Am I Wrong To Doubt Tablet Computing?
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+5 thanks for an excellent hands-on review, and usage example. best, Bill
~ Confused by Windows 8 ? This may help: [^] !
No problem. In addition, I forgot to mention asset management using a barcode reader app and the built in camera or, preferably, a bluetooth hand scanner. And give yourselves a few months of typing on the on-screen keyboard and you'll eventually find that you can pump out a lengthy blog post just as fast as on a hardware keyboard.
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A previous company I was with gave me a tablet for R&D... I hated it and couldn't use it at all. I knew another guy for a scientific research firm who received one. He hated it as well. So, my conclusion is that for people doing real computing work... tablets are useless. For people looking for entertainment, they are great. That is the only distinction I can see... one is a tool, one is a toy. And the intertainment industry is not going anywhere. I bet tablets are here to stay, but so are the PCs.
Your right about tablets not replacing PC's for software dev, but I have many uses for a table besides entertainment. I am an avid jazz pianist and I use my tablet for displaying music on my piano because a laptop or a PC doesn't fit. I use it to watch piano tutorials and browse for music theory instruction. It is valuable that I can take it away from the piano and study. So no I would never use it for dev, but it is an incredibly valuable tool for learning. It would be nice it my Android had better MIDI software. Cheers
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(again, disclaimer, I don't own a tablet, I have not yet found the use for it; but it's getting there) The tablet form factor is a lot more "performant" when the user does not have access to a desk; most people do not "create" content on tablets; they consume it. In the case of medical professional, they will just the tablet as a read-only device with limited annotation features, they will read the patient's dossier, watch xrays/mri, look up drugs dependencies and make small annotations here and there; and when they want to actively "write" stuff, they'll go back to their office, dock the tablet and use a real keyboard. As for customization, the normal people (99.99%) don't care about it, they want a computer/laptop/tablet/phone that just works for a normal number of months/years.
Nihil obstat
> In the case of medical professional, ... when they want to actively "write" stuff, > they'll go back to their office, dock the tablet and use a real keyboard. they will dictate it into the device and someone in a displaced time zone will type it up and have it ready for them to review when they come in the next morning :-)
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Given Apple's astounding sales and the recent committment made by Microsoft I know the question is a bit bizarre. Many people consider the question already completely answered, and I can respect that point of view. However, I'm still in teh doubters camp - not so much about the current success but about the long term viability of tablets. To me the whole thing is still just a fad. Let me explain myself. 1: The typical PC form factor has been with us for at least 30 years and I think the reason it's enjoyed such a long streak is because it works. Laptops and notebooks have been with us for nearly as long - again, because they work. So when I call the tablet a fad I mean in comparison to more traditional form factors. 2: Traditional form factors allow for an incredible amount of customization. Different screen sizes, keyboards, mice, speakers - tons of peripherals, etc. People like cutomization beyond the color of the case - ergonomic customization is important. 3: The Microsoft Surface can ship with a keyboard. To me this suggests the tablet has a deficiency. I don't understand why someone would get a tablet with keyboard when they could get a ridiculously thin Mac Air with the keyboard (and more functionality). 4: It's true that a tablet can be used in the medical field for very specialized purposes but that has been true of medical devices since the flashlight was re-imagined as a device to peer up someone's nose. In short, just as the little nose looker thingies didn't replace flashlights I don't see the tablet replacing netbooks. This post isn't about hating on tablets, Apple, or the Surface. I think they're really slick devices but anytime I consider buying one I cannot get past the question of Why? I think in 5 years we'll all look back on the so-called post-PC era and LOL.
I have similar doubt with tablets for a number of reasons. I have tried a number of different tablets including an iPad2 and a couple of Android devices (7" & 10") The primary problem with them is they are very restrictive and awkward to use. Data entry into any of the devices is beyond a joke. Half the screen is taken up by a on screen keyboard with the response suitable for one finger typing. The screens are TINY! Irrelevant of resolution the 10" form factor is too small. Fine for playing a simple game or watch a low quality movie on the move but thats it. Why can't we get a 13" or 15" tablet (or larger). Also due to the touch input, on screen buttons and menus are gigantic. We'll have a small screen with oversize buttons on it so even less data can be displayed, and then we'll pop up a keyboard over half the screen? Computing power is equivalent to 5 to 10 year old technology. Running 1 GHz with 512 MB of RAM? Hence the reason for Simplified "Apps" rather than full applications! They simply don't have the processing power. (yet) There is very limited extended life or expandability with tablets. You WILL have a 10" screen or smaller, 64GB storage or less, limited applications, no expandability, etc. Finally there are solutions to some problems, external keyboard, external storage, external mouse, external expansion docks, . . . .. . In other words get a laptop or netbook and run REAL software, or a suitcase to carry all the extras needed. Out of the 3 devices I bought the only one I use now is the Acer iconia primarily to watch youtube or play little games on when lounging around. The others are sitting in the old tech junk box gathering dust. Tablets are a throw away device that are currently trendy, but I can't see them replacing office computers, servers, network installations, serious home computers, development, or commercial systems. They are like a peripheral addon to a real computers. A toy to many! I am waiting for the Surface Pro type machines to come out that can run REAL software, and MAYBE that will replace my secondary laptop if it has at least a 13" screen, but will definitely not replace the desktop in the foreseeable future.
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Given Apple's astounding sales and the recent committment made by Microsoft I know the question is a bit bizarre. Many people consider the question already completely answered, and I can respect that point of view. However, I'm still in teh doubters camp - not so much about the current success but about the long term viability of tablets. To me the whole thing is still just a fad. Let me explain myself. 1: The typical PC form factor has been with us for at least 30 years and I think the reason it's enjoyed such a long streak is because it works. Laptops and notebooks have been with us for nearly as long - again, because they work. So when I call the tablet a fad I mean in comparison to more traditional form factors. 2: Traditional form factors allow for an incredible amount of customization. Different screen sizes, keyboards, mice, speakers - tons of peripherals, etc. People like cutomization beyond the color of the case - ergonomic customization is important. 3: The Microsoft Surface can ship with a keyboard. To me this suggests the tablet has a deficiency. I don't understand why someone would get a tablet with keyboard when they could get a ridiculously thin Mac Air with the keyboard (and more functionality). 4: It's true that a tablet can be used in the medical field for very specialized purposes but that has been true of medical devices since the flashlight was re-imagined as a device to peer up someone's nose. In short, just as the little nose looker thingies didn't replace flashlights I don't see the tablet replacing netbooks. This post isn't about hating on tablets, Apple, or the Surface. I think they're really slick devices but anytime I consider buying one I cannot get past the question of Why? I think in 5 years we'll all look back on the so-called post-PC era and LOL.
This is why I think Windows 8 (for desktop) is going to be another ME/Vista kiss of death for Micro$oft. There [historically] has been a reason why phone and tablets have the interface they do.. because they have typically had limited capabilities (i.e. small screen, limited memory, limited CPU, no keyboard) compared to desktops (except perhaps touchscreen). So now M$ is trying to shove this on everyone because of the tablet fad (until the next fad, and the one after that). :mad: Same goes for the cloud hype - "everything needs to be in a cloud".. yes cloud technology has many benefits, but is not the end-all, be-all solution to everything digital. It is just another tool to be used, not to be made the center of the universe. Personally I think something like those hand-held devices in the TV series "Earth: Final Conflict" (for those that have seen it) could be one of those next fads (if they can just perfect the flexible hires screens). At least until they get a marketable holographic device to jump start yet another fad.. or direct neural interfaces, whichever comes first. Not that everything tablet will be thrown out when they get replaced.. but just like any technology, the [relevant] improvements will be kept in the next generation of gadgets.
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Given Apple's astounding sales and the recent committment made by Microsoft I know the question is a bit bizarre. Many people consider the question already completely answered, and I can respect that point of view. However, I'm still in teh doubters camp - not so much about the current success but about the long term viability of tablets. To me the whole thing is still just a fad. Let me explain myself. 1: The typical PC form factor has been with us for at least 30 years and I think the reason it's enjoyed such a long streak is because it works. Laptops and notebooks have been with us for nearly as long - again, because they work. So when I call the tablet a fad I mean in comparison to more traditional form factors. 2: Traditional form factors allow for an incredible amount of customization. Different screen sizes, keyboards, mice, speakers - tons of peripherals, etc. People like cutomization beyond the color of the case - ergonomic customization is important. 3: The Microsoft Surface can ship with a keyboard. To me this suggests the tablet has a deficiency. I don't understand why someone would get a tablet with keyboard when they could get a ridiculously thin Mac Air with the keyboard (and more functionality). 4: It's true that a tablet can be used in the medical field for very specialized purposes but that has been true of medical devices since the flashlight was re-imagined as a device to peer up someone's nose. In short, just as the little nose looker thingies didn't replace flashlights I don't see the tablet replacing netbooks. This post isn't about hating on tablets, Apple, or the Surface. I think they're really slick devices but anytime I consider buying one I cannot get past the question of Why? I think in 5 years we'll all look back on the so-called post-PC era and LOL.
I think you're simply looking at this the wrong way. The tablet is just a PC with additional conveniences added. You've combined the core hardware and power into a single panel with the screen, unplugged the keyboard, and added touch capability. This provides the convenience of using it in more portable ways than a laptop/netbook. It's a better device for reading (more like a book), better for storage, fewer moving parts, etc. All of the above is not intended as a replacement for the PC, but as a supplement. Obviously, the tablet is very inadequate for many tasks. Hence, you can bring the tablet back to a dock with a keyboard and an HDMI connection to a larger screen etc. Granted, there's more work to do here, but I don't think it's going away anytime soon. When you think about it, the book has been around for thousands of years before the PC came along. The tablet is a better replacement for the book than the PC was. Maybe the non-tablet PC is the fad whose time is up... :)