tablets, the next big thing?

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mycomputersucks

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http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/20/asuss-tegra-powered-eee-pad-tablet-to-make-sub-500-computex-de/

we've seen some tablets at CES2010, nothing too mind blowing but i like the concept. there is lots of hype around the apple product that will soon be announced.

for tablets to be successful, they will need to offer something that you can't get on a netbook/cheap laptop. mainly, a unique and impressive interface. these tablets will run either a custom OS, a google OS or whatever apple is working on for their device (most likely a beefed up iphone OS). what are the OS requirements you guys have? would you prefer a windows 7based device for versatility? windows 7 has built in touchscreen features but i've never seen it in action.

hardware wise, they will most likely be tegra 2 based. even the apple product is rumored to have custom hardware, but very similar to the ARM based tegra platform. tegra is media centric and promises HD video, full hardware accelerated flash browser support and "excellent" battery life. does tegra support windows 7? would you prefer an atom/ion/broadcomm based system (most likely what the HP tablet is based on, just a hunch).

connectivity wise, these devices will be wireless and will come w/ wifi and most likely 3G. 3G means an additional monthly service fee. side rant, why buy a dedicated 3G device when you can get a mobile hotspot for the same montly fee, and access can be shared? one less device to carry?

so, do you think tablets will be the "next big thing", will they replace netbooks as the cheap web centric device of choice? what do they need to be in order to take that role?
 
i've had a tablet for about 3.5 years now. i use it as my main office and home computer.

the majority of the new tablets are either an amped up kindle-type device (e.g., e-reader w/ a few extras) or are a dedicated internet device that can do ebooks. few could be considered more than an e-reader or MID.

i see the tegra 2 as perhaps the biggest breakthrough in tablet technology. a weak on-board graphic card has been an occasional annoyance for me - streaming movies (e.g., from netflix) i'm limited to how large i can make the movie. (i don't know if this is a gpu or cpu issue, or both).

for the market to really take off, the proverbial "killer app" needs to written. i'm not sure e-book readers are that killer app. i chose a tablet b/c my job is hand written note intensive (from client meetings and research). the shortcomings i've seen w/ my (Motion) tablet have been slow hdd (4200 rpm), limited ram (2gb) and single core processor. battery life, for me about 3.5 hours, has not been a huge issue, but more is always better.
 
I've wanted a tablet since they seemed to be cool devices on Stargate Atlantis.
 
Zepher said:
I've wanted a tablet since they seemed to be cool devices on Stargate Atlantis.
Click to expand...

They often looked pretty cool on star trek:
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/PADD

This one looks pretty close to the current batch hitting the market.
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/File:Sarah_Sisko_reconstruction.jpg

I think they could be a successful product, but people have recognize they aren't a laptop/computer replacement, they are a complementary light duty device, best used for net surfing/relaxation, not work.

As complementary devices they also need to be cheap. You don't need a complementary device, you want one.

This is why tablets have failed for years, they were usually $1000+ and tried to be a full computer with a tablet, so they were essentially just notebooks with with some touch capability, unwilling to really commit to the tablet paradigm. So you get a thick, $1200, 5lb "tablet".

Now the iPad comes along. Super Thin, 1.5lbs with a 10" screen for $500. Amazing. I hope we see more along this line. Svelte inexpensive real tablets.
 
I've been using Windows Tablet PCs since the day they came out. My first was the Toshiba Protege M200. A FAR more revolutionary device for its day in the Fall of 2002 than the iPad is today.

I've just ordered my 6th Tablet PC today, the HP tm2. They have their faults but they keep getting better and better and now I can't live without them. Windows digital ink is truly a technical triumph that even Apple has yet to catch up to.

I kind of chuckled when I saw Steve Jobs doing the recliner deal with the iPad. I've been going that for almost 8 years now. Yes, the iPad is 1.5 lbs and thin. My tm2 is 4.72 lbs. But with no keyboard and no pen, well my phone is 6 onces and even thinner than an iPad.

The problem is that all of these devices, even the iPad make a fair number of compromises. Good digital ink is fairly CPU intensive and I would probably bring an iPad to its knees. My tm2 is heavy, but the battery life on paper is rated at 9 hours for the SU9300 CPU and Intel 4500 graphics. I assume that the iPad will get close to ten hours but I'm hearing reports of 7 hours for the tm2 and the heat issues seems to have been largely solved with going with the CULV Intel CPUs. Those little buggers are really amazing. They consume about the same amount of power as an Atom and are about 4 times faster. And 10 times more expensive unfortunately.

At any rate its nice to see the rest of the world finally catching up with me! At least in terms of functionality I've been all this stuff for years, though not as slick as an iPad. Now maybe one day people will be able to actually jot a note on their pads.

I REALLY wish someone puts out a pen and capacitive touch Windows slate. That really would be the iPad but that's going to cost more than an iPad.
 
Id like to see Compiz or Beryl get some motion-sensitive support for some cool effects. It may be just flashy, but if I own a tablet, its for its "cool" factor. And to date, nothing has quite impressed me like linux + compiz or Beryl effects, throw in motion sensitivity with a tablet and im sure some really cool stuff could show up.

I'd also love to see the ability to drag a screen from your PC to tablet and vice versa, like NCIS LA and CSI pretend to do. I'd love to load a movie on the tablet, toss it to the PC monitor while I write something on the tablet, save the doc, and then drag the movie back to the tablet and walk away. Probably not even remotely possible yet, but would be fun.
 
What is all the hype about the IPad? It's a fat IPhone, ie. a toy, and therefore badly underpowered.


Regards,
Dave
 
Notorius said:
Id like to see Compiz or Beryl get some motion-sensitive support for some cool effects. It may be just flashy, but if I own a tablet, its for its "cool" factor. And to date, nothing has quite impressed me like linux + compiz or Beryl effects, throw in motion sensitivity with a tablet and im sure some really cool stuff could show up.

I'd also love to see the ability to drag a screen from your PC to tablet and vice versa, like NCIS LA and CSI pretend to do. I'd love to load a movie on the tablet, toss it to the PC monitor while I write something on the tablet, save the doc, and then drag the movie back to the tablet and walk away. Probably not even remotely possible yet, but would be fun.
Click to expand...

Actually it is quite possible: http://www.maxivista.com/multi_monitor.htm

This is a cool app, I played with it a few years ago and it worked quite well and your post made me remember. I think I'll take another look at it.

Of course this is just a monitor extender, its not actually transferring execution over to another machine but the experience from an end user would be the about the same.
 
CULV laptops are barely at the price-point where a lot of people would consider them an option instead of a netbook (as a secondary system), $400-600... Higher for models w/hybrid graphics or fancier specs. A tablet based around the same specs plus the touchscreen is obviously gonna run $100-200 more, at 'least... So at $600-1,000 a Win7-based tablet isn't gonna be in the same category as an iPad anytime soon, the iPad's obviously wayyyy more limited.

I think there's space for both kinds of devices in the market... More closed or limited devices like the iPad which just run a basic smartphone-like OS, and full-blown tablets... I don't think either is gonna catch on big 'till prices drop tho. The iPad's costly compared to a netbook which does a lot more, it's more convenient in certain situations but unless you've got money to throw around you're better off w/a cheaper netbook or a CULV laptop. We'll see what future Win7-based tablets can achieve...

I'd be surprised if Google doesn't try to promote Chrome to this market (or Android), but w/o closer ties to the hardware developers I'm not sure it's gonna gain traction any faster... Unless the iPad sells very well and attracts tons of attention, which might end up being the true value of it to the enthusiast that was otherwise unimpressed by it.
 
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