What are the Tablets really for?

[taz_rocks_miami]

Maybe my age is begining to show here, but I´m at a a loss what the iPad and other tablets are for? I know they are hugely popular due to the number of them sold world wide.

But why? What do people use them for? Can you get any work done on them? Or are they mainly for organizing contacts, e-mails, playing games and watching video?

I know they are lighter and more practical to carry than a laptop, but do they have the functionality of a laptop? For my money, I would much rather have a laptop.

Any thoughts?

[culver]

I think they are popular in part because they are new. I wouldn't be surprised if they rise and fall as netbooks did. They do have an advantage over net books in that they are even more portable and typically have yet better battery life. However, they also have drawbacks.

The touch screen interface is actually quite nice. I used a laptop with a touch screen for a while and found it very natural to simply reach up and touch the button or tab vs use a mouse or pointer. On the other hand, so much of my web interaction is two way, reading and posting. The lack of a proper keyboard is a huge limitation. I also hate how Apple in particular doesn't support flash video. Sure I can get around it with Youtube but not so much with all the other embedded video links people send.

Personally I think the fascination will fade with time. We will probably find a few killer applications for the technology but I think tablets as they are today will fade. Perhaps like netbooks they will fuse into something else. People have talked about the death of the netbook but I don't think that's quite true. Netbooks were popular at first in part because they were much cheaper than a "real" laptop. Now the "real" laptops have become smaller and cheaper while netbooks got larger and more powerful. Perhaps we will start to see tablets with keyboards and in Win8, tablet like form factors.

[Matra et Alpine]

iPod and iPhone created a "need" in social networking mainly which was difficult for many due to the small size. So the iPad is born. Identical functionality ( well now that they put in camera ) to the small device.

Lots of apps are and getting developed that provide focussed functionality and more to come as the machine footprint grows. See for the first time a UK Member of Parliament read their question/notes in the chamber from an iPad instead of paper .... Apple may have thought this was positive, my experience is anything an MP does wants to be avoided

[taz_rocks_miami]

Thanks for the replies Culver and Peter. Yes, I do see the tablets as a ¨fad¨ if you will. And even though new apps are comming out every day, some made specialy for the tablets, I see them very similar to the apps on smart phones iOS and Android (and soon BlackBerry OS when the Playbook makes it to market) but are they any more functional than the smartphone versions?

To due to the larger screen real estate they are easier to use. But my question still remains, can real work be done on them? I know that people that use Photoshop now have a full tablet version for the iPad, but that seems to be about it. What about people that need to work on Word, Excell, and PP? Can the tablets open attachments in these formats even?

As far as on the go social networking goes (FaceBook and Twitter) my BlackBerry can handle it just fine.

[NSXType-R]

I think you can do some very basic editing of text, I'm not sure about Excel.

I think it is a fad too, the IPad relies too much on a computer to be truly independent.

The cameras are terrible and it can't do all that much more than an IPod Touch.

It might be a decent touchscreen gaming machine however.

[taz_rocks_miami]

I think you can do some very basic editing of text, I'm not sure about Excel.

So basically useless for business.

I think it is a fad too, the IPad relies too much on a computer to be truly independent.

The cameras are terrible and it can't do all that much more than an IPod Touch.

It might be a decent touchscreen gaming machine however.

Like I thought, they are no more than overgrown smartphones. I´ll stick with my BB and PC I think.

[NSXType-R]

So basically useless for business.



Like I thought, they are no more than overgrown smartphones. I´ll stick with my BB and PC I think.

A net book would do much better- better connectivity at the very least, you don't need to worry about converters to connect USB drives to the tablet. Apple stupidly kept the 21 pin connector and requires an adapter to use USB anything on it.

I guess you could use it for presentations on a table. I'm not sure if it can run Powerpoints. It's just a really nice touchscreen.

[kingofthering]

While I do think of them as overgrown smartphones that look totally hilarious when somebody tries to "whip it out", I do see them as having lots of potential for graphics and other such applications.

I have seen a few people use it with a stylus for notes and class. This definitely is a lot better than using a laptop, for instance, as even One Note is not flexible enough to quickly copy my teacher's diagrams.

A less legal usage for students is that it can act as a "reader" for textbooks found off Pirate Bay. It's a helluva lot better, in my opinion, to read off one of those things than flipping my laptop.

[coolieman1220]

MacBook Air > iPad

iPad is a waste. It's too big to hold and carry easily. It costs a lot and is very limited.
Android tablets that are smaller do make sense but for me my droid phone does all that they do in a smaller package.

[pimento]

There'll be a bigger market for tablets than netbooks in the long run, but I'm sure there are many people who'll buy one and then find they don't use it and give it up. They do have a point, but it's not for doing any work unless you're a professional bloggist. They're for sitting on the couch consuming media and that sort of thing. Better than a laptop for that they are. Personally I don't have a use for one, but I know people who do.

[Matra et Alpine]

I have seen a few people use it with a stylus for notes and class. This definitely is a lot better than using a laptop, for instance, as even One Note is not flexible enough to quickly copy my teacher's diagrams.

Take a pic as the diagram morphs through the various stages of annotation and explanation. Add your own notes and it's solved.
Or even better take a video.
Course it needs a camera ( iPad fail ) and needs a decent camera ( iPadII fail ).
We used this technique LOTS using laptops and early webcams 10 years ago for intra company training and presentation. Might even find some of me "giving class" if I can find any of the 400 people attending

[VOGUE_MAN]

I use my iPad all of the time when I'm at home and just wasting time on the internet. For me, it serves basically no practical purpose however my wife, who travels a lot, uses hers all the time on planes, in hotel rooms etc, and she uses hers a lot more for general things at home too + she actually reads ebooks, watches movies etc.

I really do like my iPad and I would encourage anyone who thought they might like one to get it. However, next time around I will probably just get a MacBook Air instead.

[Matra et Alpine]

^ yeah my bro likes his and has now got a 2 as upgrade.

He's is perfect Apple material. Style over content
Sister's Kindle MUCH better for reading on the eyes than iPad or laptop.
Laptop screen much better for HD movies.
Most used app for him is facebook and the check in feature, angry birds and a talking parrot along with the "age your pic" morph app thingy.
Every time he shows me another pointless app I advise "get a life" and I think he was upset when I pmsl'ed when he demosntrated facetime from a bar in Glasgow as if it was something "new"
He has swallawed the Apple marketing BS 100% hook, line and sinker

It's what it is NOT good at that limits it imho.

[taz_rocks_miami]

The more I read, the more convinced I become that the tablets a nothing more than novelty items or toys.

^ yeah my bro likes his and has now got a 2 as upgrade.

He's is perfect Apple material. Style over content
Sister's Kindle MUCH better for reading on the eyes than iPad or laptop.
Laptop screen much better for HD movies.
Most used app for him is facebook and the check in feature, angry birds and a talking parrot along with the "age your pic" morph app thingy.
Every time he shows me another pointless app I advise "get a life" and I think he was upset when I pmsl'ed when he demosntrated facetime from a bar in Glasgow as if it was something "new"
He has swallawed the Apple marketing BS 100% hook, line and sinker

It's what it is NOT good at that limits it imho.

While I´m far from being an Apple fan boy. Apple does have a few good things going for it.

- The OS, very stable and mostly virus free
- The quality of it´s harware, top notch I would have to say. I still have a white bullet shaped iMac that is about 10 years old and is still going strong.

But as far as the tablets go. I see no use for one, at least in my case.

[henk4]

my only tablets are asperins.