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Google quits selling tablets

techcrunch.com

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Re: Google quits selling tablets

#131

Post by rz2k »

FussyZeus wrote: post #14
kelnos wrote: post #9

> ... few people see any reason to upgrade a device that was originally sold for its simplicity and ease of use, not its specs. I, for one, have been using the third-gen (1st Retina) iPad since its release approximately 500 years ago and have never felt any compulsion whatsoever to get a new one. This seems a little weird to me. Don't tablets age in a similar way that smartphones age? As in, the battery gets weaker o…

Anecdotal: my iPads have never aged the way my iPhones do. As to the reasons, I suspect the primary is just where and how it's used: I beat the piss out of my iphones, dropping them, using them out of good areas, on the go, in the car, while eating, etc. where my iPads have a comparatively nice existence largely in my home. The most strenuous environment I use my tablets in is my porch. But yeah, I just recently upgr…

What's your experience on the upgrade from an iPad Air to a new iPad Pro?

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#132

Post by asveikau »

freedomben wrote: post #111
paulie_a wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> custom launcher

Speaking of this, this is another thing Google seriously screwed up lately. Used to be you could install Google Now launcher on any device and avoid OEM crap launchers. Now there is "pixel launcher" which is tied to the device. You can get the APK but this is non supported.

It is so weird to me that they would create a platform where you can swap out launchers and not leave a reasonable first party default in place. Bad for the Android brand and bad for users.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#133

Post by dbuder »

toast0 wrote: post #98
paulie_a wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2-5 seems surpring. Samsung rarely supports their products and constantly shits all over them with custom crapware.

Chromebooks have no room for manufacturer involvement with the software. Afaik, assuming based on public references, if you want to make a Chromebook, you use Google's reference design for the motherboard, pick a compatible CPU, design your own keyboard (but use a Google approved controller instead of a normal one), design your own case and pick a display, put everything together, use Google's firmware and use Google…

Can you point me towards some information on the google approved keyboard controller, I couldn't find anything except the layout differences on google.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#134

Post by TeMPOraL »

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…

I concur. Windows vs. Android/iOS on tablets is one of the better examples of tools vs. toys.

I'm writing this comment on a cheap Windows 10 laptop/tablet I bought second-hand for $120. It's an order of magnitude more useful than my brother's $500 Samsung Android tablet. Having proper OS on a tablet turns it from a consumption tool into a productivity one.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#135

Post by icebraining »

kbd wrote: post #44
sliken wrote: post #4

I loved my nexus-7, and the 2nd gen nexus-7 even more. Inexpensive, pure android, decent hardware spec, and a usefully larger display than a phone. Anyone know of a current table that avoids the adware, crapware, and 3d contact managers where each card flies around in 3D? I just want android with the current security updates and 7-9" display.

I still use my Nexus 7 (2nd gen) as my main tablet. That thing is a trooper. It's my book reader, Chromecast runner, Sonos controller, etc. It's big enough to comfortably watch Twitch on. It fits in my back jeans pocket so I can easily bring it with me, which lots of tablets including the ipad mini don't. I'd love to find a modern replacement for it, ideally just a little bit bigger.

The Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus seems reasonable, and it is one inch bigger.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#136

Post by nafizh »

hliyan wrote: post #123
nafizh wrote: post #118

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 ha…

$329 + $99 unless you're a student... Question: can it do handwriting recognition?

There are many apps in the app store that do handwriting recognition.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#137

Post by hsljekskfh »

recently i tried to find a high end tablet to demo my mobile game and i found that the best technical tablet specs belonged to an nvidia shield from three years ago.

not surprised about this. tablets have been going down in market share consistently for years and apple has cornered the market on nice new tablets.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#138

Post by scarface74 »

kartan wrote: post #36
kelnos wrote: post #9

> ... few people see any reason to upgrade a device that was originally sold for its simplicity and ease of use, not its specs. I, for one, have been using the third-gen (1st Retina) iPad since its release approximately 500 years ago and have never felt any compulsion whatsoever to get a new one. This seems a little weird to me. Don't tablets age in a similar way that smartphones age? As in, the battery gets weaker o…

> I think a more plausible reason for sales numbers falling is that people don't need or want tablets as much as they thought they did That probably is part of the explanation. For me, I bought a "New iPad" on 2012. Some months ago I bought a new model, as iOS is not updated anymore. That is the main reason to upgrade and this is another topic for discussion. It has been six years between tablets. And the need for an…

I have a 2010 iPad that I rediscovered after moving. On a whim, I reset it last year thinking it was going to be useless. Apple still lets you redownload "the last compatible version" of apps back to iOS 4.X. I was able to download and use older versions of Netflix, Hulu, Plex, Spotify, Crackle, and all of Apple's iWork apps. Safari is unusable and crashes constantly but everything else still works.

I bought a 2017 iPad with cellular and zi love it. T-mobile has unlimited data for $20 a month.

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#139

Post by [deleted] »

__sr__ wrote: post #12

Good riddance! It’s not like they have actively been developing Android to support tablets. In fact, it is the other way around. The older versions had better support for tablets. Even Nexus 9 was a half hearted attempt at best — and the rest is history. Google’s lack of interest in nowhere more evident than their own apps — many of them were just scaled versions of phone apps. And if Google is not bothering to optim…

[deleted]

Re: Google quits selling tablets

#140

Post by propogandist »

shasheene wrote: post #20
sliken wrote: post #4

I loved my nexus-7, and the 2nd gen nexus-7 even more. Inexpensive, pure android, decent hardware spec, and a usefully larger display than a phone. Anyone know of a current table that avoids the adware, crapware, and 3d contact managers where each card flies around in 3D? I just want android with the current security updates and 7-9" display.

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…

with a Chromebook, you're buying hardware with pre-installed spyware, until you remove all Google services from the OS
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