Tablets, and a Polle

[her209]

I'm thinking FAIL just like the Windows Tablets that came before it.

 

[bobdole369]

Anyway, when the tablet hype started I snagged a Dell Latitude XT and slapped W7 beta on it and the beta of N-trig's drivers, I flipping hated it, ended up eBaying it fairly promptly, crappy battery life without a weighty additional battery, poor handwriting recognition, basically a clunky interface that made me crazy, used it as a laptop most of the time.

THIS!!! OMFG THIS!

This is my experience with tablets in general. We have used motion computing tablets, as well as a couple others. I have yet to find an actual reason for them to exist. It's a laptop with no keyboard.

The users want a keyboard and while we wall mount them, every installation inevitably ends up with a tacky ass keyboard also wall mounted.

The virtual keyboard sucks bad, and while our app does not require user interaction besides mouse clicks or pen taps, occasionally (enough so that they go buy a full size keyboard and velcro) they need to enter numbers or key in a passcode to change alarm points or log in.

The PC's themselves are stripped down. Whoever heard of a Intel Core 2 Solo? And less than an hour of battery life? Slow crappy laptops that are hard to use and make you jump through hoops to type something in.

don't get me started on handwriting recognition

Eat Up Martha

The only thing that could make a Tablet PC possibly worse, is if it smoked cigarettes and blew cancer causing smoke down your throat when you went up to it.

Why do they cost so much?

 

[Deeko]

I wouldn't buy any tablet. Seems like a waste of money to me.

 

[rockyct]

I'd rather buy the Lenovo Ideapad U1. That looks pretty cool actually. A slate that snaps into a laptop platform: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/05/lenovo-ideapad-u1-hybrid-hands-on-and-impressions/

 

[Dubb]

so here's my final bit of hopefully correct info:

The primary OS is basically the ipod/iphone OS. apps/ereader/web/video/etc. However, Jobs' "one more thing" for tomorrow is that you can also boot into full OSX when you need to.

 

[Wreckem]

If they can do e-books right, they'll sell boatloads. Their latest ad/press-invite thing shows paint splashes, so I'd imagine there will be a pen-input like a Wacom tablet. If so, then you can take notes on it, highlight books, mark things up - other tablets and touchscreens haven't been very intuitive or easy to use in this area, so if they could nail it, they'll have a winner on their hands.

Especially if they use a Pixel Qi screen

Not at a grand a pop. Tablets will never be a general consumer item.

 

[StageLeft]

I would buy the Skoorb option so that I could play dress up with him whenever I wanted. I would put him in a pretty dress, the Mask of Shame, and command him to crawl to the kitchen and back into the den with drinks and food for me. I'd be a God.

 

[bobdole369]

I hope its really nothing to do with a tablet PC or an e-reader. I hope its something to do with your car.

 

[nageov3t]

maybe if I didn't have a netbook or if the battery life was out of this world, but I can't really see a need in my life for another ultra portable pc.

 

[Hacp]

If I buy Skroob, would I own his kids as well?