"The iPad is a tool and toy you might not need, but if used to the max it'll probably enhance your life in some noticable way.
Every single morning, while sipping coffee and waiting for my omelette to finish cooking, I catch up on the latest news through Reeder, the first RSS reader I've actually enjoyed using. I also check my mail to see if there's anything important I need to respond to right away.
When I'm finished eating and catching up to the latest news, I grab my iPad and go upstairs for my exercize. While doing strenght training I use my iPad to quickly make a note of how many reps and how much I lifted. After I'm done with my strength training, I take a run either outside or on my threadmill. If I take the run on the threadmill, I'll use the iPad for watching a video, maybe South Park or TED.
After I've showered, groomed, brushed my teeth and flossed, it's time to start working. When I work my iPad is always lying on the desk next to my laptop. I use it for:
* Displaying my ToDo-list (the Hit List)
* Displaying the email I'm working on.
* Displaying some relevant notes to the work I'm doing (Evernote).
* Displaying a PDF or website containing documentation to what I'm working on.
* As an extra screen (AirDisplay) for Photoshop tool pads and similar.
* VNC or SSH to another computer
* The occational check of HN, Twitter or Facebook.
* Calculator
* Calendar (Week Cal HD)
Yup, everything I've mentioned could be done on a normal laptop. However, it's incredibly useful to have an extra screen for displaying relevant information that'll never be obscured by application windows covering the information.
After I'm satisfied with my work for the day, I might hang out with my friends, perhaps take a picnic in the park. My iPad is always accessible in my manpurse. If a customer has an emergency problem, I can quickly and easily log into their server and fix the problem (Textastic/Prompt). If I get a brilliant idea, I'll note it down in Evernote and analyse it with the Business Model app. Maybe I want to think deeply about my business - I'll just open Dropbox and read through some business documents about future plans or surf on some of my competitor's sites through Mercury Browser.
When I'm back home I might do some more work or chill out with some games. Perhaps I'll open Rage HD and have one of the most immersive and physically exhausting gaming experiences possible through the Virtual Window control mode.
Right before I go to bed, I write in my diary (Day One) and finish my TODO-list for tomorrow."
>"Perhaps I'll open Rage HD and have one of the most immersive and physically exhausting gaming experiences possible"
That's a slight exaggeration! If you are at all serious about gaming, the iPad isn't even in the conversation. Again, it's pointing to the iPad and telling me how awesome it is at something, but then having to qualify that statement because it isn't as good/cheap/efficient for that purpose as a device I already own.
He likes the rich quality of apps (Reeder the first RSS reader he likes, Day One, etc.) and he is obviously carrying it around.. A LOT. And notice the way he's using it, like while sipping coffee, while exercising, etc. I don't know about you but I would rather have a tablet than carry a laptop (even a 11 inch MacBook Air, that's super light, small, and if you only put it to sleep no boot time) all over the place. We are not even talking about the apps (both in terms of quality of apps and the variety) that make things much easier and pleasant. You could more efficiently (by some measures) and more cheaply do all of what he does WITHOUT ANY COMPUTING DEVICE. But is that the point?
> haven't replaced any devices... and the tablet isn't good enough on its own
Did your cellphone replace your landline? Did your computer replace your calculator?
> the tablet is a luxury
Pretty much everything in the First World is a luxury. Visit Africa and you'll realize that. Visit the poor streets of India and you'll realize that. Anything that's beyond your basic needs is by definition luxury.
>"And notice the way he's using it, like while sipping coffee, while exercising"
I'm sipping coffee at my desktop right now. And I sip coffee with my laptop ALL the time. Exercising? Well, I think it's ridiculous you'd carry a tablet rather than a phone.
>"We are not even talking about the apps (both in terms of quality of apps and the variety) that make things much easier and pleasant."
No, we're not, because I disagree. A laptop with Windows 7 is going to make far more things "easier and pleasant" in the real world. Once again, what can your laptop do that the iPad can't? Lots. What can the tablet do that the laptop can't? Nothing. It's just easier to hold.
>"Did your cellphone replace your landline?"
Yes, it did. For me, my mother, father, sister and almost everyone I know under 30.
>"Did your computer replace your calculator?"
Uh, it most certainly did. If I need to do some basic arithmetic, I'm using Excel, or a calculator on my phone.
>"Pretty much everything in the First World is a luxury. Visit Africa and you'll realize that."
That's one hair away from Godwin's Law. Yeah, you're right. Everything I have is a luxury compared to some poor sucker in Africa. Thanks for pointing that out.
It's like you're trying to convince me that I should be using a tablet more. I own them all, and I use whatever tool is most convenient. The tablet is only ever my "go to" device in very specific cases that I've mentioned. I like it, I'm not selling it, but it's not overly useful. It wouldn't affect my productivity in any way if it disappeared tomorrow. And, to bring it full circle to the original article, it isn't because it's an Android instead of an Apple; it's because tablets just aren't that advantageous.
Yes, in fact my cell and my computer did displace the earlier technology completely.
This "big touchable surface" may be powerful enough eventually to be a new way of looking at the world. I think it needs better feedback first.
Sure, you might consider the iPad as a luxury for the minority who also needs a regular computer/laptop since the iPad isn't sufficient for them - and you're right. A few hundred dollars is not much though for a "luxury device" that'll you'll use several hours a day for years.
It's obviously also way more portable than a laptop. The Macbook Air 11' is very light, but it's still double the price and almost double the weight of the iPad, which makes the iPad a better choice in my view for the bigger than smartphone device you'll take with you everywhere.
I'm not claiming that the iPad is the best game device, not at all (it's great for casual games though). The Virtual Window mode in Rage HD is incredibly immersive and exhausting since it's like virtual reality, but I never intended that sentence to sound as the iPad was the best platform for immersive games. It's not.
So why did you include "with an external monitor"? By your own reasoning the external monitor is naught but a luxury and anything done via it can be done as efficiently or more cheaply without it.
It seems that you do recognize that form factor, comfort and convenience do matter, and that even if you already have a device that's functionally equivalent, additional devices that enhance your actual day to day computing experience aren't irrelevant simply because they don't add unique functionality.
You're just choosing to apply it to tablets in a way that you don't for smartphones themselves. After all, your logic suggests we could write off the smartphone itself -- or even any phone -- as a 'luxury' that presents nothing not already provided by a 3G laptop with VoIP app.
Because if you're sitting there with a laptop and a phone, and wondering what to buy next, buying a $150 monitor is going to be far more useful to you than a $700 tablet. But you don't need either.
>"aren't irrelevant simply because they don't add unique functionality."
I never said they were irrelevant. I own one.
The article tries to blame Android's failings in the tablet space on their lack of ability to get it together. I believe, based on personal experience, the real problem is that tablets themselves just aren't that great. Sure, the iPad is incredibly successful. However, let's not underestimate Apple's rabid fans, incredible marketing or that fact that they were the first to build a fantastically futuristic device. But it's not really providing me with anything I don't already have. That's usually what I base my consumption on.
Someone else in the thread said something along these lines: people are buying "iPads", because they are cool and there is some status tied to them. People aren't buying "tablets" because they're not very useful.
That's going to heavily hinge on workload and day-to-day schedule. Which is the entire point: you're willing to accept 'a luxury' as useful when it fits your computing schedule, but you don't seem to recognize that anyone else might be buying a different luxury because they have a different computing schedule.
Tablets may not be that great for you. But that doesn't mean they're not that great. Your argument is blurring your absolutely legitimate personal opinion on tablets with a judgment about everyone else's opinion on them. And that's where you're wrong. Your line of thought rests on a logical fallacy. Not everyone computes like you.
And here's a test for your theory that "people are buying iPads for social status reasons": How many people?
How many tablets have to sell before you'd concede that maybe people are buying them because they find them useful?
How many people have to upgrade those iPads before you'd be convinced?
How many people have to let their PCs languish for how long, in deference to buying/upgrading tablets before you'd concede that you were wrong?
How many years do tablets have to continue to sell before you'd accept them as evidence of something other than fashion?
Is there any amount of data that will change your mind?
Or are you already reflexively rationalizing how your theory could continue to be true even if a decade from now, and billions of tablets from now, they're still going strong?
I was at a Parent Teacher Association meeting at an East London primary school last night. There were about 15 people there. 3 had iPads.
I was using mine to take minutes - really just adding notes to the agenda that was already in Word, via pages. Mainly just adding brief notes to discussion points, noting whether something had been carried. I used to use paper, but the iPad is more difficult to lose and I don;t have to re-type.
When the issue of the the next meeting came up, people used the iPad to look at the calendar - fine - that could have been done by phone. One member couldn't make it, but joined us via Skype on an iPad.
Meanwhile the Headmistress was keeping a check on the England Ukraine scores.
A question came up about the prices for a bit of equipment - a quick Google search found it in the meeting, rather than having to be discussed in the next meeting.
The thing about the iPad is that it isn't necessarily better than a laptop at anything, it's just incredibly convenient. It's the kind of thing you take along 'just in case'.
Oddly enough, just about the only thing I don;t use it for is consuming iTunes media. I rip videos for the kids to watch on holiday sometimes, but never use iTunes.
I've bought 4 iPads for family members (and a Samsung Galaxy Note for myself which is in many ways a mini-3G-tablet) and advised many more friends on getting their own iPads so I'm well aware of the benefits, but it seems people say the darndest things in their attempts to justify them.
I'll look into Workflowy, however.
Watching a movie, browsing the web, reading books, PDFs or news on a phone? I can't be the only one who feels nauseous after staring at a 3-4" screen for more than an hour. And the average user is growing older pretty much everywhere around the world.
Mine has a 4.3" screen, and when commuting these days, most people using their Android phones around me have phones with bigger screens than that - all the way up to the monstrous Galaxy Note (5.3").
So in the Android market, the tablets are being squeezed from the bottom by phones with significantly larger screens, and from the top by ultra-books. And then it's fragmented into the 7" and 10" form factors, with a glut of really low priced alternatives in the 7" segment, which is also competing with the Kindle.
Apple has spaced out the form factors in a way that creates room for the iPad for people who stick with Apple products. For people who don't stick with Apple products, it's hit and miss - if you pick a large phone, and a small laptop, or a big laptop + a netbook, and possibly throwing a Kindle into the mix, and the additional benefit of a tablet diminishes greatly.
As far as the success, I believe (my opinion, obviously) that many people bought iPads with the intention of replacing their laptops. These people have discovered (or will) that that isn't very practical. In my line of work, I sit in an inordinate amount of meetings. When the iPad came out there were so many people tap-tap-tapping away on their screens, taking notes. Today, there are far less; most of those people are back to their laptops. It's just an anecdote, but my personal experience is the same.
Who knows, maybe this is our aversion to change? I don't doubt that tablets are the future.
People love them, and most of those people already know what computing on a phone and laptop are like.
I'm thinking of having mine surgically implanted.
It does everything a smartphone does, and much better (actual phone use aside, for which I have a tiny it's-just-a-phone). It can remote-login to any computer I need, extending all those desktops & racks to wherever I am without having to set up yet another computer. The key is "anywhere anytime": check status of a long compile at work on a whim while I'm in bed? done. Code review someone's project while I'm on the beach? rather not, but done anyway. Walking, riding, standing around, munching lunch, whatever wherever? instant online with access to anything. Yeah it's not optimal for development, but it extends every use to wherever I am. A laptop still wants a lap, must be unfolded, aggregates "computer" use to compete with the desktop ... the tablet extends it instead.
What app(s) do you use for reading PDF files? None of the solutions I've used so far seem particularly suited (remembering last position, easy search/scrolling etc).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=udk.android.re...
For reading comics (another awesome use case for the tablet) I'm using Perfect Viewer:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rookiestud...
You can have multiple books open in tabs with saved positions.
My uncle has both an Android tablet and an iPad and an iMac! He seems to be quite fond of the droid. I don't know his reasons why. He's not tech savvy in anyway - he can barely install an App on his Mac.
And I think the appeal as a desktop replacement is that they are easier to use. But both could be far better.
Neither care for smart phones.
Absolutely. Look, I think tablets - and the iPad specifically - are technological feats. But outside of that wonder, for most people, it's a completely superfluous device. I mean, look at the author's example:
>"Apple knew it had a large group of customers out there yearning for a device that let them watch their iTunes content on a larger display without having to lug around a laptop."
Are there really a bunch of people sitting around saying: Well, I'm idle for the next 2 hours, with cell reception. I'll watch a movie. But a 4" high def screen won't cut it, and an 11" or 13" screen is too much. The 9" screen of my iPad is just right.?
It's sort of ridiculous.
The irony of your original comment is that the PC should actually be the niche product because most people never needed it. The PC should be meant for professionals in the fields of audio, video, math, science and programming.
I don't disagree. In fact, the desktop has already become unnecessary for 99% of the population. I still enjoy mine under certain circumstances, but after the tablet, it'd be the first device to go.
People with illegal content are sooo in the market for an Android tablet. The long-term problem will be to get them to upgrade to a second tablet. After you have this 10" screen that can be fed movies over USB, why ever buy another one?
That's me every lunchtime (not a movie, but a 30 minute TV episode). Maybe nowadays you can get an ultrabook that would be light enough and have the battery life to carry around without thinking about it, but my laptop is more bulk than I want to lug back and forth to work in my bag every day, and I'd have to remember to charge it in the evenings. My Transformer goes everywhere with me, is comfortable to watch things on while holding it in my hands (something that's not true even for the same device with a keyboard attached, and certainly not on any laptop I've tried) and as long as I remember to charge it one day out of three I never run out.
Most people already have a PC, and it can do anything a tablet can do. But if a tablet is a better fit, in a few years these people will be asking themselves why they should buy a new PC instead of a new tablet.
I own a Xoom, and bought it for two things: reading PDF files, because my it's far superior to my e-reader, and web browsing when it's inconvenient to hold my laptop (read: bed). Because, let's be honest, doing serious browsing on your phone isn't ideal. That's it. And for those purposes it's brilliant.
I'm not sure how owning an iPad would change anything. I own a desktop with a dual monitor setup for serious work. It's got a comfy desk and comfy chair, and I like it. For work on the go, I've got my Macbook Air, which fits just as easily as a tablet in any bag I carry.
Tablets are a niche product. Thanks to the Apple marketing machine, some people started thinking, "Why do I need laptop? I'll just get an iPad". And those people are niche; if you can replace all of your computing with an iPad, then you may as well be using just a phone. If you've got a desktop, laptop, tablet and phone (like me), you're a tech geek, and the tablet is a toy.
>"The Google Music app is ugly, barren of any useful features"
It has the one feature I need: it plays music.