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The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

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Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#71

Post by rifung »

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 mine almost exclusively for reading. I don't want an e reader because they don't have color and also because as far as I know you can't read pdf's on them

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#72

Post by shas3 »

PopsiclePete wrote: post #68
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.

I am in a similar situation. My wife and I have stopped using full size iPad 3 after buying an iPhone 6+. It is way easier to read stuff on the phone and do everything else. Also more and more websites are becoming mobile friendly, obviating the need for a large format screen to do stuff.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#73

Post by bradleyjg »

weego wrote: post #16
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'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…

> For example until last month both me and my partner used a Gen 1 iPad probably for 2 or 3 hours a day every day.

Was it still holding a reasonable charge? That's what finally got me to ditch my gen 2 ipad. A plugged in laptop is one thing, but an ipad doesn't want to be tethered.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#74

Post by CountSessine »

PopsiclePete wrote: post #68
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.

I bought a Galaxy Note 4, a similar sized phone, and I thought the same thing. In the end, I really missed having a tablet - a good 9-10" tablet is so much better to browse the web or play games on than even a phablet. I still love my Note 4, but when I'm home I'm typically on my tablet.

YMMV, of course.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#75

Post by michaelbuddy »

k__ wrote: post #40
josteink wrote: post #33

There's several things to disagree with here. I see a trend where people want smaller phones. The current phone are getting too big and people are getting fed up. Secondly, I bought my wife a tablet 6 months ago, and she haven't used the laptop since. Tablets have clearly peaked, but I don't think they will be going away anytime soon.

Realy? I think the opposite is the case... Smartphones are getting bigger and tablets are getting obsolete. I have a 6.1" Smartphone and stopped using my tablet with this. Before that I had a tiny phone and a tablet.

your choice of the biggest smart phone is a personal choice, makes a tablet unnecessary for you, not OBSOLETE. You're going to find devices spread out more rather than consolidate. despite what people think, things get more complex, not less and the market for products grows a longer tail rather than things disappearing.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#76

Post by marssaxman »

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.

No keyboard = minimal text entry = disqualification as "primary" anything.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#77

Post by wvenable »

marssaxman wrote: post #76
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.

No keyboard = minimal text entry = disqualification as "primary" anything.

I think most smartphone users would disagree that no keyboard equals minimal text entry. Phones are hardly used for calls now.

But I also know a lot of people with keyboards for their iPads.

But really I think that most non-technical users aren't using their keyboard enough to really need one. If you are hunt-a-peck typer, a physical keyboard isn't that much of a necessity.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#78

Post by bane »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #30

Thinking about device types is backwards. The choice should be what cloud services from Google, Microsoft, Github, Bitbucket, etc. that we need to use and make sure that access to our working and entertainment data assets is simple on all device types. As much as I like my iPad for web browsing, my Note 4 phone is much more part of my digital life because it can access my data assets and is almost always with me. Mic…

I don't know what happened, but in the last six months, the number of Surfaces I've seen has absolutely exploded, they're almost everywhere now.

I think there's been a push in some corporations to start offering it as a truly mobile device in lieu of less portable, and not as useful Dell machines and the folks I've talked to about them absolutely love them.

The idea of having a tablet you can easily show documents and presentations off of, and when you have to type the cover is the keyboard, drop it in a dock and you've got a large screen with mouse and traditional keyboard, grab it and you're immediately on the run. Great battery life, runs all the important applications without fuss, decent specs.

I've definitely felt some envy for the beautiful doc, especially when I'm struggling with all the various cables and dongles and crap I have to plug in and out of my Mac to make it a useful desktop machine. Maybe the new Mac Books will solve this with USB-C?

sidenote I have a Note, and it's easily the best portable computer I've ever owned. I've easily gotten through an entire day's worth of meetings using nothing but my phone to deal with emails (while listening to music or podcasts), get directions, make some calls (often while surfing the web), and then when I'm there, scribble pages of notes (which I can then email out to participants before we've left the room). A couple places I go even have Chrome casts and I can just mirror the screen and present right off of my phone.

It's kind of a magic portable office device, and I don't think I've ever drained the battery on it. I know other phones offer all of that, but there's something about the Note devices that clicks (once you get rid of all the crapware on it). It might also help I have one of those fold-over covers that makes it look kind of like an oversized Moleskine.

But it's reduced the amount of stuff I have to haul around to meetings to something I'm already carrying.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#79

Post by bane »

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 mine for 3 things where my largish Note won't cut it

- light, but extended, web browsing. Usually long-form articles

- comics

- tv, movies while lying in bed or on a couch in a room without a tv or just resting somewhere.

Re: The Tablet Is Being Squeezed Out

#80

Post by Toast_ »

bluedino wrote: post #50
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 think tablets are appropriately prices for what they do. A $399 iPad is a much better device than a $299 or $399 laptop. Better screen, longer battery life, doesn't get viruses, easier to use... Plus, an iPad is 1/2 to 1/3rd the cost of an Apple laptop.

Until you get a new iOS upgrade, thus turning your ipad into a paperweight.
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