The tablet revolution

Well, it's basically happened. But I recall a certain Lois_Lane talking about and being excited about tablets well before the original iPad reached the market.

What do you think; has the tablet revolution lived up to expectations? I love my iPad but I'm getting ready to replace it with a 2011-era Toshiba Thrive, which meets my peculiar needs a bit better.

(Oh by the way -- this forum works great on tablets and smartphones!)

nup, still not there yet, I think as a 2nd device they are good.
and many of the 'convertables' have promise for being more than just a toy. But at the moment they are still cost prohibitve when compared to non-touch devices.
It is a trade off twice the computing power in cheaper non-touch products, make you ask do you NEED the novelty for real computing. Win8 is about the only one that does spreadsheets/databases properly and even then takes twice as long as it would with a keyboard and mouse.

i have an acer arconia and the only thing i do on it is Netflix, YouTube and reading uploaded pdfs. i used to have a case for it that had a keyboard and it kind of gave you a feel of a notebook or desktop. but i couldn't rely on just this. i need my desktop.

I'm a bit of a Luddite when it comes to tiny screens. I don't see how anyone could watch a movie on such a tiny screen. I lived through the TV revolution from tiny black & white TVs to today's big flat screens. Why give up quality for portability. If you can't sit still in front of a decent big screen TV to get the whole movie experience why in the hell do you bother to watch it at all? A movie on an Iphone is absurd. I won't even entertain that idea. I like surround sound and enjoy being entertained. We have gone backwards in our thinking. IMO Actually, I prefer a movie theater with a 50 foot screen. I even have a 24 inch monitor on my desktop. I need the experience!! I like things big!! A PC case can't get too heavy for me. I have 3 DVD burners in my case and one external. They all have different personalities for whatever project I'm working on. No two are exactly alike. I have a Sony card reader in there, too. I don't like Ipads or notebooks, I don't need portability. /rant

But I think you hit on the main thing, which is portability. If you're laying on your bed in a hotel room and just want to be entertained for a while because you've nothing else to do, a tablet is a really handy entertainment machine -- you've got your e-book reader, web browser, YouTube, Netflix (if you subscribe), games, etc. right there. If you need to rattle off a quick reply to an e-mail while you're away from your laptop or desktop, it's handy to have a smartphone or tablet.

I think the real revolution is in timing. You used to have to wait for the local movie theater to show the movie you wanted to see before you could watch it; the local TV station to air your favorite show before you could see it; the local newspaper or TV news station to release a new edition or episode before you could catch up on the news; the local record store to stock your favorite band's new album before you could hear it. Now these things are much more instantaneous and they're starting to fit your schedule rather than you having to accommodate them; whether because you're getting your news online, you DVR your favorite program, or you buy your music digitally.

To me that's a meaningful difference. For someone like me, who believes my existence will end permanently in around 40 years if I'm lucky, I'd prefer to spend less of that time waiting.

Well, I see all your points. I'm retired and most of my viewing experience is done at home (other than a movie theater occasionally). If I was was still working and traveled like I used to, I can see the advantages of portability. It's just my personal preference. I don't like touch screens, but I'm sure I'll have to accept that one of these days. I don't like ear buds,either. I don't hear quality over them. They sound like a transistor radio from the 60's. I have some good Sony earphones and still listen to my records sometimes. I don't own an MP3 Player but I listen to MP3s on the PC. I work with bin files and MP3+G files for karaoke. I like the convenience of not needing a CD+G compact disc for that. One of my karaoke hosts still uses the CD+G discs, however. I don't always embrace the latest technology. It's just me.

i watched a movie on my ipod sometime back. it wasn't the best experience but it helped me pass the time. i understand how there are those who want the big screen experience. i have seen a few movies at an Imax theater with a 15,000 watt system and that was insane, i loved it. but at home where i don't even have a tv i get by watching movies on my 19 inch monitor with a 90 watt sound system and a six or seven pack.