Just curious...

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

Cool! You're the only person I "know" that has one of this. Is the keyboard comfortable to use?

It is for me. But I have small hands and thin fingers. It is slightly smaller than a typical netbook keyboard. I've owned a netbook consistently since 2007, and I find small keyboards very comfortable. But lots of people don't.

I would say if you do ok with netbook keyboards, you'll get on with it just fine. If you don't, then it'll drive you mad.

I really love it. I'm a writer, so there is no instance I can imagine NOT wanting to have a proper keyboard with me. As such, the Slider is an absolute steal. It's cheaper than the Transofmer + dock, and it has a bunch of features that, if you wanted a netbook to do all those things, would cost you over $1000 (touch screen, instant-on, etc).

[Namekuseijin]

I really think a smartphone is a far more useful, flexible and handy mobile device. A tablet would not allow me OTOH to do useful real work as a laptop or desktop.

That said, I can see quite a few areas where it would beat an smartphone to me if I had one: to draw and paint (though still not as great as, say, Wacom's older pressure and tilt sensitive "tablets"), to read ebooks, browse the web and watch videos comfortably and as a digital photo frame and alarm clock while idle. I'm not even sure that typing in a larger but not precise keyboard would be any faster than swyping over a tiny smartphone keyboard...

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

I really think a smartphone is a far more useful, flexible and handy mobile device. A tablet would not allow me OTOH to do useful real work as a laptop or desktop.

That said, I can see quite a few areas where it would beat an smartphone to me if I had one: to draw and paint (though still not as great as, say, Wacom's older pressure and tilt sensitive "tablets"), to read ebooks, browse the web and watch videos comfortably and as a digital photo frame and alarm clock while idle. I'm not even sure that typing in a larger but not precise keyboard would be any faster than swyping over a tiny smartphone keyboard...

I used to be of the same belief and, the way most people use tablets, I still am. I hate the on-screen keyboard. It's even harder to use than my smartphone on-screen keyboard, to me.

But if you add a proper keyboard to the equation, they can be tremendously productive. It depends on what you do, and if you need specialized software, then a tablet of any configeration probably still isn't for you.

But for what I do, a physical keyboard really makes all the difference. There are word processor apps (some of them are even free), and obviously sharing abilities are ubiquitous and seamless.

You can get keyboard cases to suit most tablets, but most of them are Bluetooth, which I'm sort of "eh" about. The Transformer has a keyboard dock, and the Slider, which I have, has a keyboard built in. I use it pretty much like I'd use a netbook.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

I used to be of the same belief and, the way most people use tablets, I still am. I hate the on-screen keyboard. It's even harder to use than my smartphone on-screen keyboard, to me.

I don't think you're using the right on screen keyboards. Some of the keyboards I use allow me to type as fast as I do with a full keyboard. The predictive text has just gotten amazing,I use to be a staunch disbeliever in this technology but I had proven itself. The things I miss are the keyboard shortcuts like ALT+TAB or CTRL+C, etc.... Those are still areas that need catching up.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

Points for original usage!

LOL! Well I wasn't trying to be original, just to lazy to carry a large tomb.

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

I use hackers keyboard. But I really don't type much on my tab, just a note here or there.

They keyboard looks nice has some keys I sorely miss on a real keyboard. That keyboard will be very nice when using the terminal emulator.

Actually the kind of keyboard I'm referring to is the kind that have predictive text that accelerate the typing experience. Such examples are Swype, FlexT9, SwiftKey, MessageEase.

Of all of these FlextT9 is my preferred keyboard. It's the most accurate and fastest keyboard for me. Though MessageEase claims an experienced ME use can average 50-60 words a minute. I'm at a whopping 10 words with that keyboard, it has a steep learning curve.

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

I use my PC for gaming, especially RPGs. I just prefer the larger screen + power. I find gaming on my tablet is best when its very casual & very short. Just my 2 cents.

I just don't have the time to sit down in front of a console. If I'm at home I usually busy or spending time with the family.

I don't play hard core games just mostly simple games like Soduko or draw something to entertain me when I'm not in the mode for reading and have a few minutest to kill.

=X=

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Originally Posted by =X=

I don't think you're using the right on screen keyboards. Some of the keyboards I use allow me to type as fast as I do with a full keyboard. The predictive text has just gotten amazing,I use to be a staunch disbeliever in this technology but I had proven itself. The things I miss are the keyboard shortcuts like ALT+TAB or CTRL+C, etc.... Those are still areas that need catching up.

It hurts my hands to type on something with no feedback, honestly. Yes, the slowness is annoying but it's not my biggest issue with them. I'd be back in wrist braces if I tried to type on glass.

Plus, I seriously doubt any on-screen keyboard could get me up to full speed. Full speed, for me, is 80wpm. I have never heard of anyone doing more than half that on a screen.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

Full speed, for me, is 80wpm. I have never heard of anyone doing more than half that on a screen.

Damn! I can't even think that fast!

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by wodin

Damn! I can't even think that fast!

I think I type 80 wpw, as in week. If I didn't use Google translate during my Dutch class (another use for my tab that I forgot to mention and a pretty handy one) I'd type about 1/2 that. I like the hacker KB because its big + simple...

For me the tablet is 99.9% about consumption. Maybe if I had the KB dock for my tran, it'd be different.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

It hurts my hands to type on something with no feedback, honestly.

Fascinating, I've never heard of such a thing, is the pain caused by lacking the feedback or is it because of poor posture caused by the flat surface of the tablet.

I have suffered some pain when using a conventional keyboard and using two thumbs to type. My thumbs get stiff and ache after extensive typing, but that is due to over using my thumbs. I since I started using swipe (FlexT9) to write text and I don't suffer any discomfort.

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

Plus, I seriously doubt any on-screen keyboard could get me up to full speed. Full speed, for me, is 80wpm. I have never heard of anyone doing more than half that on a screen.

Amazing, I can't even think that fast.

Your are correct, the fastest time recorded for typing with swipe is 70 wpm, without any typos. A keyboard called messageEase claims a proficient user can average 50wpm. Me I can only type 65wpm so these keyboards get close results

[Kumabjorn]

I have the Transformer with the Dock/Keyboard. That translates into fantastic battery usage.
It is my main Twitter machine, probably due to the short messages.
I do some writing on it, but I prefer the full keyboard of my laptop, I'm also a fan of dictation software, use Dragon Natural and there is no Android version available.
Mail, surfing, Pulse, Skype and until recently Stumble (seemed to return to the same sites after a while). I use the Kindle app, but mostly in winter when it gets real dark here. What I miss most is some stable video streaming. I watch some golf now and then from Sky and even if logging on to the same sites it doesn't work well with full screen view.

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Originally Posted by =X=

Fascinating, I've never heard of such a thing, is the pain caused by lacking the feedback or is it because of poor posture caused by the flat surface of the tablet.

I have suffered some pain when using a conventional keyboard and using two thumbs to type. My thumbs get stiff and ache after extensive typing, but that is due to over using my thumbs. I since I started using swipe (FlexT9) to write text and I don't suffer any discomfort.

Lack of feedback. It creates more impact to the whole structure of your hands.

I have good posture. A bout of repetitive stress injuries whipped me into that habit in a hurry.

Amazing, I can't even think that fast.

Your are correct, the fastest time recorded for typing with swipe is 70 wpm, without any typos. A keyboard called messageEase claims a proficient user can average 50wpm. Me I can only type 65wpm so these keyboards get close results

I use Swype on my phone. It reduces the impact since I don't have to lift my finger as much. It's pretty quick - as quick as I could ever imagine going on an on-screen keyboard - but still frusteratingly slow compared to my physical keyboard typing speed. I probably get 30-40wpm on Swype with so-so accuracy.

I'm a writer who was raised by a geek. I learned how to type before I learned how to handwrite, and I haven't stopped since.

[Adoby]

As many others I surf and email, also do quite a bit of reading. I watch video but no gaming. An important use is as a remote control for my Squeezebox server to play music. Also remote control of some computers, my NAS and a headless and discless DreamPlug. I run a torrent download daemon on the DreamPlug and control that from the tablet, and can with one click add torrents to the DreamPlug that download to the NAS where I can access it from the tablet. Also I have some wifi ip cams that I can easily access and view from the tablet. Usually I use the tablet with a Jawbone Jambox connected if I watch video.

Some gaming and writing I do on my main PC. But I don't even boot the PC up every day anymore, instead I use the tablet.

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

Plus, I seriously doubt any on-screen keyboard could get me up to full speed. Full speed, for me, is 80wpm. I have never heard of anyone doing more than half that on a screen.

[monkeyluis]

I've been doing more reading on mine rather than my Kindle Touch. Don't know why. But I read a lot of news, general web surfing, watch Netflix and Hulu +, a bit of YouTube. My kids play a bunch of games on them.

[citac]

As many others, I use it to read when I'm home (I found I do quite a lot of reading on it), I watch an occasional movie clip on it, listen to music when I'm traveling (can't read because I suffer from severe motion sickness), email and surf, and at work I use it to record attendance and performance of my students. It's a lot easier to carry around in my purse than my laptop, it's perfectly fine for typing short notes, but I am looking for a small keyboard for when I want to type something substantial.