Are Tablets the new netbooks?

[Leros]

I saw everybody using netbooks when they first came out, now I don't see any. I saw everybody using iPads when they first came out, now I don't see any.

 

[bfdd]

No. Netbooks were all about a race to the bottom.

wrong, but it's ok.

I just hope 10" isn't the standard. Having used the 7" galaxy and 10" iPad, I prefer the 7" in size.

 

[frostedflakes]

this. i opted for a netbook over a tablet. i use it often enough for it to be worth it. my smartphone acts as my tablet, more or less

kinda wish i got in on the nook @ $200 the other day, but i didnt need to spend the money.

Yeah, to me tablets fill an odd niche. Basically smart phone performance in a form factor similar to a netbook. Just makes no sense to me, smartphone + netbook is a better fit for me. Smartphone can fit in a pocket and be carried around anywhere, and if I'm going to bother carrying around a device that isn't pocket sized, the netbook has a physical keyboard and is far more capable than most tablets.

 

[nageov3t]

What's wrong with the iPad?

I just bought a new netbook.

I really wanted to sell myself on an iPad because money wasn't an issue (I figured I'd be spending $4-500 either way) but ultimately decided that it was just too inherently limiting.

my needs are pretty simple. the computers at work can't really handle playing audio/video, so I keep my netbook in my cubicle to listen to podcasts or watch movies/tv shows on a slow day when I'm the only one in the office (usually hulu/netflix, but I'll also download stuff at home sometimes and throw it on my thumb drive)

an iPad limits you to the video formats that are compatible with iTunes (aka: no *.mkv), I'd have to subscribe to hulu plus to view that content on an iPad (as opposed to just typing in hulu.com on my netbook), I wouldn't be able to use it as a hub to recharge other usb devices (ipod, cellphone... I also use my netbook at work to create new playlists for my ipod and add/remove music), and I wouldn't have the option of connecting a usb dvd drive any time I wanted to use it to watch a dvd.

 

[jhu]

I like my netbook, mostly because my work gave me one, although they paid twice what I could have gotten it for but that's due to their contracts. The iPad lacks a keyboard, which the its on-screen keyboard can't adequately replace.

 

[xSauronx]

Yeah, to me tablets fill an odd niche. Basically smart phone performance in a form factor similar to a netbook. Just makes no sense to me, smartphone + netbook is a better fit for me. Smartphone can fit in a pocket and be carried around anywhere, and if I'm going to bother carrying around a device that isn't pocket sized, the netbook has a physical keyboard and is far more capable than most tablets.

i think tablets will have some useful, business apps soon, and theyre nice for a convenience.

my friends like their ipad a lot: their kids can play games, listen to music and watch movies on it during car trips and what not. friends use it for general web browsing regularly enough at home, but also have laptops for other stuff.

ill be interested in one when i can get lots of college textbooks on it, the battery life will easily last a whole day with decent usage, and i can write notes and such on it. i hate paper, and while i use my smartphone for noting a lot of things, a 7 - 10" version of it could be handy with the right software

as it is my android phone does most of what id want in a tablet, shy of having great battery life and being useful for reading. ill probably be seriously interested in a tablet in a year or two...when im done with college. oh well.

 

[Minjin]

Tablets are the future. I'm not saying they will replace laptops or desktops or smartphones but I think they will become an integral part of our lives alongside our other technology devices. They have two barriers, IMHO, to wide spread adoption. First, they need to be much more durable. We need to be able to pick them up, drop them on the desk without them breaking. We need to be able to throw it in a bag without worrying about it. When they become as durable as a notebook, many more people will use them. Those big screens are just too fragile right now and if I want to coddle a device, I'll just pull out a laptop. Secondly, and arguably a bigger issue, they need to be commoditized. They need to be extremely cheap. I don't personally have the need for a tablet at $500 because I can't help but think of the alternatives that I could have for the same price. Make them $200 or less and I think the market size increases by a factor of 10.

 

[frostedflakes]

i think tablets will have some useful, business apps soon, and theyre nice for a convenience.

my friends like their ipad a lot: their kids can play games, listen to music and watch movies on it during car trips and what not. friends use it for general web browsing regularly enough at home, but also have laptops for other stuff.

ill be interested in one when i can get lots of college textbooks on it, the battery life will easily last a whole day with decent usage, and i can write notes and such on it. i hate paper, and while i use my smartphone for noting a lot of things, a 7 - 10" version of it could be handy with the right software

as it is my android phone does most of what id want in a tablet, shy of having great battery life and being useful for reading. ill probably be seriously interested in a tablet in a year or two...when im done with college. oh well.

The tablet form factor makes a ton of sense for e-readers, digital notepads, stuff like that IMO. I just don't really see the appeal for internet browsing and other general computing like that, but to each their own.

 

[xSauronx]

The tablet form factor makes a ton of sense for e-readers, digital notepads, stuff like that IMO. I just don't really see the appeal for internet browsing and other general computing like that, but to each their own.

browsing for short terms isnt bad...catch up on facebook, some news, sports scores, some things you dont *have* to interact with heavily .

regarding cheaper tablets: the nook was $200 the other day, its 249 regularly, and people have stock android running on it so you should be able to do this, that and the other(havent looked into details so i dont know what limitations it may have when flashed). if they pitched the nook as a tablet/e-reader instead of just the latter and marketed a little stronger i could see a lot of those being sold. theyre cheap compared to any ipad, and get decent reviews.

 

[Zebo]

Except they are even more worthless yeah. Convertibles OTOH rule. X201t FTW.

 

[xSauronx]

Except they are even more worthless yeah. Convertibles OTOH rule. X201t FTW.

i liked the look of the ones at...was it CES recently? where a touch screen slid over a physical keyboard to act as a tablet? those would be ideal, depending on specs/price/etc

 

[RU482]

tablets, I predict, will be the most fleeting fad to ever hit the computer world

 

[Gooberlx2]

I think it is. Netbooks were never going to really replace laptops, but I think the tablet can replace netbooks.

 

[gophins72]

their niche is in sales and basically anything to do with customer support, from a hands on point of view. in the distant future, a waitress can easily hand a bunch of cheap tablets rather than menus to customers. or people can use them as they walk around the grocery store to look for which aisle the peas are in. a salesman can use them to quickly explain how something works. basically any portable kiosk type of application.

 

[Capt Caveman]

tablets, I predict, will be the most fleeting fad to ever hit the computer world

As speech recognition, battery life and power-saving processing power all improve - tablets will become more and more mainstream.

 

[Capt Caveman]

their niche is in sales and basically anything to do with customer support, from a hands on point of view. in the distant future, a waitress can easily hand a bunch of cheap tablets rather than menus to customers. or people can use them as they walk around the grocery store to look for which aisle the peas are in. a salesman can use them to quickly explain how something works. basically any portable kiosk type of application.

Already done.

 

[fatpat268]

Except they are even more worthless yeah. Convertibles OTOH rule. X201t FTW.

I agree in principle, but the sad part was the Microsoft could never get their shit together and produce a decent interface for Tablet PCs. What they did was a barebones effort on top of a standard OS... which is probably one of the top reasons why Tablet PCs never became a mainstream success.

 

[gophins72]

Already done.

!! where? i need to see this/shop there

 

[Pliablemoose]

Tablets are the new tablets...

That being said, I bought a MacBook Air after nearly a year of owning an iPad, it's slick as hell...

 

[ShawnD1]

Tablets are the 2011 version of a pierced right ear. Lets everyone know you are cruising for penis.

 

[Capt Caveman]

!! where? i need to see this/shop there

iPad POS use rising among restaurants

Supermarket to offer iPad and iPhone scanning

iPad in Business

FAA allows Apple's iPad app into the cockpit

Interesting Commercial Uses for iPads

Just a few examples. Several car rental companies use them for checking in vehicles.

Due to weight and form-factor, all sorts of tasks that a tablet trumps a netbook/laptop.

 

[gophins72]

:thumbsup:

thanks

 

[bfdd]

Honestly, convertibles are going to be short lived. They're to fill a void until technology like what Moto did with the Atrix takes over. A smart phone that could dock into anything and will most likely do so wirelessly, so it wouldn't even have to leave your pocket.

 

[TridenT]

Tablets are the new Netbooks... they are a fad. People will soon realize, "OH EM GEE. CANT TYPE FOR SHIT ON THESE THINGS. KINDA NEED THAT. Shucksbygolly, I r leotarded."

 

[mcmilljb]

browsing for short terms isnt bad...catch up on facebook, some news, sports scores, some things you dont *have* to interact with heavily .

regarding cheaper tablets: the nook was $200 the other day, its 249 regularly, and people have stock android running on it so you should be able to do this, that and the other(havent looked into details so i dont know what limitations it may have when flashed). if they pitched the nook as a tablet/e-reader instead of just the latter and marketed a little stronger i could see a lot of those being sold. theyre cheap compared to any ipad, and get decent reviews.

They still have the deal going until 11am est Thursday. Just look for the B&N account on ebay. I am tempted to get one, but I currently content with my ipod touch.