A tablet computer.....why?
 

OK, I am really tempted to buy a tablet computer, mostly because I like gadgets. But, I am also wondering what I would really use it for?

I already have a laptop, that is my primary computer. I have a Blackberry, that also allows me do email and minimal websurfing, when needed. I can even tether the BB to the laptop, for real net connectivity when I have no other options.

I look at all the cool iPads, the various Android tablets, and the BB Playbook. I think they would be fun, but would I really use them for anything after the first week of playing? What niche would be filled? :dunno:

I am very curious, also...looking forward to reading the Techies reasons & FABs.
You musta been reading my mind, Doc.
BR, mD

I would say it is great to travel with or take to meetings.

It is also is a reader.

My plan for the next year or so would be to replace the laptop with a new 17 inch model and get a iPad for travel.

I see no reason to get a 3G Pad since my Droid X can function as a hot spot.

This thread goes back to Jan 2010. http://www.xoutpost.com/off-topic/lo...ad-thread.html The others are just getting off the ground. If you have a specialized field it could help. Here's one example. http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2010/04/...-medicine.html Others will say it's a worthless device. You be the judge.

Personally I don't look at it as a computer. I see it more as an open ended device that allows you to customize it for your personal use.

My daughter got a hand-me down iPad one and the tough screen ability was nice. It seems that you can get a Pad base word processor that is compatible with Word.

I think that the iPad 2 could also function as file server for your tv and audio system so you would not need Apple TV or other similar products. Yes you could do that with a laptop as well but the pad is smaller and therefore easier to connect. Do you know that as a Amazon Prime member you can get some downloads for free. I think that the on demand downloads through the internet, may allow you to reduce the services you get (pay for) with cable.

OK, so you travel with the tablet, and leave the real computer at home. What about when you want/need to access documents on your real computer? What about if you decide to write a letter? Or work on a PowerPoint? Seems like you are limited to web surfing with a tablet.

My mom is happy with her's since she put hundreds of pictures & etc on it...very easy to share with the family every time they get together...just pass the tabled around lol.

Anyways, up to you whether the thing is worth $

Well, of course it is up to me. The point is to elicit opinions from others, as to their perceptions of usefulness of this new technology. Perhaps things I am not seeing at the moment. ;)

Like I said if you want to do something someone is prob already figuring out a way to do it.How do I copy Keynote presentations onto my Apple iPad? :: Free Tech Support :: Ask Dave Taylor!®

As for accessing your files while away from home? Done.
Access Your Computer From Anywhere on Your iPad

Apple iPad Mac Version Keynote Documents iPad Version Edit Microsoft Word Documents Launch Keynote Launch Pages Microsoft Word Copy Keynote Presentations Mac OS Powerpoint Presentations it can all be used.

Edit : Quickoffice adds full PowerPoint support for the iPad | ZDNet

Edit again: Can the iPad be used to type documents? Can it open and save Microsoft Office files? Can it open and save PDF files? @ EveryiPod.com

I haven't got one yet because I don't see the need. I got my first TabletPC back in 2003 but they never caught on in the mainstream because the price was too high.

I think the current generation of lower cost tablets are useful for people who have extensive need for a device that is most read-only (movies, pictures, eBook reader) or uses apps that have simple UI requirements.

Certain types of games work well on it too (Plants vs. Zombies, for example).

I wouldn't want to do email or create documents on one but then I'm used to a 24" screen and a 52" extended desktop and don't like doing those activities on my Droid X either.

I prefer the Kindle display for eBooks because I use a computer screen most of the day and prefer the e-Ink for reading books.

I've been using my iPad 3G for almost a year now and I love it. Here's what I use it for:

- Personal/Work email and calendar
- Web surfing on the go (and on the couch, in the bed, etc.)
- Movie and TV show watching (it's a great rear entertainment center especially with this: Original BMW Accessories : In-Car connectivity)
- Casual gaming
- Educational gaming
- Book reading with iBooks
- Note taking with Evernote and Penultimate
- Document reading and editing with Documents to Go combined to Dropbox
- To Do list tracking with Toodledo
- Blog reading with Flipboard
- Home movie editing with iMovie
- Music composing with GarageBand
- Etc...

The only thing missing for it to completely replace my laptop would be a decent version of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Powerpoint).

I carry it around almost everywhere I go and it is now fully integrated into my daily workflow. I couldn't live without it!

Doesn't Apple have a remote computer access system/program, wonder if it works with the Pad? I bet the IT guys would know?

Also doesn't Office 2011 for Mac have a lot of "cloud" functionality?

I use Dropbox. It's simply the best file storage service in the Cloud.

You can access your PC/laptop remotely using just about any tablet, not just the iPad as some would have you believe. RDP has been around for a long time and it didn't come from Apple.

Check out Google Docs for making your documents available to you from the device of your choice, not just tablets.

E-reader software (Kindle, Kobo, etc) is available for the device of your choice. However, as haigha pointed out, e-Ink devices are much much nicer to read and use.

Flash is supported on the device of your choice, as long as it's not iPad. Whether this is important to you depends on the web sites you need to access.

I'd also suggest to try to type/edit a meaningful document using a tablet. It may or may not be to your liking. Some tablets accept an external keyboard but as far as I'm concerned, tablet + keyboard = netbook.

You won't be able to fit most tablets in your pocket like your phone. If you'll be carrying a briefcase or backpack anyway then it's not a big deal.

If you are one of the 6 or so people in the world that has a optical molecular tweezer and need to let your 6 year old daughter play with it then the iPad is the only choice at the moment. Otherwise, never mind.

Very informative thread; but, what does it 'do' for one, vs a lap top, other than being slightly smaller to 'carry'? And, don't quite understand the 'connection' part: does it come hooked to net via wireless or, does one have to subscribe or purchase a wireless phone connection? Thanks, mD

Either/or/both. Some are WiFi only, some have WiFi and a 3G connection, the 3G connection is the same as a data plan on a cell phone.

I use my ipad as a GPS HUD. I place it right in front of me propped up on the dash. I don't even need to look at the road anymore, just watch the high def screen and trust the little voice. "please make a u-turn now"!

You can get internet service via your home network at home, it will almost always be the fastest and cheapest. Or you can get internet service through a 3G cellphone like service. The 3G pads have the 3G communication built in and you pay for a separate service plan for it. With Verizon most smart phones can act as a 3G server/hotspot and cost $20 per month (less) and you save money on the cost of the Pad. I know that most 3G data plans have a limit on use and they will charge you more.

The Pad is also slick and you might get a certain cool factor by bring it to a meeting. But it may also make you appear geeky and or flashy. It is a new toy that and it is alluring. It might be a cool may to show people your photos of the grand kids or other photos.

Yes the Pad is all about small and light weight it does nothing better than a normal computer except for its tough screen. It is a simpler device and might be better suited to limited users that just want to check email.

Still don't quite 'get it'...if I have a lap top or two, and take one with us on our occasional trips, (either using the motel's wifi or buying the Verizon plug-in wifi), what does a new tablet 'do' for us, vs a very portable laptop?

I don't go to meetings anymore, don't use the laptop on my lap, don't feel a need to carry a tablet around in daily activities, etc. So, is a tablet simply a slightly more compact lap top, and what does it do for one vs a laptop?
BR, TheLowTechOl'Guy

Depending on your use it can essentially do the same thing as the laptop with the following advantages:

1. Longer battery life
2. Quicker wake-up cycle
3. Portable picture album to show pics of your GrandDaughter, the Vette and cool mountain pics...
4. Watch rented movie(from iTunes) while V is shopping...
5. Less risk for virus infection and downtime...

:thumbup:

Thanks, E...

Fwiw, I Searched for 'tablet vs laptop', and read a few links.
Other than size, (which is not an issue in using my laptop), I'll take a
Pasadena for awhile...

I'm still on the fence for a smart phone, as I used my 5 yr old cell phone
about a dozen times last year. :rofl:

This Retired Bumdom life has slightly different 'needs' than you young bulls and bullettes, out there in the fast paced world of 'commerce'. ;)
BR, mD

compare tablet vs laptop - Yahoo! Search Results

Hey MD check this out. YouTube - iPad and V1 Golf, Golf Swing Analysis
Works on a smart phone as well

A smart man gets what he needs, not what others tell him he needs. :thumbup:

I replicate my PC to a NAS device using Goodsync and then I can access the NAS over the web using FTP or Web Browser. Means I can get all my files at home wherever I am in the world.

My way of looking at an IPad...

I want to buy one so I can teather it to my cell phone and stick it (because of it's great size/packaging) in the back pocket of my front passenger seat. Then as my friends and I are traveling, it will be easy for the back seat passenger to use the pad to look up and make reservations for dinner/hotel/ballgames/etc... as we are traveling across the country.

It's also the best way to surf the net while on the throne if you are tired of the Sunday newspaper...

The i pone/droid screen is too small, and a lap top is not practical and maybe even a little dangerous for that purpose with the potential for snapping shut etc..

Now, whether or not this 'pleasure' is worth a few hundo is debatable.


...jes sayin' :thumbup:

Due to throne surfing safety issues noted above - iPad for the win!

With a smart phone you can track your stock portfolio and trade while still out chasing the ball.

Sort of part & parcel of why I have resisted a smart phone; after being tied to a car phone/cell phone since its early inception in the early 80s, I don't feel the need to 'walk around' staring at apps. I spend considerable time on our computers at home...I don't feel the need to be driving/walking, doing fun outside stuff and staring down at some damn gadget that is 'connected' to the web.

Retired bumdom is a very different pace and has less rigorous requirements, imo; at least for me.

'Trade'?! I have stops/sell points in on every stock I own in both taxable and non-tax accounts. Trading is for dart throwers and people that think they can beat or best the Mkt. ;)

I think that the market can be irrational in the last few days it has been up and down by 2+/-% with little or no real change in Japan or the Middle East or the rest of the world.

I sold a tech stock yesterday that was up by over 2%, it has been relatively flat for over a year and I want the capital to invest in other stocks.

I am not trying to beat the market but find advantage in selling on a up day and buying on a down day.

Hey "DOC" If you got some time on your hands you could shoot a music video.
Check it out This Music Video Was Shot Entirely On An iPad 2 :: App Advice

I still have not found a good rational to buy a tablet computer beside just feeling like having a new toy. I still may end up buying the new Ipad because it is just a really cool toy to play with but I gave up trying to find a good excuse for it. I already have 5 laptops at home and between my everyday company thinkpad laptop and my jailbroken Iphone and all its apps I really have all the tools I need for everyday use. It is true that a tablet would be a bit smaller to carry around and battery would last longer than my 3.30h Thinkpad battery but I like having the power of a laptop when I need it and I do prefer a real keyboard, at least for now.

The old adage use to be "buy the hardware to suit your needs". With the iPad it's "look for a need to suit the hardware". Seems ass backward to me.

I'm about to buy a netbook/mini notebook for vacation because my wife's iPad just doesn't cut it for what we need. I can't download pictures and videos off our cameras (no card reader). I can't hook it up to the TV to view videos (no HDMI). I can't Skype to do video calls (no camera). I can't use my encrypted USB flash drive where I keep my password safe and other documents (no USB). I can't charge it with the same USB charger as our phones and mp3 players (non-standard USB). Can't effectively work when remotely accessing the office (no keyboard). Too many can'ts. I know what I need. Now I'm buying hardware to suit it. Call me old school.

Edit: Just found out our airline's website for online check-in doesn't work on the iPad.

That pretty much sums up why I bought a Lenovo X200 to complement an older heavier Lenovo and an HP desktop. I still need things that a laptop has, but I can get by with a very small and light laptop.

Very good step by step analysis. I think my wants and needs fit right into what you just wrote. When my wife's last laptop died, I bought her an HP netbook. Great little device for light usage, has a real keyboard, and all the standard computer stuff. I already had a USB DVD/CD drive to install programs and such. I think if I decided to buy a "travel device", it would be another little netbook.

rayxi;

Different strokes for different folks. However there are just a few errors in your can't list

#1 You can download photos and movies directly from your camera

#2 It does have HDMI-Out to HDTV

#3 You can indeed make Skype video calls on Apple's iPad 2

I didn't bother to look up the rest of the Cant's but there's prob
a way to get those done as well.

I'm interested in any info you may have Barry.
#1 How do I get photos off my Canon 20D that uses a Compact Flash card to the iPad?

#2 Where is the HDMI port on the iPad (not iPad 2 as I don't have one of those)

#3 Where is the camera on the iPad (not iPad 2 as I don't have one of those)

I'm sure I could probably buy an overpriced dongle do-hickey thingy or go through some intermediate device to do some of these but really, those are just band-aids not solutions.

Edit: As for "different strokes", I don't think my needs for a computing device for travel are that different than most people's.

#1 You can buy Apple's Camera connection adaptor for iPad/iPad 2...it comes with an adaptor to attach your Canon to iPad via Canon's usb cable since your Canon camera uses CF card. The Apple connection adaptor also comes with adaptor to plug in a SD card.

#2 You can now buy Apple's Digital AV adaptor to plug in HDMI cable to iPad or iPad 2.

#3 iPad does NOT have a camera. iPad 2 has a front facing camera for video chat (probably VGA resolution) and rear facing camera to do 720p video and also simple camera (probably no higher than 1 megapixel).

You can read all the specs at Apple ;)

I agree iPad is not for everyone...it started as mainly a consumption device, but I also use it for work. I store important documents (multiple PDF files) for viewing and I can access articles/information fast. I can use Dropbox to transfer and share files among iPad, smartphone, and Mac. I can retreive info over the 'net and share with clients instantly. There is NO bootup time with iPad vs. laptop. Battery lasts forever on iPad, unlike my IBM thinkpad tablet which only lasts for 5 hours running Windows 7. Some of the things I can do already with smartphone, but need larger screen to share info with other people.

If you need to do alot of typing, then you may want to consider a smaller, lightweight laptop like Mac Book Air which has set the standard with built-in SSD and quick wake up from sleep vs. PC laptops/netbooks. I have typed articles with bluetooth keyboard paired with iPad for short stuff.

iPad 2 with iMovie makes it more than just a consumption device now...the technology will get better and iPad/netbook interface will start merging.

So, your telling them...in lue of buying the iPad.
1) you have to buy an extra part to transfer your photo. Which you have to keep up with.
2) You have to buy another extra part to connect to an HDMI, another part to keep up with.
3) Okay - the iPad 2 have a camera...I will give you that.

For the record - I do own a few mac products...(MacMini, 15 Macbook Pro, and others). It is just I am not sold on the iPad...yet. Will wait until the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 with card reader/HDMI output/camera as standard hardware comes out this summer, June. I will wait to compare both the iPad vs Galaxy to make a better choice.

Opps...I maybe wrong on the HDMI...will have to wait to actually see the "real" tablet to be better informed. There is one good thing about the iPad...it is out and you can buy it right now.

MIC Gadget recently showed off an iPad / iPad 2-compatible card reader that fixes that on the cheap. Simply called the CF card reader for iPad and iPad 2, the thing slips right into the slate's dock connector port and, as you can see from the video below, it transfers HD video and high-res images in a snap -- it also sports USB connectivity.

iPad, iPad 2 get unofficial CF card compatibility (video) -- Engadget

No worries. Different strokes for different folks. The lack of SD adaptor is not a biggie for me, but for someone else it could be important. Don't forget, you will still need an adaptor for HDMI for either tablet.

However, the debate is not about adaptors and specs of the tablet. The debate on this thread is that if you need one at all.

The problem with Android tablets for this year is the lack of Android Honeycomb tablet specific apps. That will change in the future.

Apple is not perfect. There are some irritating things on iOS (really crappy notification system that is done much better on webOS and Android)

However, for the time being, Apple really has the only workable tablet in town and it works and helps me be productive and it is much more portable than my 13" MacBook Pro. My work's IBM Thinkpad tablet PC is slow, heavy, battery runs out within 4-5 hours use. Windows 7 is not made to be a tablet friendly OS. I know I will lose the stylus one day...

Better medicine through iPad. (Interesting stuff)

In the mid-1950s, a Minneapolis-based electrical engineer named Earl Bakken developed a wearable, battery-powered pacemaker — a device that would soon transform countless lives. Since then Bakken’s company, Medtronic, has become a world leader in medical equipment and therapies for cardiovascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal disorders, chronic health conditions, and surgical procedures. And today another revolutionary device — iPad — is helping Medtronic deliver its state-of-the-art medical technology to physicians and patients worldwide.

“Our mission is to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life,” says Linnea Burman, Director of Marketing, Drug Delivery Systems in Medtronic’s Neuromodulation division. “We’re working every day to help more patients have access to our therapies. iPad helps us communicate with clinicians; it helps our stories come to life. The sales representative can pull up information quickly and use graphics to tell a story in a very memorable way.”

Putting iPad in the hands of thousands of employees gives Medtronic the ideal platform to present and explain its visionary medical technologies to health care professionals, individual patients, and patient advocacy groups.

“iPad lets us get information to our customers much quicker than we could before,” says Michael Hedges, Medtronic’s Chief Information Officer. “On iPad, the information is delivered in a way that encourages people to use it.”

Apple - iPad in Business - Profiles - Medtronic

That's certainly quite a stretch ...but I can see how it helps the sales folk in the field.

disclaimer......did some work with Medronic when I was a mgt consultant newbie fresh out of bidness school. They were very tuned in to technology then and I'm not surprised that they are riding this wave.

Another interesting use for doctors.

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2010/08/...an-review.html

Barry, when are you going to get one?

Barry, I think as a tool in specific roles, it will be fantastic. I am not talking about that, however. I am talking about the actual day-to-day use by the "average guy". A tech-savvy guy, yes, but without a hospital informatics setup or a sales force.

When the iPad first came out I know exactly what it was for. Each individual needed to create or invision what "the actual day-to-day use by the "average guy" would be. So I understand where you're coming from..

I have a friend ( an IT professional) who has one and he does all kinds of stuff with it from monitoring the video feeds in his home alarm system, controlling "ALL" the lights in his house, remote controlling his TV's. and the list goes one but he doesn't use it for work. All this stuff you can prob do with your laptop but is much much faster, more portable, more travel compatible, and more convenient for getting stuff done on an iPad.

So I guess the answer is simple. What does one want to do with it? If it doesn't fit a day to day need then don't get it. Personally I can see how I could use it but the Apple fan that I am never has overcome my financial shortcomings.

chrgosselin's list of day to day uses i thought was pretty interesting.