back to article HP's fondle-slab dilemma: What to do when you're No 2

After just one year, the iPad is making more revenue than Apple's 30-year-old personal computer division. It's almost bringing in as much as Dell brings in from PCs. This is a huge business, already. And nobody can quite say what their iPad is good for. If ever a computer was a means to an end, then the iPad is it – rather than …

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  1. Gil Grissum
    Pint

    DLNA??

    I don't use it to stream music from anywhere. If I want to hear Music, I stream AOL Radio on my PC, otherwise, I watch a lot of Youtube on my PC, Laptop, or HTC EVO 4G. I see no valued to spending more money for a tablet (either iPad, Android, or WebOS) than a full featured laptop. I can pick up a full featured lappy in a variety of screen sizes with more on board memory and storage in the $300 to $400 range so I see no point to spending $500 or more for any tablet that has less memory, less storage, and in most cases, no replaceable battery. Sure the iPads have a bunch of apps, but I can get a full featured laptop for less, with better speakers and if the built in speakers don't get the job done, I can add externals. Sorry, but for me, it's about function, not just having a premium product that is around to impress women with. I'm not going to spend more for something that does less. That's why I don't have an iPhone. So have fun with your fondle slabs. Until the Android and WebOS camps offer tablets that have more apps and do more for a lower price than the iPad, I won't be owning a tablet. I'd buy a new lappy before wasting coin on t any tab. That's just me.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      Thanks...

      ... for that stream of consciousness rant.

      And your point about the article was?

      1. Gil Grissum
        Thumb Down

        @ Anonomyous Coward

        My point is that I'm not going to spend more to get a device that does less when I can spend less on a laptop that does more. I'm not into "fashion statement technology", i.e. anything made by Apple and am not out to impress anyone by whipping out some Apple toy. I use technology to get things done, such as work, as well as the enjoyment of media consumption, both of which can be done more effectively, efficiently, and better with a Laptop that costs less. That's my perspective. Yours might be different, either way, I'm going to do what works for me and it is not anyone's tablet, at the moment. No one is going to beat Apple selling Tablets for the same price with less Apps and until the price comes down to at least equal technology that does more (laptops), I won't be getting one.

  2. Martin

    But it's that little word "Apple...."

    Apple have managed to persuade people that there are no alternatives. You want to look cool? You have to have an iPhone, or an iTouch, and/or an iPad. Your lappy is a Mac. Nothing else matters. Even if it's better, it isn't - it hasn't got the magic logo on it. And they catch kids early too. Kids have ipod minis, they don't generally have other mp3 players.

    I'm trying to think of another brand that has succeeded so well with that "Essential" feel. It's technology as fashion. No-one else has ever really succeeded with that. And I have to, reluctantly, admire them for it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      My experience of takeup of Apple products

      I have an iphone - because a friend didn't need it anymore

      My mother has an iphone - because my brother didn't need it anymore

  3. Nigel 11
    Thumb Down

    More for less, rather than less for more.

    Apple fanbois buy Apple because Apple wants them to. I understand brainwashing.

    For the rest of us, I think the problem is that every tablet manufacturer is trying to sell us less for more. The netbook or notebook format has a keyboard, yet like for like costs less. If that's the real economic cost of a touch-screen showing up, then most of us simply don't need or want to pay extra for touch-screen. But since we can buy non-smart phones with touch-screens so cheaply, I doubt that it is.

    Asus and Acer seem to be the only companies addressing this, with tablets with detachable keyboards. But they still aren't cheap and aren't necessarily the best way to do it. Who sells a tablet with a passive stand, wireless keyboard and mouse and (ideally) an optional clip-on keyboard so you can also configure it as a one-piece notebook? When someone sells it and it's price-competitive with a same-spec notebook plus £30 for the wireless keyboard/mouse, I'll think about buying it.

  4. Spiracle

    #2 next year will be...

    "But what really struck home is how much of the value an iPad gives you comes from the third-party apps, and third-party hardware: from the (swearbox) open "ecosystem". It's that means to an end aspect: the iPad is just another way of playing music, reading web or books, watching TV. If you can't do that, then it's a problem"

    Hence the soon to arrive Amazon tablet. OK, It'll be yet another Android tablet but that's not what's most important. Its primary function will be to be the pointy end of an enormous, fine-tuned media-delivery system.

  5. Putonghua73

    re: More for less, rather than less for more

    Agreed. As other commentators here have mentioned, combine tablet functionality, UI, eco-system (especially native apps for the specific device) and price point, then despite the Jobsian restrictions, the Apple value proposition (urgh. I work in Procurement, and I still hate that term) is a tough one to beat.

    I resisted the temptation for a tablet for a long time as I didn't understand their use. I succumbed to an iPad2 last week. Why Apple rather than Android, or any other brand? Simply put, all the above. Flash? It is an issue, but my desktop will be my main point for JAV [Japanese Adult Video - I'll quite happily 'fess up for my occasion Riko Tachibana fix) with it's 22 inch screen. iTunes? Dropbox provides a different paradigm for managing content - yes, would still prefer portable media (USB stick) but I see the power of Dropbox and have converted.

    Unlike smartphones where there is still a large difference (on contract) between iPhones and HTC Desires (insert own brand here) and little difference in functionality, I feel there is still a night and day difference between the tablets in terms of slickness of UI, eco-system and price point. If you're prepared to get down and dirty, and like tinkering, then you can get a tablet for half the price [Android] and install a custom ROM. Me? I've realised that my tinkering days are over, and it's more the overall experience, as well as a few killer apps such as Anki (Chinese), and the more ubiquitous ones.

    ** I'll probably tinker at home with Ubuntu (or another linux deriative) but life is too short to be faffing around tinkering with a tablet. The 'just works' paradigm - even with the Jobsian restrictions - and the slick user experience (plus 10 hours battery life) ticked my requirements and except for Riko Tachibana requirements, my desktop and netbook (due to be sold, along with e-Reader and HTC Desire - I'll downgrade to a baisc Nokia, if I can find a 6310i) have been displaced by my iPad2.

    YMMV.

  6. MGT

    Remote Desktop app

    Has anyone found a remote desktop app that functions correctly on the TouchPad (VNC seems unable to display the keyboard).

  7. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    Android or iPad

    If you want something basic to browse in bed, read ebooks and play the occasional Angry birds then a $75 chinese Android tablet does that perfectly.

    If you want easy access to itunes and have pretty colours and look cool in starbucks an iPad is $350

    If you need to type an Acer netbook is $200

    Why exactly would you pay $500 for a Samsung/HP tablet instead?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Development is dead simple

    I just got the TouchPad and I really, really like it. I can develop my own applications (without paying $99 a year to Apple) and it is dead simple. High-performance stuff is done with C++ and OpenGL, but most applications can be done with the excellent widget set, HTML5, and Javascript.

    While I'm developing, I can test my application in a WebKit-based browser (Chrome with a couple of command-line options set). So, I make changes to my code and refresh the browser and -bam!- I'm running the new code and "emulating" my TouchPad.

    When I want to actually test the code on my real TouchPad, I just plug in my tablet (usb) and execute two command lines:

    palm-package appname

    palm-install packagename

    A couple of seconds later, I'm running my code. If I want to share the code with others in my office, I just give them the package and they can install it in seconds.

    1. Robert E A Harvey

      What OS

      What OS are you describing there? If it's unWinows You might have just changed my mind & persuaded me to buy.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      But

      You don't have to pay Apple $99/year to develop your own applications for their stuff either, Xcode is free and when you plug in an iDevice it asks you if you want to use it for development and will then allow you to just install you own code.

      You only pay $99/year if you want to sell though the app store or have support and early access to new OS revisions, pretty well the same as many other providers.

  9. Neily-boy

    Now it's funny you should mention Apple and Cars.....

    I have a theory on that front........

    It is my contention that if you are the type of person who is naturally predisposed to owning a BMW (or Mini - same thing) and in particular, the automatic transmission versions of those cars, you are also naturally predisposed to owning all things Apple.

    There are several reasons, the main ones being:-

    The whole "more money than sense" thing. All right, I'm not wanting to bring the wrath of the cult on my head, but there is more than a hint of this with Beamers and Apple products

    The wanabee thing. In particular this seems to be far more prevalent in women of most ages and young men, who are buying (or having bought for them) little BMWs, Audis and Minis in alarming, debt deepening quantities, and obviously have to have the iphone to go with them.

    And finally, the bigee - the lack of need for control. This is mainly a man thing. I can not abide automatic transmission, it never feels like you are in complete control of the car, but many people are perfectly at ease with relinquishing control in favour of ease of use. Can anyone see where this is going in relation to computing? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I am saying that I am seeing an ever greater connection between these brands, their customers and their philosophies towards these products.

    .

  10. Nate Amsden

    text rendering

    while reading this article from a touchpad i found the text rendering comment curious, i could see a difference between the screenshot and the article itself (which had perfect fonts), then i got to the comment page and did notice the text a bit blurry -- until i zoomed in a bit then it was perfect. i normally never notice because i always zoom in anyways, but give it a shot. I would like it if tge browser could remember zoom levels going between pages, but its not a big deal.

    good review- njce to see a fairly positive review of the touch fondleslab.

    i have never really used an ipad and never used android (don't like apple, don't trust google), as a launch day buyer of the TP, i like it, its a neat toy - and at this point that's all i was lookin for.

    eagerly awaiting the pre3.…

  11. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    ahh bless, someone from el-reg crying about injustice..

    because their favorite hardware is being ignored over something technically inferior.

    Welcome to the real world, you lot have been doing the exact same thing to the PS3 for years, because Microsoft made it fashionable to hate Sony because they were top-dog last-gen, and encourage people that it's uber-cool to support a underdog.

    EPIC FAIL to cry about the exact same thing you have been part of for so long....

  12. Robert E A Harvey
    FAIL

    Number 2?

    The time to worry about what to do when you are number 2 is when you are number 2.

    I would be very surprised if they were currently number 22

  13. Nick Pettefar

    Shiny but Slippy

    I have a lovely white iPad2.

    Unfortunately its use in the bedroom is somewhat limited. It is too heavy to hold for any length of time, has no handholds anyway and is too shiny to get a proper grip on. Whether one is watching videos, looking at pictures or reading text, it is all too difficult when in bed. Reading and answering e-mails is really bad, as is web surfing, etc. It's all just ergonomically bad. Propped up on a desk or table is ideal but we don't have those in the bedroom.

    I will be buying a new MacBook Air as it has a proper keyboard and can stand up by itself. I just wish I could put a SIM in it for 3G and that the battery would last longer. Also it isn't OS-crippled.

    If other manufacturers have followed the Apple pattern then they too will be bad to use in the bedroom.

    1. Neily-boy
      Joke

      Hold on, don't give up just yet.

      Apparently, the ipad 3 will have a revolutionary new, hinged, fold-out keyboard and the navigational system will be on one tiny area just below the keys, thus negating the need to even touch the screen. This type of innovation is going to change portable computing for ever!

  14. mcslemon
    FAIL

    Plastic fantastic

    I bought an iPad... much to my distaste. I waited for the Flyer, Playbook, Xoom and Touchpad before I made this decision and was disappointed by all.

    I'd seen the Touchpad at a HP launch event but wasn't allowed near enough to see what it looked and felt like but got quite excited. I finally got my hands on it in PC World and put it down straight away. None of them get near the iPad for build quality and that is such a shame. HP have got a cheek charging £399 for their entry Touchpad when it feels like a cheap rip off. They'll probably do an Envy Touchpad and charge over the odds.. and it'll still not come close.

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