What do you predict will be the general response to tablets ?

[Regenweald]

Because right now, no one really know what one is and come the launch if the islate/tablet, rappers, actors and the population in general will be in awe of this "brand new" technology.

I see them selling like hot cakes with all the owners realizing weeks down the road that theres a lot that you actually *can't* do with them. They will then discover that they never needed all that extra functionality anyway.

I personally dislike anemic tech, so I'm no fan of atom procs or the soon to be unleashed tablet tsunami.

[jrothwell97]

The reason tablets haven't taken off until now is the same reason that smartphones didn't take off until the iPhone: first, all the user interfaces are generally terrible (the desktop metaphor does not transition well to a tablet) and second, with the ultra-hip Apple peddling them they were bound to be a success.

If the Apple tablet rumours are true, and they do release one, the market will explode.

Personally speaking, depending on its implementation, a tablet could be a useful tool: if it's simply an iPhone on steroids, it'll be a convenient little portable device that will fulfil the casual user's needs, but won't satisfy power users, feature-bullet-point addicts or Richard Stallman. If it's anything more, it could turn out to be an extraordinarily useful little device.

[Gallahhad]

I think as touch scree U.I.'s become more popular, and more developed, that tablets, if a touchscreen would be part of a tablets definition, will become more and more popular.

I know that one popular mod for those into modding netbooks is a touchscreen mod, and I have considered doing it myself; but without being able to flip the screen over flat, it really seems pointless so I have not bothered doing it (yet); I probably will get around to doing it at some point for the "just because I can" reasons, but I'm not really wanting to re-engineer my netbooks hinges to make it actually a practical mod.

[ve4cib]

...won't satisfy power users...

Does anything ever satisfy power users? I mean, really, unless it's a basement server farm capable of simultaneously calculating Pi to the quintillionth decimal place, folding half a dozen proteins, running a few torrents, showing Electric Sheep on 18 monitors, playing Crysis with the graphics turned all the way up, and acting as the Singularity's central brain -- all without any noticeable lag -- I don't think there's any way of ever satisfying that ilk. (Seriously though, I just despise the term "power user" because it doesn't actually mean anything useful. It's just a label that would-be geeks use to give themselves some tech-credibility when dealing with the greater, less-technical population.)

Anyway, enough ranting about that. On to tablets!

I can't see tablets becoming the new laptops anytime soon (or ever). They're just too different and (for now anyway) low-powered to be a realistic replacement for a standard notebook.

They're also not going to replace smartphones, simply because of the size (a 7" screen is hard to fit in your pocket), and their lack of ability when it comes to making phone calls. Similarly tablets won't replace iPods and other (audio-centric) mp3 players for the same reasons of portability.

Tablets may start to become the new portable video device of choice. With sufficient internal storage and a trend moving towards downloading movies (or watching hi-def streaming videos) these could make a big splash. No more squinting at your 3" iPod screen. But how many people need a portable, dedicated video player? Tablets will be the kind of this new, small market.

I can see tablets further-marginalizing netbooks. As was mentioned, one of the most-popular netbook mods is the addition of a touchscreen. Netbooks are already small, portable, and low-powered devices. Tablets are much the same. The biggest difference is the cost; tablets will be pricey (initially anyway), but may offer a more user-friendly experience. The big fight is going to be between netbooks and tablets I think. And tablets, being newer, shinier, and generally-cooler will likely win in the long-run.

"Netbooks" as we know them will likely die out, to be replaced with cheaper, more powerful, low-end notebooks. This is already happening; netbooks are getting more expensive and more powerful with each generation. Eventually the distinction between a netbook and a cheap notebook will become essentially nil, and the two branches of the family tree will merge back together.

Sci-fi has been promising us pervasive, omni-present tablets for years. As soon as someone makes a nice one with an LCARS-style UI the Star Trek fans will never let the technology die. It may never become a huge, must-have item, but tablets will come and they will not die.

(Incidentally the Nokia N-series already has a set of user-contributed LCARS themes, so the 24th Century is already well on its way to arriving early.)

[kerry_s]

i been wanting a slate tablet to use in bed, but at the prices there going at i don't think so.

[sydbat]

does anything ever satisfy power users? I mean, really, unless it's a basement server farm capable of simultaneously calculating pi to the quintillionth decimal place, folding half a dozen proteins, running a few torrents, showing electric sheep on 18 monitors, playing crysis with the graphics turned all the way up, and acting as the singularity's central brain -- all without any noticeable lag -- i don't think there's any way of ever satisfying that ilk. (seriously though, i just despise the term "power user" because it doesn't actually mean anything useful. It's just a label that would-be geeks use to give themselves some tech-credibility when dealing with the greater, less-technical population.):lolflag: