I made a post last year titled "The Year of the Tablet Computer". It is now over half way through 2011 and it seems the touch screen craze is far from over. Apple has released the second iteration of their iPad, we are up to our ears in Android tablets from various hardware makers and a Meego tablet or two might still exist before the year is up. I've played with the iPad a bit, I've used more than a few different Android tablets (I even own one for purposes of developing Bodhi for ARM) and I must say I'm confused what all the hype is about.
Beyond my Android tablet I own several other computers including a Sony Vaio Laptop, a Sager Laptop, an Asus Netbook and a Nokia N900. I've had the Android tablet for around a month now and I've found myself reaching for any of the other computers when I need to get something productive done. Even something as basic as light webrowsing just feels easier/more natural on a computer that has a keyboard on it. I know this is partially because of what I am accustomed to, but I find it annoying when I am using a device that already has a ten inch screen (or smaller) to have a keyboard popping up that takes up nearly half of it!
Now, I am not saying tablet computers are all bad. In fact if you are looking to take digital hand written notes they are an excellent tool. Other than this I have yet to come across a practical application a tablet does more effectively than any netbook computer. If you know of one - please enlighten me. Of course there is more to computers than just productivity as many of us know. Games can be a wonderful use for tablet computers. In fact I think half the time I spend using my tablet is when solitaire or some other touch-focused game is at hand.
In closing, I think tablets are great novelty items. If you have an extra few hundred dollars laying around and want a new toy - go ahead and pick one up. Just don't expect it to magically change your life or make it easier like many commercials would have you think. For purposes of getting work done a netbook is much better suited for those looking to own a tiny computer.
~Jeff Hoogland
It's not a "tablet" craze. It's an appliance / "it just works" craze.
ReplyDeleteThey also have an advantage with better hardware. If I had a "netbook" with the same ARM CPU / GPU / power-saving setup as the iPad with a GNU/Linux build that is genuinely optimized for it I'd have something that performs better than most netbooks, is cheaper, and sexier than a Macbook Air.
The manufacturers just need to fucking figure it out and have a decent distro behind their backs.
Right now, tablets are a huge threat to computing Freedom. Remember what it was like using a laptop six years ago? That's what it's like getting a decent Android distro on a tablet. The non Free[dom] approach to tablet computing is hurting every party involved in tablets, from the manufacturers to every Android and every other user of Linux.
Nod for life. Kane lives in death.
- Jon
What a donk!
Delete.. but tablets are good for Angry Birds!
ReplyDelete;) I really like my Pandigital Planet, but it definitely doesn't replace my netbook. It compliments it well though.
Jeff, You are just scratching the surface here. I work in Education and there is this really annoying drive for schools to go wireless and use mobile devices. The result being that students end up with expensive web browsers with a very limited life. I have been around long enough to spot toys and I am afraid that most of these portable devices are toys. I would rather the school kit out extra labs of classrooms running old hardware and Linux that invest money in these mobile toys. At least the students might actually learn something useful.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of tablets either, but I can tell you why there's a craze: because they're the first big computing devices that your grandma can actually use without needing to learn anything beforehand. I would even say it's the first form-factor (with associated OS) where the UI is truly, genuinely "intuitive". And I think most users, if given the choice, would prefer to be like grandma rather than have to take the time to learn new stuff when it comes to computing.
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a Linux Mint user since 2009 May 1
How is poking a screen any more "intuitive" than mousing to where you need to go?
ReplyDeleteTake the cheapest 15.6inch laptop you can find. Remove the keyboard, LAN, Optical drive, most (if not all) of the various IO ports, half the RAM, most of the HDD and CPU capacity. Make it so the use can't even change the battery. Now, charge two to three times as much.
ReplyDelete...
Profit.
I forgot to mention, the incredible shrinking screen. 15.6 inches becomes 10.1, and for only three times the cost!
ReplyDeleteI also forgot to use the word "Fuck", but I suppose it's too late for that now. Dammit.
Netbooks are desktop OS devices scaled down. Tablets are mobile OS devices scaled up. Different purposes, one as a miniture PC the other as an appliance. to go use a wordprocessor or spreadsheet I'd use a PC every time, but for sitting on the lounge web browsing, checking emails, playing Angry birds, a tablet can be great. (although I personally do not yet own one, I have played with a few). Remembering also that the full potential of the tablet has not yet been discovered as it depends on the creative development of some killer app.
ReplyDeleteIn 2004 or 2005 I bought an OQO mini-computer. I think it had a 7 inch screen which slid up to reveal a full mini keyboard. It had 256 M RAM and the full version of Win XP Pro and WiFi. It also had that God awful slow Carusoe processor of Torvalds! Paid over $1000.00 for it, dumbest investment I ever made! Too slow to do anything practical! Oh, it had a touch screen, too! It was the thing to have, though! I think these tablets will go the same way! You really can't do any serious work with them, just a toy for surfing the web.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can tell, most people are consumers of media and information. They do little that involves in depth or long term creative work when using computing devices. Most are perfectly happy to use portable media devices. It fits their needs perfectly. Productive work is not even on their radar. Just think, a few years ago, teenagers were fine with sending text messages on a 12 button keypad of the early cell phones. They made an art of it. A table or smart phone is a huge improvement for them. Now consider that a tablet or smart phone is a music player, television, message center, and web browser with access to the world at your finger tips. All of this comes in a single monthly bill that travels to wherever you live. No installation required. Any productive work on a computer usually comes with your job or school which, by the way, have computer labs. Why carry the expense and weight of all that hardware when you don't need or really want it? Coupled with a long battery life compared to a laptop, its a win for tablets and smart phones. Sure, they are toys for surfing and playing media, but that is what most people do on a computer besides playing solitaire.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to counter your "long battery life" point by saying we could put the SAME hardware into computers that are laptop shaped.
ReplyDeleteJust read your post, on my Android tablet. 7" is perfect for travel that does not involve work. I'm vacationing in Europe for a month, and not toting a laptop frees up significant space and weight. I'll be back to my Bodhi-based netbook when I get home.
ReplyDeleteJust read your post, on my Android tablet. 7" is perfect for travel that does not involve work. I'm vacationing in Europe for a month, and not toting a laptop frees up significant space and weight. I'll be back to my Bodhi-based netbook when I get home.
ReplyDeleteAs Borg Bucolic said above, most computer users just consume media and information. YouTube, Facebook, Gmail make up for I guess something like 90% (or even more) of their "activity" on their computers. Tablets are a perfect fit for such users. They don't need a keyboard, as the most they type at a time are short messages. They don't need a mouse as they seldom need accuracy or right-click.
ReplyDeleteThis newly-discovered, recently-formed majority of users is bad news for the rest of us, I'm afraid.. Computers will get (and already are getting) silly: 16:9 screens (dumbest thing ever!) touch-screen craze in the OSs (read GNOME 3 stupidity and Win 8), the eventual extinction of keyboards (everybody sells tablets already)... Call me a pessimist, but maybe in a few years time we won't be able to buy a "normal" computer as new.. I hope not!
Jeff, I completely agree with your take on tablets. I've also been playing around with an ipad, but the pure ergonomics of the thing prevent me from doing anything useful with it. I understand that people use it for reading newspapers etc or viewing photos, but if I can't use a laptop I still prefer a device like my HTC Legend for using google reader, since I can hold it and control it with just one hand. For real web surfing though, I also want a mouse and a real keyboard. The same goes for writing emails.
ReplyDeleteI also do not understand the craze for these devices.
ReplyDeleteI recently bought a new laptop, a Fujitsu Lifebook, and with the secondary battery it has 17 hours lifetime while just browsing the web or writing documents.
Your Kickstarter campaign needs more promotion.
ReplyDelete@Jeff;
ReplyDeleteTablets are really meant for consuming information, not creating it. That's why you reach for something else when you want to get any work done. OTOH, tablets are GREAT for their intended task.
For example, I have owned a company purchased, WiFi only, iPad for about 7 months that was bought as part of a proof of concept project. Like you, I was initially skeptical of it. I still think that in a business situation it has limited appeal. I will say that for those cases where it's useful I think it's outstanding.
For my personal use, I have found it to be an excellent e-book reader. It's much more comfortable for that than my EEE 901 running Xubuntu is.
I read anywhere from 1 to 4 novels a week, plus browse a fair number of newspapers, magazines, tech manuals, what have you. A tablet combined with a good library management tool like calibre can be used to plow through a LOT of information quickly.
If I had purchased this tablet myself, I would have to say that by now I would have already gotten most of my money out of it simply because the tablet plus calibre have made it so much easier to find and read the HUGE range of free ebooks that are out there. I've rediscovered old favorites in the classics, finally gotten around to reading some books that have been on my reading list for years, found new authors that I've never heard of, sampled magazines from all over the world, etc.
So, use the tablet for what it's good for. Do not treat it as a replacement for a laptop or netbook and you'll be satisfied. If you don't like to read or couch surf much, then a tablet probably isn't for you.
Make sense?
I do read and couch surf a few hours a week. Even when doing so though I find it easier/better to surf the net on my laptop. WHY is having a touch screen device better for surfing the internet?
ReplyDeleteI don't think a touch screen device is necessarily better for surfing the net. Actually, I think it's worse. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat it is good for when couch surfing is having that 'instant on' device for doing quick look ups. Think in terms of watching a movie and wanting to look up that actor who looks really familiar. Or watching a football game and wanting to know more about the running back who just got traded to your team. Or checking Fantasy Football scores. That kind of thing.
While you can do all that with a netbook, you pretty much have to leave it on all the time in order to get the same response time. Tablets are just... faster.
There's another element that's hard to explain. Passing a netbook or laptop to someone else always feels awkward because you have to balance it so carefully. A tablet is just... easier.
(shrug) Both of the above are certainly subjective and neither are what I consider compelling reasons to get a tablet. For me, by FAR the bigger payoff is how much easier it is to read a lot. Having that combined with a few lightweight productivity apps make it a pretty nifty device. (SSH app, a mindmapper, calculator, etc.) Still far more of a toy than a tool, though.
Almost forgot one detail. Thanks to Microsoft's behind the scenes arm twisting, screens on netbooks are artificially limited to some pretty crappy resolutions. Tablet screen resolutions seem to be much better. Certainly, my 9 inch eee can't compare to my 10.1 inch iPad.
ReplyDelete1024x768 is almost the same as 1024x600...
ReplyDeleteSure doesn't seem that way when every website on the planet seems to be designed for either 1024x768 or 1280x1024. :) The pinch to zoom in and out feature on a touchscreen is nice for dealing with the oversized ones.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I don't know if newer netbooks have this feature or not, but I really like the sensor that detects whether I'm holding a tablet in either portrait or landscape mode. Makes reading a book much nicer.
@JeffHoogland: (Sorry I didn't have time to respond earlier.) You'd be surprised, but if you read the Blog of Helios, you'd see just how difficult it is for someone with no prior desktop computer experience to use a mouse, minimize/restore open windows, et cetera. In that sense, I do believe a tablet gives a genuinely simplified experience. In my mind, nowhere is this more evident than in the multiple anecdotes regarding autistic kids being able to communicate thanks to tablet computers — not that there were no autistic kids using traditional desktop computers before, but that the barrier to communicate has now been further reduced. Yes, it's not a perfect comparison, but hey, it's something, right?
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a Linux Mint user since 2009 May 1
My girlfriend put cyanogen 2.3.4 on her nook color. She absolutely loves it. Often she perfers to use it over her laptop. Total cost was 250$. Its something that is super light weight, small (7 inch screen), easy for her to carry around, the she charges it a little more than once per week. She nearly constantly uses it for reading forums, comics, and various different articles online. She often reaches for it first, when her laptop is right next to her. Its a great device. Loading cyanogen was a breeze, because the bootloader on the device isn't locked in any form. Its been great.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with PV. If "Grandma" wants to call the chilluns, a nice, big phone icon is easier to see and use, as opposed to opening Skype, yada, yada...
ReplyDeletei find the Asus eee Transformer is an awesome device in between netbook and tablet and an sweet upgrade from my Asus T91. If i want to use it as netbook just dock it into the keyboard(which i use mostly) or just undock the screen component if you want to use it in tablet mode. Admittedly i can't do everything i can do with Ubuntu on my netbook but i have ssh when i need it and Honeycomb is a nice OS.
ReplyDeletei agree my good man. Im on the Asus eee pad Transformer Prime, using the keyboard dock to type this. I find that its an exellent tool for class notes,games movies and music it's light and faster then my Asus laptop running Zorin 5 and when im out and i i need to word process something i just use the Mycloud feature. and to to top all that off it runs android 4.0 and produces little to no heat.
DeleteShame Asus doesn't provide an easy method of installing other Linux on the device - would make it ALOT more useful. In the end I just recently got a dell inspiron duo.
ReplyDeleteBelatedly...
ReplyDeleteOf course there are (and have been for over a year) non-tablets with similar cpu/hardware to the Apple things.
Apple's current SOC is (yet another) ARM-based system similar to (say) the nVidia Tegra 2 in capability. We've had the Toshiba AC100 on the market since August 2010, but it launched with Android 2.1, upgraded (late) to 2.2 (Feb 2011) and has been on sale for $180 brand new. We bought some! They are good hardware crippled by unfinished (for a netbook) software. We're working with Debian pro tem, looking forward to Bodhi on these!
The big computer companies decided to "cement" netbooks or purposely make them less powerful and functional than their high priced ultra books, laptops and tablets. This makes me angry since my favorite computer is a 10" Linux netbook. However, ultrabooks are not selling that well and the tablet craze will run its course. Faster, better netbooks will soon find their way to the market.
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