Are you a tablet skeptic?

It feels like modern tablets have been around a lot longer, but three years is still nothing to sneeze at. Reflecting upon the last three years of tablet mania, the Ars staff and contributors began to share stories about how our iPads or other tablets have changed how we interact with our devices and the Internet. Most of us were heavy tablet skeptics when the iPad was first announced, and some of us still are. So in honor of the three-year anniversary of the iPad, we decided to share some of our experiences with you on how our lives have changed—or how they haven't, depending the case.

Not everyone on staff feels like the iPad—or one of its competing Android or Windows equivalents—has made a dent in their lives. Here are the stories from those staffers who think the modern tablet has a way to go before it earns a permanent spot in their bags.

Read more at source:
"I was an iPad skeptic" | Ars Technica

 

[Ray8]

But 200,000,000 cannot synch it with their Windows desktop PCs.

Actually they can (at least Android devices), but their response would most likely be 'care factor zero'.

I like how you twisted that. You cannot synch but a few. Music, calendar, and pics, but they all need a synch program to do so. Pics you can copy and paste.

What did I twist? I know for a fact that a friend of mine uses a Galaxy Tab to wirelessly connect and do things like read his emails that are delivered to his PC, view files off his PC etc. I call that syncing, remotely connecting your wireless device to your PC. I don't know anything about iPads.

You should go on Android and Apple forums and convince these people that they are truly unhappy with the poor performance of their devices.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

What did I twist? I know for a fact that a friend of mine uses a Galaxy Tab to wirelessly connect and do things like read his emails that are delivered to his PC, view files off his PC etc. I call that syncing, remotely connecting your wireless device to your PC. I don't know anything about iPads.

You should go on Android and Apple forums and convince these people that they are truly unhappy with the poor performance of their devices.

Seems to me the topic in the last few posts were on iPads then you mentioned Android synching.

Yes it's possible to synchronize anything with anything if one is technically knowledgeable enough, but a small percentage do. I'm speaking of the masses that do not. When they catch wind of what MS is attempting to accomplish with synching I think more will make the move over.

I have an Droid. Just to synchronize pics and music is a PITA. I'm not able to do it remotely. I have to USB it.

I have a Google account mainly for contacts backup for the Droid. I use the Gmail occasionally for crap mail and calendar. My Gmail account is included in my Windows 8 Mail app. The Gmail calendar synchs with my 8 calendar app as well. So does the contacts with the people app -> Automatically.

BTW, today is sponsored by the word "Automatically". A rather nifty modern word.

 

[Ray8]

What did I twist? I know for a fact that a friend of mine uses a Galaxy Tab to wirelessly connect and do things like read his emails that are delivered to his PC, view files off his PC etc. I call that syncing, remotely connecting your wireless device to your PC. I don't know anything about iPads.

You should go on Android and Apple forums and convince these people that they are truly unhappy with the poor performance of their devices.

Seems to me the topic in the last few posts were on iPads then you mentioned Android synching.

Yes it's possible to synchronize anything with anything if one is technically knowledgeable enough, but a small percentage do. I'm speaking of the masses that do not. When they catch wind of what MS is attempting to accomplish with synching I think more will make the move over.

I have an Droid. Just to synchronize pics and music is a PITA. I'm not able to do it remotely. I have to USB it.

I have a Google account mainly for contacts backup for the Droid. I use the Gmail occasionally for crap mail and calendar. My Gmail account is included in my Windows 8 Mail app. The Gmail calendar synchs with my 8 calendar app as well. So does the contacts with the people app -> Automatically.

BTW, today is sponsored by the word "Automatically". A rather nifty modern word.

The topic at hand was about all tablets, but the article that I referenced was predominantly about iPads. I mentioned Android syncing because I knew Android devices could sync with Windows PCs.

I doubt very much that the masses are really interested in super-duper syncing capabilities. The 200,000,000 current users are clearly happy with what they have, and the support services and options seem to suffice.

The masses love their iPads and 'Droids, and will stay with what they know and love. It's the minority tech nerds that seem not to understand this.

 

[Coke Robot]

Those don't have proper software to do anything with, and don't have good hardware to do anything with. A tablet PC does.

But it often comes at a price that many aren't willing to pay for a tablet. That's pretty much what you said a few lines down.

I carried around a Surface Pro for about 3 weeks and showed friends, family, coworkers, and people that I volunteer with in my audio gig. Nobody felt compelled in any way shape or form to get one. A handful were already carrying iPad's and failed to see what advantage they would have when they were on the go.

True, but honestly, I believe the tablet PCs are marked up for sure. A touch ultrabook can cost less than 800 dollars, a tablet PC can go WELL over 1,000.

I would imagine most ipad users as it is don't care about anything else that isn't an ipad. For people that don't, a tablet PC has some more merit. For someone in the market for a new PC, a touch laptop or a tablet PC has more merit than an ipad.

 

[Coke Robot]

Personally, that depends. If someone spent over 1,000 dollars to attempt to replace the use of a laptop, then yeah, I consider them to be an iDiot because that 1,000 can be WELL better spent on a touch enabled PC especially nowadays. Even a mac....

Very few have spent close to $1000 on an iPad. Some people may simply not agree with you that a touch enabled PC is the better way to go. I think a lot of people are simply past the PC these days. They don't want the hassle, they don't want the maintenance and they don't want the same ole, same ole thing that they have had in the past. They don't need what the PC can offer to them. Many simply prefer the simplicity of other devices and the trendiness that come along with them. You seem to fail to see that people could value these things.

Now I can tell you I've yet to meet a person that can live without a PC and don't want the same ole, same ole. Certain people I find over a certain age do, for sure. But if you're 22 years old and in college, an ipad is the biggest waste of cash in the world just to go facebook, iTunes, and music streaming. A laptop PC is used to do that and everything more. A tablet PC would be a pretty decent way to go if a tablet were to be chosen in that scenario. Someone who is 50 years old doesn't care so much about PC capabilities (as some here have already said themselves) on a tablet. But then again, that's probably not what a Windows 8 tablet PC's demographic is....

 

[Coke Robot]

Didnt have to survey them. If they were so unhappy, they wouldn't have bought so many.

People really wanted the ipad at launch?!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

That's a good one!

No one seems to remember EVER, how when the ipad was first introduced, the reviews were all over the place from being a giant ipod touch, a maxipad, to being a neat device but doesn't fit well in an already tech filled day. No one really cared for the ipad until later after launch, I remember it was used on that show Modern Family where one of the main characters got it for his birthday and used it to blow out candles on a fake cake. That was just before launch of it...I think of the first gen one or the second gen.... Not sure.

Point is, the allure of apple being apple is the primary factor behind the ipad. It's just like the iphone, when you ask most people why it's so good, a lot will say, "Because it's apple or because it's an iphone" or something between those lines. A response like that basically means they have no logical reason why, other than the brand.

 

[Lee]

Please correct me if I am wrong (sure one of you will), albeit wasn't the whole idea behind the tablet/iPad revolution was to distance it from the computer thus bringing it in line with cloud services. There is this "Ole Boy" down in Sun Valley which is a golfing buddy who has never owned or worked with a computer even on the job (retired plumber) who just bought an iPad and just thinks the world of it along with the Apple cloud service. He bought it through AT&T, and they helped with the setup.

BTW, retired plumbers who lived and worked in Sun Valley retired with a nice bank account. . .

 

[Barman58]

Perhaps the lack of sync between an iPad and a PC is more to do with Apple than the basic design of the tablet, they are not actually known for their willingness to "play ball" with others.

for example

there is a standard for AC power connectors for phones and tablets, that is followed by all manufacturers worldwide except Apple.

The headset jack, (For mic and inline system control), on all modern phones and tablets is basically interchangeable between models and manufacturers, except for apple who took the standard and modified, and patented it, so they could have a cut of all accessories sold.

It's Apple's marketing strategy, and has been very successful

I know Apple are still the top seller in the states, but this is not the case in the rest of the world If I connect any tablet apart from a iPad to my PC it shows as a standard external drive so any synch needed is simple

 

[Wenda]

Barman, that's one of the reasons I wouldn't buy Apple at gunpoint.

Wenda.

 

[Barman58]

Please correct me if I am wrong (sure one of you will), albeit wasn't the whole idea behind the tablet/iPad revolution was to distance it from the computer thus bringing it in line with cloud services. There is this "Ole Boy" down in Sun Valley which is a golfing buddy who has never owned or worked with a computer even on the job (retired plumber) who just bought an iPad and just thinks the world of it along with the Apple cloud service. He bought it through AT&T, and they helped with the setup.

BTW, retired plumbers who lived and worked in Sun Valley retired with a nice bank account. . .

Not going to correct something that is basically correct

All tablets and smartphones are ostensibly "cloud devices", a lot of people have misgivings about the cloud, and I can understand this, but the plain fact is it's the way it is today.

My tablet and smartphone mean I am always connected to the things I need to be to work, and I use Android and Google's cloud services the other IT monster out there, but it makes things easier for me, Though to be honest I miss the days of old, when I could go out into the wild and not be inundated with calls and emails

 

[Barman58]

Barman, that's one of the reasons I wouldn't buy Apple at gunpoint.

Wenda.

I respect the genius, of the ultimate salesman that was Steve Jobs, but do not like the way that things have gone, he decided to make the ear buds on the original iPod white & shiny, and saved the company, They'd not long before gone cap in hand to Bill Gates and Microsoft for help, the famous IE in mac OS deal, which they got because of the microsoft's need for a competitor for the monopolies investigation

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
A 7 inch one doesn't do it for me -- for that type of stuff a decent sized smartphone (e.g Galaxy IIIs or the new Galaxy 4) does casual / quick internet / email stuff.

I can't really see the use of a tablet in a work place unless it's purely for a "Passive" presentation. Without the use of a Mouse, Keyboard and LARGE monitor I really couldn't do any useful work whatsoever.

I could see a tablet being used for management to show a "What If" scenario in forecasting etc -- but the presentation IMO would have already been done previously on a conventional type PC / laptop before being transferred to the tablet.

As for those ridiculous 7 inch "Phablets" -- I laugh when I see someone using those to make a phone call or try and use them as a Camera. !!

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Wenda]

7" is fine for me and what I use my tab for, Jimbo.
I tend not to do much in the way of 'serious' computing on it, tho.
Mainly e-books, 7" is perfect for that.
I have the 18.4" i7 for the serious stuff.
Oh, mine doesn't function as a phone, it's wifi only. Agree it looks silly...
Wenda.

 

[jimbo45]

7" is fine for me and what I use my tab for, Jimbo.
I tend not to do much in the way of 'serious' computing on it, tho.
Mainly e-books, 7" is perfect for that.
I have the 18.4" i7 for the serious stuff.
Oh, mine doesn't function as a phone, it's wifi only. Agree it looks silly...
Wenda.

Hi there
I actually use a Kindle (actually a Sony PRS) e-reader for books as I find a backlit screen is hopeless for reading in bright sunlight or daylight whereas the e-ink screens are always readable even outdoors or on the beach.

Sony also uses epub / doc / pdf which are easily convertibale into from the kindle MOBI format via (Free Calibre) andit also has an external micro sd card --I've got over 2,000 books on the device --probably never read all of them.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Rickkins]

Do we consider the kindle to be a tablet...?? Honestly, I hadn't thought of it before.

Yups, got me a kindle paperwhite, birthday present from me wife last year. I use that all the time, and I love it. I read primarily in bed at night, so it's perfect for me.

Does that make me pro-tablet...??

 

[pparks1]

A standard Kindle is not a tablet. I happen to have 3 Kindles in my family, A gen2 for me, a gen3 for the wife and a paperwhite for my 8 year old daughter. Great devices.

 

[Ray8]

TABLETS are becoming a disposal device with a new breed of Android tablets starting to break the $100 barrier.

Major retailers are offering some Android tablets from less than $90 and many other models under the $150 price mark.

''Our tablets were developed with conversations with our customers and one thing our customers were saying is that they wanted a tablet but they didn't need one,'' Mr Kogan said.

''At the price point that we've reached, it almost becomes a disposable device.

''There's a clear demand for tablets out there, there's clear demand for mobile computing devices, especially at that price point.

''At $150 it's a no brainer for them, at $800 it's a clear cut no".

Cheap tablets here and they're not too bad | Tablet PC & iPad News | News.com.au | News.com.au

 

[freeeekyyy]

What I would really like to see is Apple putting out a forked version of Android ala Facebook, to make the phones look just like the iPhone, and the tablets look just like the iPad. I mean, its just largely cosmetic changes and simply tying to the Apple ecosystem. That would own, just to see Google's reaction haha.

What would be the point? Why put forth all that effort and money when they already have a fully featured, functional and highly popular (more so than android) mobile OS?

 

[Coke Robot]

TABLETS are becoming a disposal device with a new breed of Android tablets starting to break the $100 barrier.

Major retailers are offering some Android tablets from less than $90 and many other models under the $150 price mark.

''Our tablets were developed with conversations with our customers and one thing our customers were saying is that they wanted a tablet but they didn't need one,'' Mr Kogan said.

''At the price point that we've reached, it almost becomes a disposable device.

''There's a clear demand for tablets out there, there's clear demand for mobile computing devices, especially at that price point.

''At $150 it's a no brainer for them, at $800 it's a clear cut no".

Cheap tablets here and they're not too bad | Tablet PC & iPad News | News.com.au | News.com.au

This and android are pretty obvious as android has really no standards than what the OEM decides. That's what makes android different over Windows or even apple.

 

[Barman58]

The vast variation in the presentation of the android os is due in main, I think, due to it's history, it's a fairly open architecture, which has allowed providers to customise what the user can use or see.

As the OS was originally used for the smartphone market, (of which it now has in excess of 75%), it became the norm for, the telecoms companies providing the phones "free" on contract, to highly customise the presentation, via branding , but more importantly to limit the features of the OS that the user could access. Eg. one major function built into the OS was the capability for tethering, which was, and still is, missing from a lot of handsets. Tethering was, and is, something that the telcons did not like so they blocked access to it.

With tablets,which are more often bought outright without a telcon contract, the look and feel of the device, and functionality, is more to the original Google specification. though as with PCs there is an amount of corporate branding from the manufacturers, including the inability to remove the crapware, as most do with a PC

There are still the pseudo android tablet from the likes of Amazon, where they install a highly restrictive port of the OS with their own look and feel and control of app availablity, of course Amazon subsidise the cost of the tablet to the user, for the simple reason of driving their main business which is the selling of content, a similar scenario to that in the smartphone market