How long will Apple and Google's Android last?

[pl001]

Originally Posted by monkeyluis

All app stores, all, are technically a walled garden. Whether its apple or google or amazon.

When people say "walled garden", they typically are talking about the device. As in a Kindle or iPad limit you to Amazon or Apple supplied software respectively.

[pl001]

Originally Posted by ScientificBob

It's all about getting the most money out of your pocket as possible.

While what you say may be true about Apple, it is quite clear that Android manufacturers are putting out products meant to replace most of what a laptop can do.

Hardware wise, the Transformer Prime is pretty much there, it's more powerful than my 5 year old laptop that still serves me well.

The Motorola Atrix was a great idea ruined by a terrible interface.

OS wise, there is no reason why Android or iOS couldn't support decent Office-type applications. There just hasn't been a big demand for it yet.

Which leaves the only major thing missing-a good selction of applications built to utilize a keyboard and trackpad efficiently.

There was an article last week on an Android site where a blogger used a Transformer Prime to write and publish the article. It wasn't perfect, but it did the job with no major issues.

You are also right in that people don't want to put down a lot of cash for a lot of different devices. But they would still like to own all those devices. Which is why Asus is coming out with the Padfone which is a phone that can power a tablet display device AND in turn that tablet can turn into a netbook like the Transformer. There's your value.

There will always be people who need the power and performance of a full-fledged PC. However those numbers will dwindle quickly as mobile devices continue to improve rapidly. Why else would Microsoft be working so hard to bring a full OS to mobile devices, and taking such a huge risk bringing the controversial Metro UI to PCs? That just wouldn't make sense if they thought the PC market was stable.

[heySkippy]

It would be dead simple to use a Bluetooth keyboard and easily do almost anything on an iPad that you could do on a laptop or desktop.

[monkeyluis]

Originally Posted by heySkippy

It would be dead simple to use a Bluetooth keyboard and easily do almost anything on an iPad that you could do on a laptop or desktop.

It already does. Many journalists have also admited that they have written full articles on the iPad.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by heySkippy

It would be dead simple to use a Bluetooth keyboard and easily do almost anything on an iPad that you could do on a laptop or desktop.

We've been round this loop before on MR.

It all depends on your definition of "you".

There are loads of things that I do on a desktop that would be a pain to do on a tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard, but you may not have to do them.

Virtually anything that needs a screen bigger than 10", for a start. Like a large complex spreadsheet or database.

What is true, is that for many people, a tablet can fulfil most of their computing needs, and for quite a sizeable number of professions it can be used as the main work device.

Graham

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by pl001

When people say "walled garden", they typically are talking about the device. As in a Kindle or iPad limit you to Amazon or Apple supplied software respectively.

As has been repeated many times in many threads on MR, this is NOT true, you can get other stuff on, just not from the Amazon and Apple stores...

[Graham]

Originally Posted by elcreative

As has been repeated many times in many threads on MR, this is NOT true, you can get other stuff on, just not from the Amazon and Apple stores...

But as has also been mentioned before many times, it is true for the average iOS and Kindle (*) user. Let's not start all that again.

EDIT: OK, I'll give you that quite a lot of Kindle users might side-load mobi books.

DOUBLE EDIT: And OK, logically, I have to then admit that average iOS users can purchase content on other sites which can then sync with the apps on their devices, or copy stuff in using Dropbox. So I guess I bow out gracefully at this point and admit that I was wrong!

TRIPLE EDIT: But we were talking apps and app stores rather than content.

Graham

[leebase]

Originally Posted by taosaur

Actually, PCs are seeing slower sales growth, not falling sales.

Nope...world wide pc sales are declining.

I upgrade my pc's now when they die. PC's got good enough years ago for 90% of what people use them for. There's been no new "killer app" that's driven new sales for years.

Mind you...PC's are great for what they are. They simply have peaked.

Even Windows 8 shows that innovation is starting on the tablet. It's pressure from tablets that's moving the PC OS, not the other way around.

Think about 5 years from now. It will be the tablet that has seen major innovation. PC's will be pretty much what they already are.

Lee

[pl001]

Originally Posted by elcreative

As has been repeated many times in many threads on MR, this is NOT true, you can get other stuff on, just not from the Amazon and Apple stores...

While you can indeed, for example, download Amazon content onto the Kindle App on an iPhone, that is only because Apple lets you download the Kindle App in the first place. I cannot put the Kindle app on my Nook without hacking it, because B&N doesn't allow that functionality. Pure Android, on the other hand, allows you to download anything you want from anywhere you want. Just like Windows.

There are ways over most of the walls, but generally most users will never go that far.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Graham

We've been round this loop before on MR.

It all depends on your definition of "you".

There are loads of things that I do on a desktop that would be a pain to do on a tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard, but you may not have to do them.

I'd also throw in "for the time being". There are many things -- FOR THE TIME BEING -- that tablets are not sufficient tools for. I actually did my taxes on my iPad this year. Who knows, 3 years from now, I may do my photo editing solely on my iPad 6th gen.

Who knows...in 5 years, you really will just have a table with keyboard doc (for those times when typing and mousing is better). Today's efforts are but the first baby steps.

Today's arm based tablets don't have near the horse power of Intel desktops and laptops. They can't and run 10+ hours on a battery. But 5 years from now?

Right now tablets do _some_ things better than PC's. The PC is just going to continue to loose ground on what "you must have a pc" for. I think Jobs was right to use the truck/car analogy. Trucks are still around, just more people use cars.

Lee

[NightGeometry]

I've quite happily written a couple of ~2000 word essays on an ipad using a bluetooth keyboard, I've also written a 400 word small intro without keyboard, painful, but not unworkably so.

Writing articles on the go on an ipad shouldn't be a big deal, I'm surprised anyone would think to even mention it. On a Transformer - well, it should be even more straightforward, I'd assume.

I enter my company expenses on an ipad, track my company taxes and a bunch of other stuff. I mostly prefer to use a laptop though, *especially* for web browsing.

[Graham]

[Delete]

(Overreacting.)

Graham

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by pl001

There was an article last week on an Android site where a blogger used a Transformer Prime to write and publish the article. It wasn't perfect, but it did the job with no major issues.

couple journalsts do this ipad too.

I think it’s possible to use an iPad as one’s primary device for professional-level content creation. Actually, scratch that. I’m positive it’s possible–because I’ve been doing it for the past three months, and I’ve been having a really good time.

http://technologizer.com/2011/12/05/...rite-computer/

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by pl001

While you can indeed, for example, download Amazon content onto the Kindle App on an iPhone, that is only because Apple lets you download the Kindle App in the first place. I cannot put the Kindle app on my Nook without hacking it, because B&N doesn't allow that functionality. Pure Android, on the other hand, allows you to download anything you want from anywhere you want. Just like Windows.

There are ways over most of the walls, but generally most users will never go that far.

The iPhone and iPad are walled gardens with respect to apps. This means that the only apps you can put on your device are from the app store. Strictly speaking, this is the only walled garden.

Kindle is not a walled garden because you can put e-books from other stores on it. Or you can put your own documents on it. There is no "wall". The same is true of all e-readers, afaik.

Even iDevices only have a walled garden with respect to apps. You can put mp3s (and certain other formats) on iDevices with no "wall."

[monkeyluis]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

The iPhone and iPad are walled gardens with respect to apps. This means that the only apps you can put on your device are from the app store. Strictly speaking, this is the only walled garden.

Kindle is not a walled garden because you can put e-books from other stores on it. Or you can put your own documents on it. There is no "wall". The same is true of all e-readers, afaik.

Even iDevices only have a walled garden with respect to apps. You can put mp3s (and certain other formats) on iDevices with no "wall."

Heresy!!!