Laptop-Tablet Hybrid
Have you guys seen the laptop-tablet hybrid computer from Gateway..(the M275 series)....?
What do you think about this product?
I actually wish Apple had come out with this product. Honestly, I feel that this is the first piece of innovation to come from the Wintel side in quite a while.
I think Apple may have missed the boat on this one.
Any thoughts on whether we will see this type of product from Apple and whether or not Apple can improve on what is all ready out there from Gateway?
-Dr. Bimane
What do you think about this product?
I actually wish Apple had come out with this product. Honestly, I feel that this is the first piece of innovation to come from the Wintel side in quite a while.
I think Apple may have missed the boat on this one.
Any thoughts on whether we will see this type of product from Apple and whether or not Apple can improve on what is all ready out there from Gateway?
-Dr. Bimane
Comments
That being said...tablets have never been able to elicit more than an "eh" from me, and judging from the sales of tablets (last time I checked, things may have changed recently) not too many people are getting excited over them. We shall see, but I can tell you that I wouldn't buy one.
Simmer down and take a deep breath before you spew out aggressive attitude.
-Dr. Bimane
I think Jobs may have said in the past that it was a very niche type of product that they probably wouldn't produce in the near future, but I can't find a quote for it.
If you're going to carry around the weight and size of a full laptop, why not just use it as a bloody laptop?
My advisor has gone through three tablet PCs in the past year, trying to find one that's even decently workable, and none have passed muster. I've had the opportunity to try all three, and frankly, my six+ year old Newton works better.
What the Gateway design acknowledges is that Windows Tablet Edition ain't there yet, and you are going to want to fall back on a keyboard. But while you're there, why not stick with the keyboard? Why design a product around a half-assed environment and then compromise the design to provide a workaround?
The Gateway product will tank. People who want notebooks can get notebooks. People who like the idea of tablets will want to wait for something significantly better than the current MS offering. Like, say, a seven-year-old Newton.
Thanks for the reply.
Interesting points.....but, I think this Gateway hybrid only weighs about 5 lbs, right? This is less than the 5.4 lb powerbooks which, to me, really does not weigh that much.....
What use does a hybrid have? Well.......
Imagine giving a powerpoint presentation or a lecture to students but being able to write on the computer and circle items and have it appear on the screen....or draw on existing figures or tables......
I think it is excellent for professors (or teachers at any level) and scientists....not to mention graphic artists...etc.
The person in charge of the lab I am a student in (Biochemistry at a medical university) inherited a free Tibook and was thinking of making the switch to OSX from Windows (and Linux) because he really liked the form factor and OSX.....but, when he saw this Gateway tablet, which is what he has always wanted, he decided to buy it instead of sticking with Apple. He gets it tomorrow. He was asking me whether I thought Apple would ever come out with a tablet - I had to tell him "probably not" but "who knows".
He gives me shit about Apple being (or not being) an innovator all the time. He thinks that this hybrid is true innovation and that Apple is missing the bigger picture of where the industry is going. He also thought that OSX should have been written to run on top of Linux instead of BSD......but that is a whole other argument.
A lost potential switcher. It's funny - I don't know that Apple has fully realized this until recently but they still have a large following in the scientific community. I would guess somewhere around 40-50% of scientists use Apple (in our department of 12 professors, 10 use macs)......yet, Apple seems uninterested in getting some of the major Data Analysis programs to be ported over to the Mac Platform. Oh well.
-Dr.Bimane
Originally posted by Dr.Bimane
Kickaha,
Thanks for the reply.
Interesting points.....but, I think this Gateway hybrid only weighs about 5 lbs, right? This is less than the 5.4 lb powerbooks which, to me, really does not weigh that much.....
What use does a hybrid have? Well.......
Imagine giving a powerpoint presentation or a lecture to students but being able to write on the computer and circle items and have it appear on the screen....or draw on existing figures or tables......
I think it is excellent for professors (or teachers at any level) and scientists....not to mention graphic artists...etc.
Right. And is exactly what a full-fledged tablet would be good for, if there were a tablet that worked well.
The person in charge of the lab I am a student in (Biochemistry at a medical university) inherited a free Tibook and was thinking of making the switch to OSX from Windows (and Linux) because he really liked the form factor and OSX.....but, when he saw this Gateway tablet, which is what he has always wanted, he decided to buy it instead of sticking with Apple. He gets it tomorrow. He was asking me whether I thought Apple would ever come out with a tablet - I had to tell him "probably not" but "who knows".
He gives me shit about Apple being (or not being) an innovator all the time. He thinks that this hybrid is true innovation and that Apple is missing the bigger picture of where the industry is going. He also thought that OSX should have been written to run on top of Linux instead of BSD......but that is a whole other argument.
A lost potential switcher. It's funny - I don't know that Apple has fully realized this until recently but they still have a large following in the scientific community. I would guess somewhere around 40-50% of scientists use Apple (in our department of 12 professors, 10 use macs)......yet, Apple seems uninterested in getting some of the major Data Analysis programs to be ported over to the Mac Platform. Oh well.
-Dr.Bimane
Totally another thread topic, and one worth discussing - perhaps make a new one?
As for your friend, well... I can guarantee he'll think it's the cat's pajamas for about a week, then start to regret buying it. Within a month it'll be collecting dust if he has any other options.
Windows Tablet Edition simply bites. It's clunky, unintuitive, and obviously an afterthought.
I think I may start another thread on this topic but I have to make sure no one has a similar thead else I might be chastised for creating a new one...
Well, I will keep you posted as to whether or not my friend likes his Gateway and how well it functions and how much he uses it.
But I tell you this, as an Apple fan and a Macintosh user, I will be more than slightly embarrassed if Apple comes out with a hybrid or tablet (or similar concept) in the new future and then claims it to be the "first ever".
-Dr. Bimane
At least, it's still the first one that was worth a darn... many would argue still the only one.
As far as using a tablet for presentations in lecture... you could also just have lecture rooms include a flat panel with touchscreen capabilities hooked up to whatever computer is in the room... I know here that several classrooms use that for their presentations.
It is so funny because my friend who bought the Gateway hybrid was telling me that he thinks if Apple ever comes out with a tablet they would say, "the first ever USEABLE tablet".......or some such Apple-like qualifier.......
Perhaps we will see "the first insanely-great tablet".....
-Dr. Bimane
As Kickaha points out, Apple was first anyway. The Newton was years ahead of everybody. As far as tablets go, there are Apple prototypes going back to the mid-1980s. If they haven't released one yet, it's because they haven't figured out how to make the iPod of tablets yet.
When they do, we'll see it. Until then, don't mistake innovation for pulling something out of the oven before it's finished cooking.
We had the same thought about Apple and their claims to be the first!
I know you could hook up all that extra stuff, but it would be so nice to have it all in one little machine. Thus, you wouldn't have to worry whether or not the room you are giving the presentation in has all that AV equipment. Self-sufficiency is key!
-Dr. Bimane
I absolutely agree with you.
Being the first is not nearly as important as the best or most useable. Great analogy with the iPod, BTW.
Your post brings me back to my first post.....how can the Gateway machine be improved upon? What is missing from this machine to make it useable? What does Apple (or anyone) need to do to really make the hybrid or the tablet take off?
Opinions, anyone?
-Dr. Bimane
2) Make it a dedicated tablet.
3) Make it about A5 sized... 5.5"x8" small enough for hand use, big enough for real use.
Seriously though, ditch the legacy pc ports and come up with something ergonomic at least.
Seriously, what good is a tablet, does anyone actually do any work on a clipboard... if you do, could you be more productive with a tablet computer or will a piece of paper do the trick. If your looking for something that will display data that you use whilst you work and communicate with a database or other application, perhaps an ipaq is in order. Ive been to a restaurant where the waiters carry ipaqs and your order goes straight to the kitchen, neat eh.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,807965,00.asp
Run a search on Tablet threads herein. AI's got hundreds of the damn things (Tablet threads, that is). Speculation, drawings, and even movies (!)
But
Not
One
Apple
Tablet.
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Aries 1B
The Tablet seems to be such a great theory, an idea that seems to make sense but has just never been implemented that well. It seems to me one of the following 5 things is always wrong with the tablet idea.
1. It is too expensive for its function
2. The interface is terrible
3. The design is terrible
4. For similar prices, there are fully functional laptops
5. It doesnt work seamlessly with the desktop
I just dont know how a tablet will ever be a reality when there are so many variables that have to come out just right, for it to actually do the one thing the maker of it needs it to do---Sell.