the tablet war is heating up

[Relique du Madde]

I have to say that I love my Xoom and I can't wait till next year cause now that the flood gates have been open, I only know better android tablets will be on it's their way (and I hope that Google decides to fix the "bug" (or feature) that prevents certain large widgets from docking on the upper left corner of the home screen cause having them dock on that corner on all the other screens really bugs the hell out of me).

 

[Hand of Evil]

What I find interesting is that this has become a war of portable OSes, phone OS not the normal desktop OSes.

 

[Fast Learner]

What I find interesting is that this has become a war of portable OSes, phone OS not the normal desktop OSes.

Indeed, I'd hate to be Microsoft. Don't get me wrong, they're doing fine now, and have a firm foothold in the enterprise, but we really are entering a "post-pc" era. Today it's mostly for casual uses, but that is changing very quickly, and the ground beneath that foothold is beginning to crumble.

 

[John Crichton]

Indeed, I'd hate to be Microsoft. Don't get me wrong, they're doing fine now, and have a firm foothold in the enterprise, but we really are entering a "post-pc" era.

We really aren't. Just because more devices are out there it doesn't mean that desktop computers aren't being anymore. Quite the contrary. Many of these portable devices still need to sync up with a PC to do things like install apps, transfer media and the like.

 

[Fast Learner]

We really aren't. Just because more devices are out there it doesn't mean that desktop computers aren't being anymore. Quite the contrary. Many of these portable devices still need to sync up with a PC to do things like install apps, transfer media and the like.

Both iOS and Android fully support over-the-air app installation, and both support a variety of over-the-air syncing options. I'm not aware of any media transfer that requires a hardware sync.

Android supports over-the-air data backup and OS upgrades, both of which you'll likely see in iOS within a year or so (Apple is said to have avoided it so far due to the ability to lose data or even magically brick a phone in a situation where it's hard to restore, something that does cause some Android users trouble.)

The only reason I ever sync my iPad or my iPhone is for data backup and OS upgrades. If it weren't for that temporary need, both of my parents could easily and happily get by with just iPads. We're in the midst of a mighty transformation, I argue.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Agree with Fast Learner, with the coming of 4G and the sorry state of the US DSL/Cable speeds (ranked 28th in the world, last I heard) the tablets are soon to be "to the cloud" for everything.

 

[John Crichton]

Both iOS and Android fully support over-the-air app installation, and both support a variety of over-the-air syncing options. I'm not aware of any media transfer that requires a hardware sync.

Pretty much every iPod, for one example.

Android supports over-the-air data backup and OS upgrades, both of which you'll likely see in iOS within a year or so (Apple is said to have avoided it so far due to the ability to lose data or even magically brick a phone in a situation where it's hard to restore, something that does cause some Android users trouble.)

And data is backed up to a PC, yes? I love my Droid phone and the capabilities are impressive. However, that doesn't mean that I don't use my home PC when I'm there.

The only reason I ever sync my iPad or my iPhone is for data backup and OS upgrades. If it weren't for that temporary need, both of my parents could easily and happily get by with just iPads. We're in the midst of a mighty transformation, I argue.

That need isn't going away anytime soon and even if it does, PCs aren't going away nor will their utility vanish until portable processing power is many magnitudes greater than it is now.

I'm not saying that tablets and portable computing isn't growing because it is and that is frickin' awesome. But saying that PCs are a thing of the past or are in decline isn't remotely true.

 

[John Crichton]

Agree with Fast Learner, with the coming of 4G and the sorry state of the US DSL/Cable speeds (ranked 28th in the world, last I heard) the tablets are soon to be "to the cloud" for everything.

My internet connection is great. I pay a little extra for it to be that way but there it is.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Indeed, I'd hate to be Microsoft. Don't get me wrong, they're doing fine now, and have a firm foothold in the enterprise, but we really are entering a "post-pc" era. Today it's mostly for casual uses, but that is changing very quickly, and the ground beneath that foothold is beginning to crumble.

Jobisms are only clever marketing phrases/ploys for the weak minded. Steve Jobs considers a iDevice a computer. iDevices be them phones or pads or pod are personal devices same with non iDevice tablets phones and what not. Thus making them EXTREMELY personal computers. Lexicon fail. Of course, Jobs wants it to be a post-pc world since then he would consider himself a WINNER on a Sheenian scale
(since he considers "post-pc" as meaning microsoft has lost instead of microsoft has stepped back because thye don't want an other monopoly suit while they are helping facebook become the next AOL).

The only way we will ever be post "PC" is if you could do everything you could do on a PC/desktop/laptop/webbook on a phone or tablet. That everything includes filming Avatar, rendering it's graphic or developing a immersible 3d environment real time multi-player game capable of holding the entire population who plays WoW on one server, and running a processing intensive program (like flash) WHILE MULTITASKING and not having to have a server farm somewhere to handle all the processing because our next gen processors are that fast (yes, iI realize I'm talking about the singularity, but without reaching that then we can't have a true Post PC world).

Until any hand held device can do a fraction of that, without gagging or Steve Jobs claiming "we don't need X because not having it is better, durrr" then don't say things like "post pc" and expect to get a pass from anyone who isn't a cool aid drinker or marketer.

 

[Fast Learner]

Jobisms are only clever marketing phrases/ploys for the weak minded.

Unless they happen to turn out to be true, like the importance of personal computers in the home, the graphic user interface, and easy, cheap, legal downloading of music via iTunes.

Steve Jobs considers a iDevice a computer. iDevices be them phones or pads or pod are personal devices same with non iDevice tablets phones and what not. Thus making them EXTREMELY personal computers. Lexicon fail.

People do not consider their phones to be "PCs." That the acronym applies doesn't mean the concept does.

Of course, Jobs wants it to be a post-pc world since then he would consider himself a WINNER on a Sheenian scale
(since he considers "post-pc" as meaning microsoft has lost instead of microsoft has stepped back because thye don't want an other monopoly suit while they are helping facebook become the next AOL).

Entirely unlike the way he launched the popularity of the personal computer, the GUI, and mp3 players. Oh, and Pixar. "Man, that guy has no actual track record, just full of himself," that's your theory?

The only way we will ever be post "PC" is if you could do everything you could do on a PC/desktop/laptop/webbook on a phone or tablet.

Only if "post-pc" means there will no longer be any non-tablet computers, which of course it doesn't.

That everything includes filming Avatar, rendering it's graphic or developing a immersible 3d environment real time multi-player game capable of holding the entire population who plays WoW on one server, and running a processing intensive program (like flash) WHILE MULTITASKING and not having to have a server farm somewhere to handle all the processing because our next gen processors are that fast (yes, iI realize I'm talking about the singularity, but without reaching that then we can't have a true Post PC world).

Until any hand held device can do a fraction of that, without gagging or Steve Jobs claiming "we don't need X because not having it is better, durrr" then don't say things like "post pc" and expect to get a pass from anyone who isn't a cool aid drinker or marketer.

Your theory, then, is unless a tablet can do everything a full-blown PC can do, people who aren't sheep will continue to buy PCs, is that correct? That because everyone who would want a computing device will need to be able to film Avatar, have a server in their hands, and run an outdated and rapidly fading multimedia VM, PCs will rule?

You know, we're living in a post-mainframe world, and in a post-minicomputer world, despite the fact that a very small subset of the population still needs to use them and even buy new ones. I take it you don't subscribe to the idea that we're currently in PC world because some people still need more powerful machines, is that correct?

Your name calling does nothing but weaken your argument. It's Kool-Aid, btw, as long as you're going to cast aspersions.