[LiveBrianD]

What do you think about the tablet rage? Personally, I feel that unless they gain far more functionality, I'm not going to buy one.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 27 March 2011 - 10:57 AM

[coastie65]

I'm waiting for the specs to get a bit stronger on those things and good WiFi.

[LiveBrianD]

coastie65, on 27 March 2011 - 11:29 AM, said:

I'm waiting for the specs to get a bit stronger on those things and good WiFi.

I think not having a hardware keyboard is a big issue. Needing an external one is a pain. How am I supposed to type lots of forum posts on an onscreen keyboard?

[4537256]

LiveBrianD, on 27 March 2011 - 10:56 AM, said:

I feel that unless they gain far more functionality, I'm not going to buy one.

In other words, your not interested in them at the moment, then why the thread? their popularity does not mean your suppose to get one too. Others want them for their own reasons therefore you won't find any specifics.

LiveBrianD, on 27 March 2011 - 12:16 PM, said:

coastie65, on 27 March 2011 - 11:29 AM, said:

I'm waiting for the specs to get a bit stronger on those things and good WiFi.

I think not having a hardware keyboard is a big issue. Needing an external one is a pain. How am I supposed to type lots of forum posts on an onscreen keyboard?

i'm doing it now. likely your issue is you getting used to it, like anything else, it becomes second nature after so long.

[nonseq]

There are many many things that I can do with a tablet that can also be done with a laptop or a netbook. Many of those things can actually be done better with the tablet/touchscreen format. Some things, not so well- like heavy duty word processing and number crunching- are far better done on a full sized laptop and not so well done on a netbook but still better than on a tablet (netbook keyboards are little better than virtual tablets keyboards in my experience and some are not as good).

For me, high end graphics and animations require more precision for input than a standard mouse can provide. In that case a tablet, with a stylus (good ones are beginning to become available for iPad and Android tablets) can be effective for drafts and early design work. Laptops and netbooks- without ancillary monitors are not as useful. In fact, a laptop or netbook with a touchscreen don't make any sense to me.

It seems that the current perspective of many that the tablet is the next step from the notebook in the evolution of personal computing. I suspect that it is more of a branching than a next step. (In my opinion the Post-PC world is far far away, if ever - sorry Steve Jobs and others who have embraced the term.)

I think the tablets like the iPad/Xoom/Tab represent a whole new class of device that touches toes with PC's, the cloud, entertainment, telecommunications, and more. I doubt that the tablet can or will replace notebooks but the tablet may take a piece of the notebook market to do those things for which it is far better suited.

So, it seems unnecessary to me to try to force specification requirements for notebooks, netbooks, desktops on the tablet.

This post has been edited by nonseq: 27 March 2011 - 12:53 PM

[LiveBrianD]

Lots of what I do consists of web browsing and word processing - and tablets can't do word processing well.

[waldojim]

tablets have a place, and as applications for them become more refined, that place will stand out. For example, right now I can grab up a Samsung Tab for $99, but the one or two apps that I NEED to work on there, don't. Or don't work as expected. I want that tablet for movies, and Skype video conferencing. Movies it can do, unless you want streaming video from Netflix, as I do. Skype it can do, unless you want video conferencing...

Right now, they are a great idea with little useful implementation for me.

[stone123]

In this complex world, more and more people seek simple and lightweight and portable things. So I think this is the reason of tablets so popular.

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 27 March 2011 - 03:40 PM, said:

tablets have a place, and as applications for them become more refined, that place will stand out. For example, right now I can grab up a Samsung Tab for $99, but the one or two apps that I NEED to work on there, don't. Or don't work as expected. I want that tablet for movies, and Skype video conferencing. Movies it can do, unless you want streaming video from Netflix, as I do. Skype it can do, unless you want video conferencing...

Right now, they are a great idea with little useful implementation for me.

Where exactly are you finding it for $99? Does that include a cellular contract or something?

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 30 March 2011 - 04:49 PM, said:

waldojim, on 27 March 2011 - 03:40 PM, said:

tablets have a place, and as applications for them become more refined, that place will stand out. For example, right now I can grab up a Samsung Tab for $99, but the one or two apps that I NEED to work on there, don't. Or don't work as expected. I want that tablet for movies, and Skype video conferencing. Movies it can do, unless you want streaming video from Netflix, as I do. Skype it can do, unless you want video conferencing...

Right now, they are a great idea with little useful implementation for me.

Where exactly are you finding it for $99? Does that include a cellular contract or something?

It does, and you have to call for it too, as they are limiting it to one per account.

[mgarz]

nah, too expensive for their functionality..

[LiveBrianD]

mgarz, on 20 April 2011 - 06:12 AM, said:

nah, too expensive for their functionality..

Precisely my thoughts! I just ordered a netbook instead. Typing forum posts on a tablet would be hell - with the onscreen keyboard.

[amphi]

LiveBrianD, on 27 March 2011 - 10:56 AM, said:

What do you think about the tablet rage? Personally, I feel that unless they gain far more functionality, I'm not going to buy one.

I agree with the functionality. It should be at par with the laptop.

[RengithShineyKarikottu]

nonseq, on 27 March 2011 - 12:51 PM, said:

There are many many things that I can do with a tablet that can also be done with a laptop or a netbook. Many of those things can actually be done better with the tablet/touchscreen format. Some things, not so well- like heavy duty word processing and number crunching- are far better done on a full sized laptop and not so well done on a netbook but still better than on a tablet (netbook keyboards are little better than virtual tablets keyboards in my experience and some are not as good).

For me, high end graphics and animations require more precision for input than a standard mouse can provide. In that case a tablet, with a stylus (good ones are beginning to become available for iPad and Android tablets) can be effective for drafts and early design work. Laptops and netbooks- without ancillary monitors are not as useful. In fact, a laptop or netbook with a touchscreen don't make any sense to me.

It seems that the current perspective of many that the tablet is the next step from the notebook in the evolution of personal computing. I suspect that it is more of a branching than a next step. (In my opinion the Post-PC world is far far away, if ever - sorry Steve Jobs and others who have embraced the term.)

I think the tablets like the iPad/Xoom/Tab represent a whole new class of device that touches toes with PC's, the cloud, entertainment, telecommunications, and more. I doubt that the tablet can or will replace notebooks but the tablet may take a piece of the notebook market to do those things for which it is far better suited.

So, it seems unnecessary to me to try to force specification requirements for notebooks, netbooks, desktops on the tablet.

[RengithShineyKarikottu]

This question is for all users: I am trying to decide between buying the Samsung Tab 10.1 or waiting for the Toshiba Excite 10 to arrive in the U.S. What are your thoughts?

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 27 March 2011 - 10:56 AM, said:

What do you think about the tablet rage? Personally, I feel that unless they gain far more functionality, I'm not going to buy one.

Here is something that I can use my iPad for...

There is an app that allows your iPad to serve as a second screen for a Mac or Windows computer by way of the WiFi connection. This can be really useful if you are travelling with a laptop and an iPad...you can have two screens to use while working on your laptop. I don't know if there is a similar app for Android tablets or not, but it is certainly possible.

I can also use my tablet in situations that it is not really practical to use a laptop. You can read or watch something on a tablet while standing, but that is not too practical with a laptop.

I also use my iPad for reading PDFs and eBooks. It is much more practical to use the iPad for that than my laptop. With a laptop's "horizontal oriented" screen, I have to do a whole lot more scrolling when reading something than I do with a tablet.

In the end, a tablet is just another tool. There are somethings that "tool" does better than other tools like a laptop computer and somethings that it does worse. Even though a hammer can pound in a screw, a screwdriver is the better tool for it. So, why think of a tablet like it is meant to do the same things that a laptop can do? I will note, however, that there are options (such as cases with Bluetooth keyboards)that allow a tablet to be almost as good as a laptop for basic tasks for some people.

The point is that for a lot of people a tablet does the things that they need it to quite well. And for some of those things, a tablet will do them better than a laptop. For other people, they will see no need in getting a tablet because they see no value, either because they think tablets cost too much for what they get or because a laptop will better do what they need to do.

coastie65, on 27 March 2011 - 11:29 AM, said:

I'm waiting for the specs to get a bit stronger on those things and good WiFi.

WiFi has been plenty good on ever tablet that I have used to date. As to specs getting stronger, no quite sure what you mean by that. The specs for most tablets are plenty good for what a tablet is designed/meant to do.

[compnovo]

It's funny, when LiveB started this thread a year ago I couldn't see the value of a tablet, and now that I have a Kindle Fire I'm a believer in its utility as a content consumption device. I'm not ready to let go of my desktop or netbook, though, they're far better suited for content creation (note that I'm only referring to the Fire, not other tablets).

"This question is for all users: I am trying to decide between buying the Samsung Tab 10.1 or waiting for the Toshiba Excite 10 to arrive in the U.S. What are your thoughts?"

I'm waiting to see what the ASUS Transformer looks like with Windows 8.

@coastie,
I too get good WiFi reception, although some Fire users are experiencing problems with older routers.

This post has been edited by compnovo: 06 March 2012 - 05:40 PM

[smax013]

compnovo, on 06 March 2012 - 05:37 PM, said:

It's funny, when LiveB started this thread a year ago I couldn't see the value of a tablet, and now that I have a Kindle Fire I'm a believer in its utility as a content consumption device. I'm not ready to let go of my desktop or netbook, though, they're far better suited for content creation (note that I'm only referring to the Fire, not other tablets).

"This question is for all users: I am trying to decide between buying the Samsung Tab 10.1 or waiting for the Toshiba Excite 10 to arrive in the U.S. What are your thoughts?"

I'm waiting to see what the ASUS Transformer looks like with Windows 8.

A tablet is definitely useful as a "content consumption" device. And since a lot of "normal people" (not tech geeks like most regular users on this forum) mainly use a computer for "content consumption", a tablet tends to potentially be a viable alternative to a laptop for use a portable device. Add in a Bluetooth keyboard (assuming your tablet has Bluetooth) and a tablet can actually deal fairly well with typing long documents and emails....won't be as good as a laptop still for that type of function, but I could see it working well enough for an awful lot of people such that they go with a tablet over a laptop for their use.

Quote

@coastie,
I too get good WiFi reception, although some Fire users are experiencing problems with older routers.

This can be no different with a computer with WiFi. I have had various problems over the years connecting some computers to some routers. Point is that it is not something "unique" to tablets.

[compnovo]

smax013, on 06 March 2012 - 06:13 PM, said:

This can be no different with a computer with WiFi. I have had various problems over the years connecting some computers to some routers. Point is that it is not something "unique" to tablets.

Agreed, wireless tends to be twitchy regardless of the hardware.

[LiveBrianD]

I haven't found wireless stuff to be much of an issue, though these is some slightly noticeable latency with my wireless mouse and keyboard that I don't get with wired ones. Certainly, wifi is slower than ethernet (though fine for casual use).

I have, however, found situations where, say, my laptop gets better wifi signal than an ipod touch in the same location, same network. (thanks to the antenna size).