Acer Rethinks the "Tablet Bubble," Launching $99 Tablet

retroworks writes "In August 2011, Acer Chairman JT Wang declared that the consumer affection for tablets had already begun to cool, basically labeling it a fad. What a difference a year (and a half) makes. Acer now plans to introduce a 'category killer' $99 tablet. 'In the past few months, we've made project roadmap changes in response to big changes in the tablet market,' according to a source at the Wall Street Journal. 'The launch of the Nexus 10 has changed the outlook for what makes competitive pricing.' Acer is aiming the new tablet at emerging markets, competing with Chinese 'white box' tablets (already available in Shenzhen at $45 each)."

Comments

Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[guises]

I don't see how tablets are any different from netbooks. They're semi-useful devices that have a limited place but are outclassed by more capable machines which have been around for a long time. Acer may now be willing to get on the bandwagon for the sake of some short-term profits, but that doesn't make Mr. Wang's declaration any less correct.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[chithanh]

I would rather claim the reverse. Tablet sales are displacing sales of "more capable machines" at an astonishing rate. A $45 tablet already fulfills the computing needs of a whole lot of people, why should they spend more on a PC? Those high-priced PCs will be relegated to the niche of users who require functions that a tablet or smartphone cannot provide.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[narcc]

I don't see how tablets are any different from netbooks.

Netbooks, at least with a proper OS, were actually useful. Like an inexpensive and somewhat tiny version of the computer you had a couple years ago. They were great until they started to dramatically increase in both price and size.

Tablets are toys. Okay for playing games and light web browsing, but useless for doing much else.

Cue the guy who thinks his tablet has greatly improved his life/productivity/etc. and actually thinks you can use a tablet efficiently for meaningful work.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[houghi]

They are not trowing away their PC, they are just buying a second or third or fourth one.
Typing a letter? Big PC. Browsing in front of the TV? Tablet. When on the road? Their phone. On a holiday? Portable.
Or mom and dad on the PC and the kids on the portable for homework and tablet for entertainment.

We do not live in an OR/OR world. Always think AND/AND. So these people have the cake AND eat it too AND the cake is a lie.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[mlk]

Cue the guy who thinks his tablet has greatly improved his life/productivity/etc. and actually thinks you can use a tablet efficiently for meaningful work.

Not quite. Smartphones killed a precursor - PDAs, but some tablets (and bigger smartphones) are bringing them back (Yeay Galaxy Note).

You don't do the same work with PDA as you do with a PC (Laptop or desktop), but you do do productive, efficient work with one.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[bazorg]

I don't see how tablets are any different from netbooks.

I see tablets as sufficiently different from PCs to be worthwhile for people who dislike and/or are not interested in having a PC. Netbooks were an attempt to have the usual applications available in a small and cheap machine with the usual x86 standards components.

Since tablets and smartphones are seen as sufficiently separate and different from PCs, different sales strategies and products were tried and have been very successful. By uncovering a brand new market space, made up of people who accept subscription pricing and pay as you go for "apps" and related services, many companies are selling stuff that just was not practical to sell to PC users.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Kergan]

I don't see how tablets are any different from netbooks. They're semi-useful devices that have a limited place but are outclassed by more capable machines which have been around for a long time.

I think you don't get it. I'm admittedly no typical user, but I've the honest impression that I wouldn't need my laptop at all if I weren't programming. For the past two years, I've been doing everything else from a tablet, with the added bonus of being able to do so from a comfortable couch, a hammock, a beach club, wherever -- and without the need for a surface to sit the device on.

Do I periodically wish there were massive games like Civ 5? Sure, but they'll get there eventually. In the meanwhile, I can no longer be bothered to sit at a desk (and develop carpal tunnel) to play a video game.

In light of how tablets are selling, I trust I'm not alone with this impression. Only future will tell, obviously, but methinks the hey days of laptops and desktops in households are behind us.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Registered Coward v2]

I don't see how tablets are any different from netbooks. They're semi-useful devices that have a limited place but are outclassed by more capable machines which have been around for a long time. Acer may now be willing to get on the bandwagon for the sake of some short-term profits, but that doesn't make Mr. Wang's declaration any less correct.

It really depends on how you plan to use the device. As a laptop replacement tablets have many limitations that make then a less then viable alternative, for example despite the availability of word processors and presentation software they really don't work well for creating anything beyond basic content. However, if you view them as a viewing device they make a very compelling adjunct to a PC. It's easy to keep a significant amount of searchable documents on one, as well as video content for viewing while traveling. While I have found it difficult to take a significant amount of notes on one, they do work for light note taking and using teh camera to capture handwritten notes for filing.

Sure, some people find a tablet a viable laptop replacement, but they are not a significant percentage of the tablet using population. I'd hazard a guess many have a very specific need that really didn't require a laptop but until the tablet came along they had no alternative.

We tend to view things in the context of what we already have and use; which limits our ability to see the potential in things.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Joce640k]

Cue the guy who thinks his tablet has greatly improved his life/productivity/etc. and actually thinks you can use a tablet efficiently for meaningful work.

Most people don't do "meaningful" work on their computers therefore a tablet suits them much better than a machine which is ten times more complex to use and needs constant care/updates/reformatting.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[David Gerard]

Netbooks are usable as computers for doing actual work on. I lived on my netbook for a couple of years, including for work from home. Trouble is that the whole point is to build them with the cheapest possible parts, so it basically fell apart. (Now using overpriced oversized company laptop. Faster, though.)

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Belial6]

Exactly. It is like buying clothing. Some people can get by without a jacket, but most people will own a shirt and a jacket. Many will own multiples of both in various styles.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Anonymous Coward]

They're different from netbooks in that people want and use tablets.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Anonymous Coward]

This. I am sick of one-device mentality, it is as bad as those one-website community groups, use whatever the hell works for you in whatever the circumstances call for.

I could have built a new PC for gaming this christmas. I had been saving up to buy all the stuff. Instead I done a complete 180 and bought a tablet because:
1) can be jailbroken
2) can be used to remote view desktop
3) can be used as a graphics tablet
4) can be used for quick planning of characters, worlds, levels, architecture, electronics and other such things (stuff I am personally working in and interested in)
5) can be used to write down some notes, programming stuff.
6) Maybe even after writing a few scripts for touchscreen controls, play a good bunch of games that don't require much precision or speed with the mouse.
7) most importantly, I can crap on the toilet and still talk to people on skype!

This is partially replacing my netbook for when I travel, as well. But the netbook is still coming because the tablet simply cannot do what the netbook can.
And the reason I no longer use laptops is because they are way too much for my needs when travelling.
Considering how the main reason I travel would be a holiday, I wouldn't be spending that time playing games, I would be out and about.
I can watch stuff, I can talk with people, I can code and browse the web too. That is all I would need.

A better gaming machine will have to wait, this is far more useful to me right now.
A new desktop wouldn't have helped me in this way at all. Especially because I can't sit down for long or am not at the desktop for long in general. Now I can do my crap while walking around and being almost hit by planes.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[realityimpaired]

It depends on what you plan on using the tablet for. I bought a cheap chinese knockoff tablet a few months ago, because I was going into hospital for an operation, and I wanted something I could watch Netflix on while recovering. The only deciding factors in my decision to buy that particular tablet were the screen size and the price. I literally bought the cheapest 10" tablet I could lay my hands on. That it runs ICS was a bonus, but not required. It's actually not *that* bad a tablet, in that it does have a a 1GHz processor and 1GB of RAM, but it was not bought for performance.

It is now sitting on a book stand in the living room, acting as a glorified picture frame and sometimes remote control for my stereo (there's an Android app that's better for navigating media server/internet radio than the remote control on a TV screen). I occasionally load up a game like Stupid Zombies or use it to check maps and such. If I could have gotten that tablet priced at $100, I would have. That's the same kind of money you spend on a good digital picture frame. I wouldn't consider doing serious computing on it, though it does have a USB port and does work with an external computer, because I already have a laptop that would work fine for it. But given the choice between buying a $500 laptop and buying a $100 tablet and an external keyboard, I would seriously consider the tablet if all I planned on doing was checking blogs.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[umghhh]

From market share etc perspective it is all as you say or it looks like if you do not look too close at corporate world. I guess Still I do not see the point to pay for application that are free on desktop, I do not see the point of struggling when typing shit in and I am also fed up with the "corroded" micro-usb problems which some of these devices have. You really have a dichotomy here: for professional purposes you usually need something more or some serious tuning at least. For general public that struggled with common purpose PC anyway the deficits are not visible really but benefits like mobility are. I think that explains this. What this means for me and GP is I suppose we will wait for m$ to clean this shitty market and then I'd consider buying a tablet again (maybe). Please not that that the last sentence comes from a unix guy - I worked almost whole professional life on unix machines using windows only as terminals if at all. Bitter is it not?

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[machine321]

But... but tablets! If Netbooks were so great then Apple would have invented them.

Besides, tablets are way more expensive than Netbooks, in the enterprise. I haven't used a Windows tablet that doesn't suck; when the executives eventually get their toys and decide they want to do some useful work on them, IT has to buy 100 licenses of VMware View (the minimum purchase) and four back-end servers for the ten users who use it.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[loufoque]

I was with my extended family this Christmas.
I am a software developer, and as always, family asks me about tech or how to do things.

This year in particular I could feel how much of a different world of computers my aunts and uncles lived in. Explaining to them why something doesn't work, what options they can look into, that they need to find software that does this or that and where to find information is useless. They just want to press a button and have it do what they need. Since I haven't used Microsoft Windows since Windows XP, I cannot even help them with that.
I'm realizing that even my mother that I consider computer illiterate is actually pretty good.

Computers are perfect for people that actually use them, but for "normal" people that just want to browse the web and share pictures, a tablet is perfect. Netbooks didn't really manage to make computers simpler for those people, but it looks like tablets really did.

My old grandmother who is still impressed by TVs believes I'm the only one in the family using a computer (despite everyone having laptops and smartphones). In retrospective, she may be right.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[nurb432]

Tablets are not the same as a netbook, nor are they targeted at the same market.

With the netbook, i agree it was a rather odd device, stuck in a rather niche market. This is in drastic contrast to the tablet market, which is growing by leaps year after year.

semi-useful, to whom? That is a self-centered comment. "Useful" varies from person to person.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[grumbel]

Tablets are not here to replace PCs, they are here to replace the book and books aren't exactly known for being tools for productive work, they are things to consume and that is exactly what tablets excel at as well. As for Netbooks, they were essentially the precursor to tablets, so it's not so much that the Netbook fad is over, but that it has evolved into devices that are much better suited for the intended use. Tablets won't go away anytime soon. The PC won't either, but it's not the device of choice when you want to consume text content.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Jmc23]

Not everybody in the world is rich.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Anonymous Coward]

AND/AND is a choice made at a time point, but over the longer term it becomes OR/OR.

People used to replace laptops every year and a half or so. Now that there are tablets floating around, they tend to spill their morning coffee reading funny e-paper on a $100 device than a $500 laptop. Similarly people are upgrading their laptops and desktops less often (mice , RAM etc.). In the longer term this means that the laptops and netbooks are replaced at a slower rate, making them less profitable to manufacturers

Another way of looking at it is that each family has an annual tech budget. Out of this fixed amount more money is being allocated to tablets and less towards replacement laptops or software. There are studies which seem to indicate that mobile phones and facebook are killing car usage among teenagers, so it may be that the annual phone budget is increasing at the expense of the transportation budget, but it is unclear if the same applies to laptops/tablets. My belief is that they grow at each others expense.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Anonymous Coward]

My relatives may be different than the norm, but they're using their tablets more and more:

• Typing a letter - Laptop (or Desktop PC for those who still have one)
• Browsing in front of TV, or in bed - Tablet
• When on the road - Phone or Tablet (if <= 7")
• On a holiday - Laptop or Tablet (I personally bring my laptop everywhere, but certain family members prefer their smaller tablets)

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Anonymous Coward]

You are grossly overestimating the needs that "common" consumers have for computing devices. The VAST majority of use is web surfing. A desktop computer is overkill for these people. Not to mention more expensive and complicated to use/maintain. Buy a new tablet every couple years and store email and such in the cloud and the average person's needs are met.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[firewood]

I don't see how tablets are any different from netbooks. They're semi-useful devices that have a limited place but are outclassed by more capable machines which have been around for a long time..

Didn't someone at DEC say the same thing about PCs? Those desktop toys must have been just an outclassed passing fad, and real businesses still buy far more capable minicomputers from DEC, Data General, Prime, Tandem, and ...

Oh wait.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Nyder]

... Acer may now be willing to get on the bandwagon for the sake of some short-term profits,...

Corporations will do anything for profits (short term or long term), so I would think selling cheap tablets aren't going to bother them.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[guises]

You run into the same problem with this as you do with WebTV or with any other (of many) web terminal styled home computers: it may be true that most of what people use their computers for is web surfing, but that doesn't mean that it is sufficient.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[needsomemoola]

That's true for now, but the lines are blurring. With something like Logitech's smart-cover-keyboard, I can turn my tablet into, basically, a laptop. As tablets get more and more powerful and better accessories come out, I think a lot of people will feel more comfortable throwing out their PC once it's EOL, and not buying a replacement PC, especially people who don't game hard or do mouse-intensive tasks.

I recently picked up a 7-inch tablet, and it's blurring the lines for my phone now. It's small enough to mount or set in my car is a fantastic GPS device, and it has video chat and instant messaging. It does all the things my larger tablet does. So now I have a PC which overlaps with functions of my tablet, and a smaller tablet that does all the same things in more places and a phone that overlaps the functions of the tablets.

I'm curious where it will settle (if it ever does). With projects like LeapMotion.com, even the mouse may be obsolete eventually. Then there's the new phenomenon of HUD glasses and augmented reality glasses that are in the pipe. At this rate we may one day have contacts that display virtual interfaces in front of us that we can interact with directly with our hands and never need PCs or Tablets or TVs or hand-held phones again.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[amiga3D]

My tablet replaced my netbook. I mostly used my netbook for reading and surfing, nothing really productive as it was too weak. It's advantage was it was small and light. I got a 5" Samsung Media Player and haven't used the netbook since. The Samsung fits in my pocket and it's just big enough to use for light surfing and excellent for reading on. I have a laptop that I use only occasionally when I have need for more power to go mobile but mostly I use my Mac Mini for any productivity such as video editing. I still have the netbook but I think I'm going to put it up for sale after Christmas. I guess some people who must have a keyboard for typing will prefer a netbook but I don't type enough to matter when I'm on the go.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[grumpy_old_grandpa]

I'm all with you, and keep seeing these things being used in places where there are much better tools for the job: Go to any tourist attraction these days, and you'll find people holding up their aluminium slabs to take pictures. Surely, if you can afford a trip around the world, you can also get a half-decent camera. Then there are the people who claim that writing e-mails, articles and even books is without effort on these things. The mind boggles.

As for niche use cases, I can think of a few: Once you get down to $50-100 range, they might make better picture frames than the dedicated devices for that purpose. For face-to-face survey-taking they work very well; think trade-show booth, or door-to-door questionnaires. An architect / building inspector recently mentioned that his tablet helped him is his job, so I'll have to take his word for it.

However, for John Doe, it's nothing but a fashion accessory at the moment. And as long as the iPad costs 5-10x times its competition, it will continue to be a show-off, just like bespoke suites, gold watches, and small-dick cars.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Hal_Porter]

There's a lot of demand for netbooks because they run PC OSs though. E.g. I can run Visual Studio, an embedded compiler, Mingw and an Office Suite on my netbook because it runs a desktop OS and has a keyboard.

I'm still not really keen on the onscreen keyboards you get on Android.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[shutdown -p now]

Tablets and netbooks are converging rapidly. Have you seen the Win8 device line-up? And then there are devices in this form factor running Android, as well.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[nurb432]

Ever think of plugging a mouse and keyboard into a tablet for those few times you need them? ( or bluetooth )

If you need a keyboard all the time, then a tablet isnt what you need in the first place. Which is fine. Everyone has different needs.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[R3d M3rcury]

They are not trowing away their PC, they are just buying a second or third or fourth one.

I don't argue that people are currently buying tablets as an adjunct. The question is, will they buy another PC or buy another tablet?

Right now, there's the whole "I wouldn't want to write a book with a tablet" attitude. I don't disagree with that. But how many people do that much writing? Most of us are rattling off smaller notes, which might be perfectly reasonable on a larger tablet.

So when it comes time to replace that $500 PC, will they go with another $500 PC or will they just say, "Nah. I'll just keep the tablet."

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Patch86]

Do I periodically wish there were massive games like Civ 5? Sure, but they'll get there eventually. In the meanwhile, I can no longer be bothered to sit at a desk (and develop carpal tunnel) to play a video game.

No, they won't. I sincerely doubt we're going to see proper games on tablets any time soon. Proper games need input other than a touch screen. Proper games need a screen larger than 7". Proper games need hardware that isn't optimised for power consumption and battery life. And proper games will struggle to use all the little tricks, such as cloud processing in the Kindle Silk browser, that tablets use to make the experience bearable.

One day we might see tablets with hardcore, power-hungry CPU/GPU, and it's true that you could plug your tablet into a big monitor, keyboard, mouse, joystick, etc. But all you're doing there is desperately trying to recreate the desktop PC experience.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Anonymous Coward]

I think both of you are saying the same thing. I wish I could remember who defined the tablet/computer split as "One is for content consumption, the other for content creation."

Tablets are great for people who were previously buying high-power Facebook machines. They aren't replacing computers that are actually used for something more than entertainment.

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Whiteox]

I've always sided with TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) when deciding to buy multi-function devices or not. I tend to lean towards not as a single purpose device is generally designed to do one thing properly. Most importantly, if a multifunction printer breaks down, then you need to replace the whole lot - including the working parts to retain full functionality.
It's all becoming a bit pointless as consumer hardware is so cheap. So Santy Claus got me a $99 7" tablet which is a nice toy, but that's all it is. It's nice and fast, but the cheap cameras are barely able to function with skype. My GSM mobile takes better pics and my Kindle lasts longer and easier to read.
The $99 Acer tab (or Phab) is just going to be cheap junk on an already pointless platform. I don't get the point about tablets. It's just another device that need charging. They will never replace laptops and laptops are a poor excuse for a desktop system.
Reminds me of an episode of Jetsons, when the little kid gets a tablet in a cereal box!

Re:Summary implies that tablets are not a fad

[Anonymous Coward]

I code on a netbook all the time. That includes writing, compiling and running. Do you code on a tablet? Really?

More 'valuable' tablets

[jkrise]

would be those that run Linux instead of Android. Archos tablets support Angstrom Linux, but it would be better if one of the bigger OEMs such as Acer were o offer Linux tablets. Many more use cases and usage senarios would be possible then.

Re:More 'valuable' tablets

[ewertz]

I too welcome the next eight years being heralded as "the Year of the Linux Tablet", after all of the success of Linux on the desktop.

Re:More 'valuable' tablets

[allo]

you can now have KDE Plasma Active on the Nexus 7. Next thing would be more touch-apps for KDE, or even some widget-concept, which can switch between desktop/touch widgets.

The big thing missing from android-device is the freedom of choice. yeah, you can have ROMs ... its like saying "okay, you can have vista business instead of home", its just a remix of the same distribution. Android, Android with cyanogen, android with foo, android with bar ... but nothing else. And most devices even support android up to version X, and then no more. I can try to install current ubuntu on a old pentium pc, when i have enough patience and use the alternate installer with a non-PAE-kernel.
There is not much more choice on android devices than on iOS ones ... which also takes a big part in preventing ROMs, which establish a more free ecosystem like many linux-distributions on the pc do. Almost every android-ROM is used with google market, which is a "why should i offer it for free, when i can get 1,50 Eur per download" ecosystem, where the idea of software freedom is not so much valued as in the "real" linux community, because you are tempted to NOT opensource something, when you know you get 1,50 per download.
Yeah i know, opensource and paying for the binary isn't exclusive, but go and ask some app developer of a paid app to opensource it ... he will tell you, that this will kill his sales.

Re:More 'valuable' tablets

[blackest_k]

The problem with Linux on a tablet is not installing Linux but making it usable with a touchscreen. A mouse orientated ui is not so usable when the pointer device is a finger, keyboard input is not so easy either pop up your touchscreen keyboard and you are losing a good part of your display and typically the entry point for the text you are attempting to enter.

The Desktop mouse keyboard interface just doesn't work well, on the positive side KDE plasma touch interface is coming along, and touch aware apps are being written.

What is needed is alternative views for graphical applications. The user interface needs to adapt to the environment the application finds itself in. In theory a lot of software is written with MVC as a design principle. In Linux most of the UI is built using GTK or QT it seems QT is being developed to take touchscreens into account but i have seen no sign of this with GTK.

Tablets seem to be a convertible device in many cases. Supporting a bare touchscreen use case yet relatively easy conversion to a desktop / laptop configuration.
Archos as you mentioned typically have hdmi out and will easily take input from a physical keyboard and mouse.

It is reasonable to assume you could at some point have a tablet which can be used purely as a tablet, as a laptop with external keyboard mouse and as a workstation core with a larger screen and keyboard. With the tablet itself perhaps being used as a secondary display or digital input , handwriting , drawings diagrams formula ect.

With the creation of profiles for each configuration and a user interface which responds to each situation we would have an extremely powerful and useful tool. Currently I have a dualboot tablet running ics and ubuntu 12.04 ics is great at android type things ubuntu makes it easy to type a report (i tend to use a keyboard case and mouse with ubuntu) with a shared storage space i can use data under both systems.

There is also the annoyance that there is no good driver for the gpu,under ubuntu so ui things such as composite desktops are slow buggy or non existent. Also Video is laggy and jerky. More ram would also be nice. Hardware designs are not quite there with Archos I'd like a separate psu port and a fullsize usb port which isn't crippled and my g9 has a touchscreen which is a swine for generating ghost finger presses particularly in the corners. There are a good number of tablets with superior hardware to the archos.

I think we might find Linux ready for tablets next year / 2014 and hopefully Hardware with good drivers and more Ram in the same sort of time frame. Android itself is good at what it does, Linux needs to be as usable as Android along with the applications and uses Android does not cater for.

Re:More 'valuable' tablets

[gl4ss]

I would still hope that they would run android apps as well.
for simple reasons.

like, for making a living.

Also, I used to think tablets were total rubbish for everything.. but after having my eyes fixed(f-lasik) they're useful for reading.

Re:A tablet is

[OolimPhon]

Just a slim netbook with the things that get in the way removed (touch pad, keyboard, USB host, non-locked down 'for dummies' OS)

There, FTFY. A tablet is an analog of a clipboard, not a typewriter. If I need to refer to stuff in a meeting, I sure don't need all those dangly bits getting in the way.

Re:A tablet is

[Anonymous Coward]

Most tablets lack what an analog of a clipboard needs - a good digitizer instead of finger-oriented touchscreen. If I'm going to take notes in a meeting, I'd much prefer a keyboard, tyvm.

I can see tablets as useful in the workspace when they're in hands of a warehouse worker or automechanic or a doctor (given, again, a good digitizer or voice recognition) or a lot of other jobs with lots of walking and/or only needing a reference, but meeting or any other office job? That'd be just fashion statement.

Will it blend?

[Kergan]

Cool. Will it blend too?

Re:Will it blend?

[jones_supa]

Visual Studio 2012 will...

Or the other guy...

[Anonymous Coward]

Who looks at them as a glorified smartphone. They'll do more than you think, but less than you want. Storing data and carrying it from place to place? Great for that. Creating data? Not so much. Displaying data? Well, it *is* a media device.

Its not a hammer, stop using it to bash down nails.

Its a screwdriver. You can bash nails but it sucks at it. You can stab things and pry stuff open with it but its not really meant for that. But if you got a screw needs screwin...this is the tool for it.

These things as extension of your work environment are great. These things as your primary work environment will probably suck forever. Because they aren't meant for that.

Re:Or the other guy...

[Electricity Likes Me]

They're not really great at storing data.

No standard USB interfaces. Fewer and fewer devices with SD slots (and nothing I've seen with a useful size for specific things like CF). No gigabit LAN (so forget getting data on and off quickly).

Hell, most tablets lack a network-capable file manager (android is far better at this then Windows thanks to ES File Manager, but still not great).

"more capable machines" do you mean Less portable

[tuppe666]

I would rather claim the reverse. Tablet sales are displacing sales of "more capable machines" at an astonishing rate. A $45 tablet already fulfills the computing needs of a whole lot of people, why should they spend more on a PC?

Those high-priced PCs will be relegated to the niche of users who require functions that a tablet or smartphone cannot provide.

I am sure that a $5 keyboard is not an expensive addition to a $45 device. Hell we have seen mainstream devices like the pi that use a TV for a monitor, that are in every way as functional as a hi-priced pc, and cheaper than $45. The form factor for tablets is different, and the interface is designed for fat fingers...but price is not so different don't kid yourself. As for Capable, seriously one simply sacrifices [trades] input for portability.

Nice!

[lennier1]

These could actually make food testing devices for developers who want to ensure decent performance on cheaper devices (e.g., the no-name stuff that's sold at supermarkets).

Re:Nice!

[lennier1]

s/food/good/

Re:Nice!

[Anonymous Coward]

I enjoy eating tablets too!

Re:A tablet is

[mlk]

Stylus based input.

Re:"more capable machines" do you mean Less portab

[ewertz]

"we have seen mainstream devices like the pi that use a TV for a monitor, that are in every way as functional as a hi-priced pc" ... of six years ago.

Atom or ARM?

[unixisc]

Is this the Acer Iconia based on the Atom running Windows 8, or is it an Android/ARM based tablet?

Re:Atom or ARM?

[Narishma]

If the price really is $99, it'll most definitely be ARM.

Lets call it good value.

[tuppe666]

Get your china-cheap tablet today, for $99.99, and tomorrow, get anotehr for $99.99 !!. Why so cheap ?? Because tomorrow you WILL need to buy another !!

Interesting the reverse is true. the iPad the most expensive device on the market six times more expensive than a better value tablet elsewhere, yet comes with proprietary software, hardware, with a shrinking market share...and no expandable storage. I object to that built in obsolescence, but ironically it only happens on overpriced electronics. Its [one of the many] why I think Apple is unhealthy right now, and Android is doing so incredibly well.

Re:Lets call it good value.

[beltsbear]

Apples market share is not shrinking when you consider real tablet usage. Apple is only shrinking when you take the number of manufactured crap tabs vs Apple with no regard for the fact that most are stuck in drawers, thrown out or turned into photo frames. The $99 tabs do not compete or even take real Apple market share away, the only thing that really competes with Apple is the Galaxy Tab.

Re:Lets call it good value.

[ToasterMonkey]

Interesting the reverse is true. the iPad the most expensive device on the market six times more expensive than a better value tablet elsewhere, yet comes with proprietary software, hardware, with a shrinking market share...and no expandable storage. I object to that built in obsolescence, but ironically it only happens on overpriced electronics. Its [one of the many] why I think Apple is unhealthy right now, and Android is doing so incredibly well.

You are completely deluded, if people had to buy new i-devices every year or two, Apple investors would be happy as clams and packing more money in.

Apple's problem IS that you don't have to buy a new one every year, so they will need to keep making/breaking into new markets.

I have no idea what your idea of obsolescence is, but you can't really grow a business by just making things like hammers... you have to invent screwdriver 2.0 eventually even if it makes hammers look so "yesterday".

Re:Lets call it good value.

[Anonymous Coward]

My Mom uses a 4th gen iPad, and it cost 6 times what this Acer tablet is going for, yet it works so much better and will get used a lot more. The calendar and contacts are sync'd in iCloud automatically. iMessage works great since a lot of her friends have iPhones. iPhoto lets us organize photos easily, and the photostreams let us share them to different family members around the country in near real time easily. We used FaceTime to video chat with 4 different family members today in Florida, California, Colorado, and Texas. iTunes works nicely to organize her music.

Re:A tablet is

[Jamu]

It's a shame you can't get a keyboard to go on the back of these surface devices. Starting with V, C, X, Z, etc. down the back left, and a couple of space buttons each side, but on the front.

Tablets are getting good enough

[iampiti]

Tablets and smartphones are getting good enough. It's the same process the PC underwent but much faster: Hardware progresses to a point that 90% of applications run plenty fast so the average person doesn't need to change them very often unless it breaks. Together with the maturity of the OS these devices use I think the exponential growth phase is gonna end soon.
Moreover, it seems the cheap tablets are getting good enough too so it looks that making expensive tablets it's not gonna be a great business plan.
Anyway, it looks that it'll affect expensive android tablet manufacturers more since Apple looks comfortable in the different and pricier-but-better market niche. This also mirrors the PC history.

Re:A tablet is

[Jafafa Hots]

Well, stylus input may be slower than a good keyboard, but at least it's prone to being either unreadable, or needing lots of error correction if converted into text.

Efficiency!

Meanwhile all websites are now getting the stupid, slow, flash-based limited Fisher-Price interfaces that we all used to complain about just a short time ago...
But now we're so enamored of them we want all to be like them. So more and more I face websites on my 24" screen that are simply navigation screens each with two buttons, eleventy-gazillion levels deep.

Tablets are making the web experience like the phone-hold experience.

"Press one if you have any of the following problems..."
"Press 2 to go to the preceding menu options."

tablet is just a tablet

[tuppe666]

tablet is an analog of a clipboard, not a typewriter

No a Tablet is just that a tablet. I play games; read books; surf the internet; watch movies on mine...I have never used it for anything I would a clipboard for. Ironically exactly the same things I would have used a netbook for, if Wintel hadn't broken the market by putting a crippled OS; No touchscreen; Low resolution displays; HDMI out...ironically sone of these were solved by the suface, for 5x the cost!! I'd own one; I bought a Nexus 7. I'm tired of this swings an roundabouts argument, when the truth is Netbooks...including surface don't have a dog in the fight, look at the title $99.

Netbooks

[SilenceBE]

I find it funny that people - then again the inmates are still running the asylum in tech land - still make fad claims or make the comparisons with netbooks.

I found netbooks clumsy devices because of the small (lower res) screens and the small ficky keyboards. Even today I still don't see any good use for them.

Tablets on the other hand are mostly content consuming* devices and regarding their usefulness in that regards, they are miles away from more PC. Hell they are not even on the same planet. For surfing/reading/... from my coach, on the train,.. I would pick a tablet over a laptop on any day. Hell if I'm in the same room as my PC and I have the tablet at hand, I mostly will pick up the second one.

* I'm gonna let you into a little secret most of the population don't use computers to create content... .

Re:Netbooks

[tuppe666]

I found netbooks clumsy devices because of the small (lower res) screens and the small ficky keyboards. Even today I still don't see any good use for them.

...and there is no reason they couldn't include higher resolution screens...or better keyboards. You could use them exactly like you would a tablet or a keyboard

*I'm gonna let you into a secret people create content *all* the time from tweets to email to photos MORE than they ever have. What has lost importance is Office.

Re:Netbooks

[SilenceBE]

...and there is no reason they couldn't include higher resolution screens...or better keyboards. You could use them exactly like you would a tablet or a keyboard

Then you still have the clumsiness of the form. A tablet is a thousand time easier to pick up and to handle in different situations.

I'm gonna let you into a secret people create content *all* the time from tweets to email to photos MORE than they ever have.What has lost importance is Office.

And for that kind of content (pictures, tweets) what is the added value of a computer ? Nothing. When I speak about "creating content" I'm talking about situations like office, photoshopping, etc. I surely wouldn't put office in the same range of sending a 140 character message, the average e-mail or taking a picture.

For me that is one THE biggest reasons that Microsoft will fail in mobile space. Office isn't that a big deal for the general (let me stress the general non techie group which is the biggest market) public so Office on tablet isn't that big USP like they make it to be. But then again the average nerd, developer, ... really doesn't understand the general public that much. They always tend to see their perspective and then they are baffled about the popularity of certain things or even brands like Apple.

Re:Netbooks

[tepples]

most of the population don't use computers to create content

I'm not most of the population; I perform some creative work while riding public transit. I currently use a Dell netbook with a 10" screen. But Dell and several other companies have dropped the 10" laptop form factor, and I don't think all the tools I use are ported to Android in order to use them with something like an ASUS Transformer. So once my netbook breaks, what are people like me supposed to use?

Re:Netbooks

[Anonymous Coward]

Even today I still don't see any good use for them.

I do, mine has allowed me to work while commuting. Thanks to that I have earned 8000 extra this year.

Re:Netbooks

[Anonymous Coward]

Netbooks as a concept are 5 years old. However, the keyboard is manufacturer specific. My acer aspire one is quite nice and does everything nicely for its size and power usage. That being said, tech advances and I use my tablet and MacBook Air now.

Re:Netbooks

[Anonymous Coward]

Not perfect, but might do the job for you:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Pad_Transformer/How_to_install_Ubuntu

Re:"more capable machines" do you mean Less portab

[Anonymous Coward]

Hell we have seen mainstream devices like the pi that use a TV for a monitor, that are in every way as functional as a hi-priced pc, and cheaper than $45.

That statement proves you haven't touched one of these "mainstream devices".

Pyrrhic victory for Microsoft.

[tuppe666]

would be those that run Linux instead of Android. Archos tablets support Angstrom Linux, but it would be better if one of the bigger OEMs such as Acer were o offer Linux tablets. Many more use cases and usage senarios would be possible then.

Microsoft successfully derailed Linux on the netbooks, and killed meego by killing Nokia; costing them Billions. Microsoft have been incredibly successful in not letting GNU/Linux win. Its kind of sad as all that has happened is they have been made irrelevant by the "pack of four".

The reality is GNU/Linux [if I can call that today], will survive, due to its open nature. I'm personally looking forward to running Android applications on my new touchscreen Chromebook running Debian [one of its derivatives].

Re:Pyrrhic victory for Microsoft.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sad reality that people are shifting the blame as usual in Linux. Linux developers killed Linux, not Microsoft.

Sorry to pop your little bubble you live in, but netbooks never really took off. Nokia was already going down the drain and stupidly tried to create meego, pull your heads out of the sand.

Isn't it sad the only ones who are going to save Linux are corporations like Steam by bringing DRM gaming to it and corporations like Google who are making an actual Linux desktop. The open source community has failed in that aspect. Google corporation will make desktop Linux work not the open communitry, mark my words.
Please don't give me the "well Linux runs on billions of devices", well I am glad your stapler and toaster can run Linux. Is it not sad that people are looking forward to Android applications running on Linux and not Linux applications running on Linux.

Microsoft killed the netbook

[tuppe666]

Netbooks, at least with a proper OS, were actually useful

No Netbooks were intentionally crippled by intel and microsoft ladened with a starter edition OS [expensive], no touchscreen, no HDMI out, and expensive. for the sake of its more expensive laptop market, and to kill Linux. Then the iPad happened...and the strategy looks kind of stupid. I bought a Nexus 7...I never bought a netbook, and desperately wanted one.

Re:Microsoft killed the netbook

[Anonymous Coward]

While Intel and Microsoft may have crippled what is a great portable form factor, I personally loved my netbook. Granted, I doubled the RAM and installed LinuxMint (thus making the unit useable.) My little cheap gateway lived under the seat of my truck, used to access the interwebs from the road, and as a tool, typing up invoices, ordering parts, and as a high quality vehicle diagnostic tool. I personally liked that setup better than a more capable and higher speced 14 inch lenovo laptop. The netbook had a better battery life, and didnt take up as much room in an already cramped cab. And really, not everyone needs a system with HDMI, touchscreen, or the latest and greatest battery draining processor. Sometimes just enough is more than enough. (BTW, you can still get the same, slightly updated Gateway LT netbook at walmart for about $200. for what i was using it for, one hell of a steal)

Re:Microsoft killed the netbook

[Airline_Sickness_Bag]

>>

My netbook was $250, has Windows 7 Home Premium and a HDMI out. Of course it has an AMD C-60 processor.

Irony

[tuppe666]

I too welcome the next eight years being heralded as "the Year of the Linux Tablet", after all of the success of Linux on the desktop.

Linux is already becoming the dominant platform on the tablet, as it did on the smart-phone. The truth is Andorid is becoming the next dominant platform. Your post dates back to a time when computing was about Microsoft and its monopoly due to inertia. Those days are gone...we now talk about the "pack of four", and well Microsoft is not in it. That is not to say I don't want more GNU on my tablet, but we are seeing signs of that everywhere from Tizen; KDE; Ubuntu etc etc.

Your out of date.

Re:Irony

[ewertz]

First of all, my comment was based on Linux over Android on the tablet, the relevance of which you seemed to conveniently ignore. If you're going to gripe about a reply, read the f-ing post being replied to. And your contention that Linux==Android certainly isn't the case either, on the face of it -- which is the whole point.

"Your out of date"

At least I'm on point and can compose a grammatically correct sentence.

Re:Irony

[Anonymous Coward]

Android is Linux, just not X11/GNU/KDE/Gnome/Linux (it's abbreviated to "GNU/Linux", by convention; if there was ever a time to say it, now is it).

Re:Irony

[devent]

Interesting, care to elaborate why you don't want more GNU on your tablet?
Is it a bias against the GNU GPL or something concrete?
GNU brought me only joy in my life, more freedom, less costs, more joy. I don't know why anybody don't want to have more GNU on his or her tablet.

Re:Irony

[grumpy_old_grandpa]

Using the term GNU/Linux clarifies the topic, while stating "Android is Linux" makes it more confused. Just like a Boeing 777 is not a Rolls-Royce just because of its engines, so Android is not Linux. The kernel is of course a critical part of the OS, but it is not the only part.

Re:Irony

[grumpy_old_grandpa]

We need free and open source software now more than ever. The laws against installing any think you like on a tablet goes to show how backwards some people have this issue. We need free software to prove that there are a lot of alternative OSes out there, and that doing anything you like with the hardware you'd bought should be the law, as opposed to what is currently the case.

So, let's throw out the "pack of four", and build and use our own alternatives, whatever that might be. You bought the hardware; you own it.

Re:A tablet is

[SternisheFan]

A few months back I got a $99 Arnova tablet to replace a damaged $400 laptop, and since I'm not a super-user, I realize that I don't need anything larger. It has a sensitive multi-touch screen, and with a $20 powered USB hub I can plug in a $15 Logitech usb keyboard/mouse, $25 usb joystick, run a hdmi cable to my tv, plug in flawhdrives to swap files, and I'm set. The thing's powerful enough to run mame/PS1 game roms without blinking, cruise the internet, it streams netflix/YouTube, a 32gb sd card (looking at you, Google Nexus) supplements the internal 8gb memory , and I can be stick it in my pocket. I have all the apps like kindle, google maps on the go, mp3 and video player, games...

A friend uses his for his work to program in java, and even he says he doesn't 'need' his computer so much now. And these tablets will just get more capable and cheaper (and bendable?) in the coming years, until they one day (gasp!) completely replace todays standard computers.

I don't get tablets

[stoolpigeon]

I can't deny their popularity but I really don't understand it.

I've got a Nexus 7 sitting a few inches away. I play my tower defence game on it occasionally but it's not really any better than playing it on my phone. I don't read books on it - it's so much heavier and tougher on the eyes than my kindle. The one hope I had was comics - but I'm still working on that. The one that I've downloaded from Amazon is impossible to read in the kindle app. (When it 'zooms' panels it's not nearly enough to make the text legible.)

If I am going to be going on a long trip I can see where it would be handy there. It will be better for watching shows than my phone, a little more convenient than my laptop. Though the lack of storage space limits how much media I'll be able to put on it.

The reason I have it is for testing some software we'll be using down the road. People will basically 'sign up' for stuff in person, using the tablet to enter their data rather than filling out cards. When we've used cards - it's labor intensive and their are lots of errors getting the information entered into other systems.

But around the house, on the couch, in the kitchen - I just grab a laptop. Easier to hold, easier to surf, all that stuff.

Re:I don't get tablets

[transporter_ii]

I recently got a Nexus 7. My kids fight over it. A new one will be found under the tree this morning to alleviate some of that.

While I agree with you -- I'm typing this from a pc running Ubuntu -- here is one example where the Nexus 7 beats my pc. On this pc I have Kindle for PC (installed on a virtual XP). I think I have used it once. On the Nexus 7, I have the Kindle app on it. I read an entire book on it.

Still, I agree with you. If you have to input data, a PC is far superior. If you just consume information, a tablet is great.

Re:I don't get tablets

[TheSunborn]

I think part of it is the same as the success of game consoles. They are single purpose* devices which are simple to use and which just work. Looking up a website on a computer is in some way a complex task, requiring that you wait for the computer to boot, hoping windows don't fuck up things or show popup messages users don't understand. With a tablet they just click on the icon and access the internet.

*The purpose being consumption of content from the net, and simple games.

Re:I don't get tablets

[stoolpigeon]

I think the PC is superior for consuming content as well, except for books. But I think the Kindle crushes tablets for book reading unless color is needed. I read comics on my pc (Fedora here).

My girls have 5 inch tablets and use them a lot for personal entertainment - games, music - but when they want to chat or do email they get on one of the family computers. They have read books on them while we waited to replace broken Kindles. My son is saving for a Nexus 7. His trouble is restraining from spending money long enough to save up for it. He always wants more legos and still hasn't learned how to be more patient.

A lot of people I work with have tablets now. I've seen guys give presentations with their laptop running the presentation and their notes on a tablet. So I guess that's another use case I can see. Airplanes and presentation notes. Other than that I haven't seen good use cases for them yet. But then again, I'm obviously not the typical electronics user. My phone is good (Galaxy S3) as a gap filler for what I do. I guess that's the other part I didn't mention.

Re:I don't get tablets

[Anonymous Coward]

I've got a Nexus 7 sitting a few inches away. I play my tower defence game on it occasionally but it's not really any better than playing it on my phone.

You should have gotten an 10" tablet.

Ya no kidding

[Sycraft-fu]

I have yet to meet anyone who has gotten a tablet for any kinds of real reason other than a toy. Now that's fine, nothing wrong with toys, but everyone I know who has gotten a tablet already has a laptop and smartphone, and they've kept the laptop and smartphone after getting it, and kept using them.

Those would be what tablets would replace. The argument seems to be that you don't need a laptop, a tablet will do fine, so you get one instead of your laptop. Another argument could be that a laptop isn't portable enough but a tablet is, so you can take it with you and thus don't need a smart phone, just a regular one.

However in actual practice, nobody seems to do that. They have a laptop and a tablet, and a smartphone.

I'm still not convinced tablets are here to stay. They seem to be fancy toys and status symbols right now (really there's an iPad market, not a tablet market) and little in the way of actual use. I could well see them dying off and people continuing to use laptops and smartphones.

That's why I don't have one: I asked myself where I would use a tablet that I wouldn't rather use my laptop or smartphone and I can't come up with an answer. I don't want it enough just as a toy.

Re:Ya no kidding

[RabidReindeer]

I have yet to meet anyone who has gotten a tablet for any kinds of real reason other than a toy. Now that's fine, nothing wrong with toys, but everyone I know who has gotten a tablet already has a laptop and smartphone, and they've kept the laptop and smartphone after getting it, and kept using them.

Those would be what tablets would replace. The argument seems to be that you don't need a laptop, a tablet will do fine, so you get one instead of your laptop. Another argument could be that a laptop isn't portable enough but a tablet is, so you can take it with you and thus don't need a smart phone, just a regular one.

However in actual practice, nobody seems to do that. They have a laptop and a tablet, and a smartphone.

I'm still not convinced tablets are here to stay. They seem to be fancy toys and status symbols right now (really there's an iPad market, not a tablet market) and little in the way of actual use. I could well see them dying off and people continuing to use laptops and smartphones.

That's why I don't have one: I asked myself where I would use a tablet that I wouldn't rather use my laptop or smartphone and I can't come up with an answer. I don't want it enough just as a toy.

Well, if it's a toy, it has to be just about my favorite toy. I'd rather have a tablet than a laptop myself - for "real" mouse/typing work I want a desktop with a keyboard that isn't little mushed things that I have to reach over a fat "sand bar" to get at while broadcasting false mouse events as my hands pass over the touchpad.

The advantage of the tablet is that it can wander around with me easily (I have a 7-inch unit). It's what I use when I want computer resources without the rituals. I don't have to wander into the computer room, wake up a machine, sit down and assume the position. I can just pick up the tablet, unlock it and go. Literally go, since you can wander around with it in one hand - a bit of a challenge with a laptop.

I primarily use the tablet to access data, not to input it. So I use it as an e-reader (much easier on the eyes than a desk/laptop display), email reader, RSS reader, Wikipedia/google/recipe database lookup-and-display, stuff like that where I can tap in at a whim. I CAN do short email replies and so forth, but like I said, the operative word here is "reader". It does do streaming multi-media pretty well in take-along form also.

There's still a place in my life for the desktop (heavy-duty input) and my phone (fits-in-the-pocket), but an awful lot of what I do is a good match for the tablet. Add the current low prices and the ability to store it in a small convenient space like shelving a book, and it's hard to resist.

Re:Ya no kidding

[drinkypoo]

I'm still not convinced tablets are here to stay. They seem to be fancy toys and status symbols right now (really there's an iPad market, not a tablet market) and little in the way of actual use. I could well see them dying off and people continuing to use laptops and smartphones.

Tablets are here to stay. People have wanted this form factor as long as there have been computers, and then some. That's why we make both books of paper and tablets of paper. Tablets aren't going away, laptops are. They're turning into tablets. You can already buy a tablet PC.

Re:Ya no kidding

[dreamchaser]

You don't get out much then, do you? I'll see your anecdote with my own. I know many people who use tablets for productive work when a portable device makes sense. That doesn't mean PC's are going to go away. It means that tablets can be more than mere toys. I am sure quite a few people here use them for email, looking (work related) things up on the Web, and other tasks that fall into the 'other than toy' category. That is without going into all the real productivity apps that exist for iOS and Android, and probably even for Windows 8 (I haven't bothered to look).

Re:Ya no kidding

[DerekLyons]

I have yet to meet anyone who has gotten a tablet for any kinds of real reason other than a toy.

Thereby demonstrating the fallacy of generalizing from your experience to the rest of the world. You can't possibly know more than an invisibly small fraction (one in millions or tens of millions) of all tablet owners well enough to know for absolute certainty they don't use them as anything but toys.
 

However in actual practice, nobody seems to do that. They have a laptop and a tablet, and a smartphone.

That's the grandparent's point - rather than one big desktop computer, people now own a range of computing devices the same way they own a range of screwdrivers or a range of kitchen/chef's knifes. Different tools for different uses.

Re:Ya no kidding

[benjfowler]

Butthead: Hey Beavis!
Beavis: What?
Butthead: He said '7-inch unit! Huh huh ...

Re:Ya no kidding

[Jaysyn]

I have yet to meet anyone who has gotten a tablet for any kinds of real reason other than a toy.

My girlfriend is an occupational therapy assistant & uses her iPad during fine motor therapy sessions. The kids & most seniors she works with love it. She bought her iPad after getting to evaluate all the OTA apps available for it at a convention (they weren't on Android at the time, but are now). She keeps her notes & schedules on it as well.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

I also use a tablet to read stuff, since the absence of hardware keyboard + mouse prevents it to be a good tool to write data.

As for being an alternative to e-readers: Tablets have the advantage of being to read any type of files (PDFs aren't always properly displayed on e-readers) and running other apps, but they have the the inconvenience of using a lot more power.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, if it's a toy, it has to be just about my favorite toy. I'd rather have a tablet than a laptop myself

Then quite clearly you do not really belong on slashdot. Don't take this as an insult, but you are not a normal slashdot user if a tablet can replace a laptop in your universe. Its my grandmothers universe where a tablet can replace a laptop, because she isnt a nerd. She is just a technology consumer, and apparently you are just a technology consumer too.

More likely, (s)he is just better at using their computing tools/resources than you.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Pastis]

I am part of the team that developers a multiplatform algebra teaching game for kids (DragonBox). The touch interface is very intuitive and practical for this type of applications. It allows very rapid & natural interaction, harder to emulate using keyboard&mouse for young users.

Re:Ya no kidding

[blind biker]

Well, if it's a toy, it has to be just about my favorite toy. I'd rather have a tablet than a laptop myself - for "real" mouse/typing work I want a desktop with a keyboard that isn't little mushed things that I have to reach over a fat "sand bar" to get at while broadcasting false mouse events as my hands pass over the touchpad.

I hate touchpads/trackpads with a passion. It's why for me only laptops with trackpoints ("nipple") will do. And exactly for the reason you cite: it's hard to type while trying to hover the thumbs over the trackpad. If you do touch it, the cursor will jump somewhere random, and your text will continue to be typed there :( Fuck that.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

So are you going to introduce your girlfriend to him so they can have a few fine motor therapy sessions? ;)

Catpcha: bunkmate

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh great, two guys having opinions about where the tablet market is going based on mere anecdotal evidence. Because how it is for you, it is for the world. Ploink.

Re:Ya no kidding

[nurb432]

I have yet to meet anyone who has gotten a tablet for any kinds of real reason other than a toy.

You need to get out more.

Also the arguement has never been ' you dont need a laptop '. Its not a replacement, its an addition.

Just beacause YOU dont see a point and its a toy to YOU, doesnt mean others cant want one and use it for other reasons. The same can be said about laptops, or a desktop too. Its all a toy to someone.

Re:Ya no kidding

[NicBenjamin]

Well, if it's a toy, it has to be just about my favorite toy. I'd rather have a tablet than a laptop myself

Then quite clearly you do not really belong on slashdot. Don't take this as an insult, but you are not a normal slashdot user if a tablet can replace a laptop in your universe. Its my grandmothers universe where a tablet can replace a laptop, because she isnt a nerd. She is just a technology consumer, and apparently you are just a technology consumer too.

Really?

Every Slashdot user uses his computers data-entry capabilities 24/7?

He does not spend much of his free time watching random episodes of long-dead Sci-Fi series, reading Slashdot, browsing Wikipedia, etc. At all hours of the entire day a Slashdotter is actually entering data.

Because a tablet's only real drawback as a main machine is you can't enter data on them very well. They can't do Photoshop, Word, coding, or long emails. They do games, content consumption, and short creation tasks just fine.

Re:Ya no kidding

[ArhcAngel]

this person is claiming that a single tool works for them... this single tool replaces a laptop.. but yet it doesnt have all the features or capabilities of a laptop..

Funny, that's not what the OP said at all. Personally I use my tablet (BlackBerry PlayBook FTW) to access my Dell Precision T7400 with Splashtop when I need to do some heavy lifting. With a BT keyboard and mouse it works just as well as a laptop. Do I keep my LT around for some things? Sure do, but the number of times I have pulled it out since I got my tablet are counted in single digits. I use my phone for as much as possible simply due to convenience but there are times a bigger screen is needed and the tablet is ready in an instant.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

I must concur. I got my Acer A500, tried to edit with it. What a hassle. Moving files from it to the my linux desktop is a big time consumer. The only decent editor only read text and 'Word' formatted files; no open doc format. OpenOffice and LibreOffice are joined at the hip to bulky ancient Java code Google didn't see as need to 'provide' in Android, so they are slowly making it to Android.

My A500? Sits on the desk, unused for a few weeks now. I bought a laptop for less and use it daily.

As to smart phones? Three months with a Rugby Smart and I finally got some use out of the expensive data package. Driving direction in Las Vegas. I even gave up, pulled the sim card and put it back in my Razr. The dialing pads easier to use.

Re:Ya no kidding

[SomePgmr]

This personal computer thing is just a fad. You can't do real work on them. People aren't throwing out their mainframes at work.

Portable computers are dumb. They're too expensive and heavy. If you want real computing resources you won't be able to carry it with you.

This PDA thing is just a fad. A computer in your pocket is just a toy.

eBooks are just a fad. People still want their paper books. This will pass.

DMP's are just toys. Who wants to listen to highly compressed digital music when you've got portable cd players?

Tablets are just toys. Nobody is going to buy them in place of laptops and netbooks.

Re:Ya no kidding

[guitarMan666]

I do continue to use my laptop when it is convenient. Circumstances include at home, at school when I have a place to sit, when I am out of the house staying at another location. It's a Chromebook but fills my needs just fine. It is fine for accessing computers remotely via TeamViewer's web client or SSH, I can take notes on it via Evernote (also on my phone and tablet) and I can write up and open letters, papers and emails just fine with Google Docs.

My smartphone (which I got before my old Dell laptop died) has a similar function. I have Evernote on it as well and have taken notes on it at various lectures and demonstrations when the laptop would not have been practical due to a lack of seating. I use a gesture keyboard (Swype for a long time, SwiftKey Flow more recently) and can type adequately fast to keep up with a lecture with no real fatigue. It also has TeamViewer and an SSH client so remote control in a pinch is not impossible but not ideal. Still that's better than nothing.

Most recently, I received a Nexus 7 as a gift and it fulfills the same roles in slightly different situations. I can use the tablet instead of the smartphone during lectures (should I have it with me), and it has the same remote control software I mentioned previously which is far easier to use on the tablet versus the smartphone. It does help me to save battery on my smartphone by duplicating some of the functions that drain the smartphone's rather meager battery. So I can keep the tablet on and read, play music, video or (yes) the odd game while my smartphone sleeps and does only tasks that require the internet. I've noticed a significant increase in the useful life of my phone throughout the day since I started using the tablet. My co-workers and I use our tablets at work (we're the very small IT department of a shopping network) as portable computers for note-taking, network testing, filling out equipment inventories, reference/manual look-ups and other tasks.

Tablets really do have a place in an increasingly paperless world and I feel they will continue to persist as internet connections become more ubiquitous. Laptops are already being subsumed into tablets and soon enough we may only have tablets and phones and simply dock them to provide displays and link peripherals when a better interface is required.

I think that the niche tablets fill is not something that everyone has, but it is there and it needs filling.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

At my work, we're starting to use tablets while doing inventory audits. It's a pain to type on a laptop while walking, and a phone doesn't have a large enough screen to display a checklist, a map of the shelving, and a keypad. Unless the phone is something like a Note, and those are almost tablets anyway.

But we use cheap android tablets, not ipads, because sometimes devices get run over by forklifts.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

My $200 Google tablet is hardly a status symbol. Yet, it is useful enough for web browsing that it has greatly diminished the amount of time that I use my fancy laptop.

I was a huge tablet skeptic... work even gave me an iPad and I hated it, but then again I already hated the iOS ecosystem and user experience. But once I found a form factor and OS that suited me better I found a tablet to be quite useful.

>I asked myself where I would use a tablet that I wouldn't rather use my laptop or smartphone and I can't come up with an answer.

For me, the answer was the bus. I spend 2+ hours on the bus every day. My phone is too small and slow to be a pleasant browsing experience, and for various reasons upgrading it is not possible. (Even if I got a modern 4" screen phone, the tablet would be better.) My laptop is way too big. A 7" tablet is perfect. It's also great for reading in bed (or recipe lookups in the kitchen or IMDB on the couch) where again my phone sucks and my 17" laptop is too big--and has much worse battery life.

Of course, YMMV. I'm just an example of a skeptic who became a disciple. Yeah, I bought it as a toy but damn, that toy is pretty handy now.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

I use it as an e-reader (much easier on the eyes than a desk/laptop display)

Huh? Might explaining that?
I mean, sure, your tablet's LCD might be better than your desk/laptop's LCD, but you can't say that in general.

E-ink readers, that's a different story. But tablets are not that, they're significantly heavier, with much shorter battery life and with screens that are not comfy for long reads.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Y-Crate]

I have yet to meet anyone who has gotten a tablet for any kinds of real reason other than a toy.

I work in TV / FIlm, and iPads are used for work constantly by a large percentage of the workforce.

Re:Ya no kidding

[macs4all]

Those would be what tablets would replace. The argument seems to be that you don't need a laptop, a tablet will do fine, so you get one instead of your laptop. Another argument could be that a laptop isn't portable enough but a tablet is, so you can take it with you and thus don't need a smart phone, just a regular one.

If you will watch the Keynote where Jobs introduced the iPad, he made it crystal-clear that Apple, at least, plainly thought their tablet had no reason to exist if it didn't fill a unique set of use-cases. The people who see a user as having to have EITHER a Tablet OR a Laptop are the real fools.

I dearly love my iPad (I am typing this post on it right now), but I would NEVER confuse it, or consider it, a replacement for my other computers. It is, however, a VERY handy ADJUNCT to them. Anything else is just laughably delusional.

And please don't respond with "That's because you have an iPad." Bullshit. Just because you CAN use Eclipse on an Android tablet (for example), doesn't make it a good idea. That's what "real" computers are for, not "computing appliances". I am an embedded dev., and so am well aware that there is a tiny computer inside of my iPad. However, there is also a tiny computer inside of about ten things in my immediate eyesight, too, such as my microwave oven; but I wouldn't waste my time trying to get Libre Office working on them, either. Why? Because it simply wouldn't end up being an effective tool for the job, regardless of how successful I was at pecking out my Libre Write document out in raw ASCII, using my microwave's numerical keypad. Conversely, even though I can play DVDs on several of my computers, the standalone DVD is the only thing with which anyone else besides me in the house could use do so.

Right tool for the job and all that...

Re:Ya no kidding

[macs4all]

Well, if it's a toy, it has to be just about my favorite toy. I'd rather have a tablet than a laptop myself - for "real" mouse/typing work I want a desktop with a keyboard that isn't little mushed things that I have to reach over a fat "sand bar" to get at while broadcasting false mouse events as my hands pass over the touchpad.

I hate touchpads/trackpads with a passion. It's why for me only laptops with trackpoints ("nipple") will do. And exactly for the reason you cite: it's hard to type while trying to hover the thumbs over the trackpad. If you do touch it, the cursor will jump somewhere random, and your text will continue to be typed there :( Fuck that.

That's because you've never use an Apple trackpad. They've gotten the "accidental touches" problem pretty much fixed.

Re:Ya no kidding

[macs4all]

I'm still not convinced tablets are here to stay. They seem to be fancy toys and status symbols right now (really there's an iPad market, not a tablet market) and little in the way of actual use. I could well see them dying off and people continuing to use laptops and smartphones.

Tablets are here to stay. People have wanted this form factor as long as there have been computers, and then some. That's why we make both books of paper and tablets of paper. Tablets aren't going away, laptops are. They're turning into tablets. You can already buy a tablet PC.

Exactly that.

When the iPad came out, I was like "I've only been wanting this for the last THIRTY years." And the success of the iPad (and other tablets of that ilk) clearly shows I wasn't alone in my dream.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

This personal computer thing is just a fad. You can't do real work on them. People aren't throwing out their mainframes at work.

Portable computers are dumb. They're too expensive and heavy. If you want real computing resources you won't be able to carry it with you.

This PDA thing is just a fad. A computer in your pocket is just a toy.

eBooks are just a fad. People still want their paper books. This will pass.

DMP's are just toys. Who wants to listen to highly compressed digital music when you've got portable cd players?

Tablets are just toys. Nobody is going to buy them in place of laptops and netbooks.

The really funny part is that each of those statements are either true, or you horrendously screwed them up.

You can't do the work of mainframes on a personal computer, and no one does. The PC was introduced to do different things.

Portable computers are similar. They were designed to let us do minor work on the road. Or do you see the guys at Pixar creating toy story on their underpowered laptops. If you need real power you're still in workstation territory.

PDAs are personal digital assistants. They are not computer in your pocket.

No one has said eBooks are a fad, and book stores are going out of business because of them.

Your DMP analogy suffers because you think compressed digital music is somehow of such low quality that you can hear the difference over the drone of the buses and busy streets. If you could, they wouldn't exist in the popular form in which they do.

Tablets are not toys, but nobody is going to buy them in place of a laptop for the same reasons as your first two points.

Thanks for playing.

Re:Ya no kidding

[shutdown -p now]

I have yet to meet anyone who has gotten a tablet for any kinds of real reason other than a toy. Now that's fine, nothing wrong with toys, but everyone I know who has gotten a tablet already has a laptop and smartphone, and they've kept the laptop and smartphone after getting it, and kept using them.

Just because people keep using their laptops after buying a tablet doesn't mean that a tablet is a toy - it just means that a tablet does not cover all the usage scenarios covered by the laptop, but it may still cover some (or even most).

Re:Ya no kidding

[ColdWetDog]

But we use cheap android tablets, not ipads, because sometimes devices get run over by forklifts.

Let me guess, employee retention is not one of your company's strong points.

Re:Ya no kidding

[TheSeatOfMyPants]

broadcasting false mouse events as my hands pass over the touchpad.

Don't recent versions of Windows have a way to filter those out? In Linux, I believe the built-in standard for at least the past few years is to ignore the touchpad while the keyboard is in use plus a user-customizable number of seconds afterward... If Windows doesn't come with that ability yet, perhaps there's a third-party program that can handle it.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

OpenOffice and LibreOffice are joined at the hip to bulky ancient Java code...

Stop right there. For 99.9% of users, Libreoffice does *not* need Java.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Rob Y.]

Actually, tablets might end up taking a big chunk of the laptop/netbook market. I'm happy enough with my ancient Nexus One to have lost all interest in buying a laptop. My 8 year old desktop is getting a little rough around the edges, so I'm thinking of replacing it... with a new desktop. It'll be fast and cheap and run Linux (as) flawlessly (as possible), and I'll use it when I actually sit down at the computer. On my couch, I'll use my new Nexus 4 (if it ever arrives). And maybe some day, I'll get a cheap Nexus 7 - which is the first tablet I'd consider, since it is the first 7 incher to go multi-user.

Re:Ya no kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't take it too hard. He's just trying to make sure you know your place in the geek universe. If you aren't strapped to a laptop all day/night and ever look at a screen where you aren't producing some sort of... something, you're "just" a technology consumer. Less l337 than someone who really belongs here, I suppose. /sarcasm

Re:Ya no kidding

[nobodie]

I'm probably one of the few people in the world who bought a "tablet PC" to use instead of a laptop/netbook. I prefer my desktop for almost everything, but when I'm on the road with my 2007 2,5 Gen mobile phone the tablet (especially with a bluetooth keyboard) serves any mobile computing needs I might have. So, no smartphone, no laptop, just a desktop and a tablet. It works.

Ah, the insanity plea

[SmallFurryCreature]

Mainstream devices like the Pi? You talking about the Raspberry Pi? Mainstream?

Good advice for general people is to watch more then Fox, lest their brains rot away. In the same vein, read something else but Slashdot. If you think the Pi is a mainstream device you got three options:

• Your insane.
• You are unfamiliar with the meaning of the word "mainstream"
• Your reality consists of your mothers basement and a guy you met on IRC and thought was a girl.

In extreme cases, all three might apply.

The Raspberry Pi is hard to get hold of, even harder to use and comes with barely enough resources to run even the most basic OS. But SOMEHOW this device will magically make it into the homes of the average person who can't afford a cheap desktop BUT does have a HDMI capable TV with a spare port to hook it up to...

The INSANITY of all this is astounding, it shows tupe666 has lost all touch with reality, he lives in a fantasy world were a device that takes anywhere from several weeks to several months to be delivered, can only be ordered online and requires advanced linux skill to even be outfitted with a serviceable user friendly OS is installed in millions of homes world-wide. And that this extremely underpowered device is the same as a "hi-priced" PC, god even knows what that might be. If you think a Raspberry Pi is as functional as even a cheap PC, you just don't have a clue. I love Linux as much as the next guy but WIndows IS the mainstream OS and the Raspberry Pi can't run that so it loses out right there.

There is room in the world for PC alternatives but the simple fact remains that the PC setup, large keyboard, monitor at eye height, flat large desk, office chair, mouse is the most comfortable way to CREATE content. For consuming content, the TV is most comfortable. A tablet is a high awkward device for either. When sitting at a desk creating content it is a usability nightmare, the only people who think it is good are those who work on laptops and 20 years from now will complain about their backs non-stop.

If you really want to see what mainstream is, go to youtube and see what people use who put up cat videos. A 5 year old dell they got from someone cheap and a CRT monitor that they can't see any point in replacing with a 100 dollar LCD screen. That is what is mainstream NOT a geek gadget.

Tablets like the iPad sell millions it is true but that is a planet with 7 billion people and many a iPad 3 is owned by a person with an iPad2 etc lying in the closet. You can easily see this with google statistics, what percentage visits a site with iOS? A small amount and it gets smaller the more mainstream a site is. And web browsing is ONE thing tablets are actually good at.

But hey, I am willing to eat my words. tuppe666 only has to publish his address so someone can go and take his PC and give him a Raspberry Pi, 5 dollar keyboard and a TV and THAT IS IT! Wanna bet he won't take that deal? Wanna bet NOBODY on Slashdot will?

Re:Ah, the insanity plea

[umghhh]

You mean some of the girls I meet on internet are guys?

Re:Ah, the insanity plea

[Anonymous Coward]

I ordered two more Pi:s a few weeks ago. I ordered late Thursday evening, I held them in my hands Monday by lunch. Hard to get like my ass.

Also, if I bothered to take the car there is an electronics store (genuine electronics, not one of them places peddling TVs and mobile phones) 1,5 hours drive away that has, currently, 140 of them in stock for purchase over the counter. And I live in the backwaters of Sweden.

Re:Ah, the insanity plea

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean some of the girls I meet on internet are guys?

All of them are.

Where did you post this message from?

[SmallFurryCreature]

Where did you post this message from?

Re:Where did you post this message from?

[tepples]

It wouldn't have been impractical for Kergan to have posted the comment from a tablet. I have posted comments to Slashdot on my Nexus 7 tablet. I have made (small) edits to Wikipedia articles on my Nexus 7 tablet.

Re:Where did you post this message from?

[Anonymous Coward]

> I have made (small) edits to Wikipedia articles on my Nexus 7 tablet.

Yes, you have. While a million neurons died painfully in the experiment, you have shown that there is a non-zero probability in completing the act. You can take a rest now and bask in your sense of achievement. The internet salutes you.

Re:Where did you post this message from?

[Anonymous Coward]

It wouldn't have been impractical for Kergan to have posted the comment from a tablet. I have posted comments to Slashdot on my Nexus 7 tablet. I have made (small) edits to Wikipedia articles on my Nexus 7 tablet.

I'm typing this comment on my nexus 7. It wouldn't be my first choice for a long comment though and I do think it's fair to ask Kregan where he did post from in this case.

Re:Where did you post this message from?

[Kergan]

From my iPad, just like this one.

Re:Where did you post this message from?

[Anonymous Coward]

Where did you post this message from?

Here at Harvard, we do not end our sentences with prepositions.

Sorry. Where did you post this message from, asshole?

Re:Where did you post this message from?

[needsomemoola]

That could very easily have been dictated through a phone or tablet. I've composed entire multi-page emails by just speaking them. And the grammar of "dictation" is often better than when I type it myself. I can speak a few paragraphs much faster than I can type them. It's less practical for complex punctuation though (parentheses, custom spellings, apostrophes, slang, etc...). And it's certainly not good for programming. But The post by Kergan would be simple to dictate.

Re:Where did you post this message from?

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly -- especially since even this is typed on an ipad mini. Get over the idea that tablets are for reading only, guys.

How I used my netbook

[SmallFurryCreature]

There can be a need for portable computing in your life. This is NOT the same as on the move computing but rather where you wish to have the same enviroment at several static locations. The trick is here to remember that no sane person works on a laptop. Your screen got to be higher up to be comfortable and your keyboard lower, flatter and bigger. So... you instead plug it into your laptop stand, link it via say Synergy and use it as an extra screen with your own environment.

For others, a netbook is a very storable PC. A lot of people don't really want a computer taking up space constantly when they only use it for a short time. A netbook is easily taken out, read mail, browse then stored away again out of the way.

These aren't high tech needs, they could be done with anything but a netbook is just the right balance between being somewhat useful as a full PC and not taking up as much space/weighing/costing.

Oh and I am going to let you in on a little secret. Most of the population DOES use computers to create content. This message is content and is far faster to type on a normal keyboard then a touchscreen. Cat videos are content, facebook pages are content, diary entries are content.

Another little secret, when I want to passively consume content, the TV is far far far easier then any tablet. And I don't need to hold it in my hand the entire time.

Re:How I used my netbook

[marcosdumay]

For others, a netbook is a very storable PC. A lot of people don't really want a computer taking up space constantly when they only use it for a short time.

I don't see much difference in storage from a full sized laptop. I guess that reason is correct, but it doesn't apply to netbooks. That's why so many people have laptops nowadays.

A netbook is great for portability, as laptops aren't really portable. But even then, netbooks seem to be always underspecked and ultraportables seem to be always overpriced. I'm currently looking into a portable computer to buy, and I'm almost settling on a tablet with a keyboard.

As somebody who works in support

[dnaumov]

I can say with certainty that the tablet revolution is just beginning. The simple truth is that a huge amount of home users don't REALLY want a PC. They think they want a PC, but they really don't. They want a machine that is cheap, gets them on Facebook, has a video/audio player, a web browser, email and Skype and is as low maintainance as possible. It's true that tablets are spectacularly bad productivity devices, they are mostly consumption devices. The thing is, the vast majority of home users are pure consumers and couldn't give 2 shits about productivity applications.

Re:As somebody who works in support

[SternisheFan]

I can say with certainty that the tablet revolution is just beginning. The simple truth is that a huge amount of home users don't REALLY want a PC. They think they want a PC, but they really don't. They want a machine that is cheap, gets them on Facebook, has a video/audio player, a web browser, email and Skype and is as low maintainance as possible. It's true that tablets are spectacularly bad productivity devices, they are mostly consumption devices. The thing is, the vast majority of home users are pure consumers and couldn't give 2 shits about productivity applications.

Exactly. Before my Windows7 laptop died, when I'd want to check my email on it. I'd turn it on, wait a couple minutes for it to fully boot up, connect to the router and Windows informs me an imperative, 'end of the world' update is needed. Sure, I click ok, windows is downloading..., download interrupted! Okay, this needs to be done, so I re-download..., maybe it intalls correctly, maybe it doesn't. Windows needs to reboot (sigh)... Now by this time, I've wasted 10 or 20 minutes, still haven't been able to read my email, frustration level has increased....

Today when I want to read my email, my tablet powers up in 30 seconds, another 30 seconds later I'm reading my email.

For the casual user like myself, it's a 'no-brainer', cheap-o but capable wins, hands down.

Re:As somebody who works in support

[Alomex]

I'd turn it on, wait a couple minutes for it to fully boot up, connect to the router and Windows informs me an imperative, 'end of the world' update is needed.

Lessee, open laptop (also running Windows 7) press "Get Mail" in Thunderbird and start reading my email.

Time: 10 seconds from the moment I pressed the latch til the new email arrived (I just timed it).

For starters, why are turning your laptop/tablet off? haven't you heard of sleep mode?

Re:As somebody who works in support

[nurb432]

Right, and this is the market that actually makes things happen. They have the money and the volume. "Techies" dont.

The sooner people around here figure this out, the better.

Re:As somebody who works in support

[SternisheFan]

I'd turn it on, wait a couple minutes for it to fully boot up, connect to the router and Windows informs me an imperative, 'end of the world' update is needed.

Lessee, open laptop (also running Windows 7) press "Get Mail" in Thunderbird and start reading my email.

Time: 10 seconds from the moment I pressed the latch til the new email arrived (I just timed it).

For starters, why are turning your laptop/tablet off? haven't you heard of sleep mode?

Well, that was last year, a 'friend' sabotaged that laptop on me, only had it a month. Didn't know about Thunderbird, and I didn't leave it on because I don't like leaving appliances on when they're not being used. A tablet still doesn't have superb battery life yet, so there's still the need to conserve.

Re:As somebody who works in support

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny thing, the market. It keeps following the same greedy trails what we techies warn against, again and again. Why buy a machine with too little memory, why a small netbook that barely can install its own programs, why buy into proprietary walled gardens that will spy and abuse you?

Again and again, you've been warned. The markets can't discount this, until experience is served as a warm unpleasant dish. We'll again tell you: We already told you so before. Don't go cry to us techies when you're the sole reason of your abusal. Markets are lagging like hell and contain almost no wisdom or experience. Markets are just fads. Shiny stars that make alot of noise, but hold very little real substance. Real investors, real techies, just fade them, or time when they pop (Apple is in bearish sideways-land now btw., might take a decade to reach new ATHs after this pop). That is unless something changes, again of course, but how likely are new shiny things to come from Apple in the near future?

Captcha: passage

Re:As somebody who works in support

[marcosdumay]

Funny. I don't have as much certainty... But I can say it looks like that the "tablet revolution" has only one more generation (ok, for 2 model generations, customers replacing it once, tablets change quite fast) to go before it gets good enough, and all the fuzz turn into "tablets are dying!!!1!", that obviously is as wrong as the current "tablets will rule the world!!!".

They want a machine that is cheap, gets them on Facebook, has a video/audio player, a web browser, email and Skype...

...some accounting software, keep the files they care about (those photos don't all go to Flick), and play games. Also, they'll need to write text once in a while. All of that can be done on a tablet. All of that is easier with keyboard and mouse. All of that is still easier with a large screen, a large keyboard and a real mouse. Notice that the price goes down every time things get easier.

Now that I've mentioned price, notice that the price of all types of computers is getting quite low. Do you know somebody that avoid buying pens because they already have one that writes (at home), why would he want another (here)?

The thing is, the vast majority of home users are pure consumers and couldn't give 2 shits about productivity applications.

How is it up there on that horse? Nobody is a pure consumer.

Re:As somebody who works in support

[Anonymous Coward]

I do this same thing with my laptop. It too has sleep mode. I leave my browser open to slashdot/gmail.

Re:As somebody who works in support

[Patch86]

My Kindle Fire Android tablet takes about the same amount of time to boot up from "off" as my Asus netbook running Ubuntu. The time difference would be even less if I put the GRUB menu on a shorter timer (I keep the timer at a sensible length because I use it frequently- but that's not exactly a standard use case for most people). Both have links to their respective email programmes (Thunderbird on the netbook, whatever the default is with the Kindle) right there on the first screen you come to. Both also have not dissimilar battery life (6.5 hours for the netbook, maybe 7-8 for the Kindle?). They were also about the same price new, give or take 10%, I think.

So the comparison isn't exactly a clear "win" for the tablet in any comparison I care about. And the fact that the netbook gives me far greater freedom in terms of what I install on it, and has a proper keyboard, things definitely tip "netbook-wards" for me.

But it's an Acer

[Anonymous Coward]

With their build quality, it will most likely take you three attempts to get one that works correctly, then it will fall apart within the week.

Re:But it's an Acer

[jones_supa]

You have to cut some corners in build quality to get it down to the price point.

However you are right, especially Acer and Asus can make real junk if you let them to.

Re:A tablet is

[RabidReindeer]

Most tablets lack what an analog of a clipboard needs - a good digitizer instead of finger-oriented touchscreen. If I'm going to take notes in a meeting, I'd much prefer a keyboard, tyvm.

I can see tablets as useful in the workspace when they're in hands of a warehouse worker or automechanic or a doctor (given, again, a good digitizer or voice recognition) or a lot of other jobs with lots of walking and/or only needing a reference, but meeting or any other office job? That'd be just fashion statement.

In a meeting, a tablet is an opportunity to have all your important documents at your fingertips, plus a place to take quick notes. Done well, it can be tidy, convenient, and less distracting than folders and notebooks and stuff. Done poorly, of course, it's like anything else done poorly.

Fuck Acer

[fitteschleiker]

So that's why they didn't bother to support properly the tablet I paid quite a sum for a year and a half a go....

For me Acer is a fad that is dead.

Re:A tablet is

[RabidReindeer]

Well, stylus input may be slower than a good keyboard, but at least it's prone to being either unreadable, or needing lots of error correction if converted into text.

I've never done stylus input on a tablet, so I can't say. On a PDA, I could input faster and more accurately with Grafitti than I can keyboard (on a real keyboard, that is). The downside to stylii was always that it's easy to lose them. Although a toothpick often does surprisingly well in a pinch.

Real tablet usage

[tuppe666]

Apples market share is not shrinking when you consider real tablet usage.

That does not even make sense. We have Apple launching a last generation device like the iPad mini [low resolution; low memory; old CPU] at twice the than of established competitors like the Nexus 7 [High resolution, new CPU] with standard connectors....yadda yadda yadda, and we are expected to believe they are not being used [rolls eyes].

The reality of Apple is they needed to to compete with both cost and innovation, they failed on both accounts [across all their product lines] and their stocks are taking a battering as a result, bullshit on forum discussions is not going to change that.

Re:"more capable machines" do you mean Less portab

[jones_supa]

Even older than that. I'd weigh that the Raspberry Pi probably equals a high-end PC from 10 years ago, in terms of performance and specs.

Happily insane.

[tuppe666]

Raspberry Pi, 5 dollar keyboard and a TV and THAT IS IT! Wanna bet he won't take that deal? Wanna bet NOBODY on Slashdot will?

LOL I have been hooking my 2nd PC upto my TV, for the past 10 years. Actually I currently using a Fujitsu siemens Scaleo E running Ubuntu which uses a Celeron CPU and an i915 graphics, and replaced its earlier incantation that was a pentium PC that only really ran Windows 98.

Would you like photos :)

Re:"more capable machines" do you mean Less portab

[ewertz]

The graphics performance isn't that shabby. I was willing to give it some points based on that and cost, and split the difference. But we're basically on the same page.

Re:A tablet is

[mlk]

For notes in meetings I don't bother with handwriting-to-text, just scribble away. As quick and readable as writing on paper and I don't have to carry a paper pad or raid supply cupboards for pens.

I do sometimes use the handwriting-to-text for short emails and the like while on the move. Slightly faster than the on screen keyboard. I'd prefer a real keyboard, but alas the likes of the HTC Wizard seam to have vanished. :(
If the HTC Wizard and the Galaxy Note 2 mated I'd be one very happy bunny.

I'd not write code or a document with a stylus. But I'd use a PDA with a stylus over a laptop or pen & paper in a meeting any day.

Meanwhile all websites are now getting the stupid, slow, flash-based limited Fisher-Price

See, not enough phones/tablets going down the Galaxy Note route of including a stylus so web developers do not feel the need to make it finger friendly . ;)

Bless you 90's Microsoft Boy

[tuppe666]

my comment was based on Linux over Android on the tablet.

And an irrelevant one [seriously semantics!?]. That's the point sweetness. Microsoft put an extraordinary amount of time and effort into ensuring that GPL did not get a hold on the Desktop, so lost control of the OS market, Android is set to eclipse Microsoft Market share as early as next year.

However you spin it, There is no Office, Direct X, Binary Compatibility, on a platform that shares a kernel [not exactly, but benefits from] with the Desktop [GNU/Liunux if you insist] I'm using...and is the dominant platform. The fact that is not all GNU :) is something I'm not going to lose sleep over, but will be keeping an eye on project like Tizen; KDE; Ubuntu to see what they are doing in the mobile space [I'm pretty much sold on the first of these that offers binary compatibility with Android].

Your desperate to paint the loser Microsoft into having any kind of relevance, in a topic where it is considered a joke, and has a business model that does not fit with a $99 tablet. [I've ignored Apple as they seem to want to occupy the same niche they did in the PC market, and that worked out really badly.]

Re:A tablet is

[mlk]

The downside to stylii was always that it's easy to lose them

So very very true. Hopefully the holder in the newer devices don't suck as badly as they did on WinMo HTCs. Don't think any of my stylii lasted more than 6 months on that.

Missed my point

[tuppe666]

one hell of a steal

I'm not arguing against netbooks. I personally would prefer an "evolved" netbook over tablet...but it never happened, because of Microsoft. Early netbooks were cheaper, came with linux, and haven't evolved from its second generation of crippled starter edition/atom 32-bit [Microsoft insisted on single processer]/Low res screens/analogue/increased. Tablets are simply better value devices that do more for less.

Limits for XP:

Display: Max of 12.1 inch screen
Storage: 160GB HDD or 32GB SSD
Graphics: Up to DirectX 9 Graphics
CPU: Single core processors like the Atom N or Z series and VIA Nano.

Windows 7 (Starter):

Display: Max of 10.1 inch screen
Storage: 250GB or 64GB SSD
Graphics: No Graphic limit and for the CPU
CPU: Single core processors up to 2GHz

Re:Missed my point

[tepples]

Tablets are simply better value devices that do more for less.

Until you need to use an application that exists for PC but does not exist for tablet-specific operating systems. Then what do you do?

Re:Missed my point

[tuppe666]

Until you need to use an application that exists for PC but does not exist for tablet-specific operating systems. Then what do you do?

Android/iOS are hitting 700,000 applications and that trend is set to continue. All the main applications were covered years ago. The reality is the latest must have applications are hitting tablets before it will ever hit the PC [if they are ported at all]...but that has nothing to so with my point. The fact that tablets have longer battery life; more portable; HDMI out; High resolution screens...at very little cost than their net-book equivalent, the software advantages are simply icing on the cake.

Re:Missed my point

[symbolset]

Yes. Also, a lot of "apps" used in business have been converted to standards-based web apps now that work with any browser to get out of the "IE" trap.

You need to reread my post

[tuppe666]

The problem with Linux on a tablet is not installing Linux but making it usable with a touchscreen.

Gnome/KDE/Unity are moving towards a more touch-screen friendly approach [whatever you think of that], as well as Linux Os's designed for it https://www.tizen.org/ and my personal favourite sailfish http://jolla.com/ you need to keep your eyes open.

You must be living in an alternative universe.

[tuppe666]

You have to cut some corners in build quality to get it down to the price point.However you are right, especially Acer and Asus can make real junk if you let them to.

Ironically in the context of this article. I own a Nexus 7; Made by Asus. It was launches 6 months ago. at US$159.25 per unit, [US$19 more per unit than the Kindle Fire.]. In that context a $99 tablet without sacrificing hardware quality [in fact it should be improved, and will have higher specifications], and is part of the Nexus line so will get untainted software updates. Oh Its a steller piece of hardware, and comes with features like a high definition display something its competitors lack.

Macbook Air...you can fit it in an envelope.

[tuppe666]

If Netbooks were so great then Apple would have invented them.

I think they call it the Macbook Air. Although personally I think these are going to look pretty shabby next to a touchscreen cromebook.

Re:Macbook Air...you can fit it in an envelope.

[Anonymous Coward]

Except that unlike the Chromebook they won't be disposable garbage.

I type on public transit

[tepples]

I'd rather have a tablet than a laptop myself - for "real" mouse/typing work I want a desktop with a keyboard that isn't little mushed things

Let me guess: you don't do any "real" typing work while riding public transit. My habits appear to differ from yours, and I would be disappointed if small laptops went away even more than they already have.

Re:I type on public transit

[RabidReindeer]

I'd rather have a tablet than a laptop myself - for "real" mouse/typing work I want a desktop with a keyboard that isn't little mushed things

Let me guess: you don't do any "real" typing work while riding public transit. My habits appear to differ from yours, and I would be disappointed if small laptops went away even more than they already have.

You've got me dead to rights. Although considering how buses bounce, I hope you're on a train.

I read the newspaper while commuting. Typing is something I do at a desk. And since it's always the same desk, a laptop isn't all that useful for me.

Different (key)strokes for different folks!

Jailbreak vs. sideload; offline; precision

[tepples]

can be jailbroken

Your use of the "jailbroken" term rather than "sideloading" implies that you use iOS, where "jailbreak" is the more common term, rather than Android, where "sideloading" is the more common term. Did I guess correctly? And if I did, since when was a jailbreak for the iPad 4 released that isn't fake?

can be used to remote view desktop

Provided you're within Wi-Fi range. Otherwise, such as if you try to use it while riding public transit or in an establishment where the wireless password is for employees only, you're limited to applications that have been ported to the tablet.

can be used as a graphics tablet

I thought the finger-operated capacitive multitouch screens in popular tablets didn't have near the precision that the user of even a cheap Wacom tablet expects. What am I missing?

can be used for quick planning of characters, worlds, levels, architecture, electronics and other such things

Which applications do you recommend for that?

can be used to write down some notes, programming stuff

I choose to carry a 10" laptop instead of a tablet because I can actually test the programming stuff while I ride the bus to and from work. You seem to have recognized this, as you too carry one.

Maybe even after writing a few scripts for touchscreen controls, play a good bunch of games that don't require much precision or speed with the mouse.

Provided that they're ported to the tablet. And if you wanted to play a game like Mega Man, how would you map its controls?

Re:Jailbreak vs. sideload; offline; precision

[Joe Tie.]

I've only ever heard sideloading used as a term for installing an apk directly instead of through a repository/market/store/whatever. Rooting is the usual definition for the android equivalent of jailbreaking an iOS device.

Loss of economies of scale

[tepples]

Most people don't do "meaningful" work on their computers

If someone buys only a tablet now and uses it exclusively, he's just making it more expensive for himself later when he starts to do "meaningful" work. And if a critical mass buy only a tablet now, the economies of scale are likely to fall out of the PC market to the point where only a business will be able to afford PCs.

Light-duty creation on a netbook

[tepples]

I don't see how tablets are any different from netbooks.

The 10" laptop computers commonly called "netbooks" run the same operating system as a desktop PC. This means they can run a different set of applications, including applications can be used for light-duty creation of works of authorship. In some of my spare time, I'm working on a retro-styled puzzle platformer. I routinely run IDLE, a Python IDE, and GIMP, an image editor that I use to create pixel art, on the 10" Dell laptop that I take on the bus with me to pass the time during my commute. What are the closest equivalents to these applications on a tablet operating system?

Re:Light-duty creation on a netbook

[Hal_Porter]

It's actually surprising how Android is a brilliant OS for phones and tablets despite the fact you'd never think of using for this sort of stuff.

If PC prices go up due to lack of scale

[tepples]

You really have a dichotomy here: for professional purposes you usually need something more or some serious tuning at least.

If the general public stops buying PCs, I'm under the impression that the PC market will lose its present economies of scale. In such a case, how will professionals who work from home afford their PCs?

Re:ATTENTION KMART SHOPPERS !! BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL

[nurb432]

Just beacuse it comes from china, doenst mean its crap. ( note most electronics come from there now.. )

Sure, you can get garbage, but you can get US garbage too. Do your homework, dont buy garbage.

"All" is a strong word

[tepples]

Android/iOS are hitting 700,000 applications and that trend is set to continue. All the main applications were covered years ago.

"All" is a strong word. Xcode, for example, is not ported to iPad. And do you expect Visual Studio to come to Windows RT any time soon? Even if you consider programming an edge case that a statistically insignificant fraction of users will run into, what pixel art editor do you recommend? I tried spc-m's pixel art editor, and it didn't even appear to let me select pixels and move or copy them. Therefore, it can't replace GIMP for my pixeling needs.

more portable

Even once you start carrying an external keyboard?

HDMI out

Which doesn't help if you come across a monitor that happens not to support HDMI. At this point VGA+audio vs. HDMI looks like a wash except in applications involving surround sound, but I'd appreciate evidence to the contrary.

No split screen on Android

[tepples]

Android can't even put more than one application on the screen. I have a Nexus 7 tablet, whose 7 inch, 1280x800 pixel screen is bigger than the screens of two 4.3" phones side by side. Why can't Android 4.2 split the screen down the middle and run two applications in 640x800 pixel windows? Sometimes I don't want everything to be all maximized all the time.

Re:No split screen on Android

[Anonymous Coward]

Getting there. AFAIK, Samsung's Note 2 and Note 10.1 have it, there was also Windriver's developments on overlapping windows. Jailbroken iOS can have those too with Quasar from Cydia store (which is a nice example why jaibreaking's not just for pirates)

Great for car audio

[bagofbeans]

A small tablet with touch navigation and enough storage for my music sounds like a perfect car audio device to me.

The phone sells the tablet

[symbolset]

Half a billion people have iPhones now. And another half-billion Android phones. It takes under an hour with one of these before you say "Man, this rocks but you know what would be totally killer? If it was bigger."

Re:The phone sells the tablet

[marcosdumay]

It takes under an hour with one of these before you say "Man, this rocks but you know what would be totally killer? If the battery lasted for longer."

There, FIFY. But it being bigger is good too. Just not as good.

Re:A tablet is

[Anonymous Coward]

You tell Google, man. It's acting crazy, man.

Does free software for home users pay?

[tepples]

Almost every android-ROM is used with google market, which is a "why should i offer it for free, when i can get 1,50 Eur per download" ecosystem

How would you prefer that application developers put a roof over their children's heads?

Re:"more capable machines" do you mean Less portab

[symbolset]

And for many people that is "good enough".

It's about time

[Animats]

There are plenty of tablets under $99 on Alibaba, and even on Amazon. Finally, a major brand gets into it.

The main problem is that Acer is also a PC manufacturer, and thus vulnerable to pressure from Microsoft. That pressure is why both Asus and Dell introduced, then withdrew, Linux machines, and why the major brands went along with Microsoft's upper limit on XP-based netbook hardware. Many of the smaller tablet manufacturers have no Microsoft involvement, and are thus in a good position to ignore Microsoft's desire to keep a higher price point.

split screen on a tiny screen *giggle*

[tuppe666]

Android can't even put more than one application on the screen. I have a Nexus 7 tablet, whose 7 inch, 1280x800 pixel screen is bigger than the screens of two 4.3" phones side by side.

Its not something anyone want on a small screen device [a must have on a large screen I can see why Windows 8 users are upset], Although if you really require such functionality its available on the samsung 10" tablet. http://allthingsd.com/20120815/new-samsung-tablet-offers-a-stylus-and-a-split-screen/

But this post has nothing to so with mine [or the whole thread], it does demonstrate how versatile Android is. Like I say personally I want touch-screen chromebook running Debian derivative with Android compatibility...and I would want that as you describe...but as for your off topic post on a 7" its a little silly.

The next two major OS versions

[tepples]

and no expandable storage

This has started to expand to Android devices as well, as a way of working around royalties on the SD card format and the FAT file system.

I object to that built in obsolescence

Then you object to Android devices that aren't called Nexus, most of which can't be upgraded very far past the operating system version that shipped on them if at all. Every iOS device, on the other hand, has been able to run at least two major versions after the one it shipped with.

Re:The next two major OS versions

[tuppe666]

This has started to expand to Android devices as well, as a way of working around royalties on the SD card format and the FAT file system.

Then you object to Android devices that aren't called Nexus, most of which can't be upgraded very far past the operating system version that shipped on them if at all. Every iOS device, on the other hand, has been able to run at least two major versions after the one it shipped with.

Apple currently supports versions of Phones it *sells*. In absence of a real product line it sells legacy versions of its Phones...with its current OS. How that will work in future looks *interesting*. Android in its current form doesn't *fit* on weaker hardware of the previous generation of phones [its too advanced] although fortunately is has binary compatibility with later versions, and Google update all their Applications. The reality is potential customers are seeing *support* as a feature, and manufactures are waking up. The Nexus Line you mention is successful because it sells itself on this very feature [I notice Motorola is suddenly updating phones is previously said it wouldn't]. Your right if this is important buy a Nexus, but the reality is most users never want change...look at how iOs never changes. :)

Re:The next two major OS versions

[marcosdumay]

This has started to expand to Android devices as well, as a way of working around royalties on the SD card format and the FAT file system.

I simply don't get why Android can't use an EXT-4 (or 3, or 2) formated card.

Apple need to innovate. Apple so last year.

[tuppe666]

Android is for second-rate iPad and iPhone knockoffs.

Except any bullshit or distortion field Apple once had...isn't working. Apple need to break into a new market or re-reinvent its current market. Its 30% decline is shares reflect its failure to innovate. Its literation is actually damaging its brand and people are starting to question its value. Its market share for phones has dropped 23% down to 14.9% and its market-share in tablet dropped again hitting 50% both with downward trends; Fresh of the largest product refresh in its history.

The bottom line is Anonymous Coward throwing mud at the more successful platform makes Apple continue to look weak and vulnerable; Apple are innovating less than the nimbler than Google [...and Samsung, Lenovo, HTC, Huawei, ZTE, Acer, Asus, LG, Sony....]. IMHO their whole business strategy of putting profits before everything else is suddenly not working out :)...but on topic the Apple mini retails for $329 and already looks overpriced compared to the better specced, and arguably better software of the Nexus 7 that launched 6 months ago at $156; how is it going to look against $99. In context of this thread...Apples best years are behind it :p.

Re:Apple need to innovate. Apple so last year.

[Hal_Porter]

If you look at desktops Windows ended up with about 91.3%. OS-X has about 7.3% and Linux has 1.25%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_systems

Now it's plausible you've got three natural platforms

1) A mass market/default one - Microsoft Windows

2) A premium one - Apple's OS-X

3) An 'other' one - Linux

Probably the market share of the premium one is a compromise - you can have 7% market share with relatively high margins. If Apple made cheaper computers they'd sell more of them but that might not necessarily be in their best interest because it would eat into their margins and destroy the exclusiveness that makes people covet their goods.

I.e. the premium brand is a Verblen good

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good

Some types of luxury goods, such as high-end wines, designer handbags, and luxury cars, are Veblen goods, in that decreasing their prices decreases people's preference for buying them because they are no longer perceived as exclusive or high-status products.

Now look at phones and tablets. Apple have once again own the premium section. Android own the mass market one. And I think Windows Phone will be the 'other' one.

In fact Apple are doing quite a bit better in phones and tablets than this analysis would suggest.

http://bgr.com/2012/11/27/iphone-5-market-share-october-2012/

Following the successful launch of the iPhone 5, sales of iOS devices have overtaken Android in the U.S., according to Kantar Worldpanel. The research firm found that in the past 12 weeks, sales of Apple (AAPL) smartphones accounted for 48.1% of the market compared to Android's 46.7% share. Apple loyalty remains high as the majority of iPhone 5 sales, 62%, came from existing iPhone owners while 13% switched from Android, 6% from BlackBerry devices and only a âoesmall number of first time smartphone ownersâ bought iPhone 5 handsets. An impressive 92% of existing iPhone owners, additionally, noted that their next upgrade will be an Apple device.

Most Android devices sold are much lower margin than iOS ones. In fact there are no 'cheap' iOS devices whereas there's an absolute load of cheap Android devices.

Maybe

[MouseTheLuckyDog]

But I got by with a high-end PC from 10 years -- 10 years ago. If I needed to I could still get by with that high-end PC -- I managed then. Not only that but I got by quite well! The only reason to not like that approach is to stay on Microsoft more and more bloated bloatware.

I can't say what other people will want. ( ATM the moment I am in a one person household and my computing needs are very different from other types of households. ) I see this as the ideal setup for me. A single desktop which basically acts as my personal cloud server/NAS/remote desktop server/local workstation ( with RK-9000 keyboard/couple of monitors ), 2 Pi like machines: one as a mail retriever/imap server, the second one as XBMC/DVR, then a couple of tablets both with pens (ala the Galaxy Note series ) andkeyboard ala the Asus Transformer series.

If "Linux instead of Android" is to mean anything

[tepples]

Its not something anyone want on a small screen device

One of the 4.3" devices used in the size comparison is an Archos 43 Internet Tablet. An Archos 43 is a small screen device, but only until I connect a 32" TV to its HDMI output. Some Slashdot users appear to be under the impression that instead of buying low-end desktop PCs, people will choose to dock a smartphone or a tablet to a monitor and a keyboard. Split-screen functionality would be essential to a use case like this.

But this post has nothing to so with mine [or the whole thread]

I thought the whole thread was about products "that run Linux instead of Android", implying that there's a difference between Android and some other well-known environment based on Linux. Desktop environments on X11 have supported split-screen since the X11 server was first ported to Linux. This, in my opinion, is one of the chief user-visible differences between X11/Linux and every Android product other than the newest Galaxy Note that holds up just punting on X11/Linux and adopting Android outright.

Microsoft a bit player :)

[tuppe666]

Microsoft is not the Monoply to fear any more.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57487883-75/acer-begs-microsoft-to-think-twice-about-surface-tablet/

Acer CEO JT Wang to tell the Financial Times that Microsoft's plans to launch its own tablet in October would be a "negative for the worldwide ecosystem" in computing and beg the software giant to rethink the move.

"We have said think it over. Think twice," Wang is quoted as saying. "It will create a huge negative impact for the ecosystem and other brands may take a negative reaction. It is not something you are good at so please think twice."

Wang went on to suggest that if Microsoft moves ahead with its tablet plans, the Taiwan-based Acer might replace the software giant as a partner.

"If Microsoft is going to do hardware business, what should we do? Should we still rely on Microsoft, or should we find other alternatives?" he is quoted as saying.

Who is afraid of Microsoft when everybody wants Microsoft [Apart from Dell hmmm]

Upgrade from Starter to Home Premium

[tepples]

there is no reason [netbooks] couldn't include higher resolution screens

Other than that devices over a specific capability level set by Microsoft have to include a much more expensive edition of Windows, namely an upgrade from Starter to Home Premium.

It Is Not Just The Price Of Tablets

[assertation]

If you want to sell more tablets...or smart phones, please be aware that it isn't only the price of the device that slows things down.

It is also the price of the service.

Not everyone is keen to add another monthly, recurring bill for $50 a month.

I'm on my computer all day at work and in the evenings during the week once I finished doing other things. I barely feel need for a tablet or a smart phone as it is, so I don't feel like plopping out $50 a month to run one.

I would rather put the money towards buying a house or going out to a nice restuarant.

Re:It Is Not Just The Price Of Tablets

[Anonymous Coward]

If you want to sell more tablets...or smart phones, please be aware that it isn't only the price of the device that slows things down.

It is also the price of the service.

Not everyone is keen to add another monthly, recurring bill for $50 a month.

I'm on my computer all day at work and in the evenings during the week once I finished doing other things. I barely feel need for a tablet or a smart phone as it is, so I don't feel like plopping out $50 a month to run one.

I would rather put the money towards buying a house or going out to a nice restuarant.

You've never heard of wi-fi?

Re:It Is Not Just The Price Of Tablets

[Patch86]

Why would you pay a monthly contract for a tablet? Just buy it outright (at $99, as per TFA) like you would any other computer.

Not that I'm trying to sell you a tablet. I think they're a bit of a nonsense too.

Re:It Is Not Just The Price Of Tablets

[assertation]

The recurring monthly payment isn't about the hardware, it is about the SERVICE fees ( internet connection ) that you would need to make it useful.

Re:It Is Not Just The Price Of Tablets

[assertation]

The situations where I would get use out of a mobile device AND be in a free wi-fi area are even RARER for me than situations where I would just get use out of a mobile device.

So, I'm not compelled to spend the money.

Anything I would do with a mobile device I would do with work or home PC otherwise.

Re:It Is Not Just The Price Of Tablets

[Patch86]

Just use Wifi. I'm going to bet that the $99 tablet from TFA doesn't have a 3G connection on it for that money.

Unmod

[Hegsa]

Posting to undo mod

PC comes out of suspend

[tepples]

I think part of it is the same as the success of game consoles. They are single purpose* devices

*The purpose being consumption of content from the net, and simple games.

Not even "simple" games at that. Micro-ISVs and startups are generally ineligible to develop for consoles, whose makers require "relevant video game industry experience" and "financial stability". So consoles only run games developed by people who live or have lived in Austin, Boston, Seattle, Silicon Valley, or other countries' counterparts, and gamers don't get a lot of games with local color.

Looking up a website on a computer is in some way a complex task, requiring that you wait for the computer to boot

How so? I lift the lid of my laptop or press the Ctrl key of my desktop, and it comes out of suspend. At that point, I move the pointer to the side of the screen, click the icon, and a web browser opens.

If someone begins to care about productivity

[tepples]

If someone owns a PC and then suddenly decides to care about productivity applications, they're available. If someone owns only a tablet and then suddenly begins to care about productivity applications, that'll be $1000 for a new PC. True, PCs don't cost that much today, but economies of scale can change. If more home users foolishly think they'll always be only viewing works, never creating them, and then buy only a tablet, the economies of scale in the PC market are likely to evaporate.

They are a fad

[Anonymous Coward]

When the price of something (in this case, a top-of-the-line tablet) goes from $700-$800 down to $99, that means it was a fad.

Android on TV.

[tuppe666]

Then your confused because Linux is the kernel, and nothing else. Linux based distributions are commonly grouped together as Linux [Like the Netherlands are called Holland] because its such a major component [something shared with the my desktop]. In fact every other part is replaceable [including X11].

The fact that the interface is Application based not Windows based has no relevance. The fact that I run Ubuntu on my 23" screen attached to a keyboard and mouse and Android on my 7" touchscreen doesn't mean the Linus is not going to release a new improved copy of its [arguably] the most important part of both every three months; Microsofts Lock-in (Direct X; Office) is broken as Android becomes dominant...but Again I want to run binary Android Apps on My 23" touchscreen ubuntu on my new chromebook [which runs Chrome which would I suspect fry your little brain].

Re:Android on TV.

[tepples]

some other well-known environment based on Linux

Then your confused because Linux is the kernel, and nothing else.

That's why an environment would be based on the kernel. Perhaps I misused "based on".

In fact every other part is replaceable [including X11].

Let me rephrase jkrise's comment to fit that terminology: "More 'valuable' tablets would be those that run a more familiar Linux-based environment, especially one that uses X11, instead of Android."

The fact that the interface is Application based not Windows based has no relevance.

Of course it has relevance. Android vs. the stack associated with more familiar "Linux distributions" is the difference to which jkrise refers, and the user-visible difference between the two is that common X11 window managers use either overlapping windows or a tiling paradigm.

Ad hominem is so Microsoft [snaps fingers]

[tuppe666]

the most jaded Android will admit that the Nexus 7 is a junk built for Walmart type consumers.

Android fills the niche of supplying disappointing cheap crap for the lower middle class to buy at Christmas time.

The Nexus 7 [10] has received universal acclaim, but its just one of many great Android devices. I agree Apple is failing because it cannot compete on price [or quality], and your right Android has devices at every price point its why its such a great platform.

Re:Ad hominem is so Microsoft [snaps fingers]

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple can't compete on quality?
That might be stupidest thing I've read all year.

Justify the high price tag!

[Nyder]

Acer understands.

Tablets are an accessory. They are an extension of a desktop. They are not desktop computers, they are not laptops. They are NOT here to replace those. And you don't want to spend $500+ on an accessory for your computer.

Acer also understands that people don't need/want a cell phone data plan for their tablet. We got wifi, it's more then good enough.

Provided the FCC allows Acer to sell these in the USA (this article didn't say it, but another article i read about it did say the FCC hadn't approved those yet, here's the article: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/12/24/acer-plans-to-launch-99-tablet/)

But of course, it's about the consumers, isn't it? Is cheap good enough, or will cries of "it's not an iPad" ruin it's run?

I'd rather have a 10" to 12" screen myself, so hoping this plays out well.

Re:SHELDON COOPER loves PENNY'S POOPER!

[BronsCon]

So now we're not just spamming, we're ripping posts off from other forums? Fuck.

A lot of people thought like that a year ago

[manekineko2]

Your comment reads like something from a year or two ago. The "there's an iPad market, not a tablet market" part of it really gives it away. The Kindle and Nexus markets have been selling very well, and the iPad is reduced to only half of the market now.

Your main point, too, sounds like something from before tablets have really started gaining momentum. I actually have seen directly many people, including many of the older generation, where tablets have really completely supplanted PC's in their lives. My mom who used to use her computer for nothing except light web and email hasn't touched her computer in a year now that she's gotten a tablet.

Product Lifecycle

[tuppe666]

When the price of something (in this case, a top-of-the-line tablet) goes from $700-$800 down to $99, that means it was a fad.

Or it could be the boring and predictable "Product Lifecycle" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_lifecycle that pretty much is the same for every product. The fact is their are many factors at work here. Including the fact that the $800 tablet was priced with a massive mark-up, and existed without real competitors for a couple of years.

The Big Three Killed My Baby

[tuppe666]

if people had to buy new i-devices every year or two, Apple investors would be happy as clams and packing more money in.

Planned obsolescence is stupid...ask anyone from Detroit. The fact that Apples customers will re-buy from Apple again [They do seem to update often and seem pretty faithful] is not certain. In fact the reality is buying a device six times as much as the competition with no resale value, is a difficult sell. The Irony of your post shown Apples failure and why Apple shareholders are so very unhappy wiping 30% of the value of Apple in three months. Apple is only showing incremental improvements to its products. Innovation is simply elsewhere :)

I agree with you...but

[tuppe666]

Half a billion people have iPhones now. And another half-billion Android phones. It takes under an hour with one of these before you say "Man, this rocks but you know what would be totally killer? If it was bigger."

I absolutely agree with you but just to correct your figures Android is predicted to hit 710 Million at year end...iOS 260 Million. Just Saying. :)

Bubble Boy

[tuppe666]

Sad reality that people are shifting the blame as usual in Linux. Linux developers killed Linux, not Microsoft.

Sorry to pop your little bubble you live in, but netbooks never really took off. Nokia was already going down the drain and stupidly tried to create meego, pull your heads out of the sand.

Isn't it sad the only ones who are going to save Linux are corporations like Steam by bringing DRM gaming to it and corporations like Google who are making an actual Linux desktop. The open source community has failed in that aspect. Google corporation will make desktop Linux work not the open communitry, mark my words.
Please don't give me the "well Linux runs on billions of devices", well I am glad your stapler and toaster can run Linux. Is it not sad that people are looking forward to Android applications running on Linux and not Linux applications running on Linux.

Thank you for your post. Just to put it into to some kind of perspective. Linux is set to take over as lead *computing* OS in 2013 from Microsoft. In fact the success on mobile shows how Linux is capable of competing successfully [and winning] on an equal footing...and no they are not staplers [rolls eyes] they are the hot new computing devices in a growth market tablets/smartphones you may have heard of them. As for Nokia going down the drain its only fair to say that after Nokia chose Microsoft Windows Phone, Nokia has moved from Number 1 manufacturer of smartphones to tenth!?...and symbian smartshones still outsell windows smartphones.

You seem a little confused about corporate involvement in Linux. Linux has ALWAYS been about corporate involvement...in fact that is when it works best. According to the Linux foundation 75% of work is done by paid developers, and the top ten companies are Red Hat, Intel, Novell, IBM, Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Nokia, Samsung, Oracle and Google [April this year] Microsoft appear at 17th place :) http://go.linuxfoundation.org/who-writes-linux-2012

Re:SHELDON COOPER loves PENNY'S POOPER!

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember when Slashdot was known for its high-quality trolls. Now get the hell off my lawn!

Apple lost 30% of their value in three months

[tuppe666]

Blah Blah Blah Its the same dull argument Apple chases profits over market-share...and I agree I just think its stupid. Personally I always liked the fact that Apple ripped of its customers with its massive mark-ups, and shareholders *LOVED* it too, and in a market where they had first mover advantage it has given Apple the largest market cap of any company.

All of a sudden its got awfully difficult to justify in light of innovation, arguably better hardware, and software at a fraction of the cost, those obscene mark-ups even when they have been hidden contracts from carriers, all of a sudden in three months Apple have lost 30% of its value. So while you can boast of your favourite mega corporation overcharging its customers, those days are over; get over it.

BTW the reason why Android is outselling Apple is because its "better value"

Re:Apple lost 30% of their value in three months

[Hal_Porter]

BTW the reason why Android is outselling Apple is because its "better value"

Calling Apple stuff Verblen good was not intended as a compliment. Either to Apple or the people that buy their stuff.

Gemei G2 running Lubuntu

[Anonymous Coward]

Gemei G2 running Lubuntu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNenqEAGHd8
I got it going and use the tablet more like a desktop computer and find it far more compelling and more useful than any other competing OS on a tablet.
Android, Microsoft and the general riff raff of NDA driven tablet makers keeping out Linux.
Its costing tablet makers a lot in lost sales.
Never fear, pengpod is here: http://www.indiegogo.com/pengpod
Soon to be the FIRST and ONLY tablet shipping with a modern desktop Linux and booting from flash.
They got 50% more funding than they were asking from crowd funding.
That tells me there is plenty of pent up demand which is costing manufacturers plenty in lost sales revenue because of some religion they must follow to say no to Desktop Linux on tablets.

Yet Apple have problems.

[tuppe666]

Apple can't compete on quality?
That might be stupidest thing I've read all year.

And yet if you walk into a phone, none of the best phones have a fruit on the back. Seriously when was the last time anyone used the words "Jesus phone" or "iphone killer"...and that is kind of the point. hell the only words I ever hear associated with Apple are "litigation" and "patents". The reality is Apple need to get back in the game...bullshit only covers the cracks.

Do you want to format this card?

[tepples]

I simply don't get why Android can't use an EXT-4 (or 3, or 2) formated card.

Because the user expects to take the card out, put it in a microSD card reader connected to a PC, and not have Windows "helpfully" offer to erase all the data on it. Also because patent royalties and component costs related to the microSD slot still apply regardless of the file system.

Done with Acer

[Anonymous Coward]

Bought an Acer tablet less than a year ago. They no longer put out updates for it. Screw Acer.

Re:SHELDON COOPER loves PENNY'S POOPER!

[Anonymous Coward]

Enough already. Boring. Seen it. Just fuck off.

Size, warranty, creative work, pick two

[tepples]

"You will probably void your warranty." That's the deal-breaker. I want to do creative work on a small, lightweight computing device whose hardware is still warranted against defective materials and workmanship. Is this one of those "pick two" cases: size, warranty, creative work, pick two?

Yes tablets are used professionally.

[monkeykoder]

A couple current uses of tablets in the enterprise realm: 1) Building inspectors take notes or fill out forms on the tablet under a wide range of circumstances and this data is instantly available on project management platform. 2) ePCR paramedics fill out this form for patients on the tablet and the hospital has access to the information before the patient arrives and can have staff immediately available. This is just from projects I have personally worked on I am sure there are more current professional uses for tablets. In these particular circumstances nothing other than a tablet would do as there is no place to set down a laptop.

Re:Yes tablets are used professionally.

[Whiteox]

Oh yes, on an enterprise level that is very true. The Uni of Western Sydney is handing out 11,000 (eleven thousand) iPads to all its students in 2013. Why? and WTF!
Everyone gets the same hardware that allows the uni to push info, timetabling, live lecture notes, recorded lectures, emails and a myriad of other admin and course work. It will also make it very easy for IT support.
They are not there to replace student laptops/desktops but to act as a communication medium.
http://www.uws.edu.au/learning_teaching/learning_and_teaching/ipad_initiative

It depends

[hicksw]

In my retro kitchen I have a hob, an oven, a microwave and an electric kettle.

I can boil water with any of them.

I pick one for what I am boiling in the water.

I can afford to have a file-print-server, a desktop or two, some laptops, and some phones. Maybe I will get a kindle and/or a tablet.

It's a matter of convenience. Get over it.
--
Average Intelligence is a Scary Thing.

Obligatory

[Anonymous Coward]

Wake me when it runs Linux. No, not Android or some other restricted crap on a Linux kernel.
Seriously, why do so many people accept that there are no real operating systems for slate-style computers? Because all they ever use them for is Facepoop?

Re:SHELDON COOPER loves PENNY'S POOPER!

[BronsCon]

I think you replied to the wrong post. GP copied, word for word, a post from DSLreports.com. Sadly, the user who posted it there wasn't trolling.