I love my iPad mini but I'm starting to wonder why I have a computer, iPad, and iPhone. I hate having to switch between my computer and my iPad. I can see the beauty of a MS Surface Pro which is a full fledged computer and a tablet computer. I could see owning a MS Surface with a docking station and having the best of both worlds. Of course the MS Surface still needs a couple generation of polishing. To keep me in the iPad camp I think Apple needs to start thinking about how an iPad can evolve into a full replacement for your PC. Otherwise, I see iPad's becoming a dead-end branch in the evolution of personal technology.
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All iPads IMHO important juncture for iPad's
- Thread starter Charliebird
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iPads (and other tablets) are already replacements for full PCs for some people. More than enough power for the basic things a lot of people use a computer for.
An iPad's point isn't to be a PC replacement. That's like expecting a Mini Cooper to replace a full sized truck.
It's pretty easy to see "best of both worlds" when imagining things. Reality tends to be "jack of all trades, master of none".
The iPhone combined a Palm Pilot, a digital camera, a cell phone, iPod, and GPS into one unit. I don't see anyone complaining about it being a jack of all trades. I'm saying at some point the iPad needs to bring more to the game instead of just a larger screen or it's going to be the next Palm pilot.
Excellent question. I would like to be able to dock it to my monitor and keyboard, and mouse. More robust multitasking where I can access several applications at one time. Centralized storage of my data instead of embedding them into applications. I know this is starting to sound like a full fledged OS.
I do dream of a computer that can fit into my pocket, that when docked, or more likely wirelessly connecting to a desktop setup, functions as a full desktop, and when away from the desk, is a smartphone. And technology being what it is, I think it is highly likely that we will eventually get there. But it has to be done right. Microsoft knew that portable computing was the future, and for years kept trying to push mobile platforms, like tablets and PDAs. Apple never did anything in that space during that period. (Well, there was the Newton, but that was while Jobs was away.) Then suddenly, boom! The iPhone lands.
Now, I see history repeating itself. Microsoft is trying to push an all-in-one, combined desktop/mobile OS with Windows 8. Apple is keeping mobile and desktop separate. But Microsoft's OS and devices are clunky, unpolished products. They do offer more functionality, but are less easy or fun to use. If Apple stays to form, they will land with an all-in-one system that is smooth and polished in both hardware and software from day one. Whether they can pull it off without Jobs? Well, that's THE QUESTION. But that is what they'll be aiming for.
But your premise was for an iPad to replace a PC. An iPhone didn't even make an iPad unnecessary. IPads are no more or less capable than any other tablet. You can of course argue that a Surface is "more capable," but the only real difference is that it runs the same OS as on a desktop, and a lot of people think that Windows 8 falls short as both a desktop and a mobile OS (the old "jack of all trades, master of none" syndrome all over again).
There just isn't a device in existence today that is free from the danger of the "Palm Pilot" syndrome, because that's the nature of all electronics. Some devices just have longer runs of success than others.
Excellent question. I would like to be able to dock it to my monitor and keyboard, and mouse. More robust multitasking where I can access several applications at one time. Centralized storage of my data instead of embedding them into applications. I know this is starting to sound like a full fledged OS.
Makes sense. With all of the different uses for computers/tablets/smartphones, I just wonder what each person needs in order to make just one or two devices work instead of all three.
What is wrong with having three devices? I mean, I do get that having fewer devices mean fewer things to carry, but an iPhone and an iPad and a MBA combined weigh less and take up less space than the Sony laptop I was using about 5-6 years ago. And because of tight iCloud integration, Dropbox syncing, etc, I can pick up almost any of the three to do whatever I want to do, then put it down and pick up another and keep going where I left off.
I never said there was anything wrong with having three (or four, or one thousand) devices. It just seems that people are trying to consolidate in some cases.
Okay. I guess it just suddenly popped up into my head, what is behind people's desire to consolidate devices? Is it just that fewer is better, or is there something else going on?
I can't answer that. I still have a MBP, iPad rMini, and an iPhone. All have different uses. However, I could probably live without any or all of them if I had to.
Hopefully somebody else will jump in with an answer. I have an iMac, MBA, iPad Air and an iPhone. The MBA mostly stays at the office and is my office "desktop." If I didn't have to work, I'd probably get rid of either the MBA or iMac and consolidate them into one, but nevertheless, I feel happy with a lineup of desktop/laptop, tablet and smartphone, and don't feel the urge to consolidate from 3 to 2.
And yes, if I had to, I could manage without these devices, but I would be very unhappy. Wait, if I want to keep working, I'd at least need a computer. But the tablet and smartphone aren't necessities in that sense -- I just love them way more than my computer.
Hopefully somebody else will jump in with an answer. I have an iMac, MBA, iPad Air and an iPhone. The MBA mostly stays at the office and is my office "desktop." If I didn't have to work, I'd probably get rid of either the MBA or iMac and consolidate them into one, but nevertheless, I feel happy with a lineup of desktop/laptop, tablet and smartphone, and don't feel the urge to consolidate from 3 to 2.
And yes, if I had to, I could manage without these devices, but I would be very unhappy. Wait, if I want to keep working, I'd at least need a computer. But the tablet and smartphone aren't necessities in that sense -- I just love them way more than my computer.
I really only use my MBP for school work. If I had to, I could make it work on the iPad, which I have done in the past.
The truth is, in my case at least, that multiple devices are a luxury more than a necessity. Could I survive without my iPad and a flip phone? Yes. Would that be any fun? No.
I am in the "many devices" camp--but for most less is more. A surface like device with ios replacing metro and osx replacing win8 desktop would be amazing--especially it were dockable like a surface is. i dont think apple has much interest in this scenario. It might evolve on the windows side if metro apps and the win store could ever catch up to apple. But the win store is apps only--it is not a full media experience like itunes.
Excellent question. I would like to be able to dock it to my monitor and keyboard, and mouse. More robust multitasking where I can access several applications at one time. Centralized storage of my data instead of embedding them into applications. I know this is starting to sound like a full fledged OS.
Windows 8 tries to use the touch interface and the desktop interface at the same time, and this doesn't work well. What would work would be one OS with two UI modes, and the OS would automatically switch between the UIs depending on the input.
This is what I want to see:
-On iOS, enable two or more apps to run side by side, like Windows 8. Or have iPhone apps run as "widgets" or "windows" on iPad.
-Add a Finder/iCloud app for documents and files from other apps.
-Apple makes a "Desktop UI" mode on iOS that has a UI modeled after OS X. Now iOS can automatically switch between a desktop/mouse/trackpad UI and a touch UI when docked to a mouse/keyboard. This ARM-powered iOS desktop UI would eventually replace the Intel-powered OS X.
-Now a universal app includes support for iPhone, iPad, and iOS desktop UI. The interface elements of iPad apps can be changed to be suitable for an OS X-like desktop UI.
I imagine an iPhone eventually powering everything. A tablet "dock" would be a thin touchscreen with a slot on the side for an iPhone and a battery taking up the other space. An iPhone could also be connected to a laptop "dock" or a monitor or a TV. The iPhone would be easily accessible to grab and instantly switch to the touch UI. Phone calls could even be picked up on the iPhone-powered computer and transition to the iPhone when it is taken out.