Lines Form for $99 TouchPad, Now Sold Out
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 22nd Aug 2011 21:19 UTC
PDAs, Cellphones, Wireless Last week, HP killed its webOS devices unit. Over the weekend, the company slashed the prices on the TouchPad. The result? The TouchPad sold out completely in a matter of hours. This confirms what I've been hearing from friends and family: "I'd love a tablet, but I'm not paying laptop money for one."
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henrikmk
Member since:
2005-07-10

I appreciate the point you're making there, the iPad is certainly a more pleasant experience for casual browsing and what not, but while a $450 laptop is bound to struggle with large applications, how does your iPad 2 handle Microsoft Office? Or any PC game from a few years ago? A $450 laptop will be clunky for many tasks, but at least it can *do* them, and that makes it a more useful device in many situations.


I find it interesting how the tablet is continually compared to a laptop. Why would you run MS Office on an iPad? Why would you run apps or games that require touch and accelerometer on a laptop? You might as well compare the laptop to a similarly priced game console. Do people complain that MS Office doesn't run on an XBox and that you can't typeset large documents with a gamepad?

With regards to games, the iPad is exactly in the same situation as any game console in that the hardware doesn't change very often. This brings a certain guarantee to the experience for anyone using the device and I don't have to be bothered with "my laptop is too slow for my expensively purchased app/game" complaints.

You know that you will get a much more consistent experience with an iPad than a similarly priced laptop in the same way that games for an XBox are very likely to run on your XBox. Whether you find that experience too restrictive or can be happy with it is another matter.

Reply Parent Score: 4

jabbotts Member since:
2007-09-06

I'd agree that the different form factors are better suited to different use cases. Personally, I'd still like to explore the true potential in the hardware rather than have it limited by some manufacturer's vision of what I want to run and what interface I want to control it.

In this specific thread, the comparisons are in reponse to the original claim that anything done on a tablet chassis (specifically; ipad) will be a more pleasent experience than a clamshell chassis. The original claimant sais; "they do the same and this one is better always." The respondents; "a tablet is good for this type of use, a clamshell is good for this type of use."

Reply Parent Score: 2

Soulbender Member since:
2005-08-18

I find it interesting how the tablet is continually compared to a laptop.


Because of the constant hyperbole that the tablets, and iPad in particular, will usher in the death of the PC and/or laptop?

Reply Parent Score: 3

henrikmk Member since:
2005-07-10

"I find it interesting how the tablet is continually compared to a laptop.


Because of the constant hyperbole that the tablets, and iPad in particular, will usher in the death of the PC and/or laptop? "

That assumes that you would be buying a tablet, because it's cheaper than a laptop or because it has a faster CPU or more memory.

But I hope people aren't buying a tablet instead of a laptop because of price or hardware, but a form factor, which suits casual users better than a laptop.

By continuing to ignore the form factor, it will also prevent someone from seeing why the iPad is able to sell.

There are very few ways tablets can be compared to laptops, when looking at a practical standpoint, unless you directly have the exact same apps for both devices, which you usually don't.

Reply Parent Score: 2