Of course they are useful and not a fad, I think you live in yesterdays world, I wouldn't like to be without my tablet, I use it everyday, for Facebook, Twitter, reading emails instead of the laptop or mobile, surfing the web when I need to look something up quickly, listening to my music albums in the background also, the list goes onI own a kindle e reader too by the way, but the tablet is so much more versatile, It will never be considered a fad to me as it is an extension of my life style. Obviously looking through these posts you are in the minority with your views, tablets are fabulous as are smart phones.
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General discussion
Please help me understand today's tablet craze?!
Please help me understand today's tablet craze?!
I don't understand about the mobile tablets. I have used and
programmed computers for over 30 years. I have always told everyone
that laptops are so mobile. Now, everyone has gone nuts about
tablets. Why???? There is little storage. The keyboard screen is
pathetic. A tablet has no screen protection unless you buy a case.
Don't get me wrong, I use touch screen phones but typing on a
physical board is sooo much faster. Now, I was told that using a
tablet with a printer can be very difficult. What is going on? I
thought that maybe the cost is the key. Now there is an Apple iPad
that costs $1000. Great laptops cost less! Please help me understand
this craze, is this a fad? Your thoughts are appreciated.
--Submitted by: John C.
Discussion is locked
31 - 60 of 277 Posts
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Even i Don't like carrying any tab. But i have also seen the people crazy about tab. I think just because of look people use it. Yes they are helpful, but not as much laptops. And tabs are easy to carry.
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I agree tablets do so much, with a unique balance between portability and usability. However, I don't think smartphones have a more limited future. If you need that phone frequently enough, with the bigger screens today, they are still the more convenient way to take your essential features with you pretty much anywhere. I plan to get a smaller tablet (anywhere between 6- and 8-inch) later this year for an overseas trip, but on a daily basis I throw my 4-inch-plus smartphone into purse, pack or even pocket and in addition to calls can check mail, use the calendar, read newspapers or magazines, use the maps, surf the Net, and even create basic docs all without taking up significant space or weight. Music, video, and games are quite feasible as well. If you have a little more tech knowledge, you can make most of the newer models work with TV, projectors, and other auxilliaries for presentations or showing photos, for example. So far I have made a choice in favour of the smartphone. When the time comes and I have the funds to spare, a tablet should be better for media and reading. Still, it will be secondary to the smartphone for local, everyday use. And BTW, both device types can be made to work with a small folding keyboard that does a decent job, as opposed to the on-screen one, creating something closer to a modular, mini laptop but without the size and weight.
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Yup, I'm with Denise.............all the way! I travel a lot and just bought a new Acer netbook.......they still make them! Great piece of kit, fast, huge memory, 4gb ram, good battery life etc.etc., When it's closed it's the same size as most tablets, so it's easy and light to carry around.The only thing it won't do that a tablet will is take a photo but my phone does that!! Before I bought the netbook, I looked at all the leading tablets and could not justify one on both peformance and price. (My netbook was cheaper than some of the all-singing tablets!) So I really don't understand the tablet craze. From my perspective it's simply a large smart-phone! I hope that if any computer manufacturers are reading this thread, they will consider launching a range of "smart-netbooks" that encompass the most useful aspects of a smart-phone, with the computing power of laptop! Now that piece of kit wouldn't be a fad!
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I'm with you. I am computer savy, have been in the electronics business for over 40 years. It's not like I'm computer illiterate and don't know about tablets. I have not chosen to purchase a tablet.
My typical day consists of sitting at my computer for perhaps 4 to 6 hours. I have a browser open, likely am processing a video, often have a spreadsheet open, often have Quicken open, and iTunes is running. This type of multitasking is way beyond what a tablet is capable of. I love movies so I may also have a window open running a Netflix, youtube, or Amazon Prime video.
I do have an iPod Touch, keep it in my pocket, and use it throughout the day. I'm well aware of the ease of use and wonderful apps available. The disadvantage of the iPod Touch is the small screen. But it also slips into my shirt pocket which a tablet wouldn't. Another disadvantage of the iPod Touch (or smartphones) is the lack of a physical keyboard. For anything other than short text entries I head to the computer where I can use a full sized physical keyboard.
I do believe there are millions of people who are happy to watch a video, or play a game, or run the Facebook app. I'm not one of those people and don't expect I ever will be.
For me the new Windows 8, with its combination of the desktop + apps is a combination I am looking forward to. I have been tracking the Lenovo Yoga and think the new Yoga 11S coming out this summer might be the right hardware for me. It will provide an attached keyboard, full Windows 7 capability, and a tablet mode too. Now we're talking.
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Although the ipad cant do any of that, the android pads are capable of most, on the galaxy note, you can have certain things,like calander, calculator on top of what you're doing, and apps can.actually run in the background
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I too, thought I would try it b/c my GF said she loved hers (which she only had a few weeks). It was the dumbest technology purchase I ever made. I already have a nice desktop and laptop and found tablet was just a toy. If it's not functional, I don't care if it was free I could see no reason to keep it. I agree with all the reasons the previous posters cited. Fortunately for me, it locked up and wouldn't run. I took it back and instead of replacing it, I opted to just get a refund.
BTW, my GF's $600 toy just sits in the corner now, collecting dust as she spends all of her time on either her laptop or occasionally her (new) Iphone.
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If it only showed my photos, I would still have bought it. As a photographer and a consumer of content, it's perfect for me. It's beautiful. It makes my photos look beautiful. I'm never without it. It's invaluable on a plane. When at home, I use my desktop. When traveling for work, I use my laptop. Everything has its job.
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A reader would think IPads didn't exist, if you hadn't commented. The level of ignorance about tablets in their comments is stunning. For instance, not one of these geniuses has said one word about APPs ! Its the APPs Stupid!
Also, none of them has a clue that there are Keyboard/Covers available (Logitech and others) that make the IPad a great laptop. With all the thousands of APPs that go with it. Most for free or $1.99. I don't know how or why, but CNet doesn't do anybody any favors by letting this level of ignorance persist.<div>
Thank you,
Robby
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The Windows tab doesn't have a lot of apps yet, but android tabs have all the apps the ipad does, and you're not locked into apples tiny world. Any android half the price has the few features the ipad has, and a ton more. You have an actual file system, that you can save files on the tab itself. Most androids come with an office suite, you can watch flash video on Android, but apple can't charge you for that so they blocked it. The interface is actually customizable, you can set it up like an ipad, or you can download widgets, another thing apple was too lazy too consider, and you have the option to keep everything in alphabetical order or in whatever order your want. The screens are wide screen, and most of them have stereo speakers, so androids are always better for media, and the play store also let's you rent movies for 3$ per day, or buy and download them, along with the music. Most androids have micro sd cards for up to 64gb of extra storage, although some manufacturers are taking apples devious plan to way over charge for storage and omit the sd card. You can plug and android into a computer and use it like an external hard drive. There is no apple sticker on it though, that's the only reason you would buy an ipad anyway. And by the way, there is no benefit to the "lightning" connector besides you buying the 40$ adapter for Apple. Apple likes to lie, and your will believe whatever they tell you.
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If one has no need for heavy weight programs on the go, then a tablet or smart phone is completely adequate for the perpose.
That being, Email, Mapping, Searching, Gaming, and socializing.
Always "on" and in your pocket for immediate Texting etc.
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I understand this guy!
My daughter has a desk top but sense getting her "Smart phone" and living in the social media world (38 plus pages worth on the ATT bill per month) the desk top collects dust while she wears the phone out in 8 - 10 months.
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Hi John,
A couple of years ago when they started developing a multitude of Apps for Smartphones, I realized that it wasn't far down the road before Touchpads would have the capability take a big chunk out of the Laptop/Notebook market. The question of course is WHY? I'll do my best to give you a few reasons that Touchpads are becoming so popular, and where they may be headed down the road.
1. Touchpads are the Ultimate in Portability. Weighing in at a little over a pound (for the 10" range Touchpads), you can basically take them anywhere. The 7" variety fits nicely into a big pocket!!! So the lightweight, mobile feature alone is enough to get the attention of many users. Let me tell you why.
2. There is an extremely large portion of the market out there that does little more on their computer than check their email, browse the web, and play simple games. As I mentioned earlier, Touchpads today are tantamount to an over sized Smart Phone. You can even make Skype calls from most of them. So you have access to a multitude of Apps over various platforms (it depends on which one you buy), to do all of the things that you used to do with your laptop. You're also doing many of the things you were doing on your Smart Phone, but in a much enlarged version.
3. As far as typing goes, many of the newer Touchpads have attachable keyboards or use bluetooth to take care of that obstacle. I agree with you that I haven't seen a touchpad that could compare with typing on my laptop, but remember that there are a lot of people out there who are really frustrated with the clumbsy keyboard designs that have come out on many laptops over the past few years. And the reality is that most of the people buying Touchpads don't do a lot of typing on their laptops. They do however, do a lot of reading. And touchpads are a perfect platform for "E-Reading" the thousands upon thousands of books available from companies like Amazon. The Touchpads also have some pretty spiffy Camera action going on. Some are capable of taking High Resolution Photos or even Movies. As far as breaking a Touchpad goes, Corning has come a long way in preventing that too. Their new Gorilla Glass is great for touch sensitivity and durability all rolled up together.
4. So now we're beginning to get an idea of WHY people like the idea of Touchpads, but what about the manufacturers? Aren't they going to lose a big market share? This goes to a point you aptly mentioned regarding storage space. The answer is seen when we look at the Future of Computing and Communicating. It won't be long until we begin buying computers with no software installed at all. We'll have a simple operating system which will be fully capable of taking care of the input and output, interacting with the attached devices (like the Built-In Webcams, Video Output, printers and USB devices), and all of the software will be located on some remote server that we all like to call the "Cloud". This is the future of computing. Especially mobile computing. Touchpads fit into this mold quite nicely. Hop on to the Microsoft Cloud, compose a document in Word, save it in the Cloud and share it with whomever you like. As far as storage goes, the Cloud can be your storage until you get home and back everything up on the Family's External Hard Drive. I saw one on sale today (4TB for 160 Bucks!!!) Between the Cloud and your backup drive, how much storage space do you need on your Touchpad? Most companies like Dell, HP, Sony etc.., have their own Touchpads. The truth is that they would much rather build you a Touchpad for $50 Bucks and sell it to you for $800 Bucks, than building a laptop for $120 Bucks that they can only sell for $500 Bucks. These companies will see a reduction in some of their lower end laptops, but those sales will be replaced by Touchpad sales.
5. Everything electronic is getting smaller, using less energy, using fewer moving parts, and becoming less expensive to make. A good example is the SSD Drives that have seen their prices cut in half over the past year. Touchpads will most likely (if not already so) start using mSATA chips for their SSDs. These are chips not too much bigger that a big postage stamp that can easily hold 64-256GB of data. Good bye hard drive!!! The new Windows Surface Pro is available with a 128GB SSD built in, and a complete Windows 8 operating system on a Touchpad!!!
For me, I'm going to stick with my good ole laptop for most of my needs. It's only a couple of pounds more and does everything that I want my computer to do. But I learned a long time ago that just because I like it doesn't mean that everyone else is going to think that way. There is a bright future for Touchpads because they're lighter, more mobile, they have a longer battery life, they make pictures and movies, they display books, they Skype, and if you like, they can fit into your pocket. So I can see these devices becoming very popular as the new generation of Cloud Storage and Software come into their own.
I'm not rushing out there to spend $800 on a new Touchpad just yet, but for people with a need for true mobility, the Touchpad may be just the ticket.
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...but the tablet (although it is useful for some people) is still in the gadget phase. I get impatient with my laptop. I would never tolerate a tablet. Incidentally, a tablet is not an e-reader. It cannot compare to a dedicated e-reader. When the day comes that they can lure me in with more than the "cool" factor, that is when I will buy a tablet. In the meantime, I see a lot of people spending money on something that they will use for a little while and then abandon. If it isn't meeting a basic need, then I don't recommend getting one.
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I suppose it depends on which circles you frequent, but I can tell you the following. People are already giving up their first & second generation ebook readers, such as the Nook & Kindle, for iPads & higher end Android Tablets that also serve as wonderfully capable ebook readers. There's no excuse not too since they are much more capable all around as media consumption devices. It's trivial to convert & transfer different ebook types as needed for the particular tablet device in question. And earlier comments that ebook reading would necessarily be uncomfortable for the eyes on an iPad or Android tablet was a bit of an exaggeration.
After work, when the professionals/students are done 'creating' on their laptops/desktops, they have no issues whatsoever staying plugging into the social media, and consuming more content via the massive app portals available via iOS & Android. IMNSHO, the fact that a new iPad w/ retina display is only about a third the price of a new Mac laptop (already owned by the same person) can make someone who uses various electronics daily understand quickly why they are flying off the shelves.
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except that those same people start complaining about how limited the gadgets are as soon as the newness wears off. And plenty of people prefer e-readers to tablets. I repeat-- tablets are NOT e-readers. No excuse will ever make them e-readers. They are e-readers to the same degree that a laptop computer is. Just because you can read on them, that does not make them e-readers.
If you like them, that's fine. Most people should not be buying them. Once again: if it doesn't meet a need, then skip it.
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The folks who add this device to their stable of gizmos already have fully functioning laptops to 'create'. You need to stop throwing that in the argument since it's a non-starter. Tablets are *secondary* devices, not primary ones for the vast majority.
Your comments regarding high end tablets not serving as full functioning e-readers leads me to believe you do not spend enough time around them to actual know what you are asserting. (Which ones have you actually used thoroughly?) They do more and do it better than ereaders, that's for certain. Again, not the low end tablets but the $400+ ones that are truly better multi-purpose devices.
"Most people should not be buying them". Eh? Again, these are not intended to be primary devices, but secondary. In this context, given the full functionality of an iPad or higher end Android tablet, I can do nothing but recommend them to folks who already use other devices to get work done.
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Why do you insist on fighting? This is not an earth-shattering issue. And an e-reader is a specific device, not just something to read on. Your opinion is just an opinion. It is not worth the argument.
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Please help me to complete my project :
i am doing a final year project in market study on tablets, for which i want responses from you all in an online survey i need your help to complete my project
This is for my college project and it's purely for academic purposes:
the link is:
1. For those who are using a Tablet please fill the questionnaire from the link given below ?
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GXu...viewform?pli=1
2. For those who are in a plan to buy a Tablet in future please fill the questionnaire from the link mentioned below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UNt...1T6fs/viewform
Thanking you
regards
mohan
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...or does this debate seem to be disappearing up it's own fundement?
Though both are computing devices, comparing a laptop / netbook with a tablet seems to me to be akin to comparing a banana & an orange.
I use a laptop at home, & a Kindle Fire when I'm out & about. I did use a netbook until recently & found it very useful, but the limited battery life was annoying if I was travelling any distance & the two e-readers I had purchased in the past both broke within a very short time.
The Kindle Fire bridged the gap between a laptop / netbook & an e-reader very nicely, with the advantage of having access to photos, apps, music, email etc. Utilising either the web or apps from the tablet allows me to access my cloud storage (Dropbox, Mediafire, Skydrive etc.). Amazon supplies free cloud storage for all apps downloaded from the Amazon web store which are backed up for you indefinitely, with a further allowance for the storage of 250 music tracks for free (which incidentally are upgraded to a higher data rate if the tracks you upload are in their catalogue). Amazon also has a huge catalogue of free ebooks (mainly, but not exculsively, public domain). And the Kindle Fire has a dedicated e-reader.
So a tablet can be an e-reader 
<div>
Finally, I get about six to eight hours of battery time with fairly heavy use of the tablet, as opposed to maybe three on a good day with the netbook.
As a wise man once said, "it's horses for courses". And it's very hard to fit even a netbook in your pocket. 
Cheers,
qaam
</div>
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"Early adopters" (not me) may be giving up Kindle e-readers for tablets. I will keep using my e-ink Kindle for my reading as long as possible. The e-ink screen is much easier on my eyes than any other kind of screen, and I read quite a bit.
There are times I would like to have a tablet, but it won't reach the top of the priority list without a "real" (physical) keyboard and a screen big enough to see easily. That's why I don't and won't have a smart phone. I type at a professional 60-wpm level and no virtual screen or keyboard works with that. I don't just read email; I often reply. The same goes for Facebook. Leaving the money issue aside, the convenience factor just doesn't do that much for me if I can't follow up.
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Guess what, there's need and room for both tablets and an e-book reader. We'd be lost without the massive easy to use Kindle e-book reader that lasts forever on a charge but yet I'd be lost without my IPad. Why is there so much fuss about competing against each other? Why can't we admit we've never lived in a better day and age where there's a device for ANY need and our constant need for ANY device that's making our lives more enjoyable? We're finally having our cake and eating it too. To me this sounds pretty darn cool.
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Quote from Wikipedia, "According to a survey conducted by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) in March 2012, 31% percent of Internet users in the United States own a tablet, up from 12% in 2011. The OPA estimates that tablet ownership among the U.S. Internet population will rise to 47%. The survey also found that 72% of tablet owners had an iPad, while 32% had an Android tablet in 2011; and by 2012, Android tablet adoption has increased, with 52% of tablet owners using an iPad, while 51% use an Android-powered tablet. The percentages do not add up to 100% because some tablet owners own/use more than one type of tablet."
"As of October 2012, the top-selling tablet is Apple's iPad with 100 million units sold, and according to estimates by Forrester Research, the iPad family is followed by Amazon's Kindle Fire with 7 million, Barnes and Noble's Nook 5 million, and Google's Nexus 7 with 3 million units. For the first time in history, display screen shipments for tablets exceeded shipments for laptop display screens, as of October 2012."
That doesn't sound like a FAD to me!!! A couple hundred million units doesn't sound like a FAD at all.
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Thanks, High Desert Rose, for those stats from Wikipedia. I own a high end tablet (Samsung Galaxy 7") plus a Kindle Fire 7" HD. On Wednesday, I'll be picking up a brand new Samsung Galaxy 4.2" Player, so I guess I skew the percentage even moreso. Why did I buy a dedicated Kindle when I had the Kindle app on my tablet? Because it just flat out works BETTER than the app does! I read 365 days a year; the app is nice but the features for reading on the Kindle are spectacular! Same goes with the streaming of amazon content on the Kindle vs. the Samsung: Samsung streams well but Kindle has X-Ray and Cast Bios and other features that enhance my viewing. And to those who "Pooh-Poohed" watching a movie on a small screen, then obviously you never owned an independently operated DVD player, like I did, where you were lucky if the screen was 5"!!! Our home will NOT be one of those homes with a GIANT big screen TV, simply because no one in our home wants one. However, I'm sure not going to bash my friend's who delight in owning it...hey!, it's THEIR money, not mine and they can follow every TV fad they want to!
As to the upcoming purchase of the 4.2" Player, I looked into a Smart Phone, ran the numbers and it came up to over $1,200 for the phone and the plan, for a year. The dang Player will cost me $135.00 with NO contract and no 2 year commitment. I just desire a truly "pocket-sized" device so I don't have to drag my bag into every store to use my shopping apps.
As to my friend's who own tablets, 100% have either a laptop or desktop, sometimes both...and....a tablet...AND...a Kindle, usually the e-ink ones. So, put that in your pipe and smoke it, as my Granpa used to say. LOL
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I've been Camelizing the Samsung Galaxy Player in various formats for several weeks and that's way lower than any price I've seen, even for the 3.6" version.
BTW, I'm using a friend's deactivated Droid as a player and general wi-fi device and guessing it's as good as the Galaxy Player except it's got Froyo. Judging from the outrageous price increases I've seen my guess is Samsung has discontinued the players and/or is about to come out with a better one with later version of Android?
If you've found a good price on a new one please share!
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Wow!, I mean, WOW!! Those stats are staggering! It sounds as though people are getting more comfortable as time goes by with the non-iPad Tablet, but it must be the best with the numbers. I had no idea the consumer use was that high. Still not in my budget, but things can change. Were I a working professional I can't imagine why I would not have a tablet. I am curious about the e-reader capabilities, but I think you answered that question - or pepe did. The newest higher end tablets are evidently good e-readers? I would like to know.
You know, I recall when I got my first Windows PC. My first Home PC. It was a Hewlett Packard (not HP, but Hewlett Packard) with Windows 3.1 which hadn't been out too long-not sure - it was fall '94. At that time I recall reading predictions on the % of people who would actually invest in a home computer. No one thought it would be very high. A couple of yrs later I read an article that had a projection, showing that by some year (2010 maybe) almost 100% of people would have one. People didn't believe it. What would they use it for? They had used computing terminals at their place of business by that time, most likely, but a computer in your home?
Ha! I used it for my business first, billing, letters. I immediately upgraded (on my own) from the 2440 baud rate modem to a 14,440, and then to a 36, then to the 56, then of course to hi-speed( later conversions were over a period of years). I can't believe how impressed I was with the internet when I first got it, and thought it was FAST! We had two choices in '94: Prodigy or America Online. Boy that was a long time ago. Look how far we've come. But I used my first home computer from the day I got it out of it;s box: Email, online dating (embarrassing but true). By 1996 I was learning how to code web pages and by 1997 I had upgraded my computer and was fully trained in HTML4. I started my own business, successfully, because I had a niche. Unfortunately I became ill and had to give that up, but my point is I watched stats soar over the next 5 years, 10 years on ownership of home computers from mid-nineties to the 21st Century. There were naysayers in the beginning. I had people think I was extravagant for buying a home pc. Extravagant would have been buying a Mac!
In 1994 no one believed the home computer would become a household item.
And yet here we are. Each new technology goes through the same process, naysayers. Though not so much now. Every home has a computer now. Show me one that doesn't; I'll show you a welfare family. Many of them continue to feel that a computer is as much a necessity as a TV.
Just sayin'.
Beau
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HD Charlie; We have similar stories. My first complectron was a DOS unit back when a one megabyte stick of ram cost more than a couple of 8GB sticks today. I had a Toshiba Laptop that ran off of two floppy drives (no hard drive) I think it was a $2500 machine when it was new (even had 700 something KB of ram - LOL) I wrote a book on it and used to dial into a BBS that offered the NY times front page (text only of course) for view.
We've come a long way but I think your mention above really is kind of an historical trend - the na-sayers vs the early adopters.
The e-readers (I'm just familiar with a lower version of a Kindle) are pretty slick. They have a display that's called e-ink (I think) and are wonderful to read even in direct sunlight. It really looks like the printed word. (not so great in the dark without adjunct lighting)
Unfortunately these are really not tablets like I think the discussion was originally focused on. I think they are two different animals. e-readers are geared toward actually reading books and there are huge libraries with even free offerings. The Kindle I bought for a friends daughter connects (via cell towers?) for free and you can download books and have them right there in black and white. I think the Kindle Fire is sort of a e-reader / tablet kind of cross over.
Anyhow, Thanks for your thoughts and patience over reading this thread. There's a troll in every group but you handled it gracefully!
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