Anyone watching the MS-BN announcement?

[tubemonkey]

A $199 Fire is rocking the Android world.

Originally Posted by stonetools

And its a FACT that consumers will embrace a tablet without certain hardware specs that power users consider important-and will reject tablets that have those features but which lack a thriving ecosystem. That's beyond debate now.

It is not a fact for two reasons:

• A large part of the market has not embraced tablets because of their limited capabilities. These people may not care about the particular processor or amount of RAM, but they will care about performance for a wider variety of software. They will also care about interfacing with other hardware.
• The market is also evolving rapidly, and people are going to expect more from these devices in the future. Tablets, at the moment, are great for consumption and not so good for creation. This is going to change. Authors are going to want to write, graphics artists are going to want to design, programmers are going to want to develop. And they are going to want serious software to do so, not the limited capability apps that we see today.

It is going to be interesting to see how these devices change over the next few years. I don't know what direction they're heading in, but I do know that they will grow more capable. Just like the original computers, PDAs, mobile phones, etc. grew more capable as more people adopted them.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by CyGuy

The best app store in the world won't make up for poor hardware...

A lot of tech guys thought the iPad 1 was poor hardware, because it lacked USB slots and SD card support. As it turned out, they were in the minority.


Don't get me wrong, SD cards and USB slots are useful features-especially for power users who want to customize and hack their devices. But the average consumer doesn't think they are all that important on tablets or smart phones. THat's clear at this point.
Wireless syncing and cloud features have made them only less important. I wouldn't be surprised if by the time Mountain Lion and Ios6 come out of beta, you 'll have seamless wireless file transfer between Macs and Ios devices in both directions.
OTOH, consumers now clearly expect that any new tablet should have a great app experience from day one. They don't want to fiddle with USB slots: they want to start consuming media, playing games and using apps. That's just how it is.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

It is going to be interesting to see how these devices change over the next few years. I don't know what direction they're heading in, but I do know that they will grow more capable. Just like the original computers, PDAs, mobile phones, etc. grew more capable as more people adopted them.

The tablet market will expand just like the laptop market did. A tablet for every purpose. A successful company will produce multiple models from budget to high end.

The direction is targeted markets.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

It is not a fact for two reasons:

• A large part of the market has not embraced tablets because of their limited capabilities. These people may not care about the particular processor or amount of RAM, but they will care about performance for a wider variety of software. They will also care about interfacing with other hardware.
• The market is also evolving rapidly, and people are going to expect more from these devices in the future. Tablets, at the moment, are great for consumption and not so good for creation. This is going to change. Authors are going to want to write, graphics artists are going to want to design, programmers are going to want to develop. And they are going to want serious software to do so, not the limited capability apps that we see today.

It is going to be interesting to see how these devices change over the next few years. I don't know what direction they're heading in, but I do know that they will grow more capable. Just like the original computers, PDAs, mobile phones, etc. grew more capable as more people adopted them.

Isn't this kind of old hat? Plenty of people will say that they are ALREADY creating on iPads. THey aren't doing high-end graphics work- but they are creating. Is Dave Hockney enough of a creative person for you? Because he's been creating art on IOs devices since 2007. Google " iPad art" and you 'll come up with thousands of images. Charles Stross wrote his last novel largely on an Ipad. There's a long list of iPad apps that are specifically for content creation: Garageband , iMovie- the list goes on.

Frankly, I thought that the debate over whether tablets could be used for content creation was over. I'm a little surprised to see it being brought up again.
That said, I think there is definitely a space for a high end enterprise type tablet. Maybe the Surface will have the advantage at that level.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'm glad someone is providing features you want. But just like PC's, tablets are starting to hit their stride and cover all users - enterprise, power, average, and budget. I categorize these two MS offerings for enterprise and power users. For me, most of these features would go to waste. A 7" Galaxy Tab 2 is more than enough tablet for me.

Fair enough.
My experience is that the 7in Pocketbook IQ was too heavy for reading, not big enough for surfing, and underpowered for media. A nice way to learn about Android and Android apps and a cheap way to learn Android is not something I could use to replace a netbook. Even after Softmaker Office comes out.

On the other hand, the Android limitations don't get in my way on the Sony T1 and the Combo of Coolreader, Audible, Overdrive, and Kindle add real value to the reader. I might pick up a sub-$200 8incher, if Android ever stabilizes enough that I can find a webpad that isn't obsolete in 6 months.
(I hear a new version is incoming. Again.) http://www.ingame.msnbc.msn.com/tech...-tablet-836035

[fjtorres]

Back on target, MSNBC has a report on the WindSurfs gaming future:
http://www.ingame.msnbc.msn.com/tech...-tablet-836035

"Skulls of the Shogun"
This forthcoming strategy game is a good example of the shape Microsoft would like gaming to take in the future. That is, "Skulls of the Shogun" is an indie game being developed not only for the Xbox 360 (downloadable via Xbox Live Arcade) but also for Windows 8 PCs. And as soon as Microsoft revealed its Surface tablets Monday, the developers at 17-Bit revealed they would be making "Skulls" playable on both tablets as well.

Jake Kazdal, creative director at17-Bit, told Wired that the Surface version of the game would come with “three distinct, discrete control schemes.

"You can play with mouse and keyboard, you can play with iPad-style touch controls or you can plug in a controller," he said.

And that's part of what makes the Surface tablets sound so enticing -- whether you like to play your games with a controller, a mouse or by running your fingers across a screen, you can play the games you love the way you want to play them.

[teh603]

There shouldn't be any reason why you couldn't pair a bluetooth controller to an Android device, other than apathy.

[HansTWN]

Perhaps tablets will now go the way of PDAs. If tablet PCs are just as light and with a battery life almost as long as current tablets, AND the prices are at iPad level then the current generation of high end tablets is pretty much doomed (yes, there will remain a sizable number of people who buy the label). What will be here to stay is the low-end, those sub $200 devices.

So we might well be entering the post-tablet, tablet PC world. With tablets being a transitional phase while device makers were waiting for the hardware to improve to the point of making a great tablet PC possible.

Originally Posted by stonetools

Isn't this kind of old hat? Plenty of people will say that they are ALREADY creating on iPads.

I never said that people weren't using tablets to create. But the choice and scope of apps is limited compared to what you find on Windows, Macs, and even Linux.

Yes, some people will create regardless of the limits. Just look at what people were creating with computers in the late 80s. Yet also realize that the number of people doing so on tablets today is as limited as it was on computers back then.

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

I never said that people weren't using tablets to create. But the choice and scope of apps is limited compared to what you find on Windows, Macs, and even Linux.

Yes, some people will create regardless of the limits. Just look at what people were creating with computers in the late 80s. Yet also realize that the number of people doing so on tablets today is as limited as it was on computers back then.

Agree with this. You can create on tablets but its not ideal. Hopefully it soon will be. 3 years? 5?

MS should have ten of thousands of apps ready when W8 is released. It might not sound like much but as long as they've got the "big" ones, they'll be alright. It should be obvious to anyone now that MS is deadly serious about this new OS and are gonna throw all their muscle behind it.

I've gone from being hopeful about W8 to doubting to being hopeful again. We shall see...

[HansTWN]

Let us hope that Intel and battery technology have made enough progress so that the X86 version will be so good that we can have the ultimate all-in-one (and at a very good price). For that apps are no issue, anyway.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by CyGuy

The best app store in the world won't make up for poor hardware...

What is the best selling Android tablet?
Is it the one with the best hardware, or is it the one with the best branding and ecosystem?

The best hardware in the world won't make up for poor support and user experience.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by stonetools

A lot of tech guys thought the iPad 1 was poor hardware, because it lacked USB slots and SD card support. As it turned out, they were in the minority.

Minority compared to what? From the 7 billion people on the planet, how many chose the iPad1?

Originally Posted by stonetools

Wireless syncing and cloud features have made them only less important. I wouldn't be surprised if by the time Mountain Lion and Ios6 come out of beta, you 'll have seamless wireless file transfer between Macs and Ios devices in both directions.

And that is relevant because most people that own an iOS device have only Macs?

[Sil_liS]

Microsoft Surface tablet prices leaked

Prices for the Microsoft Surface tablet range may have been prematurely revealed thanks to a sneaky source.

The Next Web says a source close to Microsoft let slip on the tablet pricing, claiming the Surface tablet sporting Windows RT, and powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 chip, will set you back $599 (around £380).

The Intel powered Ivy Bridge slate, which will run Windows 8 Pro, will apparently retail at a rather eye watering $999 (around £640).

The tablets look nice, but I don't want to pay this much for a tablet.