Tablets - Yay or Nay

[dave_the_nerd]

 

[Deeko]

I have two tablets. I got one for free, and one for $199. At those prices - yes, they're nice to have, fun, and I do use them. However, I consider the standard going rate of $300+ for a tablet to be way too high for what they are.

 

[Vic Vega]

I've almost bought a tablet four or five times now. Each time I never go through with it.

They need more power and more usability until before I can be convinced to pull the trigger.

When Asus updates the Slider with Tegra 3 I might just do it, though I am still not sold on Android's ability to be productive...

 

[lxskllr]

...though I am still not sold on Android's ability to be productive...

Android is too limited. Any "mobile" O/S is. If you can't code yourself, you're stuck using the equivalent of Vista sidebar gadgets to do work; sometimes having redundant apps to fill in holes, and do the same general job.

Android has made me realize I don't give a shit about Linux. It's only useful due to the GPL, and isn't some magic bullet that makes everything it touches nice. I've taken to referring to the desktop distributions as GNU/Linux. I've long thought that GNU deserved some credit, but used "Linux" out of convenience. With the rise of Android, I think it's particularly useful to designate the difference. GNU/Linux for a powerful, configurable system, and Android/Linux for an appliance.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I agree that they're mostly toys. I got a Kindle Fire, for $200 it's not a whole lot to spend for a fun device.

I do NOT agree that netbooks are better. They might run Windows but every netbook I've used is slow as hell, has a really bad touchpad, and is obviously in over its head with that full desktop OS. Maybe there are some versions of Linux that are a little quicker but my perception of netbooks has been tarnished. iOS and Android, on the other hand, were designed to run on less powerful hardware and do a great job of it.

Laptops are a whole other story; they run desktop OSes just fine and don't even cost much more than netbooks anymore. Obviously you lose something in portability. Personally I have never liked or needed laptops - they're not quite portable enough for me to want to bring them anywhere, and I've never needed a full mobile computing platform for anything other than my own amusement. Thus I am fine with using a tablet. For people who regularly have to move from place to place and get work done, a laptop is perfect. For people like me who have a work computer and a desktop at home and don't need to bring a full computer on the road, tablets are perfect.

I'll say this much - if I were in the market for either a laptop or a netbook, I would gladly pony up an extra $100 for a laptop and deal with the reduced portability because I can't stand netbooks. But I'm not in the market for either.

 

[lxskllr]

I do NOT agree that netbooks are better. They might run Windows but every netbook I've used is slow as hell, has a really bad touchpad, and is obviously in over its head with that full desktop OS. Maybe there are some versions of Linux that are a little quicker but my perception of netbooks has been tarnished. iOS and Android, on the other hand, were designed to run on less powerful hardware and do a great job of it.

I love my netbook. I'll never own another full size laptop. Yea, they're a little pokey, but I can still do work. Multibooting different O/Ss, running VMs, using full featured applications, and a real keyboard, all in a form factor that fits in the pocket of my BDUs, and a couple hundred dollar price tag. They may not be as sexy, but they're far more usable.

 

[Wyndru]

we're talking about this one right? http://www.costcentral.com/proddetail/HP_TouchPad_Case/FB343AAAC3/11387527/

mine has a small crack from the speaker toward the usb port ( like ~1/2cm )

Yeah, that's the one I have. Apparently there are a lot of case issues with this thing, but I can't complain...$150 for all the features this thing has was well worth it.

 

[vbuggy]

I think if some shitty netbook is all you can afford, you're far better off with a similarly priced tablet. Ultimately while a netbook can do more, it does so at a frustrating pace because it just doesn't have the horsepower to do it - or better-specified machines at the bottom-feeder price ranges just aren't mobile enough to be truly useful as a mobile device.

A tablet is a more constrained device, but it's much more useful given a direct comparison between a netbook simply because you're not constantly waiting around for it to do something.

Not a huge Apple fan although I have to use some Apple tech, but I have - by choice - a few iPad 2's lying around at home and work doing not a lot: remotes, that kind of thing, and it's undeniable they do have their uses.

I have also had a few Android tablets - Xoom, Transformer, etc and consider them a bad joke in comparison. I'll review the situation in a year or so but considering the relatively abysmal user experience that is still Android vs iOS/WP7 I really don't expect things to take a dramatic leap forwards.

In my case, since I can buy any ultraportable on the market I don't really consider tablets anything other than the abovementioned niche-use fillers or toys. They don't bring to the table -ahaha- anything that typical actually portable laptop I might be using (such as the Sony Z2) doesn't in terms of mobile productivity. Indeed, they're usually a hindrance.

 

[Imp]

Generally useful... Majorly disappointed with the strength of the wi-fi receiver thing of my Playbook though. Side by side, my laptop can pick up a lot more signals than my tablet. At home, I can probably steal most my neighbours' wi-fi, but my tablet can only pick up our router a room away; same is true at school, and the concrete block walls make it worse.

Googling points to this being a fairly wide issue for iPads too. Kind of makes sense given the smaller size and maybe battery sizes (?), but still.

 

[Vic Vega]

I also love my netbook, an Asus 1201N (dual core Atom 330 + ION). I do a ton of work on this machine and it's plenty fast for what I need. Often times I carry it instead of my work issued Dell because the Dell is huge... the netbook has Windows 7 Enterprise, all my apps work, has all my work required functionality.

Netbooks are light years ahead of tablets when it comes to actual productivity.

Yes Android/iOS run better on slow hardware - but running doesn't mean WORKING.

I will admit my feelings for the netbook are more for the form factor and usability, so an ultrabook would also fill this function for me.

 

[Bateluer]

You guys raving about the ultra cheap WebOS TouchPads . . . you know its a completely dead, supportless product right? HP is done with WebOS entirely, you're entire hope will be on the community for any updates or patches. Without any new manufacturer hardware, don't hold your breath for any new apps.

With these facts, its impossible to recommend a TouchPad to anyone who's not technically inclined.

I also love my netbook, an Asus 1201N (dual core Atom 330 + ION). I do a ton of work on this machine and it's plenty fast for what I need. Often times I carry it instead of my work issued Dell because the Dell is huge... the netbook has Windows 7 Enterprise, all my apps work, has all my work required functionality.

Netbooks are light years ahead of tablets when it comes to actual productivity.

Yes Android/iOS run better on slow hardware - but running doesn't mean WORKING.

What do you do for work on that 1201N? I have an Acer Revo with the same Atom and Ion, and its frustratingly slow for even simple web browsing.

 

[Aikouka]

I have an iPad and a TouchPad, and they're alright. I've been having some awful issues with my iPad and connectivity lately, but I'm now not sure if it's being caused by an alternate browser. AWB would not load a page on my phone earlier, but I was able to open it without a problem in Safari (at the same time).

 

[dud]

Tablets are toys in their infancy. For the price I just paid for my wife's Xoom I could have bought a low end i3 laptop.

OS-wise Android is the way to go. IOS is too proprietary and I have no desire to be subject to the whims of the evil empire. Any other OS (like Web OS on the Touchpad) is a dead end. I have no desire to get caught at the end of a dead-end street ... with a toy.

 

[Specop 007]

Tablets are toys in their infancy. For the price I just paid for my wife's Xoom I could have bought a low end i3 laptop.

OS-wise Android is the way to go. IOS is too proprietary and I have no desire to be subject to the whims of the evil empire. Any other OS (like Web OS on the Touchpad) is a dead end. I have no desire to get caught at the end of a dead-end street ... with a toy.

Our survey crews are pretty damned happy moving from laptops to tablets.

Toys they are not. As I said, you have to have both eyes open and a good understanding of the work to fully evaluate them.

 

[SKORPI0]

You guys raving about the ultra cheap WebOS TouchPads . . . you know its a completely dead, supportless product right? HP is done with WebOS entirely, you're entire hope will be on the community for any updates or patches. Without any new manufacturer hardware, don't hold your breath for any new apps.

With these facts, its impossible to recommend a TouchPad to anyone who's not technically inclined.

.

If you haven't heard yet.

HP to contribute webOS to Open Source

HP plans to continue to be active in the development and support of webOS. By combining the innovative webOS platform with the development power of the open source community, there is the opportunity to significantly improve applications and web services for the next generation of devices.


webOS offers a number of benefits to the entire ecosystem of web applications. For developers, applications can be easily built using standard web technologies. In addition, its single integrated stack offers multiplatform portability. For device manufacturers, it provides a single web-centric platform to run across multiple devices. As a result, the end user benefits from a fast, immersive user experience.


“webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”


HP will make the underlying code of webOS available under an open source license. Developers, partners, HP engineers and other hardware manufacturers can deliver ongoing enhancements and new versions into the marketplace.

I had that same opinion when the fire sale was announced August 19th. Bla bla bla.... no technical support for an obsolete product. But since I love tinkering with gadgets why not buy, 1 or 2 they are 75% off anyway. I wouldn't pay $599 for these. Ended up with 3 32GB for $156 each. Not bad at all, and Android can be dual booted, ICS later on.

Not bad for an obsolete product.

 

[Vic Vega]

What do you do for work on that 1201N? I have an Acer Revo with the same Atom and Ion, and its frustratingly slow for even simple web browsing.

IT System administration, support and everything that goes with that.

Which model Revo? I didn't realize anyone else made an Atom 330 netbook.

This little guy is very snappy. It didn't come that way, Asus had it loaded with bloat. Clean install of Win 7 Enterprise (it came with Home Premium IIRC) and all is well.

 

[rockyct]

You guys raving about the ultra cheap WebOS TouchPads . . . you know its a completely dead, supportless product right? HP is done with WebOS entirely, you're entire hope will be on the community for any updates or patches. Without any new manufacturer hardware, don't hold your breath for any new apps.

With these facts, its impossible to recommend a TouchPad to anyone who's not technically inclined.

Jealous you didn't get one?

It's a $100 tablet that actually is a very nice piece of hardware. Who the fuck cares if HP abandoned it? With the way people go through the latest gadgets, we'll be up to the ipad5 before the Touchpad is completely dead. People replace their gadgets far before it's true end of life.

Like Skorpio says, they're going to make it partially open source. I'm not expecting much but WebOS really is a nice UI and I could see some enthusiasts tinkering with it.

 

[KeithTalent]

Useless and a waste of money.

KT

 

[Ichinisan]

Our district recently updated our webpage to rely heavily on flash also, so basically nothing works on the Ipads now.

WHY?!

 

[Ichinisan]

You guys raving about the ultra cheap WebOS TouchPads . . . you know its a completely dead, supportless product right? HP is done with WebOS entirely, you're entire hope will be on the community for any updates or patches. Without any new manufacturer hardware, don't hold your breath for any new apps.

With these facts, its impossible to recommend a TouchPad to anyone who's not technically inclined.




What do you do for work on that 1201N? I have an Acer Revo with the same Atom and Ion, and its frustratingly slow for even simple web browsing.

You're full of it. At fire-sale price, I could not recommend any other tablet. Android CM7 works great and the up-coming CM9 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will be even better.

I've been using both Android and WebOS on mine (dual boot). My impression of WebOS is that there are fewer things to fix than there are in Android. Now that WebOS is going open-source, I can't wait to see what happens!

 

[trmiv]

Had an Asus Transformer. After awhile I decided I'd rather just have a good smartphone and a laptop. Tablet was too big to take places, and not powerful enough to replace my laptop. My wife uses the tablet mainly as an e-reader now.

 

[rh71]

This is basically my opinion. When they offer more functionality than my phone, I'll look into it.

speaking of hating to type on tablets... I would NEVER even bother to post from a smartphone. I don't have 3G/4G but have wifi on it (while at home), and only use it if my tablet is nowhere to be found. So basically I've only done it a handful of times. Phones suck to browse on even more.

I'm just thinking you're already paying for your phone monthly so you may as well use that.

 

[rockyct]

You're full of it. At fire-sale price, I could not recommend any other tablet. Android CM7 works great and the up-coming CM9 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will be even better.

I've been using both Android and WebOS on mine (dual boot). My impression of WebOS is that there are fewer things to fix than there are in Android. Now that WebOS is going open-source, I can't wait to see what happens!

I played around with a few of the Android tablets in stores almost all of them seemed like a UI mess. After turning off some of the bug reporting, I found WebOS on my Touchpad to be an overall, nicely polished OS. That's why I can't understand why anyone would want to put Android on a Touchpad unless they wanted the massive app store. I am interested in how Ice Cream Sandwich would run on it though.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

..

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

It is basically a large smart phone. I have no use for them.

Web surfing on tablets >>> smartphone

Jealous you didn't get one?
It's a $100 tablet that actually is a very nice piece of hardware. Who the fuck cares if HP abandoned it? With the way people go through the latest gadgets, we'll be up to the ipad5 before the Touchpad is completely dead. People replace their gadgets far before it's true end of life.
Like Skorpio says, they're going to make it partially open source. I'm not expecting much but WebOS really is a nice UI and I could see some enthusiasts tinkering with it.

+1 Heck, with the 15% coupon, a lot of us got the 16GB for $85 and the 32GB for $128 straight from HP.
How the hell can you beat a 10" S-IPS screen with pretty decent hardware for that price? I'm actually a little embarassed that it has a better screen (size and resolution notwithstanding) than my M11x laptop.
When/if WebOS does become hopelessly outdated, then we'll wave it a tearful goodbye and switch over to Android