Why Do You Use A Tablet?

No judgement, I'm just generally (also genuinely) curious. I was pretty surprised when I saw people snapping up iPads like crazy. I really thought the thing was going to be a bust for Apple, but boy was I wrong.

I have a Samsung Galaxy something, but I rarely use it. It just makes no sense to me. It's basically a big cell phone. When I got it I thought it was going to be super cool. I guess in some ways it is. It's nice for watching Netflix in bed. That's about it though. If I want to type it's a pain. It's slower, the screen is smaller, battery doesn't last as long... Oh, reading in bed is pretty awesome with a tablet compared to a phone since you can fit more text between swipes.

So other than that, what's the point? Why not buy a netbook? Small, cheap, has a keyboard... Expandable memory...

I really just don't get the infatuation with tablets.

The other thing that is starting to boggle my mind are the people who take a tablet with them and use it as a camera/video recorder. Why? I don't think it has any better features than a phone. I don't think it can take better video, better pictures or has any more storage capacity (depending on model).

The only thing I would get is if you could access the internet anywhere with something a little more usable than a phone, but they have that for computers and netbooks.

I get that if you're a browser and only comment on rare occasions it might be easier to do with a tablet.

Isn't it a pain trying to type in a random site or copy/paste? How do you respond to emails? I have no real trouble typing on the tablet but it's nowhere near as fast as using my phone and especially not my Airbook.

Even if you could pick up a decent tablet for $200 I still don't think I would use mine that often. Is it a chick thing? You can fit them in a purse? I'm either carrying nothing or a backpack. If I'm carrying a backpack my laptop takes up barely any room.

Enlighten me. It seems like a weird fad, but it's obviously not just a fad.

a reply to: Domo1

My tablets have one major purpose.

To keep me from strangling my kids at times.

I don't see the point honestly. I have an iPhone and I think it's total junk.

My father who's 67 bought one and loves it. Why? No idea, he just says he likes it.

Consumerism scares me, it seriously does. I have a PC and I admit life without the internet would be boring for a long time until I adjust. But will I ever get a tablet now? No.

In the future maybe. But as for now they're clunky, slow, overpriced, cheaply made and another gadget to worry about.

a reply to: AnteBellum

Oh so they are sturdy enough to smack a kid with? Noted.

I have Surface. Some people refer to it as a tablet, but it acts like a pc. Runs windows 8. Has microsoft word, powerpoint etc. It has a usb and hdmi port. Super easy to use and compact; has a detachable keyboard. Its perfect for my needs.

To free myself from boredom on the toilet!

a reply to: Tucket

Those make more sense to me. Still, my MacBook Air is super light, super compact, an actual computer, has a small but decent keyboard and I just can't see using something else on a forum unless I was just browsing. The "fat end" is barely thicker than my iPhone in a case, and the skinny end is smaller.

I also dislike not having a mouse. I guess you can get a tablet way cheaper, but I would rather pony up the extra dough to get a nice Mac or even a small PC.

Again, no judging. Just interested why some people like their tablets so much. They seem like folding bicycles. Great in very specific situations, but worse in every other way. Like a SMART car. You can park it anywhere, but it gets horrible gas mileage (relative to it's size) and is very expensive.

a reply to: Sostratus

My laptop doesn't want to talk about this

a reply to: Domo1

The Kindle app, and electronic magazines, on the iPad is great.

Many use a tablet at work when the internet is not available through the employer.

a reply to: Tucket

I second that. Surfing the web on my Surface Pro 3 I have adblock and everything else, and
a full keyboard, but still it gets limited use, like above someone said, for movies in bed when you
don't feel like lifting your head off of the pillow lol

With a Windows 8 tablet, it is a more complete computer, somehow, i always felt ripped off with
my iPad, and then apple just discontinued support. When you switch, you realize you were being duped.

You come to realize iOS is limited in some really basic ways. But then, really, so is windows 8 store.
Where Apple delivers on content/apps Windows delivers, to me, on performance for games/programs

I have never had a smartphone or anything, but I do use an android tablet (Asus Eee 10 inch tablet)

I use mine mainly because it's easy for me to read things (I am a blind person), since i can get it very near my face. Unlike my 24 inch monitor, which is not as easy to carry around

There's alot of apps on the tablet that are good, as well, and a lot of fun games that you can play hehe

I don't own (or want) one but I have used a couple of other people's. They drove me crazy rather quickly.

I've always liked a keyboard and typing. When I was about 10 my mom got an electronic typewriter - I used that thing to it's death!

I HATE touch/typing on screens. I go from 80-90 words per minute to 10. My phone is also a dinosaur (only much smaller than the new touch-screens - haha).

The only thing I could see myself liking about them is reading in bed. One day maybe, if someone gives me one or I find one on the street.

originally posted by: Domo1
a reply to: Tucket

I guess you can get a tablet way cheaper,

This is obviously the main reason I got the Surface. But I was just looking for simple functionality when I bought it. The Surface can do pretty much everything that my previous laptop did and is a breeze to operate.

..And I also use a mouse with it.

a reply to: Domo1

Because my laptop broke.

I have a Nexus 7 and on it I can : play games, surf the internet, order things, read [ Kindle app ], send/receive e mail, watch movies/TV and make calls, if you have the right app, navigate using Google maps, take pictures or video. I just like it because it's all that in a small package.
Although to tell the truth, I mainly use it to read.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S - Movies, portable physics and puzzle games, travel boredom, having greater functionality than a phone is less frustrating for mobile productivity. A 2560x1600, 3gb ram, sd slot, 360ppi AMOLED beast of a tablet. If you root, overclock and barebones the operating system this thing is insane.

Nvidia Shield Tablet - Mobile 1080p @60fps gaming over wifi connection from anywhere in the world with a good internet connection. Nuff said...

I can also make fire with two sticks to prove I still have a primitive side.

People prefer to use idiot proof technology that doesn't break or malfunction. A tablet is lighter and more shock resistant than a laptop. The bigger screen caters to anyone who might have trouble reading the text on a mobile phone. It is cheaper, has longer battery life and requires less software maintenance than a laptop/netbook. Those are probably your big 4 reasons as to why its a successful product.

It's really not a mystery. We are typing less and less and browsing more and more, so the onscreen keyboard isn't really a problem for most users, they want to do internet shopping, watch streaming content, browse news websites, read books, check their facebook/twitter/instagram/etc.

Off topic:
The internet in its current state is a lot of passive or indirect interaction- the direct interaction is generally a short one or two sentence comment which can be typed out quickly enough on a tablet.

Because primarily of content aggregation, people not longer go online to voice an opinion, they go online to form it. We have the perfect medium to manufacture consent and public opinion. And while you hear big talk about government intervention, censorship and control, its all just talk. Look at what your governments are really doing, they simply subvert the biggest websites and content producers - youtube, facebook, google, twitter, yahoo, amazon, ebay, qq, weibo, taobao, alibaba- all of whom are already doing extensive data mining to better link users and advertisers and expand their profit base.

I've a tablet and a good old laptop . To be honest the tablet is crap i dont use it anymore my productivity actually goes down. It's just a hype I bought into. The truth a tablet is just a gadget notting more.

a reply to: Domo1

Domo,

I use an iPad because my colleague had one, and moved on to a Samsung, and his iPad became available. I would not have purchased one for myself. Also I do not use its roaming online capabilities, but I do find it helpful for work, because I can make notes on it, take pictures of bits of work I am doing, and have them all to hand in a device which does not randomly go slowly because the Microsoft Gods demand an update, just at the moment when I am trying to access my GOD DAMNED DATA!

Also, the iPad works on youtube soooo well, and for some reason, I can make vids embed much easier with this device than with my laptop, despite doing pretty much the same process with both. I have no idea why.