , in a similar position to if you were reading a book? It kinda sucks (yes, even the 11'' air). Tablets replace magazines, not computers (at least in the "position in which you're using it" category).

Why would you want a stand if you're going to hold it anyways?

Re: Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

#97

Post by appliedluck »

I wonder how much of a factor the decline of middle class spending is affecting the tablet consumer space. A phone is a more necessary gadget. A tablet could be considered a luxury item. Maybe people just can't fit them in their budget?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/03/business/the-middle-class-...

Re: Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

#98

Post by giantrobothead »

mathattack wrote: post #68

I was an early adopter of the iPad too, but now get more use out of a very tiny MacBook Air. The laptop slimmed down to meet it, rather than the phone moving up. For me the key has been the ability to type.

Agreed. Any device that limits my ability to communicate effectively is not for me.

Also, as an avid CLI user, a tablet is next to useless for me. I don't really feel like buying a bluetooth keyboard for a tablet just to optimize text input.

Re: Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

#99

Post by [deleted] »

dictum wrote: post #24

My love affair with the tablet isn't over: I love how it lets me browse the web, read books and magazines, and watch videos in bed after a long day. That's probably how most people use their tablets — secondary devices, mainly for entertainment. After a working day, I don't want to use a PC, and the tablet lets me use the web and other media comfortably, but I wouldn't try to actually use it for work beyond initially…

[deleted]

Re: Our Love Affair With the Tablet Is Over

#100

Post by rtpg »

Zancarius wrote: post #35
grecy wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you ever seen a child use a tablet? It's mind-blowing to see a 3 year old use one better than their parents. I don't think tablets will ever replace laptops, but that's not the point of consumption is it. They'd rather you buy a laptop for "work" a tablet for "consumption" and a phone, and...

> Have you ever seen a child use a tablet? Or your mother? Seriously. It's actually kind of amazing. I got my mum one a couple of years ago and she's hooked. She literally doesn't leave the house without it if she's going anywhere that involves some manner of waiting. Touch input is something far more intuitive to someone in her generation (so it seems with my meager sample size of one) than mouse/menu-driven input.…

>Touch input is something far more intuitive to someone in her generation (so it seems with my meager sample size of one) than mouse/menu-driven input

I would imagine most people find touch input more intuitive than mouse input, if only for the reason that it accomplishes the same thing but better(at least on an intuitive level).

A mouse is like a pair of chopsticks. Sure, after a while, you can coordinate it pretty well, but it's still a lot easier to build a house of cards directly with your hands than with chopsticks.

I desperately want every screen to be a touch screen. There is no more direct way of the "indicate something on a screen " action than touching it. Even precision issues due to fingers being pretty big usually get solved through decent heuristics or new gestures.

The only place that's still iffy is text editing. But even there some things (rapidly , but roughly, going to a spot in your text) that could be a great help.

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