@n8equalsd To me it seems like a evolution from the keyboard and mouse. Light computing in a very easy to carry form factor. Until they can create pen and touch in a thin tablet design the masses will stick to the mouse and keyboard which is fine right now.
@n8equalsd I boot up my laptop at least 50 times in a typical week, just to do a few minutes of browsing, check my email and shut it down again. A tablet would be perfect for that, since it would be instant on/off and I don't have to put a source of heat near my private parts all the time. A netbook would be clunky and annoying (I actually have one and I absolutely hate it, worst purchase in years) and my phone doesn't have the screen estate to be convenient for browsing the web (though I do use it a lot for it).
Also: I'd love to be able to read e-books on a tablet, I don't read a lot, but that's mostly because I don't buy a lot of books. Having an electronic store with millions of books that I don't need have to put on a shelf somewhere would be perfect for a lazy ass like myself.
I don't think that's /quite/ right. Tablets are mainly a media consumption device. Internet browsing, movie watching, music playing; their entire purpose it to collect all you media in one place and give it to you. You can also do a little actual "work" on them, though if you really want to get deep into it, you still have to break out the full fledged computer.
The one thing (in my opinion) tablets have over laptops is you don't have the keyboard to get in the way. I've had my laptop before and there are times I've wanted to position it in a way that would have been far easier to attain had the keyboard been gone.
However, I think hardware wise, we're ready for tablets. But I don't think the software is quite there yet. People are still used to the keyboard and mouse paradigm. Until we have a few companies that fully commit to bringing finger input to a large screen, we won't be able to advance.
The iPad was a step forward, but even it uses a cell phone OS. In my mind, before tablets can really become a force to be reckoned with, there needs to be a tablet OS. An OS who's entire reason of being is to be put on a tablet. This OS can't be gimmick-y, yet it has to be simple. It has to be powerful, but that power can't be layered under menus and such.
(And I know this is a completely different idea, but) This is why I'm so interested in the Courier. Will I buy one? Probably not. But the Courier is a new way of interacting with touch interfaces. This could bring ideas to the table that will make tablet computing a viable platform. Especially if Courier isn't a device in and of itself, but a platform for others to use/a design experiment.
tl;dr: Tablet devices are media consumption devices.
Until they develop a strictly tablet platform, tablet computing won't reach its potential.
@NewL "here's a hint: if you boot your computer 50 times a week, you're doing it wrong. Ever heard of standby?" First, you addressed only one of his points, second the standby drains the battery (slowly, but still).
@BigJayDogg3 "The iPad was a step forward, but even it uses a cell phone OS." I don't understand, because it was used on a cellphone, it somehow makes it not so good? It's a an OS, and it is very well suite for a small media device like the iPad. "In my mind, before tablets can really become a force to be reckoned with, there needs to be a tablet OS." Well, that is what Apple is trying to do with the iPhone OS. You can't just go out there and make an interface not depending on keyboard and mouse. People have a learning curve. You make a phone/ipod with a few multitouch capabilities and simple functionality, you test how it works for people, the you go the next step and make something bigger with more functionality etc. You jump those steps and the average customer who doesn't want/have the time to learn new stuff is lost. Some of the ideas shown on the Courier are great, but are going too fast. Also, a device with two 7" screens will be lost on every person who wants to draw/sketch when he can just buy a Tablet PC with a 12" screen. I rally like the Courier, but I don't see it succeeding.
@BigJayDogg3 Courier? Sorry, but its clear you don't have any concept of getting from point A to point B.
First... iPad doesn't run a "cell phone OS". That alone casts doubt on your reasoning. It runs a "mobile OS", which is different (evident by the fact that while it came out on a cellphone product first, it was almost immediately released on a non-cellphone product, and this is the 3rd category in addition to the first two). Moreover, iPad's OS is being shown to be plenty powerful. People just need to discover how to leverage that power (iWork being a great demo of that).
Regarding point A to point B... look at the adoption rates. Apple has invested 3 years now, in training people on its new touchscreen operating system. Even now, new users are taking to it without any training (from the very young to the very old, and most importantly, the blind and visually impaired too).
Don't mistake an excellent presentation and focused product for something that isn't powerful. Apple is prioritizing and implementing features NEVER seen before, but they're taking there time with features that may be higher profile, but less important.
@n8equalsd Lots of reasons but the one I like the most about my iPad is I can hold it with one hand and fully operate it with the other. Can't do that easily with most laptops. Too heavy, too awkward. The other thing I like is the UI is designed specifically for the things I want to do. It takes me only a few seconds to get anywhere on the device. The UI isn't always popping up warnings/dialog boxes interrupting what I'm trying to do. I can easily flip it from landscape to portrait depending what fits the content best.
@GRock If you don't care for the moral and religious imperative of helping those in need, you could just say that the blind are an under-utilized workforce in our information economies.
@BigJayDogg3 You see, though, I think a LOT of people use laptops in that passive, receptive mode, NOT for work at all. In a way where they check e-mails, watch movies, browse the internet, etc., and a tablet like the iPad would suit them better than a full-fledged laptop.
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I don't really see why people want to buy tablets in the first place. Can someone enlighten me?
@n8equalsd To me it seems like a evolution from the keyboard and mouse. Light computing in a very easy to carry form factor. Until they can create pen and touch in a thin tablet design the masses will stick to the mouse and keyboard which is fine right now.
@n8equalsd
I boot up my laptop at least 50 times in a typical week, just to do a few minutes of browsing, check my email and shut it down again. A tablet would be perfect for that, since it would be instant on/off and I don't have to put a source of heat near my private parts all the time. A netbook would be clunky and annoying (I actually have one and I absolutely hate it, worst purchase in years) and my phone doesn't have the screen estate to be convenient for browsing the web (though I do use it a lot for it).
Also: I'd love to be able to read e-books on a tablet, I don't read a lot, but that's mostly because I don't buy a lot of books. Having an electronic store with millions of books that I don't need have to put on a shelf somewhere would be perfect for a lazy ass like myself.
@neeko18
I don't think that's /quite/ right. Tablets are mainly a media consumption device. Internet browsing, movie watching, music playing; their entire purpose it to collect all you media in one place and give it to you. You can also do a little actual "work" on them, though if you really want to get deep into it, you still have to break out the full fledged computer.
The one thing (in my opinion) tablets have over laptops is you don't have the keyboard to get in the way. I've had my laptop before and there are times I've wanted to position it in a way that would have been far easier to attain had the keyboard been gone.
However, I think hardware wise, we're ready for tablets. But I don't think the software is quite there yet. People are still used to the keyboard and mouse paradigm. Until we have a few companies that fully commit to bringing finger input to a large screen, we won't be able to advance.
The iPad was a step forward, but even it uses a cell phone OS. In my mind, before tablets can really become a force to be reckoned with, there needs to be a tablet OS. An OS who's entire reason of being is to be put on a tablet. This OS can't be gimmick-y, yet it has to be simple. It has to be powerful, but that power can't be layered under menus and such.
(And I know this is a completely different idea, but) This is why I'm so interested in the Courier. Will I buy one? Probably not. But the Courier is a new way of interacting with touch interfaces. This could bring ideas to the table that will make tablet computing a viable platform. Especially if Courier isn't a device in and of itself, but a platform for others to use/a design experiment.
tl;dr: Tablet devices are media consumption devices.
Until they develop a strictly tablet platform, tablet computing won't reach its potential.
Courier could be that very platform.
@drange - here's a hint: if you boot your computer 50 times a week, you're doing it wrong. Ever heard of standby?
@NewL "here's a hint: if you boot your computer 50 times a week, you're doing it wrong. Ever heard of standby?"
First, you addressed only one of his points, second the standby drains the battery (slowly, but still).
@BigJayDogg3 "The iPad was a step forward, but even it uses a cell phone OS."
I don't understand, because it was used on a cellphone, it somehow makes it not so good? It's a an OS, and it is very well suite for a small media device like the iPad.
"In my mind, before tablets can really become a force to be reckoned with, there needs to be a tablet OS."
Well, that is what Apple is trying to do with the iPhone OS. You can't just go out there and make an interface not depending on keyboard and mouse. People have a learning curve. You make a phone/ipod with a few multitouch capabilities and simple functionality, you test how it works for people, the you go the next step and make something bigger with more functionality etc. You jump those steps and the average customer who doesn't want/have the time to learn new stuff is lost. Some of the ideas shown on the Courier are great, but are going too fast. Also, a device with two 7" screens will be lost on every person who wants to draw/sketch when he can just buy a Tablet PC with a 12" screen. I rally like the Courier, but I don't see it succeeding.
@BigJayDogg3 Courier? Sorry, but its clear you don't have any concept of getting from point A to point B.
First... iPad doesn't run a "cell phone OS". That alone casts doubt on your reasoning. It runs a "mobile OS", which is different (evident by the fact that while it came out on a cellphone product first, it was almost immediately released on a non-cellphone product, and this is the 3rd category in addition to the first two). Moreover, iPad's OS is being shown to be plenty powerful. People just need to discover how to leverage that power (iWork being a great demo of that).
Regarding point A to point B... look at the adoption rates. Apple has invested 3 years now, in training people on its new touchscreen operating system. Even now, new users are taking to it without any training (from the very young to the very old, and most importantly, the blind and visually impaired too).
Don't mistake an excellent presentation and focused product for something that isn't powerful. Apple is prioritizing and implementing features NEVER seen before, but they're taking there time with features that may be higher profile, but less important.
@n8equalsd
Lots of reasons but the one I like the most about my iPad is I can hold it with one hand and fully operate it with the other. Can't do that easily with most laptops. Too heavy, too awkward. The other thing I like is the UI is designed specifically for the things I want to do. It takes me only a few seconds to get anywhere on the device. The UI isn't always popping up warnings/dialog boxes interrupting what I'm trying to do. I can easily flip it from landscape to portrait depending what fits the content best.
@(Unverified)
Can someone tell me if iPad can access and edit Google Docs online? If it can I might just get one :)
@CleverB
"(…) and most importantly, the blind and visually impaired too."
No offense, but how is that anywhere near 'most important‘?
@GRock
If you don't care for the moral and religious imperative of helping those in need, you could just say that the blind are an under-utilized workforce in our information economies.
more brains at work => more prosperity
@BigJayDogg3 You see, though, I think a LOT of people use laptops in that passive, receptive mode, NOT for work at all. In a way where they check e-mails, watch movies, browse the internet, etc., and a tablet like the iPad would suit them better than a full-fledged laptop.