tablets to replace PCs?

[Amp34]

Tablets will never replace a desktop machine, the graphics, and pure power both in Ghz and usage just aren't comparable.

Tablets are great for general usage but can you really see COD, Halo or Diablo being half as good on a tablet as they on the PC? Not in this lifetime.... Angry Birds is about as good as it gets

But then how many people play COD, Halo* and Diablo on PC? Most will play them on games consoles.

The point is Desktops will never disappear entirely, however their marketshare will decrease (and probably already are decreasing).

*You play Halo on the PC?! Shame on you, same with those that play GTA on computers, both are console games and should be played on consoles. The reverse for COD, it is a PC game, it shouldn't be played on consoles!

the way I see it long term:

Desktops - Every day home use

Laptops - Will get phased out for hybrids for every day use and taking to office/mates

Tablets - Occasional browsing and using on a train or something for youtube/iplayer

Smartphones etc : Portable browsing


all of them have a purpose, but nothing will replace anything, apart from the gradual laptop-hybrid change.

For you maybe, not for most people. Laptops have already taken over as the main computer in most houses.

 

[paradisiac]

no it doesn't become a laptop at all. as i can still use it as a tablet when i want.

what don't you get about you personally do not equal market share or trends.

but all your arguments that a laptop is awkward, is responded to with, by a dock or smart case. so how does this make it any less awkward than a laptop?!?! really, how, I genuinely don't see how this stands up in any way. yes you can separate them, but then this means you have to hold it, which most people don't like, so you dock it, which makes it act like a laptop, which you say is awkward if its a laptop but amazing great if its a tablet docked because the option is there to undock it, even though undocking it opens up more awkwardness. I don't get your logic in any way.

 

[Amp34]

Now lay down on your front, with laptop out in front and try again.

Firstly, I don't really lie like that.

Secondly, it's fine...

I think you need to ask someone else really. I have a 13" Air, it's about 1cm thick and slopes down to nothing at the front.

I get where you're coming from though, most people have 15" machines with an inch or two of plastic making up the front.

 

[paradisiac]

For you maybe, not for most people. Laptops have already taken over as the main computer in most houses.

did I not put that laptops/hybrids would be used for every day use it would be a case of either laptop or desktop, but not tablet, a tablet will never become an every day device in tablet form.

 

[Glaucus]

what don't you understand about flexibility?
laptops in many circumstances aren't ideal, tablets in many circumstances aren't ideal.
However only one can you transform into the other. Therefor every situation works with the tablet. Not so for the laptop.

 

[paradisiac]

what don't you understand about flexibility?
laptops in many circumstances aren't ideal, tablets in many circumstances aren't ideal.
However only one can you transform into the other. Therefor every situation works with the tablet. Not so for the laptop.

but only if you like tiny screens. I cannot see anyone being happy using 7"-12" devices as their every day machine, and 15" is too big to be considered portable.

 

[Glaucus]

but only if you like tiny screens. I cannot see anyone being happy using 7"-12" devices as their every day machine, and 15" is too big to be considered portable.

you cant see? you don't need to see, plenty of us already are.
Your stuck in the past, don't make sense and cant get over a tablet is can be more than just a screen.

why do intel and AMD both say they are expecting a decline in "desktop" cpu sales?
why do we see articles and trends like that in china where mobile phones have overtaken desktops in how people connect to the internet.

The trends are there already. Now extrapolate them over the next decade or so and whilst doing that thing about the change in hardware, software and what people actually do on computers.

 

[RDM]

I am struggling to see why people are finding it so hard to grasp. We are not your typical computer users so, of course, it is unlikely that a tablet will replace a desktop/laptop for us. But for most users who currently just use a computer for web browsing, email etc then why wouldnt they buy a tablet?

The tablet will probably become the predominant domestic PC with the desktop being the domain of power users and business.

 

[Amp34]

but that is just turning it into a friggin laptop, so why would I want to trade my laptop in for something that is, umm....well a friggin laptop. what part don't you get? once you connect a smartcase or dock, it becomes a friggin laptop.

The real positive for me with the "tablet revolution" is that I will soon be able to get a device or very similar size to my currently laptop that acts as a laptop, which I can then halve in size when I want to travel around. Have a look at the UK21 and MBA 11" and imagine what they would look like with removable keyboards. That is basically what I (and I think AH) are looking for and why we are so interested in the tablet future, especially when you can also just plug them in and get the full windows desktop experience as well.

 

[paradisiac]

you cant see? you don't need to see, plenty of us already are.
Your stuck in the past, don't make sense and cant get over a tablet is can be more than just a screen.

ok, well because a few people do does not make it all. if they were that guaranteed to be sooo successful then no one would invest money in other technology for laptops and desktops.
a tablet is just the screen as you cant magically make a 7" tablet 15" big when you dock it.
so I would either need a small portable tablet or a big hybrid, that means I lose out on one of the other aspects, either ease of use or portability. no matter how many times you claim 12" is big enough, its not, it just isn't. and 15" is too big to be portable. so until they can turn a 12" tablet into a 15" hybrid I cant see how the tablet cannot be seen as being restricted by screen size, because it is.

 

[Amp34]

but all your arguments that a laptop is awkward, is responded to with, by a dock or smart case. so how does this make it any less awkward than a laptop?!?! really, how, I genuinely don't see how this stands up in any way. yes you can separate them, but then this means you have to hold it, which most people don't like, so you dock it, which makes it act like a laptop, which you say is awkward if its a laptop but amazing great if its a tablet docked because the option is there to undock it, even though undocking it opens up more awkwardness. I don't get your logic in any way.

His point is you can use it either way depending on how you are sitting/laying.

 

[paradisiac]

The real positive for me with the "tablet revolution" is that I will soon be able to get a device or very similar size to my currently laptop that acts as a laptop, which I can then halve in size when I want to travel around. Have a look at the UK21 and MBA 11" and imagine what they would look like with removable keyboards. That is basically what I (and I think AH) are looking for and why we are so interested in the tablet future, especially when you can also just plug them in and get the full windows desktop experience as well.

but that would annoy me, and pretty much everyone I know. 11"/12" is just too small to use all day every day.

 

[Glaucus]

ok, well because a few people do does not make it all. if they were that guaranteed to be sooo successful then no one would invest money in other technology for laptops and desktops.
.

some people will still need desktops and cpus are used in more than just desktops.

 

[Amp34]

did I not put that laptops/hybrids would be used for every day use it would be a case of either laptop or desktop, but not tablet, a tablet will never become an every day device in tablet form.

You did, however I'm pointing out that at the moment people are already voting with their wallets. They are voting for laptops over desktops in most situations. They will probably subsequently vote for convertible tablets (at the right price) as that gives them even more flexibility.

 

[paradisiac]

His point is you can use it either way depending on how you are sitting/laying.

well not really, as if I want to use it the way he suggests, in tablet form, I wont have a keyboard, so it would mean using a stupid onscreen keyboard, which most people don't like. so its not really an alternative. I could use my phone for that if I was that bothered and didn't need a keyboard surely. what has removing the screen from my laptop achieved my phone wont, other than being bigger? but as size clearly isn't an issue for them, then that cant be the reason.

 

[Heliospherez]

PC's will be around for the a long time yet..... it's just that the sales will drop to a fraction of what they are now. For specific tasks - desktop PC's will always be a first choice.

Various parts of them will begin to die out though.....as has always been the case.

I think things like the mechanical HD will probably be a thing of the past in 8-10 years - as will the DVD / Blu-Ray / CD. And I can't see keyboard / mouse input being the standard input method in 15 years time. But touchscreen will never take off - ergonomically it just doesn't work - and causes no end of arm/shoulder strain.

Why we still have old-school ports is beyond me. People still making desktops with serial, DE-15 (VGA) - even DVI ports..... why,why ???

Even the old internal interfaces are still in use in some motherboards and they really should just be dropped once and for all.... but the manufacturers are just too scared to take the leap.

 

[Glaucus]

well not really, as if I want to use it the way he suggests, in tablet form, I wont have a keyboard, so it would mean using a stupid onscreen keyboard, which most people don't like. so its not really an alternative. I could use my phone for that if I was that bothered and didn't need a keyboard surely. what has removing the screen from my laptop achieved my phone wont, other than being bigger? but as size clearly isn't an issue for them, then that cant be the reason.

most people dont like? except the 10s of millions of tablet users and the hundreads of millions of phone users.

 

[Amp34]

but that would annoy me, and pretty much everyone I know. 11"/12" is just too small to use all day every day.

A lot of people would disagree with you there... You're also still missing the point that you can dock a small device to a bigger screen (that could easily be turned into something that can be stored in a drawer for £100).

EDIT: For example something like the Motorola Arctix dock http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/5403/motorola-atrix-android-phone-review

 

[paradisiac]

most people dont like? except the 10s of millions of tablet users and the hundreads of millions of phone users.

and all these 10 of millions have sold up all their keyboard based devices and gone solely to touchscreen devices and docking stations?

A lot of people would disagree with you there... You're also still missing the point that you can dock a small device to a bigger screen (that could easily be turned into something that can be stored in a drawer for £100).

a laptop I can close the lid, walk into another room, open the lid and I have a 15.6" usable device. with this method I would need to carry the monitor, docking station, keyboard/mouse etc to said room, plug it all in and then use it. that is really portable and practical?

 

[Glaucus]

and all these 10 of millions have sold up all their keyboard based devices and gone solely to touchscreen devices and docking stations?

and a tablet is solely touchscreen is it.
God god, think before typing.