Poll: Tablet PC's - How do you feel?

[Griffolion]

Hey everyone. Everyone is in tablet fever again with the iPad 2 recently, so i just wanted to get your thoughts on tablets in general, whether you're going to get one and which one if so?

I personally have a Motorola Xoom on pre-order, should be shipped next week!

So let's discuss!

 

[Wolfram23]

I don't need nor want one.

However my gf has an iPad and uses it a lot for her lab work. They have their uses.

 

[VanQ]

I won't be buying myself one anytime soon but I can understand why people think they're good. They seem pretty convenient in ways that even a laptop can't be. I don't see anything wrong with them and they probably have a place in the world alongside computers for now.

 

[Veloxe]

I was going to vote they they were just a stupid fad but I thought about it for a second and figured they were more of a launching point for the next big thing, like an intermediary step.

I personally just don't need one. Like 80% of the time I'm within range of my PC and I have a very nice laptop I bought for school (thank you government money) and if I were going to carry around a tablet some place I might as well just take my laptop instead, it's more powerful, has more space for stuff, has a longer battery life, and has an actual keyboard built in (I really don't like virtual keyboards, I prefer the visceral response of an actual keyboard).

Of course if I won one or someone gifted me one I wouldn't like snap it over my knee in disgust or anything but I just find it unreasonable to drop several hundred dollars on something that I just don't need. If I didn't have a good laptop, I'd probably be more on the fence about getting one.

 

[EscapeGoat_v1legacy]

I don't need one, seeing as I already have one. Its old, and used to be in service at my secondary school, but it only cost me 20 quid and once I'd installed Linux and cleaned it up it was perfect. Great for taking notes in classes, and even has enough space for WinAmp and a bit of music, so I really don't need a new-fangled tablet pc. Not yet.

 

[Not-here-anymore]

They're cool, but I can't afford one at the moment. If/when I can, probably something android based. Possible the galaxy tab.

Completely wrote them off as a fad at first, but the more I see them around, the more useful I can appreciate they are.

 

[Lilani]

I'd like one, but I don't have the money for it right now.

If I had the money I'd get an iPad, though I do think it's tragic how much Steve Jobs is holding it back. I think tablets will eventually take over laptops as the primary portable computing device (before mobile phones take them over), and Jobs could start that transition now if he very well wanted. Just give the iPad a full OS, some USB ports, and a disc drive and you've got the next generation of laptops. But no, he doesn't want to shoot his Macbook products in the foot, so he gives us what amounts to a really big iPod Touch--that still doesn't support flash.

Call me an Apple fangirl that likes shiny things, but even considering all that it would still be handy for things like notetaking and browsing the Internet on the WiFi around campus (well, the Internet not including everything Flash related).

 

[PettingZOOPONY]

Already have one, great for professional work were you are on the move a lot and dont want a full size laptop.

 

[MolotoK]

Just give the iPad a full OS, some USB ports, and a disc drive and you've got the next generation of laptops.

Tablets like that have been around for many many years and nobody bought them for 3 reasons:
a) desktop operating systems just aren't designed to be used with a touchscreen and neither are the applications written for them. What's the point of a tablet if you don't have software for it?
b) too heavy
c) too expensive

I've ordered an iPad 2 (still waiting ).
I see these kind of tablets as pure entertainment devices/toys... and as a remote for my home theatre PC (PLEX for the win ).
Mine is probably never going to be used outside my living room and bedroom.

 

[Wuffykins]

Just give the iPad a full OS, some USB ports, and a disc drive and you've got the next generation of laptops.

Tablets like that have been around for many many years and nobody bought them for 3 reasons:
a) desktop operating systems just aren't designed to be used with a touchscreen and neither are the applications written for them. What's the point of a tablet if you don't have software for it?
b) too heavy
c) too expensive

I've ordered an iPad 2 (still waiting ).
I see these kind of tablets as pure entertainment devices/toys... and as a remote for my home theatre PC (PLEX for the win ).
Mine is probably never going to be used outside my living room and bedroom.

Though I'll agree that Tablet Lappys tend to be expensive (have a 12" that was about double the price of a "regular" one) and are a little heavy comparatively, navigating through software or an OS isn't particularly that difficult. It's about the same learning curve as going from a full on mouse to a laptop's track pad. True, there's no specific tablet software, and gaming is teh hard with a stylus/touch recognition, but as a whole even your most basic program gains benefit from a touch interface.

I'm just worried that they are going to be fewer now than before due to the popularity of the iPad, as being able to fold up my laptop and solely use it as a tablet makes it worth the price alone (easier for proofreading a document when the screen is rotated 90 degrees), as I'm definitely going to prefer one over a iPad or regular laptop.

 

[Willwillwritehiswill]

I've got an ipad (I didn't buy it, it was a gift, honest) and it's pretty much replaced my netbook as my college-going companion. I can look stuff up on the internet quickly, access my work via dropbox and edit it if need be. Oh, yeah, and play scrabble with friends when we're supposed to be working. Good times.

It's lighter than my netbook too, so i don't have to carry around this massive chunk of plastic any more, just a slightly less massive chunk of aluminium and smug.

It's really good for idly surfing the internet on the sofa, but i could never do any prolonged work on it, the touch screen keyboard works well, especially if you can touch type. it's just too much of a distraction, i guess. I mean, why do work when you've got Sword and Sworcery EP you could be playing instead, or reddit to check on. Curse you, attention span.

 

[leedwashere]

I don't think its really a fad, and I expect that as they get better they will probably end up replacing laptops altogether, either in this incarnation or whatever comes next. As for me, though, I don't really need one. Since I stopped using skype every day I haven't even turned on my laptop in about two and a half weeks... pretty much everything I need to do online I find myself doing from my work computer, or just using my phone because I already have it on me...

 

[Lord Doomhammer]

I don't give a shit about the things. I've got a gaming laptop that can run crysis so if I need to do computing... I use a real computer. I know I spent 1300 bucks on this, but that just means I can do 3d rendering if I get bored of surfing youtube or doing video conferencing.

So frankly I just don't see the point of getting a giant smartphone that still can't do any real computing.

 

[antidonkey]

Neat toys but I don't see myself ever wanting or needing one. I already have a smartphone and a laptop so a device that combines the two while taking away the functionality of both seems pointless. The closest I'd ever get to one would an eReader but that's only when I get tired of taking a book with me during my travels and i don't see that happening anytime soon.

 

[Dags90]

I don't particularly have much of a need for them currently. I have a smartphone, so I already have apps and internet browsing on the go. The only thing I would consider them particularly useful for is watching movies while traveling and a small laptop does that with more PC functionality. I don't even think it's honest to call most tablets on the market "tablet PCs", even when the Xoom comes out with Android 3.0. I might get a Samsung Galaxy Tab if the price drops low enough because I travel a fair deal but don't have any business need to take a laptop with me when I do.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

I have no use for one, so I doubt I'll ever buy one.

 

[Marowit]

My brother got an ipad for xmas, and never used it. So I bought it from him, mostly because I'm starting grad school soon and getting textbooks on it seems like it'd be pretty sweet (plus it was a pretty sweet deal @ hundreds of dollars off for a hardly used computer).

However, as much as I loath to admit to myself that I do, I am loving it. I haven't drawn something in years, but spent all last night working on something in Sketchpad. Sword & Sworcery has been the most fun I've had with a video game since RDRedemption last year, and all the video services (PBS/Netflix/Etc...) has been awesome to have when I sprawl out on the couch -- plus it's awesome to be able to carry it around the apartment.

It may just be a temporary high, and in a month it may be collecting dust, but I am shocked at how quickly it's pushed my PC/laptop aside - my desktop hasn't been turned on in a week...

There are definitely some gripes I have with it, but I am really digging the whole tablet/touch screen feel of it.

 

[sseh2661]

I have a Toshiba lap top but it's screen can spin around and close and it becomes a table. I used to use it for school and it was good for taking notes because it had pen you could write with but since i don't need it for school any more i haven't put it in tablet mode an about 6 months.

So to answer the question i think that there good if you have a specific use for them but if not then you might as well get a normal laptop

 

[Pilkingtube]

I've currently got a hefty Dell laptop that serves as my workhorse/gaming slab, but it's too heavy and battery intensive for "around the house and during lecture" usage. This is where a tablet with a keyboard like the ASUS Transformer steps in for me, i'm looking forwards to getting one for that usage, but looking at the next generation of processors (Tegra 3, more powerful than a Core 2 Duo) it would appear that the next generation of tablets might be able to do some seriously interesting gaming with pretty nifty graphics.

But for now? They serve as respectable secondary systems provided they have a keyboard and some sort of office software for me.

(Disclaimer: It's only a thread necro if it's starting to smell and has gone a weird green colour!)

 

[trooper6]

I want one really badly. Don't have the money at the moment...but sometime soon. Why? I think they'd be very convenient for conferences, and they'd be extra awesome for when I'm GM'ing table top games. There are some great mapping programs that allow you to move tokens on the map with the touch screen. I'd never have to dry erase my hex maps again! Plus, I could have all of my gaming pdfs on a convenient device as well.

iPad2 is my first choice, though as a Java programmer, something Android might sway me.