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The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

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Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#61

Post by amatheus »

netcan wrote: post #56

I think this is fairly self explanatory. Since iPad 1 launched, phones got bigger-better and the median laptop got more portable (weight, battery..). If you take a bag, your little laptop can come. If not, phones fit in pockets and need to come anyway. The space between the two got smaller, I agree. My 3 years old Ipad's job is mostly watching movies on planes. It does that job well enough and I won't replace it unle…

I disagree. What I do with the iPad is different than what I do with a laptop, and I would guess most of the people who opt for an iPad instead of a notebook uses it like that too. After starting with the iPad reading anything on the computer sees intolerable, and this reading web pages/pdfs/etc use case by itself for me validates the iPad. Now, I understand other people may prefer to carry a notebook all the times, but if Apple replaced the iPad with an iOS laptop I would have absolutely no reason to buy it. Everything I like in the iPad is related to its form - size, weight, no keyboard, can be rotated etc.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#62

Post by imh »

mynegation wrote: post #49
jcadam wrote: post #18

I still don't "get" tablets. What are they good for again? If I need/want to code (or type anything longer than a text message), I want (at least) a laptop. If I want to consume media while on the go, I care more about portability than anything else, so I use my smartphone -- it fits in my pocket so I always have it with me (unlike a tablet). If I want to sit up in bed (or on the couch) and read a novel, I use an e-r…

I use iPad Air to read tons of technical papers, books, and magazines - and no - phone - just will not do for it, let alone lugging stacks of paper. I occasionally read fiction on an iPhone 6, but anything that has charts, formulae, source code, or good typography and photos (as in magazine articles) is a pain to read on a phone. I also watch TV shows, videos and movies on iPad when I feel like doing it on a couch, a…

Reading papers on it was the killer app for me. Nothing else had a decent screen size/aspect ratio. If there was a huge e-reader that could handle pdfs properly I'd have gotten that, but there wasn't so I shelled out way too much money on an ipad. Very happy with it.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#63

Post by ableal »

coldtea wrote: post #22
ableal wrote: post #4

John Gruber had a good observation about the charts published in Quartz (specifically the last one): "Apple has sold more iPads in its first 57 months than they sold iPhones in its first 57 months." http://daringfireball.net/linked/2015/04/27/quartz-chartz-ap... http://qz.com/392202/were-live-charting-apples-second-quarte... If Apple pumped out over 250 million iPads, a great majority of which is probably still in us…

> If Apple pumped out over 250 million iPads, a great majority of which is probably still in use, with the usual Android and Windows numbers the whole tablet population must be in the neighborhood of one billion. How so? Android and Windows tablets never sold as much as iPads and still don't. It might be 50-50 now, but not 3 times as much by any means.

I was guessing, but looking it up ... Gartner are talking over 200 million tablets per year, of which only 50 or 60 are iPads (according to the Quartz charts), so I'd say it's in the ballpark. (I'd expect the Androids to decay faster, though ;-)

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2954317

   """
   Device Type    2014   2015   2016
   [...]
   Tablets         216    233    259
   """

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#64

Post by wvenable »

emodendroket wrote: post #24

Remember how the tablet was going to totally destroy desktop computing? That said, tablets are a little bit better for reading, or for "computing in bed" and those sorts of things.

Tablets are also better for non-technical users as their primary computing device. This is entirely a software issue and has nothing to do with tablet form factor except that is where this software philosophy became mainstream.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#65

Post by emodendroket »

wvenable wrote: post #64
emodendroket wrote: post #24

Remember how the tablet was going to totally destroy desktop computing? That said, tablets are a little bit better for reading, or for "computing in bed" and those sorts of things.

Tablets are also better for non-technical users as their primary computing device. This is entirely a software issue and has nothing to do with tablet form factor except that is where this software philosophy became mainstream.

I don't agree. Apple and Microsoft have been entirely about making computers easier to use and bringing them to the masses for a long time. To the extent tablets are easier to use it's because they don't support multitasking.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#66

Post by emodendroket »

ab5tract wrote: post #32
emodendroket wrote: post #24

Remember how the tablet was going to totally destroy desktop computing? That said, tablets are a little bit better for reading, or for "computing in bed" and those sorts of things.

THIS! Who is paying these jackanapes to spew absurdities? The same people making money spouting prophecies of "tablets will kill desktop computing" are now being paid to spew prophecies of "tablets are dead". The original author is a bit of a fool to discount the tablet upgrade cycle, IMO. Why tech forecasters always ignore the facts is beyond me. But then again, very few economist-marketing types have any idea what…

I'd mind less if I weren't so frequently in conversations where I have to politely pretend that the person I'm speaking to came up with the latest Gruber article they're reciting to me.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#67

Post by wvenable »

emodendroket wrote: post #65
wvenable wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tablets are also better for non-technical users as their primary computing device. This is entirely a software issue and has nothing to do with tablet form factor except that is where this software philosophy became mainstream.

I don't agree. Apple and Microsoft have been entirely about making computers easier to use and bringing them to the masses for a long time. To the extent tablets are easier to use it's because they don't support multitasking.

You don't seem to disagree! Yes, they don't support multitasking. They're also very restrictive with limited application interaction modes. The primary interface is a full screen of evenly spaced product icons. All of these things are why they're good for non-technical users.

These restrictions also make them very malware proof. They're products which just work and don't much, if any, support or maintenance.

Microsoft and Apple could have never brought out a desktop or laptop with these kind of limitations before tablets became popular.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#68

Post by PopsiclePete »

Shivetya wrote: post #5

My observation has always been, tablets; specifically iPads; are too expensive for what they are doing. That and just because its an Apple tablet doesn't mean I need to pair it up against an apple laptop. Hence cost comparison is done against other laptops which are priced even lower than the iPad at times. Its hard to get excited by technology when every price point is four hundred and up. How many items do they wan…

I was thinking of replacing my 3-year old iPad right until I saw the iPhone 6+. It's just big enough to where I can use it for everything I was using my iPad for - reading, browsing, email while relaxing in front of the TV. No need for iPad anymore.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#69

Post by Silhouette »

jader201 wrote: post #42
weego wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to deny they are expensive, which slightly taints my take on it, but I see tablets as the ideal consumer device and a terrible retailer device. Once you purchase a sufficiently powerful device there is no need to upgrade it in anything like the sales cycle that people like Apple are hoping for. A yearly product update is useless for a device that is primarily used to view the internet, check email and w…

While I agree with this, the unfortunate reality is that with the iPad specifically, older versions become useless as Apple pushes OSes that demand more from the hardware, and performance becomes a huge issue. And if it's not performance, it's storage space. And opting out of the upgrade isn't much of an option, due to app upgrades that require the latest OS. And I guess you can also opt out of app upgrades, but then…

And I guess you can also opt out of app upgrades, but then you're left with a 2-year-old+ device and 2-year-old+ software.

But what is the actual problem with that, if you use the tablet primarily as a convenient web browser, Facebook checker, e-mail sender, Netflix watcher, and maybe occasional casual gamer?

Apple has tried to force this kind of stuff onto its user base, but if my experience with family and friends is even remotely representative, the most common result is damaging their customer relations and making a lot of those customers buy exactly one Apple device ever.

The only people I know who have definitely had more than one iPhone or iPad either got a new device via work, got a newer phone "free" when they got a new contract with their network, or had much older versions with pre-Retina screens, much lower storage capacity, and other practical limitations compared to today's devices. To my knowledge, I don't know a single person who has actively and at significant cost paid for, say, a new iPad to replace their 3rd generation one.

In contrast, I know several people who have got some or even all of their money refunded as a direct result of app or iOS updates breaking things. That includes cases like taking a brand new iPad back to the store for a full refund the day after they bought it because they hated it that much (and then buying an Android tablet somewhere else instead) and taking an older iPad back to a store for a significant refund after arguing that the recommend iOS update had made it unfit to use and no mechanism to go back was provided (which was an argument that, to their credit, the store accepted, and they agreed on a modest refund given that the device had been in use for a number of years at that point but had had its useful lifetime abruptly cut off).

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#70

Post by Silhouette »

erichmond wrote: post #27
jcadam wrote: post #18

I still don't "get" tablets. What are they good for again? If I need/want to code (or type anything longer than a text message), I want (at least) a laptop. If I want to consume media while on the go, I care more about portability than anything else, so I use my smartphone -- it fits in my pocket so I always have it with me (unlike a tablet). If I want to sit up in bed (or on the couch) and read a novel, I use an e-r…

I use a tablet to do all my reading, 95% of my media consuming, and it's an integral part of my music studio. I may be an anomaly, I do not like having a smartphone, and am looking forward to the day when my device set will be watch, tablet & desktop.

I'm similarly anomalous, for whatever that's worth. I prefer a feature phone and sometimes a tablet as well when I'm out but wanting some basic tools and connectivity. I use high-spec desktop workstations for most real work, proper servers for shared facilities and larger-scale storage, and a mid-range laptop for things like meetings or on-site client visits.

I don't really see the attraction of smartphones given the alternative devices you can use today -- they're sort of half-OK at lots of things but not really great at anything, and a lot of them seem to have worse stability, security and privacy problems than every other device I use put together.

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