Panasonic Preparing 20 inch 4K Tablet

[owly]

From Tablet News http://tablet-news.com/2013/08/29/pa...13-showcasing/

[HarryT]

There are quite a few of these things appearing on the market. I think they're aimed more at being "transportable" table-top devices rather than tablets in the traditional sense.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There are quite a few of these things appearing on the market. I think they're aimed more at being "transportable" table-top devices rather than tablets in the traditional sense.

Tablets haven't been around long enough to have a traditional sense. Unless you count ancient stone tablets, which were even bigger than this. But let's not forget that the iPad was initially viewed as a big iPhone and that phones have been getting bigger.

I think that the most important things that would make the difference between this being a tablet or a "transportable" table-top are going to be the battery life and the weight.

2840 x 2560 pixels at 20 inches is only 191 dpi. That is very nice for a 20 inch monitor, but not so much for a tablet, IMO. What exactly is the purpose of a 20 inch so-called tablet? If it is meant to be used as a "tablet" then I rather think it is too big to be easily carried around or held in your hands. If it is meant to be used as a touchscreen monitor, then it makes more sense. I didn't see anything about which OS it would be running. Android would be joke on something that big as so many of the apps don't scale well at 10 inches much less 20 inches. Windows RT seems like a waste of time as developers and consumers are both cool towards it. If it runs Windows 8 then maybe it would have more of a market.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by jswinden

What exactly is the purpose of a 20 inch so-called tablet? If it is meant to be used as a "tablet" then I rather think it is too big to be easily carried around or held in your hands. If it is meant to be used as a touchscreen monitor, then it makes more sense.

The image in the article is this:


And it's smaller than a newspaper broadsheet.

[Greg Anos]

A "coffee-table book" ebook reader?

[poohbear_nc]

I wonder if such large tablets are being developed for seniors? To supply content (i.e. sell content) to the older folk who can't read on a 7" tablet? Who would use such a tablet at home - so portability would not be an issue ...

[Byrdie]

Weight would be a problem there, I should think. I just got a 10 in Samsung tablet and I find it a good bit heavier/clumsier than my old Aluratek reader. Of course, the clumsiness part could be where it's slick and I don't have a case for it yet -- I bought one only to find out it did NOT fit like the clerk said it would when I got it home and they seem to be all out of anything except the smaller ones. It's a great size for viewing but if I could have managed with a 7 in. model I don't think I'd have gone to even 10.1 inches, let alone 20. Not for use as a tablet, anyway.

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

And it's smaller than a newspaper broadsheet.

True but I spend about an hour/day reading the newspaper. I suppose it depends on cost but I don't think I'd be willing to spend several hundred dollars on something that I use only an hour/day. And other than newspapers (and maybe magazines which I currently read rarely if ever) I don't see it having very much use. Maybe they can market some to libraries.

I'm thinking it is definitely too heavy for seniors. Maybe if it has a built-in stand to keep it angled on a table it could be used that way, but it make my 55 year old neck hurt to even think about using it as a reader! More than likely Panasonic is just using it as a test bed device to see if it draws attention, and if so, what kind of attention. A 20 inch second monitor with touchscreen would not be a bad idea, but I really cannot imagine myself wanting a 20 inch tablet. It would probably work well as a built-in wall/rack mounted device in some sort of engineering control room though. And probably work well in a kiosk at a shopping mall or airport.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

True but I spend about an hour/day reading the newspaper. I suppose it depends on cost but I don't think I'd be willing to spend several hundred dollars on something that I use only an hour/day. And other than newspapers (and maybe magazines which I currently read rarely if ever) I don't see it having very much use. Maybe they can market some to libraries.

The comparison to the newspaper was just for size. From the article it seems that it is designed for 4k films.

[fjtorres]

The article has the UltraHD spec resolution wrong: 4K screens are 3840x2160.

[petrucci]

Originally Posted by jswinden

2840 x 2560 pixels at 20 inches is only 191 dpi. That is very nice for a 20 inch monitor, but not so much for a tablet, IMO. What exactly is the purpose of a 20 inch so-called tablet? ... If it is meant to be used as a touchscreen monitor, then it makes more sense.

For me it would be used as a digital music stand. I tried the Sony Vaio tap 20. Windows 8 killed it. (I encountered a problem installing the antivirus software. The machine needed Windows 8 to be reloaded. I did not have the disk and did not want to screw around doing it over the net as I have a slow connection. The computer was brand new and I needed it operational for my work. The place where I bought it wanted to charge me to reload Windows. So I returned it.)

[doctorow]

I LIKE!!!!!!!!!! I'd use it to replace my desktop.

Originally Posted by doctorow

I LIKE!!!!!!!!!! I'd use it to replace my desktop.

Yes, this is what I think most people would use it for. They are calling it a tablet but it would be more appropriately labeled as a computer.