01-10-2013, 10:10 PM
That's a pretty damning critique of touch-based computing in general (like a number of Windows AIO PCs), but I suppose the advantage for those machines is that they still have a KB & mouse, even if you are "supposed" to use them as a touch screen.
The key here is that they're different categories, a tablet isn't positioned to be a substitute for a laptop. At least in the Apple world. That said, it turns out, a laptop has more features than is needed in a lot of situations. And are positioned to overtake (if they haven't already) laptop sales, because they're so affordable, convenient, and frankly, lovely products.
I've paired an Apple BT KB to the iPad exactly once and just having arrow keys made it significantly easier to use vs. touching the screen for cursor positioning while typing.
I agree, it helps, but I've anytime I've paired a keyboard with the iPad, in an attempt to approximate the convenience and speed of word processing tasks on a laptop, it doesn't remain paired for very long. It's just not nimble enough to use in a comparative way. In that regard, it's limited as a content-creation device, for power-users who have expectations based on experience using laptops.
Having firmly established habits as a computer user, as a developed adult, it's likely different than it would be for a young consumer with a relatively blank slate, habits not formed yet.
I can see how parents are happier buying a tablet than a laptop for their kids who may not need all the power and features of a more expensive laptop. And for whom smart phones and other hand-held devices are their main orientation. And computers are geezer legacy machines they have little or no history with.
Still, those hybrids have a good niche going! (my wife has a Surface) They really can flip back and forth, between laptop use and tablet use. Maybe like a couch-bed, may not excel at either category individually, but that one benefit goes a long way to satisfying a certain kind of customer, in a way Apple's iOS products don't. Don't get me wrong. I think the Surface isn't otherwise as elegant or app-equipped as an iPad. Microsoft's lame ecosystem just doesn't fit into my rich, Apple-centric ecosystem.
Still, it's really the only time I've been jealous, or upset, that competing platforms (the Galaxy line, too) offers an innovation that Apple has declined to offer.
The key here is that they're different categories, a tablet isn't positioned to be a substitute for a laptop. At least in the Apple world. That said, it turns out, a laptop has more features than is needed in a lot of situations. And are positioned to overtake (if they haven't already) laptop sales, because they're so affordable, convenient, and frankly, lovely products.
I've paired an Apple BT KB to the iPad exactly once and just having arrow keys made it significantly easier to use vs. touching the screen for cursor positioning while typing.
I agree, it helps, but I've anytime I've paired a keyboard with the iPad, in an attempt to approximate the convenience and speed of word processing tasks on a laptop, it doesn't remain paired for very long. It's just not nimble enough to use in a comparative way. In that regard, it's limited as a content-creation device, for power-users who have expectations based on experience using laptops.
Having firmly established habits as a computer user, as a developed adult, it's likely different than it would be for a young consumer with a relatively blank slate, habits not formed yet.
I can see how parents are happier buying a tablet than a laptop for their kids who may not need all the power and features of a more expensive laptop. And for whom smart phones and other hand-held devices are their main orientation. And computers are geezer legacy machines they have little or no history with.
Still, those hybrids have a good niche going! (my wife has a Surface) They really can flip back and forth, between laptop use and tablet use. Maybe like a couch-bed, may not excel at either category individually, but that one benefit goes a long way to satisfying a certain kind of customer, in a way Apple's iOS products don't. Don't get me wrong. I think the Surface isn't otherwise as elegant or app-equipped as an iPad. Microsoft's lame ecosystem just doesn't fit into my rich, Apple-centric ecosystem.
Still, it's really the only time I've been jealous, or upset, that competing platforms (the Galaxy line, too) offers an innovation that Apple has declined to offer.