- Since my two tablets have not freed me from having to lug my laptop around, I have to admit that, functionally, tablets remain largely toys for those of us who need real software. It may come full circle soon, though, given that Windows is becoming more "gesture friendly" while tablet hardware is becoming more capable of providing a Windows environment in a thin package. Take a look at the Fujitsu Q550. Windows 8 may well turn out to be the iPad killer...
Meanwhile, though, it's pointless to try to demean the Fire by calling it an "e-reader" rather than a "real" tablet. The Fire and Playbook share their core hardware--do some Googling on this and you'll see what I mean. I prefer the PB. But, philosophically, I have to say the Fire is closer to the ideal of the tablet in that it is a general purpose device and does not limit you the way the closed RIM OS with its scant apps does on the PB. Yes, the Fire can also work as a Kindle e-reader. I wish the Playbook could.
Right now ALL tablets have the same concept: pare down most components of a netbook, get rid of the keyboard and replace it with a very expensive pane of glass. Taking out the keyboard and hinges, etc takes away about a pound of weight so you are able to use it as an ereader. However, creating any content (ie typing) becomes a pain in the neck. The part of the public who have adopted tabs like the tradeoff.
To demean the Fire because it is an ereader is to disregard the very raison d'etre of the tablet today.12-07-11 08:37 AMLike 0 -
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Anything except Apple.12-07-11 11:15 AMLike 0 - I'm not so sure. Most people I know with a transformer + dock would probably be better off just buying a laptop at the same price point or slightly higher. Maybe they can add a basic kindle or a cheap knockoff. They all have smart phones and mp3 players anyway. In any case I hope a mobile windows works out. There shouldn't be any theoretical limitations on a tablet today that could run early 2000's PC software. Someone needs to find a way to ease typing without comprising on the tablet's form factor.
Anything except Apple.
Maybe Android or some other tablet OS will evolve into a full-scale operating sytem as tablet hardware becomes more powerful. But, in some ways, that would be reinventing the wheel. Lest Apple and others forget, the traditional now-called-"convertable" tablet, running a full operating system, was around long before the iPad was a gleam in Apple's eye, and still goes strong--my laptop is actually the Dell XT2 Tablet. So was the screen-only tablet--look at the Samsung Q1. But, now that we have gotten used to a "tablet" being paper thin and weighing next to nothing, that Windows 8 "iPad killer" is going to have to offer the best of both worlds to succeed. I suspect that to meet the needs of the present laptop user, it needs to be a svelt 12" screen-only device (largish screen to reduce eye strain) that integrates with or at least works well with a full size keyboard, which would be used when the application involves typing. I would trade my laptop and two tablets in for one of those--although I might still want to keep my PB for the pocketability/fun factor12-07-11 01:37 PMLike 0
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