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Google quits selling tablets

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Re: Google quits selling tablets

#111

Post by freedomben »

paulie_a wrote: post #97
freedomben wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's one of the benefits of Chromebooks: there isn't really any way to install the custom crapware. On Android they are obviously not limited there and (ab)use it to a great extent. It's really too bad, because I love their hardware. Can't stand the software tho, so I buy elsewhere.

I love their hardware but I will never buy it again. It's disappointing that Google won't be making tables anymore. i really liked my Nexus 7. But Samsung is junk software wise in my opinion.

I totally agree. There was a rumor a couple years ago that Samsung was going to make a "pure Android" phone and I got pretty excited for that, but alas the "pure" experience shipped with crapware and their custom launcher D-:

I do actually know someone that loves Samsung software, but it's rare. I think they'd get really far if they would make it light and easy to remove. I really don't see any disadvantages to that approach, unless they're being paid to include things (which is entirely possible).

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#112

Post by notatoad »

riku_iki wrote: post #108
notatoad wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android tablets have been replaced by Chromebook convertibles that are capable of running Android apps. It's a much better experience than a typical android tablet ever was.

Also smartphone screens became larger and took usecases from tablets.

Yeah, that's a good point. The old 7" tablet market is kind of pointless when 6.5" is a normal phone size.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#113

Post by fragmede »

ahartmetz wrote: post #69
transfire wrote: post #37

The idea that the tablet is dead is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. It is probably the most useful form-factor there is -- at least ultimately. But it hasn't come to full fruition yet. Stylus writing is really necessary, and lighter weights will be a big deal. Ultimately the tablet will be ubiquitous, and therefore must necessarily become dirt cheap. There is little to no profit margin. Revenue will have to come…

Maybe we can declare laptops as tablets with integrated stand, extra powerful hardware, built-in keyboard for efficient text input, and a much larger, less regulated app ecosystem with much more featureful apps. Tablets are pretty dumb really, IMO. That has been my opinion since the beginning of the tablet hype. The only way for them to actually take over was for them to gain most features of "regular" computers - ma…

While there are "flip" style laptops, most of them are not. Try typing on a laptop (and its keyboard) while standing/walking around and without a table or any surface to rest the laptop on.

It's really cumbersome.

The solutions are to hunt and peck type with both thumbs, or use one hand to hold the laptop and type with one hand, both of which are pretty dumb really, IMO. (Especially on a 15" laptop.)

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#114

Post by notatoad »

013a wrote: post #58

Microsoft seems like the only company that understands tablets right now. They should be more like computers, not more like phones. There's also a pretty great argument that given all of our phones are absolute powerhouses nowadays, phones should also be less like phones and more like computers. I'm hopeful Microsoft can also move to spur on this change; maybe soon the market will be ready for the return of Windows P…

The problem with Microsoft's attempt at convergence is that they're making Windows computers worse to make tablets better. And the other half of their convergence play - windows phone - failed completely. Making tablets more like computers is cool, but let's not turn real computers into tablets while we're at it.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#115

Post by wlesieutre »

komali2 wrote: post #48
shasheene wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung Chromebook Plus satisfies my needs for a tablet: mainly media consumption (web browsing, YouTube, reading long articles, and watching movies). 1. Incredibly nice screen 2. Gets security updates (ChromeOS devices are great for this compared to the dumpster fire that is Android security) 3. Haven't had any issues with Android support (I use mainly apps like RBDigital, Instapaper, Wikipedia) 4. Works well for mo…

>It also has a stylus which works well, but I've returned to paper exercise books for note taking. So, I'm very curious about this. Were you taking written notes on electronic devices? What apps and devices have you tried? I ask because a couple years ago I tried using a surface for taking notes when I got into a coding bootcamp and it was a mind blowing experience for me - finally, infinite paper space. Swapping bet…

I switched from a Surface Pro 3 to an iPad Pro 9.7” and found Apple’s stylus to be much more accurate. It’s not a huge deal for roughly capturing handwriting, but the Surface’s Ntrig digitizer relies a lot on smoothing out strokes, if you try to draw a slow diagonal line you can see a ton of wobble as the stroke gets pulled around by the digitizer’s grid.

You lose out on having a full desktop OS when you need it, and not having an eraser on the back of the stylus is an adjustment, but it’s a fantastic device for writing and drawing. More recently they’ve brought the stylus support down to the entry level iPad, so if you have an Apple Store nearby I’d definitely recommend stopping by to try it out.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#116

Post by dschuler »

The problem is that people just don't buy a lot of tablets compared to smartphones. This is true of iPhones and iPads also. If you take a look at the most recent annual SEC report for Apple [0], you can see that Apple sold 5 iPhones for every iPad in 2017, and the number of iPads sold has dropped for the two years prior to that. It doesn't matter if Google/Nvidia/Samsung could or couldn't make a good Android tablet when people just don't buy many of them, unfortunately.

That said, I still have the Nexus 9 I got at Google I/O 2015, which didn't really live up to expectations despite costing as much as an iPad a the time. The rubberized plastic has begun to wear off, the display has started to show a small air bubble (!) in the top corner, and the flash speed is so slow that you can actually watch Chrome animate a new tab open. Not to mention Android 7.1 is the latest update for that device. I don't think Google tried to make a tablet that people would really want, so a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy there.

I say this as a full-time Android developer, so maybe my expectations are a bit high, but who knows...

[0] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/0000320193170...

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#117

Post by orbitingpluto »

dschuler wrote: post #116

The problem is that people just don't buy a lot of tablets compared to smartphones. This is true of iPhones and iPads also. If you take a look at the most recent annual SEC report for Apple [0], you can see that Apple sold 5 iPhones for every iPad in 2017, and the number of iPads sold has dropped for the two years prior to that. It doesn't matter if Google/Nvidia/Samsung could or couldn't make a good Android tablet w…

I've had two Nexus 9 tablets. One of them had a bright horizontal light filtering out from the border of the screen and was incredibly unreliable.

The other Nexus 9 never skipped a beat, but it was the 16GB version. It was good enough that I skipped over getting the somewhat pricey Pixel C because it was good enough. I regret that.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#118

Post by nafizh »

With the new low cost Ipad, Apple will absolutely kill any and all competition. I am a graduate student, bought the new ipad with 290$ + 90$ pencil from my university book store. My life has totally changed. All my notes, and research now happens in the ipad. The writing is so smooth it feels like I have been doing it all along, and I won't ever need to go back to pen and paper. It is a mind blowing combination of hardware and software. And with the cost down, now within many people's reach who never thought of owning one.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#120

Post by ksec »

dschuler wrote: post #116

The problem is that people just don't buy a lot of tablets compared to smartphones. This is true of iPhones and iPads also. If you take a look at the most recent annual SEC report for Apple [0], you can see that Apple sold 5 iPhones for every iPad in 2017, and the number of iPads sold has dropped for the two years prior to that. It doesn't matter if Google/Nvidia/Samsung could or couldn't make a good Android tablet w…

But iPad has a much longer replacement cycle. There are roughly 350M iPad still in use , and as a device usage number it is still growing. So I don't think tablet is dead, it is being used in places and usage we never thought before.
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