Nielsen: How We Use Tablets in the U.S.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

Putting that kind of power into a tablet of similar size, weight and battery life to the current crop of Tablet devices doesn't sound remotely possible with current technology, or even technology available two years from now.

Look up the Asus EP121, it came out in January. A very thin tablet, coreI5 processor, 4GB RAM. Almost as thin as the Xoom. Weight around 2 pounds. Battery life about 4 1/2 hours of regular computing, 3 hours flash video over WiFi.

Now imagine this with the new Sandybridge processors. Battery life will improve about 1.5 fold. You could build a smaller, 10.1" version weighing only 700 grams or so. A slightly improved interface. We are almost there already.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Look up the Asus EP121, it came out in January. A very thin tablet, coreI5 processor, 4GB RAM. Almost as thin as the Xoom. Weight around 2 pounds. Battery life about 4 1/2 hours of regular computing, 3 hours flash video over WiFi.

Now imagine this with the new Sandybridge processors. Battery life will improve about 1.5 fold. You could build a smaller, 10.1" version weighing only 700 grams or so. A slightly improved interface. We are almost there already.

I'll believe it when I see it. But even if true, such technological improvements could also lead to even thinner and lighter Android/iOS/etc tablets.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

I'll believe it when I see it. But even if true, such technological improvements could also lead to even thinner and lighter Android/iOS/etc tablets.

That is no doubt the alternative, that iOS and Android tablets develop to the point where they become real computers. I just think that neither Apple nor Google would want that. Google wants to tie you to the internet and their services, Apple wants to keep you in their garden.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

That is no doubt the alternative, that iOS and Android tablets develop to the point where they become real computers. I just think that neither Apple nor Google would want that. Google wants to tie you to the internet and their services, Apple wants to keep you in their garden.

Apple definitely doesn't want that. They have their own desktop operating system to sell you after all. And google does seem bent on pushing their cloud services. Though despite this Android can already function fairly autonomously, especially if you install a file manager. And it's worth mentioning that these aren't the only players. You also have RIM with their new Blackberry Tablet OS and HP with their upcoming tablet version of WebOS.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Look up the Asus EP121, it came out in January. A very thin tablet, coreI5 processor, 4GB RAM. Almost as thin as the Xoom. Weight around 2 pounds. Battery life about 4 1/2 hours of regular computing, 3 hours flash video over WiFi.

Actually, it weighs just over 2.5 lbs. And it's much thicker than the Xoom - the Xoom is 10mm thick; the Asus 17mm thick.

(The weight is the biggest issue with tablets IMO, since you really have to hold them by the bezel, which means you are basically using your fingertips to hold it. Which is why the ipad dropping from 1.6 to 1.3 lbs was such a big deal (and that is almost 5 oz.)

I don't know about the Xoom's battery life, but the ipad 2 gets over 10 hours of battery life watching video with wifi on - and the one review I was able to find said that it could just barely make it through one streaming HD netflix movie.

Now imagine this with the new Sandybridge processors. Battery life will improve about 1.5 fold. You could build a smaller, 10.1" version weighing only 700 grams or so. A slightly improved interface. We are almost there already.

We're not close. The Sandybridge processor will use less power than the i3, but the device itself won't use less power.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Actually, it weighs just over 2.5 lbs. And it's much thicker than the Xoom - the Xoom is 10mm thick; the Asus 17mm thick.

(The weight is the biggest issue with tablets IMO, since you really have to hold them by the bezel, which means you are basically using your fingertips to hold it. Which is why the ipad dropping from 1.6 to 1.3 lbs was such a big deal (and that is almost 5 oz.)

I don't know about the Xoom's battery life, but the ipad 2 gets over 10 hours of battery life watching video with wifi on - and the one review I was able to find said that it could just barely make it through one streaming HD netflix movie.

We're not close. The Sandybridge processor will use less power than the i3, but the device itself won't use less power.

I would have to look it up --- I remembered 2.1 pounds. You must remember, of course, that it has a 12.1" screen, i.e. significantly larger. A comparable 10.1" screen would weigh much less. As processors draw less power they also develop less heat and the need for cooling decreases -- which means device size can be significantly reduced.

Of course, battery life will always be shorter. But a full fledged computer that can do 6 hours of straight HD video streaming is within reach -- that would be more than good enough. And with an exchangeable battery all problems would be solved.

No, I am not saying the EP121 is there yet. It is a great first try. But given the pace of development, we should easily have great devices in 1 year and in 2 years devices that will be much better than any phone OS tablet device.