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Tablets - toys or tools?

Wowbagger said:
As a software developer, I generally tend to scoff at the puny iPad, while using my mighty Toshiba Tablet PC: even though my Tablet is from 2007.

It's a lot like quadraginta's machine: Full blown laptop that converts into a tablet form factor. But, I also have a Droid Incredible Smart Phone, so I can still be part of the modern gadget era.
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It has occurred to me that while I've described the product which changed my perspective about the tablet format I probably haven't done it well enough to really communicate the idea of what I was using. So I Googled up a few pictures off the net.

Bear in mind that this was a machine being offered in spring of '04. Here's what PC Magazine thought of it at the time, if anyone feels like reading an old review. The somewhat later iteration that my company purchased was significantly improved from the review, with a faster CPU, better wireless receptivity, and an upgraded anti-glare screen. They also maxed out the RAM and HDD.

This is the tablet all by itself.



ETA: That's MS OneNote on the screen. That program alone will make a tablet enthusiast out of anyone who has ever carried a clipboard or taken notes on a legal pad. Imagine an infinitely large, long legal pad with handwriting recognition, the ability to import and export images and email, and sorting and storage with tabs and file hierarchy.

There really isn't anything comparable without a tablet format to take advantage of it.

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This is what the keyboard cover looked like . It also came with a simple flat screen cover which reduced the thickness of the device if you weren't planning to do any serious typing while out in the field. Both snapped easily onto the back of the tablet for out-of-the-way storage while using it in tablet mode.



Here it is in its easel configuration. Sitting at a conference table most people didn't realize it was not a laptop until I took the tablet off the keyboard. Than was always good for a few double-takes and puzzled expressions. :)



When I got back to my desk I'd just slide it into this docking station. I wish mine had looked that clear. I had more gizmos hanging off of it than a tinker's wagon. Drives, printers, cameras, data collectors, extra monitor, etc., etc. Between the docking station and the tablet itself there were five USB ports available, and one of those was taken up by a seven port powered hub that was permanently filled. It was handy, but I had too many "toys". :p



The keyboard in that photo was also made by Motion. Extra lightweight, but solid and good tactile response. It traveled well in a briefcase.

Seven year old technology. These are selling used for around $300 these days. If they are in very good condition. I have to think that Apple would not have needed to add a great deal to their price to offer a comparably functional product.
 
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quadraginta said:
It has occurred to me that while I've described the product which changed my perspective about the tablet format I probably haven't done it well enough to really communicate the idea of what I was using.
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I appreciate that you liked this device, but it doesn't seem to have the features I need or prefer. But don't worry, I'm not inclined to call it a toy just because it doesn't happen to suit my purposes. :)

Linda
 
quadraginta said:
It has occurred to me that while I've described the product which changed my perspective about the tablet format I probably haven't done it well enough to really communicate the idea of what I was using.
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So, our devices are not exactly the same, of course: Your uses a docking station, mine has a built-in keyboard with a swivel screen.

Other than the fact that they had different operating systems pre-installed (XP vs. Vista, though both might be upgradable to Win7), they are otherwise programmatically identical.

And, yeah, OneNote is awesome! Though, I doubt I have used it as much as you have. I am generally not a clipboard carrier.

It seems I've used the stylus interface mostly for art-related things.
 
fls said:
I appreciate that you liked this device, but it doesn't seem to have the features I need or prefer. But don't worry, I'm not inclined to call it a toy just because it doesn't happen to suit my purposes. :)

Linda
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I would have had (in fact I did have) exactly the same attitude before circumstances came about which compelled me to use one.

In the course of that initially forced experience I discovered that there were not any significant features which it didn't or couldn't provide that any mainstream laptop PC did. My surprise at learning this is difficult to express.

I came to learn that I was sacrificing nothing, in spite of my expectations that I would, and profiting by an entirely new set of tools at the same time.

I know I'm starting to sound like some sort of evangelist about this, and I hate that because it is not my intention, but I don't think I'm sharing my thoughts very effectively.

In a way, a very minor way, it was not unlike the first time I ever started using a pointing device. I was raised on command line interfaces. ("I don' need no steenkin' rodent!") I was extremely skeptical of the utility of my first mouse, and rather surprised to find that the damned things actually offered some additional function. Try to get along without one or some analog of one today.

The extra input and application alternatives that the tablet format can provide are similar, only writ much larger. Since I've left that company and no longer have a tablet of my own I have missed it more than I like to admit.

"Extra" is the key term here. With a fully functional tablet there is no rational reason to sacrifice any features you need or prefer from a laptop, only an opportunity to explore new ones which you did not have available before.

This is why the crippled gizmo that Apple is hustling has bothered me to the degree that it has (which is to say, not all that much, really.). It hasn't opened up the horizons of tablet computing as much as it has limited them in the common perception. Most people didn't give much if any thought to tablet format devices before the iPad, now they talk about whether or not one would be a useful addition to their laptop, and question the very idea that it could be a replacement for one when they have actually been quite capable replacements for quite awhile already.

I want to draw attention the the title of this thread once again.

"Tablets - toys or tools?"

The basic framework of that attitude has been dramatically framed by the advent of the iPad, and the discussion of the real potential of tablets has been re-framed by the diminished expectations set by it. This is implicit in that thread title and is an example of the attitude I am trying to describe.
 
For a tablet to attract me first it needs a full desktop OS (not a phone os like ios or android) that has been customized for the tablet. I want to be able to install anything that I could on my laptop/pc/mac including programs, games, and peripherals. It needs to be at least as powerful as a low end notebook so it can reasonably run games/programs that require moderate computing power. It needs to have plenty of options for inputs and expandability (multi card slot, usb ports, hdmi out). Right now there are a few tablets that have win 7 on them but they are too slow and are pretty much a glorified netbook minus the keyboard. Once Ivy Bridge comes out I think that's when really powerful tablets might see the light of day. And I realize there are some convertible tablets out now (lenovo has one) that are pretty nice. If I was in the market for a tablet and wanted one now that would probably be the best option except it's more money than I would want to spend.

Right now if I had an ipad it would be a toy. My friend has one and I have used it many times. For me there is no advantage using it over a laptop for anything except watching videos and google maps while traveling which basically turns it into a huge nav.
 
Quadranginta, I didn't make myself clear. When I said that your tablet didn't have the features that I need or prefer, I meant the features I need or prefer which are available on the iPad, not on a laptop.

Linda
 
fls said:
Popularity may be what draws the 'toy' epithet, since that seems to a recurring theme generally (Sagan wasn't a serious scientist because he was popular, for example).
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Another possibility is a perceived lack of value. I have many times heard people claim that [insert product] is a toy because they didn't understand how it could be useful.
 
daSkeptic said:
Another possibility is a perceived lack of value. I have many times heard people claim that [insert product] is a toy because they didn't understand how it could be useful.
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OTOH, a lot of techno geeks call any new technology a toy.

as in "Thats a cool new toy".
 
Policenaut said:
For a tablet to attract me first it needs a full desktop OS (not a phone os like ios or android) that has been customized for the tablet. I want to be able to install anything that I could on my laptop/pc/mac including programs, games, and peripherals. It needs to be at least as powerful as a low end notebook so it can reasonably run games/programs that require moderate computing power. It needs to have plenty of options for inputs and expandability (multi card slot, usb ports, hdmi out).
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Why not just use a laptop? What value would the tablet format give you that another format would not?
 
daSkeptic said:
Another possibility is a perceived lack of value. I have many times heard people claim that [insert product] is a toy because they didn't understand how it could be useful.
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That's a good point. When my husband asked if I would like it as a Mother's Day/anniversary/birthday present, I said "yes" because I thought it may be a fun toy. I didn't foresee that I would use it more as a tool than a toy.

Linda
 
quadraginta said:
I want to draw attention the the title of this thread once again.

"Tablets - toys or tools?"

The basic framework of that attitude has been dramatically framed by the advent of the iPad, and the discussion of the real potential of tablets has been re-framed by the diminished expectations set by it. This is implicit in that thread title and is an example of the attitude I am trying to describe.
Click to expand...

You're right. While I did see a few of the pre-iPad generation of tablet, it's the iPad / Galaxy / etc new generation definition of the term I meant in the OP.
I don't have a smartphone. I have the cheapest possible pay as you go mobile- and even that has features I don't need. I'm uninterested in being constantly online. I don't follow Twitter or use social network sites. That seems to make an iPad a very costly ebook reader and browser from my POV. Better with a Kindle. * If constant connectivity is the killer app of computing now, I can see the attraction, but I'm luddite enough to like my time offline at least as much.
For now, my Asus 901 (which I'm on now) does pretty much what I need and the Ubuntu OS has the right price.

*Or, a Macbook Air, which is not so much pricier than a top spec iPad, but seems from my POV a much nicer bit of kit.
 
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I find it funny that the amount of computing power in an iPad can be dismissed as a "toy", today. When 20 years ago, it would be taken very seriously as an amazingly productive and powerful platform.

My, how standard shift!
 
Wowbagger said:
I find it funny that the amount of computing power in an iPad can be dismissed as a "toy", today. When 20 years ago, it would be taken very seriously as an amazingly productive and powerful platform.

My, how standard shift!
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I don't see it that way.

All my working life I have had the priviledge of working with new technology that cost millions.

The technology has always been applied as a serious and useful tool, yet, I have always viewed the technology as something to play with.

Perhaps too much is read into the word toy.

It is not like an I-pad or tablet is considered in the same sense as a yo-yo for example.
 
Skwinty said:
I don't see it that way.

All my working life I have had the priviledge of working with new technology that cost millions.

The technology has always been applied as a serious and useful tool, yet, I have always viewed the technology as something to play with.

Perhaps too much is read into the word toy.

It is not like an I-pad or tablet is considered in the same sense as a yo-yo for example.
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True. I call all my electronic gadgets from my laptop to my smart phone to my e-reader toys. Electronics stores are generally known as toy stores around my house. I've never personally meant anything derogatory by calling a piece of technology a toy.

Regarding tablets - when I traveled more and spent more time in coffee shops such a gadget might have been useful. At home, I have a choice between using a lap desk or an adjustable table for my laptop. If I'm out and about and need to check email, I have my smart phone. Right now, I just don't have a gap that a tablet would fill. Although I wouldn't turn one down if someone gave one to me.
 
daSkeptic said:
Why not just use a laptop? What value would the tablet format give you that another format would not?
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For my needs I see any current tablet as a pure frills device. Sure I could get (some) work done on it but not nearly as well, fast, or easily as on a laptop. But why not want a say iPad 3 that is as powerful as a macbook as long as they could keep the cost the same or less than it is now? Tablets will get exponentially more powerful in a few years once they start putting in laptop cpus. Sandy Bridge is already a watershed moment for laptop cpus with the raw power increase, smaller nm, and cooler running. Ivy Bridge is only going to imrove upon this and be even smaller (22 nm). So why would I get something I can live without right now and would mainly use as a distraction when in 2 years I could get the same thing in the same form factor but with the power of a laptop? Then it would still be a distraction but could also perform as a more portable, touchscreen, secondary laptop replacement (that I could have the option to hook up a mouse and keyboard to if I wanted and do some actual work on).
 
Policenaut said:
So why would I get something I can live without right now and would mainly use as a distraction when in 2 years I could get the same thing in the same form factor but with the power of a laptop?
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You didn't answer my question. Given the choice between a tablet and a laptop, both with the same power and capabilities, why would you personally choose the former over the latter? What would the tablet give you that the laptop would not?
 
I would love to have a Samsung Galaxy.

I can't justify the price though.

Here in South Africa it would cost 10 grand.:mad:
 
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