Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 5th Oct 2009 20:33 UTC
Ah, the tablet computer. For over two decades now have companies tried to get the public to buy the darn things, and yet, despite all the efforts, promises, analysts, and even personal involvement by Bill Gates, they simply never took off. Recently, the tablet has seen renewed attention - but will they succeed now?
Permalink for comment 387898
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Recent Original Stories
Recent Comments
Headlines
Random Comments
Random Stories
Random OS Link
Member since:
2006-03-18
It really comes down to form factor. I was thinking that I'd LOVE a simple tablet for web surfing, about the same size as my laptop's screen.
But then I wondered, how the hell would I hold the damned thing? I mean that's pretty big, and when you add in the battery the thing is going to be at least 2-3 lbs. You aren't going to hold this in the air for any significant amount of time. And if you set it on your lap, it's at a bad angle for viewing.
The wonderful thing about the current laptop form factor is that it comes with a built in base that fits nicely on your lap, and allows the screen to be adjusted for your line of site. The laptop is pretty much perfectly designed for living room surfing.
Now, if they manage to get things a bit smaller, say Kindle sized - then we are talking. I can comfortably hold the Kindle for hours, and can actually do thumb typing pretty well on its keyboard. Problem is that nobody's shoe-horned a fully functional computer with an active display into a device that size - yet.