Mobile phones & tablets thread

[ioan]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereport..._of_steve.html

Sheen and Gaddafi have competition for the most ridiculous quote of the year.

Worst part yet is that all of them have followers!

[Jag_Warrior]

Is it possible to do some really productive work on it?
If not I do not see it's usefulness, especially given it's price.

Like any computing device, it depends on what industry or sector your productive work applies to. My girl works with children who have special needs/learning disabilities. She said they're piloting iPads in the school system where she works. Especially in kids with autism, apparently these types of devices (not just iPads) help them relate to their surroundings better. iPads have also been piloted or deployed in about 80% of Fortune 500 companies thus far. From what I've read, the iPad has seen the highest (non-consumer) adoption rates in education, financial services/sales and health care.

If you're doing heavy CAD/CAM, spreadsheet, graphics or dedicated stock, futures or options trading, I'd say an iPad (or any other relatively small screen device) would be too limiting. Although there are productivity apps made by AutoCAD, the CBOE, most banks and financial institutions, as well as graphics companies, the iPad isn't yet powerful or versatile enough to be a desktop or laptop replacement. Tablets function more as mobile, complimentary devices to full systems right now.

I don't need or want an iPad for myself right now. The new MacBook Pro better fits my needs, so that's what I'm looking forward to getting soon. But I'd planned to buy my girl an iPad last year - now I'm glad I waited. The iPad2, with the additional features, should fit the bill very well for her. And if I get as many "good boyfriend points" as I hope to, hopefully we'll be stopping by the Victoria's Secret shop... so that I'll also have a "present" to unwrap after she unwraps her
new iPad.

But the iPad started life as (primarily) a consumer device, that is rapidly finding a place in the business world. With the release of Gingerbread/3.0(?), the Android makers now have an OS that is suited for the larger form factor of a tablet. But (IMO) too many of them rushed to get products to market that were not ready for prime time. And that's hurt them on the business adoption side. No doubt, Android and the new RIM device will come on strong - maybe HP too. But for the next couple of years, the tablet market should belong to Apple.

[Mark]

Well now we have the iPad too we can look forward to the iPhone 5! Which I don't intend on buying but it should bring a new OS with it.

[GridGirl]

...but I haven't noticed any changes from last weeks software update yet.

[Mark]

That's 4.2? I think 4.3 is out at the end of this week. Agreed, the chages are minor at best!

[Daniel]

I think tablets are going to eventually die the same death that netbooks have died from. Its not that they're not well designed, its just that the form factor is fundamentally wrong. They don't do anything better than a phone and a pc/laptop.

we used to laugh at people who used to bring tablets in for repair 5-6 years ago because other than for someone who is always out and about and doesn't have somewhere to sit, the tablet is not as functional as a laptop, nor is it as portable as a touchscreen phone.

[Mark]

we used to laugh at people who used to bring tablets in for repair 5-6 years ago because other than for someone who is always out and about and doesn't have somewhere to sit, the tablet is not as functional as a laptop, nor is it as portable as a touchscreen phone.

It's hard to think of a usecase where I tablet is going to be more useful than a laptop on a long term basis. Apart from just the 'sitting on the sofa' one.
If you're travelling a lot then you'd really want a smartphone instead, if you're on the train then there is always a surface to put a small laptop on, as there are in most other cases where you'd want something bigger than a smartphone.

I'd be interested to hear from people who actually have tablets as to where and when they use them.

[Mark]

Turns out Microsoft paid Nokia $1 billion in order to take it's OS
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03...icrosoft_deal/

Nokia will pay Microsoft back each time it sells a phone with their OS in it, but it looks like a good deal for Nokia!

[Daniel]

Those are rumours Mark, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were true

[Mark]

I'm surprised really both were in a big hole with their respective products, but probably Nokia was in the biggest one of all. After all MS could afford for it's phone product to not really take off, but Nokia, well that's all they do!