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Anyone else think that tablets are useless?

To say that an iPad or a Tablet in general is useless as a blanket statement is incorrect. There are plenty of uses for it but they don't apply to everyone. There are people, like me that would rather use a tablet than a computer. There are others who are just too used to using a laptop to switch to a tablet. There are those who are just fine using there phones for everything that they would use a tablet for.

The iPad for me is literally an extension of my iPhone. It does nearly everything my phone does except having the ability to make and receive phone calls. I can even do messaging on it to iphone users. So for me, my iPhone and iPad are one in the same in that I use them interchangably based on where I'm at, what I'm doing, or what I am needing to do.
 
It is good for travelling, but at home, it collects dust. It is just too limited. Im am not going to update my iPad Air until it gets some proper multitasking and split screen (or something i didn't anticipate would add a lot of value). I have chatting, a video running in the background and read stuff on the internet at the same time. The iPad is just too limited for casual use at home for me.

It could be so much more, it needs a proper home screen with my calendar, email, other things from app I deem worthy on my home screen. Having to open all sort of apps is just a sucky way to check for updates and get a overview of what is happening. It needs to provide me with a quick overview of what i think is important. The icon grid is such a stale home screen, its almost worthless by todays standards.
 
I used to think they were useless

When the iPad first came out I have to admit I was one of those people who thought "why did Apple just make a giant iPhone. I will never use one"

sigh...

I'm using my iPad right now to help me read through papers and review drafts while I attempt to write my thesis (bleh!). I've already saved myself the trouble of having to print out hundreds of pages that I would then need to carry back and forth from work to home. I am finding it VERY useful right now...
 
stlredbird said:
I find phablets useless. I love my iPad and if it wasn't for work I could easily see myself replacing my laptop altogether with my iPad.
Click to expand...

I don't understand why manufacturers don't make laptops with wireless. They do it for tablets. I think more people, like Macbook Air owners, would much rather use their Air over an iPad. The Air gives you many more options. :)
 
Tablets aren't useless per se but they still aren't as good for getting productivity done. I wish Apple wouldn't make owning a computer basically a necessity for iPad owners as you need iTunes for a lot of things. I've also tried lots of cases and stands and not one works as well as I would like. I want a stand or case that provides stability (doesn't fall over with movement) and a wide range of viewing angles no matter if I'm laying down or what my body position happens to be.
 
I don't think tablets are useless, though its just not for me. There is potential! I was highly considering the Surface pro 3 as it is an actual tablet that can replace a laptop, then I faced the fact that I would be paying 800 for a machine that ran windows so I changed my mind. The iPad has potential, but until it gets a full version of OSX, the iPhone is as far as I'd like iOS to take me.
 
They are just the opposite for me. I find most of my tasks which is consumption is better suited on a tablet. I now added Sunrise calendar and it syncs to all my Google devices. I find the only time I use my PC's anymore is to run a PC specific program and I have to scan and print or fax from my PC.

I also like there is just about virtually no OS maintenance required from Tablets. :)
 
I admit when the iPad was first released I thought they, and other tablets, were useless and pointless. I like the idea of e-readers, but looked at other tablets as just a way to play Angry Birds on a bigger screen.

After a couple years I decided to get an iPad basically for e-reading and photos but I've come to use it for a lot of things. I would say that I would rather have an iPad with Data than an iPhone, if I had to give one of them up.
 
Between smartphone, tablet with cellular, laptop and desktop, I'd be willing to give up the smartphone first as long as I still have a way to make traditional calls and SMS (e.g. via feature phone). Sure, almost all tasks can be done on both smartphone and tablet. However, bar taking pictures, I just find the iPad to be more comfortable to use in majority of the tasks I do (email, web surfing, messaging, FaceTime, PDFs, comics, etc).

Phablets may work well for others but until they make a phablet the same size as the iPad Mini (my personal minimum for viewing letter- and A4-sized PDF in fullscreen portrait without zooming), they're just not for me.
 
mripadmini said:
tablets are useless i have a desktop when i am at home and a iPhone when i am on the go.
Click to expand...
...says "mripadmini", who says he owns an iPad in his own signature...? LOL....

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Tablets aren't a necessity. Neither are laptops, for that matter. Or cars. Or clothes.

But that doesn't make them useless. They have great value to a great many people, whether it be just for their jobs, or watching movies.

If you don't find tablets useful, that's your opinion. But that doesn't make them useless for everyone else
 
joshkhaos1 said:
To say that an iPad or a Tablet in general is useless as a blanket statement is incorrect. There are plenty of uses for it but they don't apply to everyone. There are people, like me that would rather use a tablet than a computer. There are others who are just too used to using a laptop to switch to a tablet. There are those who are just fine using there phones for everything that they would use a tablet for.

The iPad for me is literally an extension of my iPhone. It does nearly everything my phone does except having the ability to make and receive phone calls. I can even do messaging on it to iphone users. So for me, my iPhone and iPad are one in the same in that I use them interchangably based on where I'm at, what I'm doing, or what I am needing to do.
Click to expand...

That's a a good way of putting it. I feel like eventually what device we use won't be important. We'll simply have different screen sizes for different scenarios. I think Apple's going a step in that direction with their continuity features in OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.
 
GalFriday said:
7 inch tablets are horrid. WAY too small to do much of anything well, especially for people with vision issues.
Click to expand...

That's taking it way too far. The iPad Mini eats the Kindle Fire in size, but it is only slightly bigger. I have bad vision, only can see out of one eye even and wear glasses, and that wasn't my problem with it. That's like saying that a 6" Kindle Paperwhite is useless, even though you can make the text large in size.

I just found them too narrow.
 
HarryWarden said:
Tablets aren't useless per se but they still aren't as good for getting productivity done. I wish Apple wouldn't make owning a computer basically a necessity for iPad owners as you need iTunes for a lot of things. I've also tried lots of cases and stands and not one works as well as I would like. I want a stand or case that provides stability (doesn't fall over with movement) and a wide range of viewing angles no matter if I'm laying down or what my body position happens to be.
Click to expand...

What do you need iTunes for? Since over the air updates and setup has been around I have not plugged any of my iPads in to a computer.

EDIT: I am not saying that there is no reason to use iTunes, I just don't do anything that requires it.
 
TWO2SEVEN said:
What do you need iTunes for? Since over the air updates and setup has been around I have not plugged any of my iPads in to a computer.

EDIT: I am not saying that there is no reason to use iTunes, I just don't do anything that requires it.
Click to expand...

Loading personal video files requires iTunes.
 
BaldiMac said:
Requires? There are loads of different ways to get personal videos onto an iPad.

Email
iMessage
Dropbox, etc.
YouTube, etc.

Coming soon: iCloud Photo Library
Click to expand...

Outlook, my email client, limits attachments to very small sizes so email won't work for pretty much any video file that is in HD.
 
joshkhaos1 said:
The iPad for me is literally an extension of my iPhone. It does nearly everything my phone does except having the ability to make and receive phone calls. I can even do messaging on it to iphone users. So for me, my iPhone and iPad are one in the same in that I use them interchangably based on where I'm at, what I'm doing, or what I am needing to do.
Click to expand...

iOS8 brings in Continuity. You will then be able to make calls and SMS on a Mac or an iPad. Phone has to be nearby. This makes an iPad more useful overall, it may make an iPad Mini the "often take with me" device. It will be a 7.9 phone effectively.

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HarryWarden said:
Tablets aren't useless per se but they still aren't as good for getting productivity done. I wish Apple wouldn't make owning a computer basically a necessity for iPad owners as you need iTunes for a lot of things. I've also tried lots of cases and stands and not one works as well as I would like. I want a stand or case that provides stability (doesn't fall over with movement) and a wide range of viewing angles no matter if I'm laying down or what my body position happens to be.
Click to expand...

An iPad is primarily a consumption device. It wasn't designed to be a tablet laptop. Oddly, a netbook would give s a tablet portability and full OS experience but they seem to have caught on then gone.

My iPad Air sits in a Targus case. protected, portrait and landscape angle, check it out
 
When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad he made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with netbooks, lol. And that's exciting about iOS 8. I'm looking forward to using it. I did all the betas last year for iOS 7 but I'm just being patient and waiting for 8.

tdale said:
iOS8 brings in Continuity. You will then be able to make calls and SMS on a Mac or an iPad. Phone has to be nearby. This makes an iPad more useful overall, it may make an iPad Mini the "often take with me" device. It will be a 7.9 phone effectively.

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An iPad is primarily a consumption device. It wasn't designed to be a tablet laptop. Oddly, a netbook would give s a tablet portability and full OS experience but they seem to have caught on then gone.

My iPad Air sits in a Targus case. protected, portrait and landscape angle, check it out
Click to expand...
 
Another take.

To me, the ecosystem is more important than the devices. Continuity will be a key. I will consider not upgrading my 5S for a 4.7 or 5.5 iPhone 6. Why? The opportunity for my iPad Air, or maybe I will buy an extra iPad, a mini, to expand my use. When suits, I may use my Air or a new Mini as a phone and SMS. It will be a 7.9 or 9.7 phone/tablet. At work, no issue taking an iPad, at friends, no issue. My iPhone will stay in my pocket while I use a big screen. Other times, just have my phone.

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joshkhaos1 said:
When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad he made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with netbooks, lol. And that's exciting about iOS 8. I'm looking forward to using it. I did all the betas last year for iOS 7 but I'm just being patient and waiting for 8.
Click to expand...

I agree. Netbooks are great, but a bit small for a full OS. SP3 is not small too. iOS8 onwards will hopefully keep the basic tablet OS intact, but allow more flexibility to enable creation to be less inconvenient than it is now. Easier to manage files (No, I do not want full file system access), remove some restrictions to give choices. As I said on my recent post, the OS is more the issue than the device.
 
To me, there's really not much of a difference between the iPhone and the iPad besides the screen size. Everything I do on the iPad, I can do on my iPhone... and I can fit it in my pocket. One reason why I would like a bigger iPhone, I appreciate the larger size of the iPad, but I'd like to fit that comfortably in my pocket.

When there were first rumors of Apple working on a tablet, I was under the impression that it would be chock full of features, running 3rd party apps, encoding video... but instead was just a 9.7" iPod touch. My iPad has been sitting in my desk drawer for months... getting rid of it soon.
 
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