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2011, Year of the Tablet?
frontwave writes "After the huge success of the iPad, with over 4 million units sold since its introduction, all major hardware vendors of PCs and mobile devices are coming out with new tablets in the next few months, including Apple with a smaller version of the popular product. Analysts estimate the market for tablet devices (over 6" screen size) to be around 25 million units for 2011."
Including Apple with a smaller version of the popular product.
And let me guess; You can also call with this one?
When you shoot a mime, do you use a silencer?
I'm seriously waiting for this tablet hysteria to die down. In 2007/2008, it was netbooks and nowadays we barely hear a peep about them.
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I thought 2011 was going to be the year of Linux on the desktop?
I almost don't care about the operating system of a tablet, as long as it is well supported, as I suspect that in the future many tablet applications with be HTML5-based. But I really really really care about the screen. I want a Pixel QI(OLPC) style screen that works in light emitting and non-emitting mode, so that it can be used as a normal tablet, as an e-reader, and viewed in full sunlight.
I think apple is riding on its marketing success with the iphone which rode on the marketing success of the ipod.
Or perhaps people like devices that pack a lot of functionality into a small footprint.
I'm old but I loved the walkman because it was small. I loved the iPod because it was small, I love my iPhone because it is small, and I love the small size of the iPad.
http://p8ste.com - Web based Clipboard
What are you using your tablet for? I have never understood what problem a tablet is trying to solve.
I could see if it was a replacement for something like a notebook ( which I carry around daily ), but current tablets don't do that; the input method is clunky and unwieldy, I can still work significantly faster on my plain old notebook with a pen than a tablet.
So what's it good for?
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Can 2012 be the year of the not-saying-"the year of the ___"-anymore? Please?
"Tablets are going to be popular and then they'll be gone like Betamax."
Why do you believe that?
Because like most people on Slashdot, he mindlessly rejects that people are getting value out of a product that he has decided he hates because he can't install Linux or Apache on it. Every time someone says iPad, at least 500 Slashdot users blow a gasket and start ranting about how the machine is useless to them and therefore there is nobody in the world who is correct about it being a good purchase. Heaven forbid that some of us like the app store and don't give a shit about the lack of flash on the device.
Those of us who bought them and make regular use of them will continue to happily use them. Mine could in no way replace my work laptop, but it wasn't bought to do the same things as I do on my laptop. In fact, it was bought to do all sorts of things that I don't do with my laptop, and as far away from a desk as I can manage. In fact, sitting in a recliner or on a sofa is one of the most common ways I use my iPad. Sitting in an airplane seat is another place I'd rather have an iPad.
In terms of utility I don't find tablets all that great
A little contrast: I'm a programmer and a power user, with, god, 15 years of Linux under my belt. I recently replaced my Palm TX with a 4g Touch, mainly for use as an ereader and music player, and yet suddenly I find myself using it instead of pulling out my laptop for certain things. Want to check my email? Browse my RSS feeds? Look up a wikipedia article? (Yes, I admit it) Check Facebook? All these things work great on my touch. But it's often that I really wish it had a larger screen... the instant on, always connected convenience is awesome, Safari is an impressive piece of work, and the high-res display means the touch is decent for web browsing, but a larger screen would be perfect. As such, I can conclude that I would likely find myself completely replacing my laptop with a tablet for idle internet noodling if such a device was available to me.
'course, as always, I'm going to wait a hardware generation or two before I take the plunge. But I can definitely see a tablet filling a niche in my day-to-day life.
I know some people have tried to spread the RUMOR that Apple is making a 7" tablet, but I just don't see it happing. Size is too weird being in-beteen the current iPad and the Touch.
Frankly to me a 7" tablet makes no sense. Part of what makes the iPad really nice to read or browse is the size. What makes the iPod Touch and iPhone so nice is portability.
A 7" tablet is what you make when you get engineers driving specs: "Well how can we make it priced around the iPad with quality parts", or "How to we make it light enough to hold for a long time". Rather than thinking about how easy the final result is to use they optimize for cost or weight without thinking how it will really effect people using the device.
The iPad optimized for readability and features, the Kindle optimized (very well) for long term use and dedication to reading. The smaller tablets coming out (including the Samsung), I just don't know how they will fare.
If anyone will succeed at all it would be Samsung, they are the ones to watch for sure.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
If I put Linux on my tablet.
And put my tablet on the desktop.
Would that make 2011 the year of Linux on the desktop?
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
They are computers for folks that don't do "general purpose" computing. Folks that want to browse some websites, check their facebook and e-mail, carry their photos around and play some games. All without waiting for a general purpose OS to boot or worrying about a virus protection subscription. If a general purpose computer is for folks aged 13-70, iPad like tablets are for the 9-90 year olds.
They're also a good secondary device the rest of us for low intensity after hours computing like the above mentioned activities. The size and screen resolution make them better than smartphones for this, and the instant-on Android/iOS applications environment make them better than netbooks for this.
If Android is going to really "flood the market" with tablets, it better revise it's decision to require a carrier contract to allow Market access. What use is a tablet that doesn't have the biggest storefront available for that OS? There's no way they're going to compete with Apple on price if they require contracts... I already have a contract for my smartphone, I can't afford a 2nd one just for data on a non-primary device.
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I've owned only tablet (convertible) pcs for about 6 years now, in tablet mode the only good uses I use that for are
*I had a toshiba tecra m4 that had a nifty little arrow-key joystick button on the corner which was awesome for RPGs using the pen for mouse. right now i use a smaller fujitsu lifebook which lacks these - when it dies i will look for another one with the thumbstick on the screen bezel
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to 45 2F 6E 40 3C DF 10 71 4E 41 DF AA 25 7D 31 3F
A traditional laptop basically requires you to unfold the setup, and sometimes plug in peripherals depending on if you like trackpoints or trackpads or neither (I personally hate both, traditional mice for me). An iPad requires you to hit the screen power button and viola, it's on and everything is there you need. I'm directly interacting with the electronic book page or web page. The motions feel nature and are easy to learn.
Also an iPad is more about getting information and content out, not putting information in. Touch screens work fine for writing short specific messages. Keyboards will be better input devices until touchscreens become as accurate and fast as keyboards, and some people even buy keyboards for their iPad. And even if you did have a physical keyboard, you could just whip out the iPad and check the scores or read the news without it so many times it's optional.
With an iPad you are getting an extra level of physical convenience that is quite real. If that's not for you that's fine, it's not meant for everyone. Tablets are suddenly the en vogue because when the iPad was first released, all the other tech companies said "me too!" Now these same companies are saying "shit we are losing laptop sales, we better get our asses moving." I can't speak to say if other tablets will offer a total package that is useful and competitive with the iPad. Right now we can only say what the iPad does vs everything else.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
I think it is too early to call them a huge success. The Yugo, by this standard, was a huge success of a car. After all, a lot of people bought them and at one time, there was a LOT of them on the road.
Before we start calling this a success, we should wait to see if people are still using them in another year... or a couple more years. A successful product is one, like the palm pilot. That gadget was wildly successful. It was in many pockets, briefcases and hands for a very long time... some people are still using theirs. (Personally, I didn't think it would catch on...I was wrong)
So far, I know three iPad owners. Of those three, exactly 0 of them are still carrying it around with them. That's right. They carried them around for about a month before I no longer notice them carrying it. Do they still play with it? Maybe... maybe at home. They certainly don't bring it to work with them any longer. That sampling is certainly not large enough to establish a trend, but it is certainly within my expectations.
1.5 pounds, smaller than a sheet of paper, no unfolding & setup, instant on, always connected. What's not to solve?
Key thing most miss: it's not an outright computer replacement. It gives you about 80% of what you need a computer for, anywhere anytime. You don't have to drag around the mass storage, bulky input devices, larger screen, etc. you need for about 20% of your use. To the contrary, by putting 80% of what you do on a tiny superduperportable tablet, you're freed to leave a big bulky powerhouse computer behind, rather than trying to cram everything into a compromise notebook shell.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
So 100% of what the average person would use a notebook for.
I know an awful lot of people, and only two of them own iPads.
I know an awful lot of people and none of them live in China. There can't be that many people in China...
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