Tablet fans - convince me!

[speg]

I am a huge tech fan. I eat, sleep, breathe technology...

... but I can't get excited about an iTablet.

1) With an iPhone I can do all my routine things in the palm of my hand. Email, web, RSS, Facebook/twitter, a simple photo or video upload, all the day-to-day things you need to get done in the PALM OF YOUR HAND, and of course make phone calls too.

2) If I have to do anything more extensive than that I can sit down at my desktop/notebook and go to work.

So what am I going to do with a tablet? It just seems like a bigger sized iPhone, which kind of defeats the purpose of ultra-portability.

What are you going to do with your Tablet?

 

[ravenvii]

I agree 100% with what you just said, I don't understand the desire for a tablet, other than specialized circumstances, like doctors or in a forumula-intensive classroom.

Convince me, too!

 

[Unspoken Demise]

I can do a lot of things in the palm of my hand.

Anyways, I think the "iTablet" is just another excuse of a bandwagon to jump on, for people with too much money and too little sense.

Convince a 3rd?

 

[GoCubsGo]

Convince you to be excited about a non-existant product?

 

[Unspoken Demise]

Convince you to be excited about a non-existant product?

Hypothetically speaking I assume. If nothing else it seems like he'd like to be convinced of the utility of tablets, period.

 

[speg]

Convince you to be excited about a non-existant product?

Convince me as a business to build a tablet. Who am I going to sell this to? Who is going to buy it and why? Or, convince me as a consumer to buy a tablet.

There is obvious speculation about an impending tablet from Apple, and that leads me to believe there must be a demand for one. I'd like fans of tablets to share their desires for a tablet, as I cannot find any for myself (which is fine, perhaps I'm not the target customer, but as huge tech fan I find it surprising to be in that place, maybe I'm missing something?)

 

[MTI]

A great deal of the difficulty that some here have in envisioning a market for a tablet device is . . . most existing Apple owners might not be the market that the company will cater to. It may serve well to not put a tablet device into a computer "box."

Just as the iPod isn't technically considered a computer, it uses the same computer technology to deliver digital media to consumers, who aren't really concerned that it doesn't do what a personal computer does.

Take that concept of the delivery of digital media to a larger platform, where there's no squinting or scrolling to view a page or screen; room for more storage; and then open your minds to the possibilities.

Combine what the Sony eReader or Amazon Kindle does . . . but make it a 10" color screen and a Safari browser (wi-fi and 3G or 4G mobile) and price it below the $1K Macbook.

 

[Vster]

Wi-fi + 3G and a larger iPhone like touch screen. I'd be all over that. I don't think my handwriting is good enough for my tablet so I tap away w/the pen. I'm rather fast at the virtual keyboard on my iPhone, so I'd love a shot at a 10" version.

 

[puffnstuff]

anything under 12" it is easier to tap on the screen then to try and use the tiny keyboard and trackpad

 

[Love]

I also think it's fairly useless. Honestly, I think it will be about as much of a success as the Cube or the Air.

 

[talkingfuture]

I'd say that whether you are excited or not, wait until you see the device (if it even exists) before you judge it.

 

[netdog]

Huh?

I also think it's fairly useless. Honestly, I think it will be about as much of a success as the Cube or the Air.

Ummm, the Macbook Air has been hugely successful and is very useful for many, many owners.

 

[Marble]

I can do a lot of things in the palm of my hand.

Let's not get OT.

 

[Dr.Buzz]

Try this out

Out of the billions of computer users in the world a desktop or a laptop does not fit every single persons ideal for a computer based on use. Also, Tablets are NOT a primary computer. This is a battle for the second computer in a household - that point is very important in this discussion. I see posts about "how am I going to game" and the like... back up... this is a "in the kitchen", on the couch researching device.

Example: I have a desktop. My second computer (macbook pro) never gets anything but web traffic, email and the like. Don't need a keyboard really. If a tablet that was less expensive but did all the same things (that's important) I would have gone the tablet route. If I went on a trip, I'd take my bluetooth keyboard with me, but most days I'd just use the touch interface.

In fact, I've always hated laptops because - for being portable - they are so big and clunky to just look at websites. Netbooks are the other end. They still have all this keyboard and extra weight I don't ever need and a substandard user experience.

If you use your second computer for business, graphics, on airplanes, etc. then you go laptop. But it is very possible most household 2nd computers will switch to a device that will be a good replacement for "reading the paper" in the morning. Laptops will become a smaller market as tablets replace them. They won't go away though, because of course they make sense for someone who needs full resources for creative input AND portability. BUT - most people don't do that - most people use computers for collecting, not creating information. That's what desktops (primary computer at home) are for.

The iphone argument is true. The best answer is, I have an iphone, but I still prefer my laptop in my lap on the couch because its bigger. Thus, by my logic above, I would still own a tablet instead of a laptop. Also, I know we fanboys assume everyone has an iphone, but most still do not. So, maybe I have not made a good argument why YOU should have a tablet because maybe you really need a laptop. I'm just saying that most people do not need an entire laptop as a second computer.

Go to the coffee shop and watch those dozens of people with their laptops out using Wi-fi. How many of them are even typing anything more than web address (bookmarks anyone?). Most americans I know still have some stationary primary computer. Now that the market is saturated for primary computers... what market is totally untapped????

How's that?

 

[BuddyTronic]

I am a huge tech fan. I eat, sleep, breathe technology...

... but I can't get excited about an iTablet.

1) With an iPhone I can do all my routine things in the palm of my hand. Email, web, RSS, Facebook/twitter, a simple photo or video upload, all the day-to-day things you need to get done in the PALM OF YOUR HAND, and of course make phone calls too.

2) If I have to do anything more extensive than that I can sit down at my desktop/notebook and go to work.

So what am I going to do with a tablet? It just seems like a bigger sized iPhone, which kind of defeats the purpose of ultra-portability.

What are you going to do with your Tablet?

It will have a solid state storage "drive" - so it will be more durable.

I hope it has insane battery life and some crazy good screen technology.

I hope I can read web stuff with it without frying my nuts on the lazyboy.

I hope it has inductive charging - so I can just sit it on the table and it will get charged, without adding more wires to upset my wife about the decor in the livingroom.


Just for these features, me want!

 

[Sydde]

"Tablets are not a primary computer"

For you. For me. For most of the people who read or post on this site. But we are still a minority, of sorts. Give the masses something significantly more compact than what is out there but still reasonably capable and it will sell. If the average person can use this device to replace the larger, noisier one in the den, or comfortably browse the web from the "reading room" without burning their bare thighs, I think they would go for it. Not to mention the fact that this thing will most likely be more secure than that Dell, for the average person who does not want to have to even have to think about malware.

I suspect this device, if it is coming, will start out pretty pathetic, but just good enough. A Moore-cycle, or so, worth of evolution will make it something even you or I could be seriously interested in. And if it threatens to be successful, we could even see some decently designed competition.

 

[ARF900]

The tablet is not for everyone, it is a netbook for mac users.

And no, the MBA is a novelty item, not a netbook.

 

[*LTD*]

Why not just wait for Apple to convince you on the 27th?

We know about as much as you do.

 

[4DThinker]

I am a huge tech fan. I eat, sleep, breathe technology but I can't get excited about an iTablet.

It will take some magic from Apple to create a reason for their tablet. I've got the Archos 9 tablet running Windows 7. I'm typing this on my desptop. The only thing the Archos does that my desktop doesn't do is be somewhere else. Almost anywhere else. It's more portable than my netbook which hasn't been out of it's case for a year or so. I can add mice and keyboard and DVD drive to the Archos, but then it's just another netbook. So for me a tablet has to justify itself as-is. The 9 has a decent on-screen keyboard but it doesn't pop-up intuitively. It has WiFi and Bluetooth and could have optional 3G and with those it "connects" to printers and storage on my home network as well as the internet. I can access all my photos/movies/music/documents on it so it serves as a nice remote extension for my desktop.

If you've ever been away from your desktop, where a notebook/laptop wouldn't go, and still wished you had a 10" screen'ed PC with you, then you need Apple's tablet. Maybe it becomes your newspaper and magazines. What if you could get any magazine you subscribe to for 1/3 price uploaded to your tablet automatically every month, and they become more interactive for being digital and net-connected? If that sounds good, you may need the Apple tablet.

 

[BittenApple]

Can't speak upon on a device that only a small amount of people have used. Ask in a couple of days..

 

[shrimpdesign]

Check back on the 27th. How appealing were normal "smartphones" before you bought your iPhone?

There's a lot of assumptions about the Apple tablet, but they will not release a device unless it has a clear purpose, abundant utility and great usability. We won't know the "how" until the 27th, but you can bet on Apple to be competent.

 

[Casiotone]

One thing that people seem to forget about all this is how much more intuitive and powerful a touch-screen interface can be in some respect, compared to traditional pointing devices.

Don't you feel it's more satisfying to actually press a button with your finger directly on the screen instead of having to move a cursor above the button and then press on the mouse button (or track pad) ?

We tend to forget the appeal of touch screens, convincing ourselves that it's just a x,y pointing device like a mouse. I realized while using the iPhone simulator from the SDK, that this is not the case, and that it's sometimes frustrating to use the iPhone with a cursor and a mouse (I don't even think that a track pad would really help things), because I'm used to have much more direct interactions with this interface.

Of course, a cursor-driven interface can be more precise, but in some case is slower. For example, try to quickly go click a button at the other end of the screen and you'll likely overshoot the target, or have to slow down to avoid overshooting. With a touch screen, you simply go click the button with your finger, no acceleration or relative scale to compensate.

With an interface designed with a touch screen in mind, you get around the reduced precision while getting a faster, more intuitive and more satisfactory experience using this interface.

The iPhone can provide this, but its main limitation is the screen size. A touch screen interface (especially with multi-touch) begins to really shine on a bigger screen, and this is what the Apple tablet should provide.

 

[yodaxl7]

I am a hugh tech fan too

I love my iphone!!! I like my laptop! I know the apple tablet will not replace it. Although, it might! It depends on what I do on my laptop. I like the idea to navigate the internet on the iphone and it would be that much better on a bigger screen, say 10'. Laptops are portable, but they are still somewhat awkward. For me, I still have laptops that I have to plug in whereever I go. My interactions to computers in general has been less exciting, since the iphone came into our world. So, the apple tablet is the nexxus b/n the computers (desktop,laptop) and my iphone. I know I will enjoy the bigger screen and the multi-touch. Like the iphone, it may take a few generations for it to be the most ideal version. I am hoping that we can do microsoft office type of work, too. I think it would be cool that you could make phone calls via camera and bluetooth headset. Also, use your iphone to navigate the apple table or as a controller to games. If the camera can recognize face, I wonder it can be the apple version of the nattal. Perhaps, there will be a motion gesture interface as well. So, if we read a book, we can gesture a "wave motion" to turn pages.

 

[yodaxl7]

I agree 100% with what you just said, I don't understand the desire for a tablet, other than specialized circumstances, like doctors or in a forumula-intensive classroom.

Convince me, too!

Simple, it is not just a tablet, but an apple tablet. It is the "ultimate, Ultra portable". It brings the "multi-touch" interactions from the iphone!! It brings the app store!

Have said that, I am hoping for a great battery life. I am hoping for a great way to write a paper. If it can serve to take notes, then it will be find. I know Gateway had a tablet pc that try to sell that point of taking notes. I think this apple tablet will do much better! I know the apple tablet will not replace a notebook, but it will come close. I do think the desktop pc is almost history. Laptop will survive for a while, but I think mult-touch tablet pc is the future!!

 

[yodaxl7]

Out of the billions of computer users in the world a desktop or a laptop does not fit every single persons ideal for a computer based on use. Also, Tablets are NOT a primary computer. This is a battle for the second computer in a household - that point is very important in this discussion. I see posts about "how am I going to game" and the like... back up... this is a "in the kitchen", on the couch researching device.

Example: I have a desktop. My second computer (macbook pro) never gets anything but web traffic, email and the like. Don't need a keyboard really. If a tablet that was less expensive but did all the same things (that's important) I would have gone the tablet route. If I went on a trip, I'd take my bluetooth keyboard with me, but most days I'd just use the touch interface.

In fact, I've always hated laptops because - for being portable - they are so big and clunky to just look at websites. Netbooks are the other end. They still have all this keyboard and extra weight I don't ever need and a substandard user experience.

If you use your second computer for business, graphics, on airplanes, etc. then you go laptop. But it is very possible most household 2nd computers will switch to a device that will be a good replacement for "reading the paper" in the morning. Laptops will become a smaller market as tablets replace them. They won't go away though, because of course they make sense for someone who needs full resources for creative input AND portability. BUT - most people don't do that - most people use computers for collecting, not creating information. That's what desktops (primary computer at home) are for.

The iphone argument is true. The best answer is, I have an iphone, but I still prefer my laptop in my lap on the couch because its bigger. Thus, by my logic above, I would still own a tablet instead of a laptop. Also, I know we fanboys assume everyone has an iphone, but most still do not. So, maybe I have not made a good argument why YOU should have a tablet because maybe you really need a laptop. I'm just saying that most people do not need an entire laptop as a second computer.

Go to the coffee shop and watch those dozens of people with their laptops out using Wi-fi. How many of them are even typing anything more than web address (bookmarks anyone?). Most americans I know still have some stationary primary computer. Now that the market is saturated for primary computers... what market is totally untapped????

How's that?

I agree for the most part. I could add that you do have to worry much on the batter life either. My experience with laptops are the power cords. I think in the future, tablet pc is the wave of the standard computers.