2 questions on tablet use, less or more than expected?

I've got two tech questions for research purposes. Please feel free to add any anecdotal evidence as needed.

Q: Do you own a tablet device? (iPad, Kindle Fire, Galaxy, Playbook, something Android)

Q: Do you use it more or less than you thought you would when you bought it or received it?

Recent statistics have come out that show tablet purchases have doubled over the past year from 1 in 10 Americans, to 2 and 10 Americans owning a tablet (sorry everyone else, couldn't find other data on populations). Myself, and several other hard core techies, have found that we don't really use our tablets at all - much less than expected. I'm wondering if I'm seeing this "less use" through a bubble, or if this is legit trend.

"Ownership of tablets, e-readers almost doubles in one month" www.cnn.com...

To add, and e-book is not a tablet. Thanks.

yes, I have an ipad 2 and I use it all the time, in fact I use it in place of my mac power book laptop and that just sits most of the time now. The ipad is my sitting and watching tv on the couch computer. You can do just about anything you want on it.

reply to post by Jason88

My wife bought me an Android Toshiba tablet for Christmas. I use it ALL the time. I haven't even touched our laptop since I got this. It does everything my Droid II Incredible can and a lot more...plus it has a much larger screen! The down side is it doesn't run off the phone network, so you have to be in wireless access to use it.

I almost constantly have some electronic device in my hand, and since Christmas, it's been my tablet. SO I use it even way more than I expected. If you're looking into one..I would recommend it.

I use my tablet (iPad) a LOT. I commute quite a distance every day on train, and I use my tablet then to read books, read magazines. At night, lying in bed, I use it to read even more, play some games, use it as a calculator (great HP-emulators for it), control my telescope with it, etc.

In many instances it is more convenient to carry around than my (powerful) laptops, and I can't carry my huge stationary PC around.

If I go out in the woods, I use it a lot to take notes to tag my sample collections with.

In short, I use my iPad a LOT

its nice to know in 10 years a tablet will have more power than my 2500k cpu

I use mine all the time...love it. However it does not lend itself well to forums due to the virtual keyboard but it does have voice recognition.

reply to post by mileslong54


Yeah...I used to sit and watch TV with the laptop...now it's my tablet. It's lighter, and does almost everything the laptop does.
I don't have the Apple one, and am still researching trying to be able to play my iTunes stuff on my tablet...especially since it has a much larger screen than my iPod, but haven't as of yet found a fool proof way.

Originally posted by wlord
its nice to know in 10 years a tablet will have more power than my 2500k cpu

Yeah...It's funny..this tablet my wife just got me has more processing power, and internal memory than her desktop did when I met her 12 years ago.. Plus it has a spot for a SIM card and will also accept a USB flash drive too. So there are many many storage options.

Although, since my iPod is lighter the 16 gig's of internal memory my tablet is so far more than enough....for now!

Originally posted by type0civ
I use mine all the time...love it. However it does not lend itself well to forums due to the virtual keyboard but it does have voice recognition.

Yeah...when I got my most recent phone this past summer, it had a virtual keyboard on it. My kid told me not to go that route since they are hard to get used to. i did anyways. I figured in a few years I bet they will almost ALL be virtual keyboards for mobile devices, so I had better start learning now. It's still not as easy to use on this forum cause as I can't type as fast as I think..like I can on my desktop...but it's getting better already.

reply to post by Jason88


I bought my partner a htc flyer for her birthday and she dont use anything else ever since she also has 2 dell laptops what is not being used now,she really likes the tablet more.

yep got a samsung galaxy 7 inch tablet and i use it all of the time.
i tend to use it diferently compared to my old netbook as i 'comsume' more on a tablet (either media viewing or web searching or ebook reading).

downsides are few but video transcoding is out. it just wont do it.
another downside is that some websites only work in certain tablet orientations ( landscape or portrait)

the major upside for me is that its ALWAYS ON. sod having to wait to start a pc (i dont have time for that).
also (with windows only) if i want to shut down a pc, installing 1 of x updates really pisses me off (linux, android and macs do not work that way). microsoft really need to address update management.

another upside because of its size is that the tablet is very portable and i take it everywhere. video camera is great.

so unless need arrises i dont need a pc (i cheat as i have a server and desktop pc at work for more processor intensive work).
hope it helps.

I have a Motorolla Xoom, and use it only when I am on the plane or in my bed before going to sleep.

I still prefer to use my PC on my lap, because of a bigger screen and most importantly because of the keyboard.

I got a Toshiba Thrive for Christmas and I use it all the time. However, I do get frustrated with it...things like not being able to have two windows or two programs running at once. Sometimes the touchpad is slow and laggy, and sometimes programs and browser windows close unexpectedly. But because it is a gift, and my laptop died I have no choice but to use it.

alas. I still don't own a tablet. But that won't be long...
So I read my ebooks on a tablet, too. Don't need a Kindle anymore?

kindle fire possibly?
they are certanly cheap enough alas not out yet here in the uk.
i think that they could give the ipad a run for its money.
not on tech specs but on price

I have 2 iPads and 1 iPad 2.

We were fine with two iPads before because I have one loaded up with children's games and educational apps that my kids use all the time, it also has plenty of children's books when they feel like reading. And then me and my wife shared one. They are both 16 gigs and as people said before we always were using them, and when sharing 16 gigs with another person it becomes a hassle.

When the iPad 2 came out, I wanted to buy one strictly for the HD video and I wanted bigger memory, so I grabbed one up. I got the 3G 64 gig one and it's awesome. I have 6000 books, quite a few audio books and all the apps I want. Now I am not one that uses my iPad for rotting my brain, I try and use it for educational purposes, other than ATS.

But yes, between surfing the net, very conveniently I might add, audiobooks and ebooks, the thing it used quite frequently. It by no means replace my actual desktop as it is not as versatile as it, but I use my desktop much less now.

Pred...

reply to post by HallamFoe


Yeah...that's exactly what I got. Part of the issue though seems to me to be not the tablet itself, but the apps. There was just an update just over a week ago to the firmware. A lot of my apps didn't update themselves for it yet. Like CNN. And It constantly crashes.
I do wish It would allow me to display more than one webpage at a time though too. You can have them open, but have to switch between them. Overall though...I really really like mine.

I have an iPad and use it way more than I ever thought I would.

Amazing device.

reply to post by wlord


but will it play crysis?

nah no chance lol.
however i suspect pc gaming will become very specialised or die out alltogether as tablets and game systems (playstation xboxes etc) will get better.

at the end of the day game development gets cheaper if you have less types of hardware to support

Thanks all for the feedback. It seems I could be using my iPad for a lot more than watching the occasion movie in bed. I'll share these stories with my tech friends in the same predicament, and may use some of the stories as anonymous anecdotal evidence in a research paper I am writing.

Thanks again, much appreciation for all the tips and use-cases.

If any new members find this thread, feel free to comment as I'm still monitoring it and the paper is in the works; it's probably a month or so before I need to submit it to my bosses.