Brandon Hartung Again, it is about form factor. The tablet has been around for awhile now, but Apple made it streamline with its iPad, and now Google and other companies are making improvements in hardware and software.
Tablets are just another platform for a portable device that people enjoy using. The thing with the iPad and now the Nexus 7, you can easily replace a netbook or laptop (to a certain extent) with them. I think tablets serve a purpose in the ecosystem of technology, and it's one more step further into giving us that "all in one device."
Jason ON I have an Asus Transformer 300T so it can be either a tablet or a netbook :) Portable devices are a heck of a lot faster with a mobile OS. Most netbooks have too little system resources for a desktop OS, and those that have enough are priced higher than regular notebook PCs. The tablet, however, is a lot quicker to boot, a lot more versatile for media and web and I can dock it to the keyboard when I want and it even works with my logitech wireless mouse.
Oh, and I'm just wondering. I've held off buying a tablet for two reasons: (1) price and (2) need. Prices have come down but the need is still wanting.
I have a laptop, a netbook and an Android phone. I don't see how I would need a tablet.
Jason ON Netbooks have lost popularity because of tablets. The tablet would replace the netbook, essentially. Usually, I use my tablet when I'm home and my phone when I'm not. The PC only comes out when I'm gaming. Consider getting an Asus Transformer and keyboard dock. It's nice to be able to shed the keyboard when you don't need it.
Jason ON If you're running some kind of virtual machine for Android you're still being bogged down by all the superfluous desktop OS and other junk. It's nice to be able to boot up in under ten seconds and shut down in two.
Multi-touch tablets are good for reading books, playing some games, drawing directly on an image, and zooming in on images or text quickly/easily. As a grad student, a tablet means I can carry many articles and books in a single device that is easy to pull out on the train and read with quickly and comfortably.
As with any device, I don't think a tablet is for everyone nor do I think any tablet can do everything as well as a laptop can. The form factor and interface do make some things easier or possible.
I often have to monkey with code, for one reason or another, and it is just not practical for that. Or writing. Or anything else I do regularly. It is a social network machine, more or less, for me.
robin vabolis Yeah, that's one of the reasons I chose the Transformer. Pop it onto the keyboard dock and it becomes a netbook. It's also fully compatible with mice while in the dock.
It will be a while before I imagine replacing a full computer with a tablet. When i'm writing a paper for class, for instance, being able to have multiple browser tabs and word documents open with instant switching available is often necessary. Sure I can type/edit on a tablet, but I've yet to see apps, etc., that make any tablet quite as functional as a good laptop or desktop.
Yes, good point. A full OS should be the way to go. I use my NetBook as a CPU hooked up to a full sized monitor, keyboard and mouse, so I can see a Windows tablet serving the same purpose and being even more handy on the go than the NetBook is.
Tim Bond Multiple tabs and switching between apps has been possible for some time on Android. Rumor has it that the next version of MS Office will also support iOS and Android.
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Point to Jonathon Barton, but the iPads don't fit your pocket, either. Neither do the Galaxy 10" Tabs.
Tablets are just another platform for a portable device that people enjoy using. The thing with the iPad and now the Nexus 7, you can easily replace a netbook or laptop (to a certain extent) with them. I think tablets serve a purpose in the ecosystem of technology, and it's one more step further into giving us that "all in one device."
Not to mention you get $25 for free for play store.
I have a laptop, a netbook and an Android phone. I don't see how I would need a tablet.
As with any device, I don't think a tablet is for everyone nor do I think any tablet can do everything as well as a laptop can. The form factor and interface do make some things easier or possible.
Netbooks should be completely replaced by the Asus Transformer type dockable tablets.