Tablet Sales are Sizzling

[kennyc]

From Gizmodo yesterday:

5 Ways Ereaders Are Still Better Than Tablets
Brian Barrett

The Age of the Ereader is drawing to a close. That's the drumbeat this week, after iSuppli pegged the year-over-year decline of reader sales at a staggering 36 percent. It makes sense; why get a fuddy little Kobo when there are cheap Kindle Fires aplenty to be had?

Turns out, plenty of reasons. Tablets are great, sure. But ereaders—in so many ways—are even better. Here's why.
...

http://gizmodo.com/5970460/5-ways-er...r-than-tablets

[vbkun]

Originally Posted by Gameboy70

I see the opposite trend. For non-production tasks, people reach for their mobile device before their PC, even if both are in arm's reach, because for most of those tasks, mobile provides more instant gratification.

That's exactly what has happened to me. After getting a tablet, in a matter of 3-4 months, I totally droped the computer for non-productive tasks.
I live alone, I work home, my tablet seldomly leaves my house, and the place i use it the most is in my computer desk.

For me it become like clear like water that at my computer I work (and appeal to it when i gotta write big posts in forums), and the rest I'm on tablet/phone, even if Im in front of the computer .-.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by kennyc

From Gizmodo yesterday:
http://gizmodo.com/5970460/5-ways-er...r-than-tablets

Good quote from the above link:

. . . the ereader you buy today will be perfectly good four years from now. There's not a tablet in the world you can say that about.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

Good quote from the above link:

. . . the ereader you buy today will be perfectly good four years from now. There's not a tablet in the world you can say that about.

I think that is a matter of opinion, but just a few questions?

What will the tablet do in 4 years that it won't do today?
Are the movies going to be faster, denser?
How do you expect the tablet form, size to change?

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

I think that is a matter of opinion, but just a few questions?

What will the tablet do in 4 years that it won't do today?
Are the movies going to be faster, denser?
How do you expect the tablet form, size to change?

Good point. I always find it funny when people say "my device won't be upgraded anymore, now it is obsolete". If it still does everything it did when you bought it, how can it be obsolete?

If you got the urge to get a new device, just get it (if you can afford it) --- no need for feeble attempts at justification.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Good point. I always find it funny when people say "my device won't be upgraded anymore, now it is obsolete". If it still does everything it did when you bought it, how can it be obsolete?

If you got the urge to get a new device, just get it (if you can afford it) --- no need for feeble attempts at justification.

Feeble? Are you calling my ability to justify FEEBLE? Sir, you are sorely mistaken!

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

I think that is a matter of opinion, but just a few questions?

What will the tablet do in 4 years that it won't do today?

Run conversion programs like fair use, and convert old DVDs and Blu Rays using an outboard optical drive. Run Calibre.

In short, replace my laptop.

Originally Posted by SeaKing

Are the movies going to be faster, denser?
How do you expect the tablet form, size to change?

I expect an extended battery market with replacement back covers to become as robust as that for cell phones, and I expect screens that flex to make tablet displays several orders of magnitude more durable.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Run conversion programs like fair use, and convert old DVDs and Blu Rays using an outboard optical drive. Run Calibre.

In short, replace my laptop.

I think the surface does this right now.

Originally Posted by Phogg

I expect an extended battery market with replacement back covers to become as robust as that for cell phones, and I expect screens that flex to make tablet displays several orders of magnitude more durable.

I think the trend is towards energy efficiency. I'd love to see solar cells supplement/recharge batteries.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

I think that is a matter of opinion, but just a few questions?

What will the tablet do in 4 years that it won't do today?
Are the movies going to be faster, denser?
How do you expect the tablet form, size to change?

It won't take four years, but I expect traditional tablets to converge with cell phones at one end of the spectrum and laptops at the other.

Less expensive, ubiquitous connectivity (WiFi+4g/5g/etc.) and subscription entertainment are imminent. My phone/table should choose the best connectivity option automatically.

Windows tablets will let a lot of people work on the device they play on. Touch screens on laptops, swivel screens on laptops, nice keyboards on tablets -- it's already happening.

[tarzanphan60]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Good point. I always find it funny when people say "my device won't be upgraded anymore, now it is obsolete". If it still does everything it did when you bought it, how can it be obsolete?

If you got the urge to get a new device, just get it (if you can afford it) --- no need for feeble attempts at justification.

That's a good point. I think marketers try to make them obsolete in our minds. I know I sit there and drool at the reveals during press conferences (Amazon's came to mind) - but then I got the tablet in my hands and realized I had ads in my hands, nothing really awesome except for the great sound improvements on the Kindle Fire HD.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by tarzanphan60

I know I sit there and drool at the reveals during press conferences (Amazon's came to mind) - but then I got the tablet in my hands and realized I had ads in my hands, nothing really awesome except for the great sound improvements on the Kindle Fire HD.

We didn't upgrade our Fire's this year. I disagree that there is nothing compelling in the HD, but I simply feel that last year's fire is still very good. Bezos said in an interview that he did not want people to buy a Fire and then feel like it was obsolete...

We don’t need you to be on the upgrade treadmill. If we made our money when people bought the device, we’d be rolling out programs left and right to try to get you to upgrade. In fact, we’re happy that people are still using Kindle Ones that are five years old. They’re still reading on them, and every time they buy a book, that’s good for us. That’s alignment.

If we made a lot of money when we sell the device — if we allowed ourselves to make a lot of money when we sell the device, we’d be tempted to use that Kindle bookstore to make sure you only buy our devices instead of working so hard as our teams do on interoperability.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by wizwor

I think the surface does this right now.



I think the trend is towards energy efficiency. I'd love to see solar cells supplement/recharge batteries.

Forgot to mention, get rid of the rediculous wide bezels (Samsung is in that process, they just need to be less gradual about it.)

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Forgot to mention, get rid of the rediculous wide bezels (Samsung is in that process, they just need to be less gradual about it.)

You rather need the wide bezels so you can fit stuff in - especially when you're not going for a premium product. Wider bezels mean more component space so that you can use cheaper, but larger parts without sacrificing reliability vs power vs price. More compact designs means smaller parts and either a large increase in price, a big reduction in your profit margins (which is the way Google went with the Nexus 7) or far lower quality on the parts.

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by tarzanphan60

That's a good point. I think marketers try to make them obsolete in our minds.

That is their job to do that. However, it doesn't mean we have to buy it. My Kindle Keyboard is about 18 months old and still going strong. I'd like a Paperwhite, but I'm happy with what I currently have.

[mr_nihilism]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

I think that is a matter of opinion, but just a few questions?

What will the tablet do in 4 years that it won't do today?
Are the movies going to be faster, denser?
How do you expect the tablet form, size to change?

I can't really speak for tablets, but an example I can give is with my 1st-gen Ipod Touch. Yes, it still plays music, but it seems most, if not all apps these days require a higher version of the iOS. I'm sure there are hacks or whatnot, but does the average Joe/Jane savvy enough not to brick their expensive toy?