The iPad 2, the Blackberry Playbook, the Motorola Xoom, and the Asus Eee are all on the way, just to name a few. Tablets seem to be the neat new toy right now, so who here thinks one is cool enough to actually buy?

I think the Xoom is pretty badass, armed with Android 3.0 'Honeycomb', a decent size, ect. iPads are kind of a joke, IMO, but whatever floats your boat.

I am mildly interested in one, mainly as a digital whiteboard, but it needs to be Android-based and have a spot for me to put a stylus in, as for me a stylus is a must (much more accurate and more useful for the purposes I plan on using it for: flowcharts and similar things like random notetaking). Having typed on a tablet, I can say it is one of the least fun experiences I've had. stylus + character recognition really is a must IMO.


Honeycomb is Android 3.0. 2.3 was released back in December and was Gingerbread. Also, IMO, the Xoom is too big. 7 inches is the max a tablet should be IMO

My bad, I meant 3.0. Will edit.

Also, I think that stylus capable is a huge plus as well. I like finger-use, but some things are just better left to a pen-shaped-object.

Just using your fingers is nice for using apps, but if you've ever tried to "type" on a tablet, you'd know how horrible of an experience it is. It isn't angled at all like a keyboard unless you angle it yourself against something, and the extremely cramped on-screen keyboard makes normal typing practically impossible anyway. The on-screen keyboard works well enough when thumbing through keys on your phone, since you can hold it easily enough in your hands and reach all keys with your thumbs, but that doesn't work on a tablet keyboard since it is so much bigger. Without a stylus and character recognition, it's not really a tool, but a toy. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with that, just not what I am after.

"iPads are kind of a joke, IMO, but whatever floats your boat."

Maybe, but without the iPad there wouldn't be all these other tablets coming out!

There'd still be tablets coming out, and they'd have both stylus support and character recognition, you know, like the tablets BEFORE the iPad did.

none really.

I can only think of disadvantages when comparing a tablet to a netbook or laptop. Unless you absolutely adore touch screens I don't see the point in buying something that limits what you can install and gives you a poor excuse for a keyboard.

For media consumption, web browsing, and lightweight computing, they can be better than netbooks or notebooks (less cumbersome, for example). They're not intended for gaming or desktop publishing or what-have-you, and they only really shine when used in their intended niche. And not all of them artificially limit what you can install.

wat.

This is what pisses me off about the portable market. Instead of having firmware updates you have to buy a whole new device.

Fixed .

Asus EP121 64MB, you'll still need an external storage for this. Asus Slider, Samsung Slider, the way they incorporate keyboard and tablet is stylish. Motorola Xoom. These are the ones that look good enough for me. It's either Win 7 or Android 3.0, anything else would be a waste of money.

Ipad cannot into USB ports.

With the rise of Cloud USB ports will become obsolete to a degree.

I don't think wifi can match the bitrate of a USB port, nor the versatility.

I bought an Ipad...I know, I know...but honestly I love the thing. I take it to class with me to take notes instead of my laptop.

No. They're like Netbooks, but less powerfull, more of a gimmick, and less functional. Also, generally around the same price. The only tablet-like device I have any interest in is the NoteSlate if it ends up not being vaporware.

That depends on usage. For realtime data read and transfer, yes wifi can never beat USB or even the future Light Peak, but for light load tasks like Cloud printing or web documents storage there are quite a handful of free convenient solutions out there that could make your works a lot more portable and stylish. All depends on how Cloud and LP/USB grow in the coming 5 years.

http://thetoshibatablet.com/

I thought about getting my girlfriend a tablet for online school, I figured that'd be right up a tablets alley.

I think they're completely and utterly useless for most people who buy them. The only real application I've seen is this guy who works for Sony who comes into work and asks people questions and writes their answers down on his iPad. Other than that, I find the whole 'they're more space-saving than a netbook' argument ridiculous. They're only a bit different in size when the netbook is closed, a netbook is much cheaper, and unless someone is making you access the internet in a tiny box or while constantly walking around, the size really isn't an issue.

But... but... they have angry birds on them.

Their cool but, for now I'm fine with my current phone. It's crazy, phones went from huge to small, to big

:thumbsup: Exactly my thought of iPad and any other non Honeycomb tablets.

i was just talking about this with my parents.

i used the ipad and i loved it a lot. the galaxy tab was ok. Its just that i hate how apple always releases new ones every so often so i guess i just need to choose a stopping point or just let this fad die out.