Who's buying a tablet?

[TheForce]

Geronimo- The few netbooks I have seen so far all are slow to get information ( lengthy boot up) and none have the convenience of touch screen with multitouch. Some things the ipad features are less computer like and more tablet like. To me, there is no advantage of moving from small 12" and 13" laptops ( I now have) to a netbook. Just the same except for a smaller screen and no DVD player. The ipad, on the otherhand gives me a better read than my htc TP2 because of the larger screen size and the same speed(always on ready to surf with a tad better user interface ( multitouch).

 

[rockymtnhigh]

If I want to use a tablet, I'll use my tablet pc. No compelling reason for an ipad or for any of the android versions of the same. Moto droid gives me all I need for portable internet device.

And I fixed the thread title.

 

[meStevo]

Geronimo- The few netbooks I have seen so far all are slow to get information ( lengthy boot up) and none have the convenience of touch screen with multitouch. Some things the ipad features are less computer like and more tablet like. To me, there is no advantage of moving from small 12" and 13" laptops ( I now have) to a netbook. Just the same except for a smaller screen and no DVD player. The ipad, on the otherhand gives me a better read than my htc TP2 because of the larger screen size and the same speed(always on ready to surf with a tad better user interface ( multitouch).

The ASUS Eee PC T91MT is a 9" multitouch netbook w/ Windows 7 and a webcam for less than $500. By the time I buy a tablet-like PC I expect I'll be able to get a bit more horsepower for the same price. Only things it doesn't do that you described would be instant on (but it's SSD, so faster than most of our PCs... though even without a SSD my machine is on in ~25 seconds) and I don't remember what the ipad battery life was like, but you'd have to charge this thing every 4-5 hours like any other netbook.

MyT91.info

With the introduction and popularity of the ipad, there are going to be a ton of these types of products, keeping the price down well below even the entry level ipads. This one is pretty good for being one of the first. Has a tablet UI that can be enabled too, they've got a video for it here:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHFJwl7h5J0]YouTube - T91MT Intro Video[/ame]

 

[mperdue]

If I want to use a tablet, I'll use my tablet pc. No compelling reason for an ipad or for any of the android versions of the same. Moto droid gives me all I need for portable internet device.

And I fixed the thread title.

Thanks for the input and the title fix.

 

[mike123abc]

I would prefer a tablet with a 1920x1080p IPS screen and multitouch. If it ran windows 7, I would not mind. I have a feeling I will have to wait a year or 2 to get one that I would like well enough to buy. Perhaps a keyboard docking station that makes it a laptop.

 

[TheForce]

If I want to use a tablet, I'll use my tablet pc. No compelling reason for an ipad or for any of the android versions of the same. Moto droid gives me all I need for portable internet device.

And I fixed the thread title.

The whole truth now, Mike- Fact is you already own a Kindle reader, don't need an ipad reader. Eventhough the ipad will be a superior reader for the color and zoom capabilities, navigation and diversification of web publications, if that interests you.

Secondly, your tablet PC is old technology, not saying it is obsolete just saying it does not have latest greatest navigation features for competing with the ipad Does it have multitouch? Is it always on ready to read?

Now for my truth- The ipad first generation is not what most of us will like anyway. Look for 2nd or 3rd generation for the power users.

I can see myself wanting to know something and grab for the ipad, do a quick google search, get the answer and be done. all within a few seconds. If I grabbed my laptop, I turn it on wait for the boot to be done and then I launch the browser and maybe it decides to launch and maybe it needs to update itself. In 4 minutes I have my laptop ready to go to work. Now what was it I needed to know again? I should have written it down on a piece of paper.

The ipad will be a quick information appliance. No waiting.


Here's an app idea for you- You being a teacher- how about a data base for teachers. Start with a graphic of your classroom and the seating chart. touch the seat and you get the student's files, including an image of them you grabbed from their facebook page or manually from your iphone camera, grade entry etc and it computes averages, and logs info into school database. You can hand enter notes and comments on each student and never need post it notes. Just an idea that would be great for the tablet.

 

[meStevo]

MS's Courier concept would be awesome for something like that.

 

[TheForce]

I would prefer a tablet with a 1920x1080p IPS screen and multitouch. If it ran windows 7, I would not mind. I have a feeling I will have to wait a year or 2 to get one that I would like well enough to buy. Perhaps a keyboard docking station that makes it a laptop.

Mike, the ipad will sell with an accessory that docks to a keyboard and sets it up as a desk top workstation and charging. Mouse has been suggested but not confirmed.

1920 x 1080P ??? Yeah, I want that too on my next wrist watch TV!

Seriously, when the ipad comes out go look at the screen quality and then decide if the resolution is good enough to meet your visual requirements and forget about the numbers. IMO, for an ipad, I want the image to look good and be easy on the eyes in outdoor lighting at my patio. If it doesn't handle that, I'll be thoroughly disappointed as one main use for me will not work better than my current laptops. i.e. a laptop decorated with hoodman.

 

[mike123abc]

Mike, the ipad will sell with an accessory that docks to a keyboard and sets it up as a desk top workstation and charging. Mouse has been suggested but not confirmed.

I was thinking more along the line of a keyboard with a hinge that the iPad would snap into to make it all one piece so that it was just like a netbook, not something for a desktop only. I could take it on trips and such and mostly use without the keyboard, but have the option when I needed.

 

[TheForce]

That T91MT is very nice. Thanks for the video. The MS Currier looks interesting too.

Shopping for the right mix of these devices will be fun!

The run time for the ipad was said to be 10 hours. Not sure if that was with screen on or off and whether the wifi was on or off. With Apple, they always hype the stuff to the point where you really need to do your own homework. I recall running 4 iphone batteries dead at the store surfing the web. The first iphone batteries had terrible life.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The whole truth now, Mike- Fact is you already own a Kindle reader, don't need an ipad reader. Eventhough the ipad will be a superior reader for the color and zoom capabilities, navigation and diversification of web publications, if that interests you.

Whoever said anything about NEED. But I don't even WANT an ipad.

I actually think you are wrong about the ipad being superior reader. When you read a book, is it in color?

I can zoom on the kindle to change the text size. And e-ink is far superior to reading on a LCD. I can ready my kindle for hours at end (like I did on a plane a few weeks ago) with ZERO eye strain. And I saw the page flipping of the ebook in the ipad commercial. I was not impressed. I don't need multi-touch on an e-book reader. I just want to click, and have the new page. don't need silly stuff like making it pretend to be a paper book. It isn't. The kindle fits comfortably in my hands, can be read outdoor in bright sunlight (somehow, I seriously doubt that will be true for the ipad - just as it is not true for my droid or my ipod touch).

And that does not even get to the issue of battery drain. My kindle runs for 2 weeks on a charge.

I'll check out the ipad when I am at the Apple store in Chicago in April, but I don't see any compelling reason for anyone to get an ipad if they want an e-book reader. So many other options out there. And while a handheld web device the size of the iPad is interesting, there is NO WAY IN HELL it is worth the cost of $30/month for data and the initial outlay of probably $600+.

Your classroom database idea is interesting though, and probably the best idea I have heard for getting such a tablet - if such an app existed. THen again, such a device would work great on a new Android tablet too.

 

[diogen]

I can see myself wanting to know something and grab for the ipad, do a quick google search, get the answer and be done. all within a few seconds.

That is the most interesting question: what human activity will benefit from a tablet-slate? From a practical, not fanboy standpoint.

If one is looking for a yes/no (binary) type of answer, or one-liner: currency exchange rate, weather forecast, etc. - a smartphone is better.
The tablet-slate is better where a laptop would be needed but not convenient... something on the go... not quite sure what it could be.

But then again, iPad might create new human activities to fit the device...

I don't think an iPad can beat a notebook in terms of speed. Waking up a SSD-based notebook takes seconds and the keyboard beats the iPad hands down...

Diogen.

 

[Charise]

Not interested.

My 13" laptop gets me by admirably, and I purchased it to use everywhere in the house and in the yard via my wireless router. No charges except for the broadband I have anyway.

It, to me, is way overpriced compared to what I already have. My TVs don't have instant-on and if necessary, I can wait a few seconds to start a laptop.