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Why Tablets Haven't Taken Off In Business
An anonymous reader writes "On PC World's blog, Keir Thomas suggests reasons why tablets have never taken off in business, and explains how Apple's iPad was able to waltz in and steal the entire market. It's all about giving users freedom to figure out how useful tablets can be, he says, rather than forcing them into narrow usage scenarios: 'There's a lot to be said for having faith in users to make best use of their computer, without pushing and pulling them in ways you think are best for them.'"
So that's why the first tablet that doesn't let you do everything a laptop would succeeded?
More like it succeeded because it was the first tablet that wasn't just a laptop with the keyboard hacked off.
You don't carry a full PC tower around with a display, a keyboard and a mouse. You buy a laptop.
You don't walk around with a laptop in your arms while trying to use it, you buy a tablet computer.
There's also the fact that Apple didn't try to force the desktop UI interface into the iPad, they used one that was designed as a touch interface from day one.
Spoken by somebody with young eyes and fingers. Get to a certain point in life and 'just the bigger screen' is not a phrase that makes sense.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
Use one for awhile, then post.
When you say, "I can't fathom" or "I can't understand," what you're really saying is "My mental model of reality is flawed in a way that brings it into conflict with what I see and hear around me." You can't fix this condition by complaining incredulously about it on Slashdot. You need to use an iPad for a few hours and see what you think after that.
I don't even own or want one of their locked-down shiny objects, but I've used the iPad enough to understand why it's a good fit for the wants and needs of a lot of other people.
Apple succeeded because of marketing, not because of superiority of their product
Keep telling yourself that. It's a harmless-enough delusion compared to many others you could have chosen.
The ignorance of the youth is strong in this one.
Young man, it will happen to you too. Sometime between your thirtieth and fortieth birthday you will start to notice it. Your hairline will be receding. Your corneas will be less flexible so maybe you'll start to need glasses. Small injuries will start taking longer to heal. Your joints will start to hurt more often and longer. You might be able to fool yourself for a while, but even with the best of exercise, care and nutrition your will not be the same at 50 as you were at 30. Age is coming for you, as it does for us all, and it will humble you too.
You should really look at yourself in the mirror. You're clearly holding the exact position you accuse me of holding, in reverse. But hey, I'll play along and clarify.
What can one do with an iPad that I can't do with an alternative?
1) Pull it out of the box, and within 1 minute have almost any book on my screen and read it for 10 hours straight without a charge. On the living room couch.
2) Setup an Apple ID, and then have any of hundreds of thousands of pieces of software on my device in one click, usually for only a couple dollars or less.
3) Let my 2 year old daughter use it with no supervision, and her actually be able to open her apps and navigate with no issues.
4) Give it to my father to browse the Internet or play with apps, and not have to tell him how to use it. And he won't break it.
5) Spend 0 time setting up or maintaining it. It really just works.
6) Have access to an enormous amount of software designed specifically for a touch screen, much of it extremely high quality.
I could keep going, but i think i've made my point. I enjoy using it.