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Why do people buy tablets?

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Why do people keep touting tablets are amazing because they are "instantly on"? So are netbooks/laptops/desktops. Has nobody heard of sleep mode before?
 
dpodblood said:
Why do people keep touting tablets are amazing because they are "instantly on"? So are netbooks/laptops/desktops. Has nobody heard of sleep mode before?
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my lenovo with Win7 still doesn't really work 100% with sleep mode. the wifi is flaky and it takes time to read the hibernate file off the hard disk. ipad you press the button and swipe. and my ipad downloads emails when it's off as well. netbook/pc you have to turn it on, vpn, open outlook, wait
 
alent1234 said:
my lenovo with Win7 still doesn't really work 100% with sleep mode. the wifi is flaky and it takes time to read the hibernate file off the hard disk. ipad you press the button and swipe. and my ipad downloads emails when it's off as well. netbook/pc you have to turn it on, vpn, open outlook, wait
Click to expand...

Sounds like a problem with your machine. I press the power button on my Wind and it's up and running in 3 seconds.
 
dpodblood said:
It's a netbook. It has a battery. Is this a joke?
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what if you don't use it for a day? you have to boot from scratch

ipad saves everything to flash and will wake up instantly no matter how long it's been off. i think the standby time is like a week or so.

my ipad can also be plugged into my car's USB port to listen to music

tablets do 95% of what laptops do but are a lot more mobile and easier to use if you're not sitting at a desk or feel like lying down on a pillow
 
dpodblood said:
]I don't know what you're doing wrong[/B], but it works fine on mine. It wont play back anything 720p or above, but otherwise it's fine.
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🙄 Well played, claiming I'm doing something wrong, but not being able to playback YT at 720p is pretty much the definition of barely working. Then go and play Fantastic Contraption 2 on it and tell me how well that runs. I'll save you some time; Badly.
 
DivideBYZero said:
🙄 Well played, claiming I'm doing something wrong, but not being able to playback YT at 720p is pretty much the definition of barely working. Then go and play Fantastic Contraption 2 on it and tell me how well that runs. I'll save you some time; Badly.
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Works fine on my netbook, mind you I've only just played the first few levels. I'm not going to try any further either.
 
I amk sure you can counter every single arguement here but the fact of the matter is unless you try a tablet you won't truly be able to form an opinion on it.

When the iPad first came out I was on of the people who were bashing it for being an oversized iPod Touch but now that I actually have one, it has completely rendered my laptop useless. I browse the internet on my iPad, watch videos on my iPad, play games on my iPad, read books on my iPad etc.

The wa I see it for people who produce content it isn't as useful to those who consume content and it's not really meant to replace anything we already have (PC) but it certainly finds its place once you own/ use it.
 
alent1234 said:
what if you don't use it for a day? you have to boot from scratch

ipad saves everything to flash and will wake up instantly no matter how long it's been off. i think the standby time is like a week or so.

my ipad can also be plugged into my car's USB port to listen to music

tablets do 95% of what laptops do but are a lot more mobile and easier to use if you're not sitting at a desk or feel like lying down on a pillow
Click to expand...

I keep my laptop on sleep all the time, It drains a miniscule amount of power in sleep.
 
badb0y said:
I amk sure you can counter every single arguement here but the fact of the matter is unless you try a tablet you won't truly be able to form an opinion on it.

When the iPad first came out I was on of the people who were bashing it for being an oversized iPod Touch but now that I actually have one, it has completely rendered my laptop useless. I browse the internet on my iPad, watch videos on my iPad, play games on my iPad, read books on my iPad etc.

The wa I see it for people who produce content it isn't as useful to those who consume content and it's not really meant to replace anything we already have (PC) but it certainly finds its place once you own/ use it.
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It can only replace a laptop if you have a desktop PC as main rig. Most people have a laptop for their main rig. So for them, tablet wouldn't replace their laptop. It is something they'd have to buy in addition to their laptop, not instead of it, so the value proposition is not as clear.
 
senseamp said:
It can only replace a laptop if you have a desktop PC as main rig. Most people have a laptop for their main rig. So for them, tablet wouldn't replace their laptop. It is something they'd have to buy in addition to their laptop, not instead of it, so the value proposition is not as clear.
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moving around a 1.3pound iPad > moving around a 6 pound XPS 15
 
senseamp said:
It can only replace a laptop if you have a desktop PC as main rig. Most people have a laptop for their main rig. So for them, tablet wouldn't replace their laptop. It is something they'd have to buy in addition to their laptop, not instead of it, so the value proposition is not as clear.
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It replaces a Laptop if you actually use a Laptop like a Laptop and not a Desktop. If you use a Laptop and it says on your desk all day, then it perfectly complements it.

But if you had to have ONE computing device period, you would want a fairly powerful 12-13" Laptop.
 
NikolaeVarius said:
I keep my laptop on sleep all the time, It drains a miniscule amount of power in sleep.
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The form factor is a lot better for on the go than a laptop

My wifi iPad is set to use a lot of open access points so as I walk around NYC it downloads new email even though the screen is off. I sit down and my email is ready to read.

It's easy to use on the train while standing. Or while at the doctor's office or a restaurant. Skype is so good on my iPad I don't use it on my laptop anymore. Try chasing after kids with a laptop and doing a video call on Skype with mom

I play me2 on my xbox and my iPad is right there next to me on masseffect.wikis.com. Laptop next to me is a lot more clunky
 
I bought an iPad 2 as a consumption device. I mainly bought to take to work and use on night shifts. I use mainly to watch video via netflix, crackle, and my own videos. I also use it to surf and the occasional game. As a tablet the form factor is much more comfortable to use in a drivers seat without a keyboard. With the battery life I can easily go three days without charging it.(the longest I work in a stretch) The performance is much better than any netbook I have ever used. It's also great for my daughter. She loves the puzzle and coloring apps.

Downsides? Of course. No flash is one, but not a major deal to me. I have yet to come across something that really bothered me not being able to do. The limited video formats is also a downside but not a big one. Most of my digital videos are 1080P and they would need to be downsized from their 8-9GB's anyways.

For me a tablet just makes much more sense than a netbook. Are they for everyone? Nope. Do you need to use one to really form an opinion? Yep.

Just my $.02.
 
People need to understand, that for most people, they use computers in general casually and rarely do any real work on them. A tablet of any kind right now cannot replace a real laptop but it supplements it so you can consume all your casual data on it instead of the laptop/netbook and not have to lug them around. I don't own one as I'm letting the initial storm pass over before I jump but I use them all the tme at work and at my brothers place. Repeat, tablets will not replace anything right now, they supplement what you already have. Even the average person will still need a laptop for the ocassional real work. When traveleing for work you'll still need a real laptop but can bring a tablet with you so you don't have to bring out your heavy laptop all the time. Sure we could surf on our smartphones but the larger screen is that much better for consuming any type of data. This is not an iPad v Everyone else, it`s about all tablets and right now they're just another toy to make life more comfortable.
 
dpodblood said:
Yep. Hence my whole question. Why spend ~$400-$500 on a tablet when I already have a computer and a smartphone?
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This is basically my stance on tablets. Although I can see why they're nice and I would definitely rather have one than a netbook. I've used a netbook before and it sucked. Very very slow and it's not really any more convenient to use than a laptop. You have to be sitting somewhere. A tablet you can use anywhere.

I am fine with just using my phone but it is quite small. I think if I didn't have a smartphone I'd consider getting a tablet instead, but I don't think I'd use both enough to justify the cost.
 
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