Quote:
Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors
The primary reason I don't have a tablet is because they're almost purely consumption devices and what little output ability they have is clumsy and limited. I don't see the point in that. Or at least, I don't see the point in blowing so much money on that. But maybe that's because I spend as much time banging away at text documents, emails, and forums, as I do "consuming."
[snip]
The form factor is intriguing and the possibilities are many, but as they are, even the most functional tablets fall several miles short of what would convince me to get one.
By focusing more on limiting them to consumption and less on broadening their use, the chances that tablets will ever be anything more than very expensive toys seems to dwindle. I think that's a shame. They could be so much more.
|
I think that the consumption/creation division used so often in discussing tablets is almost completely contrived. First of all, 90% of home computers are also "consumption" devices, based on their usage. Second, the fact that tablets aren't ideal for a lot of text input doesn't make them "very expensive toys" by a long shot (for one thing, they are not "very expensive). After doing a pilot project, my work just bought several hundred iPads to replace laptops for some users. A lot of physicians are using iPads, as are a lot of lawyers. I use my iPad at work a lot, and it is a lot more functional than a laptop would be for its usage cases.
The iPad isn't replacing a primary computer - any of these people who need to do a lot of text input will use their desktop or primary laptop to create the document. But an important part of many jobs involve going to meetings and talking about documents that were created in the office. And when you need something to look up documents on the work system, check something on the internet, e-mail, or, most importantly, share a document on screen with someone else - a tablet beats a laptop in most use cases.
Now, obviously, if you have a job where you never leave your cubicle for offsite meetings, or if virtually all of your work is text input with no need for portability, a tablet won't meet your needs. But in a lot of work cases, a tablet will perform better than a laptop when the laptop is just needed for database access, internet access, and e-mail.