Is the iPad or Tablets in general good value?

I know this may prove controversial and I know people will say I'm comparing Apples (no pun intended) with Pears. However, when I look at the price of Tablets in general so not specifically the iPad do those who own them and those who don't consider them to be good value for money? I was browsing the web today, wasting time really, when I just happened to notice the price of the 32gig wi-fi only version here in the UK - £479. This got me doing a bit of mental arithmetic and I started to add on a couple of standard items that I thought you might also need as basics.

To the basic price I added the iPad2 cover i.e. the grey plastic one price £35. I then decided it also needed rear protection so another £20 for the Hypershield (which looks a very good product). Then there's Applecare another £69 so a grand total then of £603. That's almost the price of my Mac Mini and only £396 less than my iMac which is a world removed from an iPad. I haven't even added in the cost of ATV2 if I want to stream wirelessly from the iPad to my flat panel TV.

When I look at what I could get for that money (or have done if I include my mini) then I just think phew! where do they get the prices from.

Mak47 said:

One must define what is valuable to them to determine the value of a consumer product.

I for example, do not ride a bicycle, so a bicycle helmet at any price has no value to me, even if it were only $1.00--despite the fact that it may be the most technologically advanced bicycle helmet on the planet.

An iMac or a Mac Mini are packed to the gills with hardware that is far more powerful than what is inside an iPad, and especially in the case of the iMac, offer a selection of peripheral devices included with the price. But those devices aren't mobile, they are stationary. As powerful as they may be, they are utterly useless if I need something to browse the web while sitting on a train.

Laptops like the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro would be more apt comparisons, as they are portable. Even so, they don't offer the versatility of an iPad. I won't carry a MacBook Pro with me everywhere I go, but I can do that with an iPad, even if I go somewhere that I don't need it, I can hide it in my glove compartment. I can't do that with a laptop.

Everyone's needs are different, therefore their definitions of value will be different.

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Ah well! I suppose there's the rub, is it valuable to the consumer. There again though one could argue it throws up more questions than it answers. I lot of replies have been about the portability of the iPad/Tablets. However, there have been a number of studies that suggest the vast vast majority of Tablets will never leave the consumers home so again that does stand that argument on it's head. If I take myself as an example, I've had a Laptop since 2001 and yet neither the wife or I have ever taken it further than the lounge or bedroom. I don't have a smartphone for exactly the same reason i.e. there's nothing in my life that won't wait until I arrive home.

As I said it has to be horses for courses but I do wonder if I Tablet is the best and the cheapest solution for a great many users or whether they just see it as the next must have consumable?

If you want to read in bed, then I think tablets are the bast solution, though perhaps not the cheapest

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Now funnily enough you have given an example there that I would argue to the contrary till the cows come home - backlit tablets are not the best solution for reading, in fact I would list them as one of the worst. Kindle and similar of that ilk - absolutely, e-ink is the best thing going for mimicking text in a book but it's a known fact that backlit screens are very tiring on the eyes. I know from my own experiences in the office that when I receive a document to read I invariably print it rather than read it on my computer screen.

Don't get me wrong, I do think tablets are a very nice bit of kit, though I remain to be convinced they are the best value solution for your computer needs if it's unlikely they will ever be used other than in your own home. I think they are a far more valuable tool for business than for home consumers, which I believe was their intended market originally.

jsh1120 said:

Sorry, but as far as I know it is not a "known fact that backlit screens are very tiring on the eyes." What IS a "known fact" is that individual preferences vary widely.

My wife finds a backlit screen tiring; I don't. My wife doesn't spend 10-12 hours a day looking at a backlit screen; I do and I have for about 30 years.

I'm inclined to believe that the question turns on one's expectations and what one gets used to. My wife wouldn't give up her Kindle and its e-ink display. Period. I find the iPad to be a perfectly acceptable reading device.

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Google or Bing will be your friend here, lots and lots of pages on this subject. There again it could be the rest of us that are singing out of tune?

Ashwood11 said:

Tens of millions of people bought the iPad because it had no value.

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Millions of people got involved in pyramid selling - your point?

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I think (value apart) that the demographic for home users is - mainly browsers, those who use social networking sites, (god help us) the odd email, looking at pics and listening to music i.e. media consumption. Even then I find the screen a bit to small (for me personally). I don't think your average "proper" PC user finds them to be a good alternative to a Desktop/Notebook computer though. Those who say they have now replaced their computer with a Tablet were IMO never really a "true" computer user in the first place.

TrollToddington said:

One word - ergonomics. I think the angle of viewing of a tablet is much more natural that that of a laptop. You can have the tablet on your lap and read a book. try doing this with a laptop.

Besides that, I predict that in not so long time tablets will be as mainstream as mobile phones. Books will be sold primarily in electronic format. Then, purchasing a tablet or a kindle will be mandatory. No need to purchase printed books with their storage requirements. I've loaded ~25 books to my iPad and have them with me wherever I go. With printed books that would be impossible.

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Despite what you say sales of physical books are increasing, there was an article on this very subject on the BBC here in the UK only last week. As much as I love technology there is no substitute for holding a book in your hand. Besides tablets need to embrace e-ink before they can even start to lay claim to being book friendly - Kindle yes Tablets NO!

TrollToddington said:

With a tablet/kindle I can have my entire book collection wherever I go to. Moreover, a tablet allows me to have my entire photo album collection to be with me, and my music collection, too. All in one, small, package.

I don't care too much about what the smarts at the BBC claim, I see the tablet as a very powerful tool whose capabilities will expand in the near future. This segment has only just appeared and is exploding as the sales numbers show.

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Smarts at the BBC what on earth is that supposed to mean - get rid of the chip. The BBC "News" was simply reporting that physical books sales have been increasing year on year for the last few years. You mentioned books I reported that despite your assertion that book sales are doomed the evidence doesn't support your assertion and now you expand the argument into music and pictures?

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whitenoise said:

I just bought a kindle and have started reading full time again, even though I have had Ipad's from the start....I actually think the size and added weight played its part, although it wasn't a conscious decision. I just haven't read much on the iPad.

I use my iPad to view loads of video, I listen to music and podcasts, I play games, I browse the web. It is the fact that the iPad is always on that is most appealing, the fact that you can just grab it and use it. You don't have to turn it on, or open it up, you can be using it in a couple of seconds.

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I agree entirely, the Kindle and similar products are the best pseudo books I have come across. Their ability to mimic a physical book is very pleasing and in a straight comparison between Tablets and e-books the e-book for reading plain text IMO wins this one every time. Of course you are then left with the decision of do you compromise or buy one of each?