Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
Summary: In 2011 tablets have proved that they are much more than a gimmick and threaten to become the mobile device of choice.
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I was one of thos
[Placeholder-0]e doubters who thought of tablets as nothing more than a gimmick. But having now used these devices more extensively, I've changed my tune. I can see that tablet technology is incredibly useful. My change of heart has given me a growing belief that tablets will replace the laptop as the mobile device of choice. Here are the principal reasons for my new position.
Power consumption
The tablet scores heavily over the laptop when it comes to power consumption. On average, I can get a full day out of a tablet on a single charge. I couldn't even get close to that with a laptop. For anyone who has to operate on the move, running out of power is just another factor that interferes with work. You're less likely to find yourself in that situation with a tablet.
Photo credit: James Martin/CNET News
Captions: Jack Wallen, TechRepublic
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Talkback
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
I think they will coexist.
"Viruses"
We'll see about that. And I should note that I've been virus free for quite a long time now.
"A really good tablet will cost about the same as a low- to mid-range laptop."
And probably have lower specs.
"Online connection"
. . . what?
Last I checked, you can get the same online connectivity with a laptop. Even my netbook had a 3G model if I wanted one.
BTW - remember, that data plan isn't free.
"Application availability"
Okay, you're nuts.
"User-friendliness"
This I'll give you - today. But it's obvious that UIs are converging, and that PCs are on a fast track for a more user friendly UI.
"Bluetooth connectivity"
BTW, when [b]is[/b] the last time you bought a laptop?
"Efficiency"
Dunno what your problem is, my computers are instant on from sleep mode.
Which is really what the tablets and smart phones are doing. Ever try a true reboot of an iOS device? It takes as long as any PC.
"Social integration"
LOL. Sorry, no.
"And if you think that's a waste of time, remember that small businesses depend on social-networking tools for free marketing."
Hey, guess what?
I still think it's a waste of time.
"Or do you think other obstacles lie in the tablet's path?"
They lack a good keyboard. You'll pry my Microsoft Natural from my cold, dead hands ;).
OK, that's because I have a tower right now, rather than a laptop. But still - I'd like something that can actually play a few decent games. And no, Angry Birds doesn't count.
I guess I'm not much of a mobile worker. Where I work right now doesn't really require it.
Nice
Looks like you covered it all :)
Useful if....
When a tablet can properly run MSOffice (all of it) that I can dock with a keyboard/mouse I may grudgingly agree.
What I see future wise: tower for work/games, tablet or travel/ light stuff, smartphone for else... All need to integrate in some fashion.
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
You nailed it
I have an iPad with a bluetooth keyboard so I'm certainly not against tablets. The only advantage I've noticed so far is portability: I can choose to use my iPad with or without the keyboard but this is not an option on traditional laptops.
The rest of the list is pure garbage.
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
Awesome, can't say anymore +!
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
Tablets are no better than first gen netbooks, yet everyone is willing to jump on the tablet bandwagon and shun netbooks. definitely hypocrytical sheep buyers that don't need money or a job as they can't spend or even think right
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
[i]I can't imagine using a tablet any larger than 7 inches.[/i]
Don't just imagine it. Try it for yourself. Its about as cumbersome as holding a small clipboard and writing on it. In other words it's easy and natural.
OTOH, 7-inches is too big to fit in your pocket, and too small to view full-sized documents without panning and zooming.
WHA?
Good lord, is this trope going to get trotted out every time someone wants to argue against something? Well, guess what - not TOO long ago, ZDNet was spewing about how Android is rife with viruses and that the number of infections were exploding.
Can't have it BOTH ways...
"Portability"
Hey - you might want to checkout some of the tech blogs.. apparently there's this thing called an 'Ultrabook'... look it up.
Oh.. and yeah - carrying a laptop is SO much more convenient than carrying a tablet AND a keyboard (as is shown in the photo)...
"Cost Effectivity"
Uh.. you can get lightweight, long battery life netbooks for $200. And as for cost of software: compared to what? If you're going to play the double standard, then let's go with Open Office (free), Paint.Net (free) and so on. Windows has Live, which gives you calendars and email - so does Google's apps.
"On line connection"
Again, go to any cellco's outlet and you'll find netbooks with integrated 3G. And usually cheaper than a tablet with 3G...
"Apps"
If you're into Angry Birds, then yeah - get a tablet. If you're into Photoshop or Visual Studio - not so much. That being said, since a huge proportion of apps are really webscrapers - mostly to get around not being able to run Flash - a netbook or laptop really doesn't *need* many of these apps.
"User Friendliness"
One mans dross is another man's gold, as they say. The iPad is a testimony to 'lowest common denominator' design. If you're the kind of person who needs one - you should probably get one. Then again, Android is more complex than iOS to use - and it's beating the pants off iOS in the phone space... so something's wrong with the author's logic...
"Bluetooth"
Depends on what you're doing. In Win7 you just go to "Devices and Printers", search and add the device. It's not that much more difficult than it is on any tablet I've used.
"Efficiency"
"Getting a laptop out of hibernation is a very different experience to waking up a tablet. "<br><br>Kind of stacking the deck a bit here - but even with that, hiberation means 'pressing the power key, waiting for the system to restore and then logging in.' Compare that to waking a laptop from sleep: 'Open the lid, log in.' and the tablet's 'Press the power key (or in the case of the iPad and some other tablets, press the home key or the power key), log in.'<br><br>VERY different. SO much harder...<br><br>In terms of speed - again, you've kind of stacked the deck here by specifically stating hibernation when any seasoned laptop user would actually have the laptop in sleep state. In sleep, many laptops can be up and ready by the time you finish opening the lid. The end result is almost exactly the same time as a tablet.
"Social Integration"
Because running a browser or clicking on a link to Facebook or Twitter is so hard. (BTW, doesn't this argue against 'the future is HTML5'? If it is, then all of these platforms become the same...)
"It is not a zero sum game"
Tablets represent one kind of computer use. It doesn't represent the ONLY kind of computer use. Most tablet purchases are new users - or people adding a tablet to their mix - not old users replacing their existing systems. Buying a tablet doesn't mean 'throwing out the laptop'.
I have several tablets (I got into the tablet thing back when we called them UMPCs) including a Samsung Series 7 Windows slate, an iPad and a Transformer Prime. Yet here I am writing this on my minitower in my living room because it's the most comfortable set up I have of the lot because I've put time into building a good work environment.
It's like fast food and grand cuisine... one didn't eliminate the other - people eat both (well, mostly fast food, alas - but weirdly, the analogy is all the more apt for this...), but we still go to better restaurants because sometimes we want a better experience.
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
The problem is...
To many proponents of tablets are making too much effort to equivocate the fast food experience with the grand cuisine experience. If you are of the mind that as far as the actual computing experience of tablets is more akin to the fast food experience and the full on desktop is more akin to the grand cuisine experience then you can see why from time to time we need to take some issue with the authors who seem to be implying that tablets are much closer to grand cuisine then common sense would suggest.
There seems to me to be no doubt that tablets can provide for a level of "handiness" that can be very compelling. That handiness has obviously impressed a lot of people who find it rather intoxicating. I know people who have tablets, I work with them, I see how the tablets are used. Unfortunately, I have yet to see anything in any tablet that takes it out of the realm of an "Angry Birds/handy machine". I know, at least from what I have read that there are some actual real jobs where a tablet has become one of the tools of choice because its so well suited for the task. But the fact remains that for most jobs the only thing a tablet has going for it is that its handy because it has a bigger screen then a smartphone and it works by touch. Yes, thats handy.
But the fact remains it just doesn't come across as $500 worth of handy when I already own a smartphone and a netbook, as well as a laptop and several desktops. If it could do what a real computer does, even what a decent netbook does, it might get closer to being $500 worth of handy, but alas, the netbook does it for much less.
Sorry, but in my mind from all the evidence I have seen on the ground, so to speak, the current form factor tablets are still the fast food experience but they are running perilously close to charging the the grand cuisine price. And lets keep in mind, up to this point there have always been two things that made fast food popular, one, it was handy, the other it was cheap.
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
Viruses - Are you kidding me? It should be a huge concern. Any internet device needs to take precautions against viruses and malware. The mere fact that you are dismissing this is exactly why tablets will not beat laptops. Thinking you are safe doesn't mean you are.
Portability - I'll still take the laptop as its more functional. Slightly heavier but well worth it.
Cost effectiveness - $699 for a tablet, $550 for a laptop. I know which one I'll be choosing.
Application Availability - Laptops still have thousands more apps available if you want to go based just on numbers. A lot of this software does a lot more than the limited apps you find on a tablet.
Bluetooth connectivity - you are one of the few using bluetooth with a tablet. Most people I know don't use bluetooth with anything other than a cell phone.
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
unprofessional
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
Roland Sassen
This article is silly!
Tablets have been around for a long time. I used a tablet in 1997. I admit, I loved it! It was a GRiD Convertible and it was tablet+laptop. I mostly used it as a laptop at the time, but 25% of the time, I used it as a tablet (especially on airplanes in coach). Now - 8 generations of Moores law later, and bluetooth, tiny single-chip WiFi, gestures, and capacitive touch screens, the experience is even better. Today, I have a desktop, laptop (Ultrabook), tablet, and smartphone. I still use the laptop far more than the tablet, and for different purposes.
I find the tablet is great for reading emags and email, and for light entertainment - basically from the computer to the human. It's also great for reference (weather, maps, dictionary, etc) when I need something handy. However, when the input is from me - human to computer - the tablet is less easy to operate, and I don't use it. I'm not saying you can't work that way - only that it's not as easy.
So, while I think tablets are a great category, and one that some people will exclusively prefer, they are merely laptop variants and the intersection of laptops and smartphones. If the author really means to point out that innovation and technology adoption is lagging in traditional laptop vendors, don't worry- that's what keeps America in business.
The Ultrabook with touchscreen would be the be-all for me.
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
Still, if tablets are to replace anything, it will be certain aspects and usages of mobile phones such as web surfing, which is nicer on a big screen.
RE: Why tablets will beat laptops in 2012
But, the tablet is definitely the most optional of the three.