HN Explorer

Poll: Tablet? Why?

6 points by axod ↗ HN
There's enough Tablet hype and speculation at the moment to fill a billion extra large hot air balloons.

Interested in seeing what people think...

Any other use-cases in comments

10 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 40.1 ms ] thread
sophacles
Because laptops/netbooks are just awkward enough that I don't like the hassle of opening them an using them on the couch, wandering around the house, etc. I do however want to ask google all sorts of questions all the time. A tablet seems solve this problem.
ErrantX
I want a tablet to replace my iPhone web browser around the house.

(at the moment i cant use it for extended periods and it's a pain to keep having to boot the netbook for complex stuff)

mbrubeck
I read a lot of PDF ebooks and technical articles. I still print them out on dead trees because I find it more ergonomic than reading on a computer or a phone, especially while commuting. I'd love a lightweight, 7-10" tablet device for reading - either a dedicated e-reader like the Kindle once they get cheap enough, or a general-purpose computer that could justify a somewhat higher price.
csuper
I don't see the appeal of a tablet. I can't think of a single reason to use one. I like my iPhone - it fills in the gaps enough for me. But I still prefer to be on an actual computer.

Tablets just seem odd to me. How do you hold it? Do you set it down on the desk and stare down at it? Are you going to prop it up? Will it have peripheral support?

dryicerx
One place tablets really shine are field work: when you need to be moving about and still have computing access (hospitals, construction sites, surveying, etc).

This is the same reason why the iPhone is such a great mobile device, you might as well it a tablet that happens to be a phone and fits in your pocket.

Readmore
These are pretty limiting options. Where is: I want a tablet to play two player touch games. Or: I want a tablet to use as a REAL personal computer, with me everywhere always connecting me to the Internet in a form factor that works better for real computing than a phone.

I think people are too focused on what they think a tablet isn't good at and aren't open to the possibilities of what it could be good for.

I'm very excited about the Apple Tablet rumors but I would buy a ~$700 tablet from anyone who does it correctly. It's going to take a new software paradigm, possibly a new form of a Zooming UI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zooming_user_interface), but I think there is a real market there.

The Courier is just as interesting to me but I still have doubts Microsoft can actually pull something like that off.

marssaxman
I don't get the tablet thing. Keyboards work.
zefhous
Maybe you aren't the target market.

There's a lot of computing that gets done in which people don't type more than a few words at a time. Yes, keyboards are great. Some people are so good at using the keyboards that they hardly need a mouse, but that's not the majority of computer users.

In my experience most people don't use more than a few common keyboard shortcuts. I think there are plenty of good use cases for a tablet as an output device. It may or may not be good for inputing information, but that's hardly the point.

evgen
I tend to use a computer in one of three modes: coding/ops, information gathering/analysis, and entertainment. For the latter two functions the keyboard is superfluous to most of what I am doing; I will use it a couple of times but not enough that I would mind using an on-display keyboard if it meant that I was able to use the device in a more portable/mobile fashion. There is also no reason that such a device can't use a keyboard when one is available via bluetooth, with a tablet the keyboard is just an optional accessory.
gr366
If you've ever watched someone pick up an iPhone for the first time and be able to immediately start using it (delightedly so), consider how some of those same people interact with a computer (double-clicking links in web pages, calling their browser "the Internet", having to deal with virus protection software, etc).

An Apple tablet might meet the needs of most people as a radically simplified "media device" to the point that they don't need to buy a traditional computer.