
Dude, it's a laptop you want, not an iPad - sendos
http://andrewoneverything.com/dude-its-a-laptop-you-want-not-an-ipad
======
WiseWeasel
I've got to say this article was fairly disappointing. So the author finds
more value in a laptop than an iPad; that means that everyone else must also
arrive at the same conclusion? That's a load of crap. Different people have
different needs, and for some, an iPad may satisfy them better.

For me, I've realized that a laptop is sub-optimal, and a desktop and soon an
iPad 3 makes much more sense. You see, I only do productivity work for
extended periods in a single location. I don't need to haul a computer back
and forth to work, and I don't need to do extended work out of coffee shops or
hotel rooms. A proper ergonomic desktop workstation is therefore the most
valuable and economical solution for productivity in my case.

For mobile use, I just want something to browse the web on the couch or in
bed, control my entertainment center, maybe play the occasional game or watch
the occasional movie or TV show, respond to an email once in a while, and have
the batteries last all day doing it. I seriously couldn't care less about a
built-in keyboard, and laptop keyboards are all terrible for productivity in
any case. And though the Author thinks the iPad is a, " _limited device... in
terms of what websites [he] can watch_ ", I think I've had problems with a
website all of one time, when it rendered some form fields above a submit
button and I couldn't complete a purchase on a small e-commerce site.

I've got a MacBook Pro that is currently being so under-used, that I will
hardly notice its absence after I replace it with the upcoming iPad. This
whole piece seems like a useless rant to me, certainly not up to my lofty
standards for HN-worthiness.

~~~
jasonlotito
Don't take this the wrong way, but a laptop can still suit your needs just
like a desktop. For various reasons, I have an 27" iMac and a 15" MBP, and
from work, a MBA, full loaded, with a 27" Monitor. Obviously, an iPad 2 as
well. So, I've used numerous configurations. Having the portability of a
laptop with the "ergonomics of a desktop". I use a normal keyboard and mouse.
While you would work from the one on the laptop, it wouldn't make much sense,
imo.

Not trying to say you are wrong, just something to consider. As someone who
very much enjoys desktops, the laptop + external monitor setup is quite
enjoyable.

~~~
WiseWeasel
The main advantages of a desktop over a laptop for me are that the desktop has
far more storage and PCI expandability, is suitable for gaming, and since I
don't need to work in multiple locations, I see no benefit in being able to
disconnect my CPU and use it elsewhere. This frees up precious desktop surface
space as the CPU is under the desk, and I don't have to deal with an extra
monitor at a weird height and uselessly small size in relation to my main
screen, or closing the clamshell to sleep, but then waking it up with external
inputs and using it with the lid closed, which is very harmful due to improper
ventilation, and I don't want to have to disconnect a bunch of cables when I
want to go mobile, or reconnect them each time I want to use my workstation.
There are a million small inconveniences to using a laptop as a component to a
workstation, to the point that I'd simply rather not deal with it. Plus,
desktops are cheaper; I can assemble a nice gaming rig/media workstation
desktop plus buy an iPad for the same cost as a nice laptop.

~~~
kijin
Off topic, but I never thought I'd see someone on HN refer to the desktop
tower as "the CPU". That's what Grandma does when she points to the LCD
monitor and says "the computer".

~~~
WiseWeasel
How do you know I'm not your grandma?

~~~
kijin
Because she'd point at the tower and say "the hard drive".

------
vetler
I have an Asus Transformer Prime and it's great, but it has its limits, and I
frequently pull out my Macbook Pro. The Transformer looks like a laptop, but
since it's running Android, it's kind of half a laptop:

* Switching between apps is not as smooth as on a laptop running a normal operating system

* It looks and feels like a laptop, but I still get mobile web pages

* YouTube often tells me that the content isn't available on mobile

Other than that, I like it. In particular I find myself touching the screen
even though the keyboard with the trackpad is connected. Once or twice I've
even tried to touch the screen while using my Macbook.

The idea of having a laptop with a detachable screen is good, but for now it's
probably still not possible to stick the capabilities of a normal laptop into
something that would pass as a handy tablet.

One idea I've been toying with is to set up a server, and just use Splashtop
on my Transformer whenever I need a proper desktop, but for now it's really
just easier to pull out my Macbook.

~~~
jsnell
Regarding your point 2, you can switch at least the stock browser to use a
desktop User-agent in the settings menu.

~~~
cryptoz
Android has a very nice, native YouTube app with a smooth interface. It can
view about 50% of videos, though, since many users lock mobile users out
(why?!). So opening the browser, using a development debug setting, running
Flash and having awkward touch controls is quite the pain point for just
wanting to see a video.

------
nchlswu
As a student, the compromises people are willing to make in order to own an
iPad are amazing to witness. While this is anecdotal evidence, iPads are
becoming notetaking devices, with such cases being pretty common. In other
cases, people are struggling and bringing Apple Wireless keyboards, and
pairing them with their iPad via bluetooth. In these situations, it doesn't
matter how appropriate the device is. These users have an "iPad or nothing"
attitude.

~~~
eurleif
Are you sure it's not that they don't own laptops, and don't want to spend the
money, rather than an attitude?

~~~
Wilya
Well, for the price of an iPad, you can get a high-end netbook. So, at some
point, people have made the choice to get the iPad over the netbook, and cope
with the disagreements.

------
jfruh
"Ideally, what I would like (and I think most people would like) is something
of the form factor of a MacBook Air (thin and light), that has a detachable
touch-screen that can run apps written for iOS or Android, and when the screen
is connected to the main body, acts like a fully-functioning laptop."

What's the difference in practice between "a laptop with a detachable screen"
and "a tablet that fits into a case that holds up the screen and provides a
keyboard"? In terms of form factor, those two strike me as identical. Of
course, if iOS doesn't do it for you in the laptop form factor, then it
doesn't do it for you, but that's more a software than a hardware problem (and
I'm willing to bet is a software problem not everybody has).

~~~
prophetjohn
The difference is that an iPad docked to a keyboard isn't a fully functioning
laptop. It seems like the author is looking for (for instance) a device that
runs OS X, with all the power of a MBA when in laptop mode, but once you
detach the screen runs iOS and has limited functionality. So maybe the author
really just has a problem with the limited capabilities of iOS and the
performance difference between an iPad and a MBP.

~~~
moonchrome
Sounds like the "keyboard" would then have to have special hardware
(pricey/not efficient) or the pad would have to have multicore/scalable
hardware that draws more power when connected to the "keyboard" and the
keyboard could have extra hardware like more storage and IO ports and a
PSU/high capacity battery. It would be cool to merge this concept with
something like padphone - sort of a Russian doll concept :) And the ARM
manufacturers seem to be going that route for performance anyway - adding
cores/disabling them for power saving. I assume the same concept could be
applied to memory and GPU.

------
nextparadigms
You can have both with an Asus Transformer - integrated keyboard that turns it
into a laptop and with 15-18h battery life, and tablet for when you need it on
the couch/whatever. Why compromise? Those accessories for the iPad are not
integrated at all, and they look rather silly.

~~~
twiceaday
Asus Transformer

\- Android \- 10" screen at 1280x800 \- 2.9 pounds (with the dock) \- 16GB HD
+ 1GB ram \- 15hr battery

11" Air

\- OSX \- 11.6" screen at 1344x756 \- 2.3 pounds \- 64GB HD + 2GB ram \- 5hr
battery

The only thing that Transformer has going for it is the battery life,
everything else is a compromise.

~~~
hollerith
I have never used a 11" Air, but they get quite warm; don't they?

In contrast, the iPad 2 has never in my experience got even _noticeably_
warmer than its surroundings, and I tend to believe that the Transformer line
will also have that (very welcome, IMO) property.

~~~
randallsquared
If you're playing an FPS or running a coupla VMs, it gets warm, but not too
warm to sit on your leg.

------
weissguy
Before I moved internationally for school, I was concerned I would need a
secondary computing device that would have a lot of functionality, a lot of
portability, and be cheap enough not to worry about if it, say, dropped out of
my backpack while riding my bike across town.

I looked at all kinds of tablets, but then I realized I could get more
functionality, roughly equal portability and battery life, for a much cheaper
price.

My ASUS netbook was the best money I've ever spent.

For $250, I got:

-A 10.1 inch screen

-9-10 honest hours of battery life if you're conservative

-A 1.5GHz dual core processor fast enough to watch 360p videos while running Visual Studio and Eclipse

-2GB of DDR3 RAM

-A 250GB HD

-3 USB 2.0 ports

-Ability to dual boot Win7 Pro and Linux

-A keyboard

-A webcam

-All in a device that weighs less than 3 pounds and fits easily in any small bag.

It blows my mind that people would want to spend $300+ on a device with
slightly more portability and far, far less functionality.

~~~
JOnAgain
Really? do you want mine? I got a netbook and it was the WORST money I ever
spent. Looks like very similar specs, but my experience was that it was slow.
Too slow to run more than a half dozen tabs in Chrome, too slow to play flash
videos smoothly, and a dinky little keyboard that my fingers would be all
cramped together and I'd fat-finger everything.

Maybe if I had Linux, things would have turned out better. On the upside, it's
still kicking around. The odd time I need to use IE, it's got my back.

~~~
weissguy
Did you do a clean install of windows? Mine ran like crap until I did that,
plus I doubled the pre-installed RAM to 2GB.

------
saurik
The physical form factor here described is "convertible slate". However, as
someone who has spent a lot of their computer time using convertible slates
(starting with a Compaq Concerto and a pre-release Dauphin DTR-1 back in 1992:
yes, I was using "Windows 3.1 for Pen"), I will point out that with all of the
circuitry in the slate the keyboard has to end up irritatingly
poorly/awkwardly weighted (as it is way too light to make holding up the
screen make sense) and is also bothersome to bring you (its "yet another
fidgety component").

So, I then look at my 11" MacBook Air, and frankly: the dimensions are almost
the same as the original iPad. It is /slightly/ wider (due to the constraints
of having a full-size physical keyboard with keys that recess and also various
ports such as USB that require a certain amount of clearance inside of the
device, which is already so thin that these ports barely can exist in the
device at all), but if USB is supplanted by something like Apple's Thunderbolt
(convenient, huh), they could make it slightly narrower and slightly thinner.

I then argue what you're really going to end up with is a device more like the
NEC Versa (1995-ish) or ThinkPad X61 (more devices I've owned), where the
screen rotates around and folds back down backwards. This way, you always have
the keyboard with you, and it can "take the load off" the screen part by
having real circuitry in it (thereby giving it enough heft to balance the
screen easily), which in turn allows the combined size to be smaller (as
otherwise you are having to artificially increase the heft of the keyboard).

Apple, in fact, has been looking at such designs. We see patents from them for
various ways of building a convertible slate for a while now. The original
design had the screen hinged along the edge of the keyboard, where it could
kind of slide down the case towards the end, and then fold back (away from
you, as opposed to towards you) onto the keyboard, turning into a slate (which
has the property that the screen's orientation doesn't change during the
operation), but in 2011 we see the more traditional "rotate".

[http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2008/07/apple-
re...](http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2008/07/apple-reveals-
secret-notebook-tablet.html)

[http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2011/11/apple-
wi...](http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2011/11/apple-wins-patent-
for-telephonic-macbook-with-rotatable-display.html)

The 2011 design also makes it clear that this device could have a cellular
modem in it, which means that were it to exist it would compete with a 3G
iPad. That brings us to the listed constraint of "run apps written for iOS".
Truly, however: much like you don't actually want a case that can house a
keyboard and attach it to an iPad, you also don't want to be able to run iOS
applications; the mistake in both is to take what you have now, assume "I
can't have it both ways", and then come up with some kind of band-aid
solution.

What you really want is to have a single set of applications that work well on
either form factor due to a set of unified interface primitives. When you
"convert" between a laptop and a slate, you don't want to be running a
different web browser and a different word processor: you want there to be a
seamless set of rather subtle changes to the apps you were just running (if
any changes are required at all: in an ideal world you would want no changes,
but there are practical concerns), allowing you to maintain mental state.

Again, this is the direction Apple is headed. In Lion they have started moving
desktop Mac OS X to a world of full-screen applications, just like on iOS, and
are borrowing many of the UI elements. They reversed the scrolling direction
(to make the gestures common) and removed the scrollbars (which already aren't
present on iOS for various reasons). Gestures are now permeating more of the
applications, and with just another couple years of this, the difference is
going to be quite slight; and yes: they have another patent on it.

[http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/11/apple-
wi...](http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/11/apple-wins-
multiple-touch-macbook-tablet-patents.html)

Really, the only thing left would be to figure out how to unify the App Store
experience. Ideally (for Apple), the resulting ecosystem would be quite
similar to the situation on iOS: a closed store that Apple controls, with
careful "security" measures at all levels to keep the user from "messing up"
their device with software that wasn't centrally vetted. This would be
accomplished with a combination of protected firmware and sandboxing of all
applications, each of which would be isolated to their own state.

Well, with the advent of the Mac App Store we see Apple offering the same
unified experience, and with Lion we saw them adding sandboxes. These
sandboxes eventually became a required part of the workflow, and with Mountain
Lion they are getting tighter. Meanwhile, Mountain Lion has added the "only
from App Store" switch: defaulted to off (for now), but with another half-way
setting, "only from registered developer" defaulted to on; even I felt this
was ahead of schedule ;P. Again: we only need to look forward another couple
years.

tl;dr I believe Apple's behaviors (and patents) agree: their goal is to
provide this.

~~~
dgallagher
Couldn't agree with you more.

Another form factor option would be a Macbook Air with a double-sided display.
Rather than flipping a screen around, you just close the lid to enter iPad
mode, and open it for laptop mode.

Seamless app switching from iOS to OSX mode basically requires writing two
different views, based on the same model, using a MVC design. That'll be
easier for some apps (Safari, Calendar), difficult for some (Numbers,
OmniGraffle), and maybe impossible for others (Xcode). It wouldn't make sense
to try and force OSX and iOS versions of "everything" as some apps work best
in one environment and not the other.

Windows 8 is half-doing this (from what I've read), and sounds clunky, but the
verdict is still out on that.

~~~
saurik
Some applications are going to feel stuck in one interface or the other, but
it is already the case that some applications already are mostly mouse and
others are mostly keyboard: the touch screen is just another interface that is
available, and for many applications it is in fact totally doable to make the
transition between the touch screen and the keyboard as seamless as moving
your hands from the keyboard to the mouse: it would be awkward to expect to
see two views of the app, one mouse-driven and the other keyboard-driven,
being flipped between via an MVC paradigm.

~~~
dgallagher
_it would be awkward to expect to see two views of the app, one mouse-driven
and the other keyboard-driven, being flipped between via an MVC paradigm._

I'd expect that both views would be fairly similar, like the two different
views on an iPad vs. iPhone app, or when rotating 90 degrees. The OSX view
would be tailored just for it; larger screen size, multiple displays,
different input, etc... Apple is already unifying the look-and-feel of OSX and
iOS apps, getting ready for some sort of merge (iCal/Calendar, Pages,
Reminders in 10.8).

We're probably going to see five major input devices in all computers a few
years from now. Keyboard, mouse/touchpad, touchscreen, voice, and physical
gesture (e.g. Kinect, eye tracking). No piece of software has to use all of
them, just as many as necessary. So I wouldn't expect "every" app to have an
OSX and iOS mode.

In the future, a sixth input device will probably read our thoughts directly.
:)

------
cwe
This is Windows 8's primary use case. We'll soon see how many people agree
with OP

~~~
vyrotek
This makes a lot of sense. I played around with Windows 8 this week and
thought this hybrid felt a bit awkward on my desktop pc. But installed on a
laptop which converts to a tablet would be very practical and useful.

------
l1ghtm4n
I only purchased an iPad after realizing one specific use case. Managing my
new baby. General purpose computing or browsing is left to my laptop. Things
specific to baby like FaceTime/skype, pandora music, one-handed browsing while
holding the baby, work perfectly. But it never leaves this environment. Laptop
for everything else.

~~~
pgrote
Here, here. Kids are a great market for iPads. When we bought our first I
thought it would be nothing more than a toy, but to see the interaction our 2
and now 3 year old has with it is amazing.

The gesture interface is an excellent method for kids to learn and feel
comfortable.

------
j45
I've been trying out a bit of a different setup and finding some interesting
results so far.

I switched from an iPhone to a Samsung Galaxy Note to try and achieve a few
things:

\- I liked owning an iPad but didn't like carrying it with me in addition to
my laptop.

\- I liked consuming information on my iPad. I wanted to continue consuming
information on a device.

\- I liked trying to make my iPad my sole device for communication (Facebook,
twitter, email, IM, Skype.) If I could do it on my iPad I could block out
those distractions on my laptop. I live not running any notification stuff on
my laptop when coding. I really like being able to come to my communication
device and find that there.

\- the iPhone seemed to small to use as an information consumption device,
iPad too big to carry to do the same. If I wanted a physical keyboard on my
iPad I could get a MacBook air (which I did and its working great for that
purpose)

\- my iPad became strangely redundant in my use case after getting an Air
because I wanted a light device to carry around. Ended up selling it.

\- The Note fits in my pocket. It's thinner and lighter than an iPhone from
everyone who's compared the weight

\- The Galaxy Note seems huge as a phone but small as a serviceable tablet.
The high screen res makes it very usable. I've been varying just the note and
my air and its almost starring to feel like I'm where I should be.

So, maybe you're looking for an Ultrabook and a 'Phablet'.

I'm going to ride this out until the iPhone 5 is available to re-evaluate
then.

~~~
coob
"It's thinner and lighter than an iPhone from everyone who's compared the
weight"

Apparently these people didn't have a scale, as the iPhone 4S is 140g and the
Note is 178g.

~~~
j45
Apparently so, I guess the size of it makes it seem lighter, for its' size. :)

------
JVIDEL
The author has a point: many iPad buyers spend a lot of money to work around
the limitations of the device. Is not a minority, else there wouldn't be so
many keyboard cases for it.

I think the problem are all those pundits talking about the "post-PC era".
Some are even reinforcing that point with Windows 8, but guess what? That OS
is Windows7 with a touch UI layer on top. The only real novelty is the ARM
version, in which case we're entering the post-WinTel era (at last!).

The iPad beats the crap of any PDA or PMP, but PCs and Macs? Sorry, is just
not that versatile. The limitations it has have more to do with battery life
and engineering constrains than actual ease-of-use.

And APPL patents are rarely made into actual products. Ironically that one
from 2008 has far more in common with that slider tablet from ASUS than
anything APPL is actually working on.

------
devs1010
I agree with the author, people at my old job would have this setup and I
found it odd, I do have an Android tablet but I use it very differently from
my laptop, I use it for browsing, watching movies, etc and video skyping, if I
ever have an urge to do "real work", I always fire up the laptop, I think some
people fell a little to hard for all the marketing of these tablets as they
really convinced themselves they no longer need a real laptop, IMO the two
complement one another.. after a long day of work, some days I just don't want
to touch a regular computer again but if I need to look something up real
quick, or just read articles, the tab is great for that, it gives a different
user experience which is a nice change.

------
nchuhoai
People need to stop telling other people what they want.

------
parvinsingh
The funny thing is that we buy what comes in new, and don't really know the
purpose or use of it. iPad to me makes sense if you are an avid browser, and a
reader, or type in few short emails a day. First came iPhone, and then came
various keyboards which can be blue toothed to the phone. Dude!! the iPhone
has a touch keypad, and its not for typing in long emails. Use the gadget for
what it is meant for.

------
badboy
When I started to study last year in October I thought about getting a tablet
for day-to-day use. But then I realized everything _and more_ can be done with
a small Laptop aswell and reading papers is even better on a Kindle than on a
tablet anyway. I am happy with my choice, there's such no usecase for a tablet
where my laptop/smartphone/kindle can't do a better job overall.

------
newman314
Personally, the tablet form factor is great for consumption. For example,
watching movies or casual web browsing.

For me, I don't have much use for a tablet on the creation side but suspect it
might be of use for specific requirements, people DJ'ing etc.

But my mindset has always been: right tool for the job. Trying to use a tablet
as a laptop probably will be very frustrating in short order.

------
hef19898
Without having read all the 119 comments (sorry for that), it seems to me that
this is exactly the kind of device Microsoft is envisioning with Windows 8,
isn't it? Unfortunately, up to now you have to choose between an iPad (or
something similar) and a full-fledged notebook since netbooks are basicly
killed by the former and not powerfull enough for the later. So, as far as I
see, there's a gap that can be exploited, why carry and buy in the first
place, two devices when one is enough? The only point where I beg to differ
with the author is if it's really Apple who debuts a gadget like that. Windows
8 seems, up to know, the most promising OS around that goes into this
direction. On the other hand I simply cannot tell what Apple has in the
works... Whoever is going to to be first with such a talet - notebook hybrid,
it's an intressting development nontheless

------
padobson
I dont think we're discussing real solutions to the mobile computing problem
here - just stop gaps.

The issue with doing real work on a tab or smartphone is that touch is not a
fast or accurate input medium - mice and keyboards are much better suited for
it.

However, it would be foolish to think this will always be the case. Some
combination of our devices recognizing new gestures (grasp, cup, etc.),
advances in interface design and voice recognition will eventually disrupt the
keyboard and mouse. Since our data can basically be stored in a number of
device agnostic ways already via cloud computing, user interfaces for
interacting with that data are only going to iterate faster and faster.

I think the problem of creating content on the go is going to be solved in the
software too soon to warrant a whole product line that merges keyboards and
trackpads into our tabets.

------
toddnessa
I don't see how you can ever replace a laptop. iPads are cool and have appeal
as being easier to grab & go- kind of like a larger version of our iPhones.
Tablets as an accessory, yes. However, as a replacement for our laptops, no
way! Those of use who daily use and rely upon our laptops know better.

------
amurmann
>"Ideally, what I would like (and I think most people would like) is something
of the form factor of a MacBook Air (thin and light), that has a detachable
touch-screen that can run apps written for iOS or Android, and when the screen
is connected to the main body, acts like a fully-functioning laptop."

To make the screen detachable you would need to have everything in the screen
section which, as others already pointed out, makes for a awkward weight
distribution. Years ago I've seen a laptop with a touch screen where you were
able to pivot the screen and close it with the display pointing up. So the
laptop was closed, but you were still able to use the touch screen. A MacBook
Air with where you can do that and that can run iOS Apps would in my eyes be
the perfect solution.

------
jjp9999
I was going to get an iPad a while back. Basically, unless you're doing basic
Web browsing or just playing games, you need a keyboard to do any real work on
a tablet. Also, they're light, but still not much different than a MacBook Air
- and they're not much cheaper. Tablets still just seem like a novelty to me -
toys for gaming and watching movies.

If you want a serious tablet though, check out the Modbooks. They're regular
Mac notebooks hacked to use touchscreens. They're good if you do art on your
notebook, since you can basically draw on the screen, you get all the features
of a full-fledged notebook, and they were around long before the iPad.

------
jsz0
I want both. It's more practical to make a tablet into a laptop than it is to
make a laptop into a tablet. Eventually the iPad will run OSX when its docked
into a MacBook Air or iMac style enclosure and run iOS when it's not. The two
operating systems will work very well together. If you're working on a Pages
document on iOS when you dock it will automatically open in Pages on OSX. All
your open Safari windows on iOS will open on OSX. It's just a matter of time.
Tablets need to get a little bit faster and integration between the mobile and
desktop OS needs to improve so it's a seamless experience.

------
shimon_e
I've gone through the same experience and Microsoft has _galp_ sold me Windows
8.

Having watched their keynote at MWC I am quiet impress at what has been done
behind the scenes for Windows 8. Some influence from Plan 9/linux can be seen
with the new hard drive space management. The new process management seems
exciting if it works properly.

Microsoft seems to have put some serious engineers behind Windows 8. For that
I tip them my hat.

I can't wait till I can get the Lenovo Yoga. I'm after a laptop with an IPS
screen and I'm after a 13" tablet. I think my setup for next year will be
desktop/server + Lenovo Yoga + 8" tablet + 4"+ phone.

------
icebraining
One year before the first iPad was released, there was a small laptop with a
detachable touch screen that I drooled over, the Touch Book:
[http://techcrunch.com/2009/03/02/touch-book-tablet-
netbook-w...](http://techcrunch.com/2009/03/02/touch-book-tablet-netbook-with-
arm-cpu-10-hour-battery-detachable-screen/)

The only thing I found lacking was the screen size, which was too small for me
(8.9"). And it had an ARM CPU, which at the time (before iOS and Android) was
a poor choice for most people, although I could probably manage just fine.

------
alan_cx
Surely tablets are for consumers, and laptops are for workers and creators. I
mean, I can't imagine developing anything on a tablet, iPad or otherwise, but
grazing the web should be a breeze on a tablet.

~~~
darksaga
I've had the same reaction to tablets. They're kid of a "tweener" device for
me. If I want to, I can surf the web on my phone (Android), but I'm certainly
not going to develop anything on a tablet.

I take a 15-20 minute ride into the city every morning and I've built a few
apps on the way. I really couldn't see myself trying to type on a smaller
device, with a smaller screen and a condensed keyboard.

I have yet to find a really good use for a tablet yet. I have an older 14.5"
laptop which runs Linux Mint 11, and with only 1GB of ram, it's a lot faster
than you think. It accomplishes the tasks of simple browsing, hammering out
some quick code and other remedial tasks - and oh yeah, it only cost $150.

~~~
alan_cx
Thats why I say tabs are for consumers. If you want to just sit down and look
at things on the web, then they are ideal. The second you want to participate,
say, reply to some one on a forum, then it begins, IMHO, to get difficult. If
you want to type out something or work, then its near impossible.

OK, there is, or should be, more to it than browsing the web, but my point I
think, is more about input. Maybe be its me, but I am yet to find anything
better than a keyboard and mouse. Even track pads are a pain to me. What I
think is a problem is that these tablets actually limit what one can
efficiently do with a computer, which kinda goes against the whole point.

I also think that "we" techie types are very different users to the majority
of people who buy these things. We expect a "computer" to be versatile and do
everything. Where as the average punter only wants limited set of things to
work well. And these tabs do that really well. And, of course, there is more
of them than us!!!!!!

------
cryptoz
I have a Xoom with a wireless keyboard and I love the setup. It's important to
push the hardware boundaries and blur the lines so you can see what users will
want in the future. The iPad is too locked to allow for the developers to
build real keyboard apps. But the Android tablet ecosystem is different, and
it allows for more traditional-desktop-OS styled apps.

Development should be a smooth experience sometime soon, I hope. The author
doesn't want an iPad but he might want some kind of Android device in two or
three years.

------
qrybam
While an ASUS Transformer Prime is still limited in certain ways like the
iPad, surely that's already a step in the right direction (as far as this post
is concerned)?

------
dkrich
I think this all depends on the user. If you are a person who is largely a
consumer of data (reading Twitter, checking email, etc.), the form factor and
weight of a tablet is great. If you produce more data (constantly writing
emails, code, working with spreadsheets, etc.), you definitely need a laptop.

------
felixfurtak
This reminds me of when laptop screens went glossy. Firstly everyone thought
that they liked it. Then they realized that these screens were actually less
ergonomic to use due to the increased mirror reflection. Now it is often
necessary to pay more for the option of a non-glossy ('anti-glare') screen.

------
alan_cx
Surely tablets are for consumers, and laptops are for workers and creators. I
mean, I can't imagine developing anything on a tablet, iPad or otherwise, but
grazing the web should be a breeze on a tablet.

What does my head in is that nowadays, it seems computer = internet, and that
is almost the only use people know of.

~~~
Mythbusters
You are rarely a complete consume. Like here: we are being tiny producers here
writing comments.But even this part is not very convenient on a iPad. If you
have tried the split/thumb keyboard on Windows 8, you'll know what I mean.

------
shahoo
Ultrabooks are rushing in to fill this need. I just bought one and it has been
everything I hoped.

~~~
pgrote
Which one did you get and have there been any surprises with it?

------
buster
Well.. amazing how long it took to realize for him.. There are certainly
usecases for a tablet and for a laptop, it's not like you have to try hard to
use a shiny new gadget for something it is not good at..

------
pbreit
For the first 8 paragraphs I was thinking "What an idiot!" but then the last
two might suggest a great idea: have the iPad switch to MacOS when it is
inserted into a keyboard stand.

------
Schultzy
I don't want an iPad or a laptop. My ideal would be an all in one device: a
smartphone that docks into a tablet that docks into a keyboard. Something like
this
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Rrh_EwFaZ7I)

I know it will be awhile until the hardware in the phone can be powerful
enough to compete with laptop performance, but I hope it comes soon. Also,
while I like ASUS' concept, I think it really needs Apple's design thinking to
take it from good to great.

------
cwilson
While the author continues to scratch his head because he's attempting to fit
a square into a circle, I'll continue to use my Macbook Air for actual work,
my iPad for couch/bedside/casual consuming, and my iPhone for communicating on
the go.

You know, what all of the devices are meant to do.

Can anyone here actually see Apple releasing a product that has a detachable
part? That stands for everything Apple is against when they design products.

------
snowwrestler
With an iPad and keyboard you can turn the iPad vertical for some uses,
horizontal for others.

------
donniezazen
Because of distraction-free-single-tasking-writing.

------
bastian
Most sane thing ever said about the iPad.

------
recoiledsnake
>"Ideally, what I would like (and I think most people would like) is something
of the form factor of a MacBook Air (thin and light), that has a detachable
touch-screen that can run apps written for iOS or Android, and when the screen
is connected to the main body, acts like a fully-functioning laptop."

>I think some devices like this are beginning to appear, but so far none of
them are compelling. It might take Apple to show them how it's done, again.

Really? Not even a mention of Windows 8, if it is just to say why it doesn't
suit his needs? Has the author taken a look at upcoming Windows 8 devices like
the Samsung Slate ?

Or is the discussion artificially limited to Apple devices when Apple has
specially noted that they don't envision a fusion device/OS (atleast in the
short-medium term) because it won't be a good consumer experience.

The tradeoff of the Slate is lower battery life and things like a fan, but it
has a Core i5 and can run all Windows apps.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K1ZbY03nTQ>

Or check out the IdeaPad Yoga, a 13" Macbook-Air like laptop that can double
as a Windows 8 tablet.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SHKFYngqOM>

[http://cnettv.cnet.com/hands-lenovo-ideapad-
yoga/9742-1_53-5...](http://cnettv.cnet.com/hands-lenovo-ideapad-
yoga/9742-1_53-50118072.html)

There will be Windows 8 ARM tablets that will be fanless and have great
battery life, but they can run only Metro apps and touch optimized versions of
Office.

These are just the tip of the iceberg and there will be lots of Transformer
like devices in the coming months running Windows 8. These may or may not fit
the author's needs, but excluding them from the discussion doesn't seem like a
good move to me.

~~~
4ad
I'll answer for myself, as I have no idea about the author.

For me Windows is disqualified from the start because it's not Unix or Plan 9.
The nature of my work requires a Unix environment, and even if it weren't the
case, I'd still prefer a Unix/Plan 9 environment.

The various Unix emulation layers available in Windows like Cygwin,
SFU/SUA/Interix, UWIN, MKS don't satisfy me the slightest, and even if they
did, they'd restrict me to the Unix side of things while on Linux or Mac OS X
I most often use plan9port.

~~~
eCa
Tried Virtualbox?

~~~
4ad
I was sure someone would mention virtualization.

I use virtualization all the time, I have to, I can't even chose not to. I am
a kernel programmer, doing kernel work without virtual machines is very
difficult, for one particular non-Unix operating system I develop for it's
even impossible.

But my choice for Unix-based systems is not necessarily dictated by work. I
use Unix tools all the time, for everything. Why would I run Windows as my
host when my toolkit is available only in a virtual machine and I don't care
at all about the tools Windows offers me? It doesn't make any sense, I'd have
to run at least one more virtual machine and I'd have poor integration with
applications running in the host.

By having Mac OS X or some Unix derivative, like Linux, as my host I have my
toolkit where I need it most and I can still run my target VMs.

------
ktizo
IMHO, tablety paddy things are all just expensive toys unless they let you use
some form of accurate stylus as well as your fingers.

Fingers have some major usability issues if used as your only drawing
instrument, when it comes to any form of detailed technical drawing, and in
engineering environments are often covered in various interesting varieties of
minging filth.

Also, we can see down to a much finer point than the tip of a finger and even
if I have paid out serious money for something that calls itself a 'retina
display' I would still like to be able to try and see which pixel it is I am
selecting.

~~~
wmf
Very few people do any drawing/drafting, and for them there's Wacom.

~~~
ktizo
Yep you are right. Almost no-one does any drawing or drafting. Apart from
every moody teenager in the world as far as I can tell. Plus the whole
creative industry.

Oh, and artists.

------
Craiggybear
What you _really_ want is a netbook hackintosh running OS X. All the benefits
of a small form-factor -- but its a 'real' computer, can run a compiler and a
webserver and doesn't put any artificial obstacles in your way. Program
development at the command line, browser (any) with flash and install anything
you like. It will sync with your office desktop and its _cheap_.

Not everyone has the nous or the patience but if you do its a doddle to do and
works really well.

