What do you want a tablet for?

[Guest andybarker]

I've been following the progress of them for some time now, and have got quite excited by the idea of having one. However I can't for the life of me figure out what I would actually use it for.

I know what they CAN be used for, but I can't think what I would actually gain from having one.

I have a HTC HD2 which does emails, phone and SMS very happily. Can surf enough when away from home.

I also have a 12" laptop (old 1.6GHz Celeron HP, no optical drive) which I take with me when I travel. Use a WiFi, 3G dongle or mobile phone for internet connection when required.

What do you use / plan to use yours for? And why would you want this instead of perhaps a laptop or netbook (or even a large touchscreen phone)?

Ideas I have come up with are:

1. Use on the train to watch videos or surf (happens once a month, so not worth it just for that)
   
2. Look stuff up when watching TV (don't spend much time in front of the TV, can wait until I get to the PC)
   
3. Read emails / surf when making a cuppa (good to get a break from a screen every now and again!)
   
4. Just for the hell of it (I can spend £250 on other more fun stuff)
   

[Guest HaddockJG]

Interesting question and one I have been wrestling with ever since the ipad was rumoured. Given that tablets are often (excluding the , I think, somewhat pointless 7" ones) about the same size as a netbook (though lighter) and I've already got one, why do I need another one.

This is one reason, its what a tablet should be imo

ebook reading would be another thing to add to your list of possible uses, it might be handy to be able to be lying in bed reading, and then check on the latest sports results without having to get up or squint at my phone.

I'm still not convinced that the tablet isnt a solution looking for a problem.

[Guest Neo_VR]

Partially because im a bit of a geek B)

Mainly because my laptop.. an acer aspire one is a bit limp-wristed these days with it being a first-gen atom netbook..

Im after something that will either live in the living room (my main PC is in the spare room) and something i can take to work with me.

I take the aspire with me when i go away at the moment and tether it to my HTC for internetz which is fine and keeps me occupied for iplayer/facebook but its a bit too slow to play 720p MKVs which means its a pain to recode tv eps. and it will munch through a battery charge in a couple of hours, so taking the charger is pretty much a given.

Id been toying with the idea of a ipad for ages.. but have not bought one so far on principal :) - Having moved from an iphone to my HTC desire and having my mind "opened" to Android and open source lol, i think an android tab would be more suited to me than a ipad would be..

[Guest Bonuman]

For me:

Reading eBooks: I have hundreds of books that still need reading. Occasionly I have my eBooks printed via Lulu.com, but this is too expensive to do with all of them, especially the ones that are in color.

Reading RSS feeds: Nowadays I do this on my old HTC Magic, but the screen is really to small to sustain this for longer periods.

Watching movies and series on the go: Haven't done this for a long long time. ( Back in the day I used to to this on a media player with a 2.4inch screen!! )

Surfing and checking information on the go: Just for fun, or for comparing prices of products instore to the same products online, etc. Too bad the Vega doesn't have a backfacing camera, that'd be easier with scanning barcodes.

[Guest Jamibu]

Partly as a laptop replacement: most of what I use my laptop for in my spare time is social, and it would be more convenient on a tab.

However I really want to use it to read Science journals/papers. I tried this on my brothers iPad, and the combination of the screen ratio (I was originally all for widescreen until I did this) and the screen quality made it so easy. Unfortunately all the Android ones are widescreen ratio, with poor portrait viewing angles, making this activity no good.

I refuse to get an iPad, I want it to be Android, so I guess I'm stuck waiting for the next wave or two of tablets

[Guest rferrett]

For me it is principally for pissing around on t'interwebs when lounging about, on break, on the bog, on the train. I use my phone for this but really the screen isn't that comfortable for prolonged viewing because of the size.

So just wasting time really, mind you I love wasting time on the t'interwebs!

[Guest emergant]

For me:

Reading eBooks: I have hundreds of books that still need reading. Occasionly I have my eBooks printed via Lulu.com, but this is too expensive to do with all of them, especially the ones that are in color.

Reading RSS feeds: Nowadays I do this on my old HTC Magic, but the screen is really to small to sustain this for longer periods.

Watching movies and series on the go: Haven't done this for a long long time. ( Back in the day I used to to this on a media player with a 2.4inch screen!! )

Surfing and checking information on the go: Just for fun, or for comparing prices of products instore to the same products online, etc. Too bad the Vega doesn't have a backfacing camera, that'd be easier with scanning barcodes.

Partly its because I just WANT ONE okay B)

But I've been playing with an archos 70 7 inch which I am very impressed with for web browsing. A laptop seems positively klunky in comparison. A phone is too small. Seven is probably a minimum. 10 I'm not sure but looking forward to finding out. If all you want is ebooks I think 7 is about right.

I think for things that have minimal input requirements a tablet may be great

[Guest psych0t1c]

I am toying with the idea of getting a tablet, primarily as a stationary "bed-book".

I usually end up doing some news reading or watching (stream) on my phone before i go to sleep, also some odd browsing here and there. Nothing i would really need a notebook for, but things that would be nice on a larger screen.

Aside from that it must be able to playback music and maybe watch a movie or downloaded content in avi or mkv.

My spec sheet would be:

- 10"

- decent audio output

- responsive and precise touchscreen

- playback of avi, mkv, mp3, maybe wma/flac

- ebook browsing

Very high on my list of candidates is the Notion Ink Adam, if it ever ships. Other than that I am also considering a Win7 tablet because in that case I know what I would be getting and what software is available for integration as a ebook/media viewer/playback unit.

[Guest Paul]

Oh yeah, the Adam should be awesome...

P

[Guest obb]

General web surfing (with flash - gametrailers etc),

Email

IM

And some games (only the decent ones, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Space Physics etc)

All from the comfort of the sofa and the bed ...

Sounds good to me!!!

[Guest andybarker]

This has been an interesting read for sure - thanks everyone.

So far people seem to be thinking of a tablet fitting in between the uses for a Laptop and a touchscreen phone. (Laptop too big / heavy, phone too small)

I think for now I will wait. Perhaps things will change and make a tablet worthwhile for me.

[Guest DrSuave]

Going to use it for my own geek-ness. But then going to try to see if it works in a sale floor environment with a web based sales system.

[Guest emergant]

This has been an interesting read for sure - thanks everyone.

So far people seem to be thinking of a tablet fitting in between the uses for a Laptop and a touchscreen phone. (Laptop too big / heavy, phone too small)

I think for now I will wait. Perhaps things will change and make a tablet worthwhile for me.

Fair enough. Its just a different interface its not going to actually perform a different task as such. Having said that Google maps and street view are impressive on a big touch screen.

Its not just that a laptop is bigger and heavier its that the whole form factor is different. Its a phone but without the microscope and tweezers :P

[Guest Pug77]

A bit OT .....

Has anyone opened a large PDF files on the Vega?

My Nexus One struggles rendering the graphics from MoneyWeek pdfs and often just gives up. No FC, just stops rendering.

What's the speed of render and readability of text like?

Has anyone created an invert colour app (white text on black background) or capability into a pdf reader?

Cheers

[Guest Thresherinc]

I'm looking for a device to read all my roleplaying pdfs, it will save me lugging around 4 or 5 books so space and weight savings there in one readable place, ebooks are an added bonus, my htc desire is kind of okay for reading ebooks but can drain the battery on daytime mode, hoping the tablet will stand up to more use.

The iPad is kind of perfect, but I am not looking to spend that much on it.

E-readers looked like they might work, but I have had bad reports on them reading large gaming pdfs.