This year we saw the awakening of a new deathmatch between tablet contenders. Next year promises a lot of surprises, Android will roll out it's V4 a.k.a Ice Cream Sandwich, Apple will release iPad 3 while RIM (Research In Motion) seems to be quite in the fight with the launch of it's PlayBook OS on february. What do you expect from the tablet universe for 2012?
They will replace a significant fraction of PCs and laptops I think. However how they can ever replace cell phones, I fail to understand.
I think it has to do with the marketing they are using. Most of the commercials on TV show people "out and about" in the world carrying their tablets and using them for everything from GPS directions to situational search browsing or movies on the go. But the commercials look ridiculous because tablets are so big, and those people are just carrying them everywhere without them being in the way. Every time I see the commericals like that I just shake my head. I'm pretty sure most people aren't going to carry a bulky object like that to dinner, the grocery store, the mall, the gym, and so on. What do you do with it when you need both hands free? It won't fit in your pocket, that's for sure.
I agree with you 100%. If you actually use one of the things, the commercials just look idiotic. Of course the same thing could be said for smartphone commercials, they leave out all of the caveats. It's another reason I think the whole mobile obsession and claims of "taking over" are going to end up like the "cloud revolution". Great ideas, too full of gotchas.
That,s why I think they can,t replace smart phones/ phones etc. Infact I don,t see any tablet with builtin phone except older Samsung galaxy tab. However I do believe they will sure replace a significant chunk of PC/ laptop/ netbook market share.
I don't think tablets will replace laptops or phones, I think tablets will have their own market. No real option for that. edit: maaaybe tablets will take some netbook share... Tablets up until this point have basically been toys. A new way to frame a photo, play a game, or check your email. That's a market, sure, but it's not going to catch on like a laptop or phone, which are productivity devices. Windows 8 tablets are likely going to be marketed as productivity devices. The dev preview had high specs (i5 or i3 or something) and Windows is viewed as a productivity OS - Office Suite etc. When they start being marketed as productivity devices (ala Windows, Blackberry) they'll take off.
I'm with Hungry on this one, I think tablets may be a niche market, with a good possibility of being an alternative to a netbook, but I don't see them as replacing PCs or laptops.
Which will be a difficult thing to market as the "on the go" worker finds themselves not being as productive as they planned to be, considering the things are hardly "mobile".
Yes, right now. Microsoft is in control of these tablets and the Office suite software. I'm sure it will be a priority to make both Windows and the rest of their best selling software more tablet friendly.
I also get the feeling that they may eat up some of the netbook marketshare.(I actually hope they will) But replacing our laptops with tablets won't happen anytime soon. Though I can imagine that they are a helping hand if you are sick laying in bed all day, or in the sofa etc...
In recent times i've seen a huge swing with people trading their desktops for laptops and now i'm starting to notice people switching their laptops for tablets. For a lot of people i think it makes a lot of sense, all they mainly do is surf, email, sns, watch videos, listen to music and a tablet is ideal for that. What i do find quite amusing is these teenagers walking around town with their ipad in hand and headphones on listening to music. Surely there's more practical ways to listen to music while out and about? I guess its just cool to be seen carrying an apple product...
That could be quite true. I just find it an odd thing to do but then again i'm quite conservative and find most new trends odd lol.
I voted for the third option because i have always considered tablets as toys or gimmicks. They are mostly used as a media gadget only and takes up too much space. Smartphones does the same things as a tablet but is 100x times more portable and convenient. As of now Tablets are just the "in" trend regarding gadgets but once it fades there won't be much about it.
I use my tablet mostly for reading on the internet and for playing music while I'm in my relax chair, I want to be able to switch easily between viewing TV and playing around with my tablet while staying @ the same place..... For working,and all other serious stuff,l prefer my pc.....so the tablet is only used for entertainement.....
