Read more.Quote:
Global tablet sales fall as consumer appetite for phablets increases.
Printable View
Read more.Quote:
Global tablet sales fall as consumer appetite for phablets increases.
I doubt it's just phablets.....the ultra low cost that some tablets have sold at means that many people have something they are content with.....and because of contracts (or lack thereof) there isn't any incentive to upgrade constantly.
Still know loads of people who refuse to upgrade their ipads because of lightning connectors ;)
Maybe people are finally realising that android/iOS tablets are only really useful for the basics like browsing the web and playing games/media which means it doesn't NEED to be updated on a regular basis because the tasks they're being used for don't stress the tablet they have now. Yes I know we have office apps but have you ever tried typing out a letter without an external keyboard... you might as well grab a laptop for less (lets be honest most consumers pick the iPad...).
I have a nexus 7... hardly ever use it, never bought an iPad even though it's a thing 'designers' should have (not in my opinion it's not).... there's very little on them that actually makes it more productive than a pc.
Having said that I'm still tempted by the surface pro 3, well 4 when it gets broadwell because it's actually useful for me, full os and apps, pen support, keyboard etc.
which means you're paying to turn the slate into a 'laptop'....with less software options and costs more in most cases, the tablet versions of software are pretty much always limited compared with desktop versions to.
Like I said slates (thinking about it I can't call them a tablet...) have their place but at the same time I think people are realising that they're for simpler things, not for any real 'work' type scenarios.
Part of it is Phablets. Part of it is that tablets got 'good enough'. Same with TVs, Laptops and Desktops. Unless you have a specific need why change to a new one. To be honest Phablets have been a shot in the arm for the high end mobile market, without them I think it would have been in the same boat.
Don't really agree with that.
Most of the time, I'm content with on-screen kb for my tablet. Occasionally, whrn inputting more text, a physical kb is useful, but no way do I consider a tablet + kb a laptop-substitute.
They're two different tools, for two different purposes, for me at least. So I have both.
Exactly.
I use my tablet mainly for browsing, and I can't see any real benefit to upgrading. The benefit was the convenience of portability, and the existing one (Tab 2 10.1) met that when I got it, and still does.
Mind you, I only upgraded the TV to a TFT-type from the old CRT model a couple of years back. And even then, only 'cos it broke down and wasn't worth paying to fix. Tach-upgraditus isn't a problem I suffer from .... these days. In years gone past, another story. ;)
well yes as you said "designers" will love ipad, but we real designers who we make our living out of design we can't be satisfied with anything less than this babe.
And if the next surface can be stronger and integrate what adobe and ms teased us for here, there will be even less reasons to go with the ipad.
ipad try to look like the creatives way to get job done but in reality it is just a symbol for playing marketing tricks to your customers "oh he use apple imac/ipad/whatever he should be a good designer", while in truth good designers can get the job done with everything that does the job.
back on topic now, I'm shocked that the post PC era didn't made everyone trade his laptop/desktop for a tablet :P
RIP Tablets
I'm not saying you can't use the onscreen tablet, but I know for a fact I type slower on it, same with the smaller keyboards that you can add to some (got a hp touchpad + keyboard too). I've got both and like I said I hardly use the slate, it's more for consumption than 'doing things' which make me money :).
Not keen on the wacom, seems underpowered, lacking battery life and overpriced... hang on that's normal lol....
I'm secretly hoping the surface 4 has an 'iris' class gpu like the mac's have, it would actually make it a better 'designers' tablet.
As to using macs for design... I'd love to see them working on my programs without installing windows lol, they don't work on os-x :innocent:
I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of tablet have not been sold for people to make money on. They are a device for handy browsing, checking your eBay auctions, turning the TV over, watching videos of your children, recording videos of your children, reading an eBook, following a cooking recipe, following a tech tear-down guide, watching some cats on youtube etc.
You forgot: checking Twitter/Facebook; playing games (instead of a Nintendo/Sony portable game unit) and using as an ersatz TV.
I suspect that the commenter above who said that the shipments have declined because folks are happy with "last years" tablet is right on the money. After all there's last year's Hudl and similar budget ones. And I'm using a 2012 edition Note 10.1 and an even older Asus Transformer TF101 and am quite happy.
By the way, wrt the discussion on tablets v's netbooks - the old TF101 is both. And unlike your fancy iPad, since the keyboard is hard-docked there's no power-sapping bluetooth, actually the keyboard adds battery life. Plus the depth of the keyboard dock allows proper USB ports too - unlike the Surface's fancy flat keyboard or those BT ones.
it's quite simple, everyone has gotten bored of their diet coke tablets and would rather use a full fat computer again. I know of a few people who have tablets but get frustrated at 'freemium' games, the sheer amount of junk on app stores, the fact that simple tasks on a desktop/laptop with a mouse/touchpad can be annoying on a tablet and the fact that the screen is too small for fat fingers (7 inch and under is my problem).
Tablets in my opinion are only any good as replacement for paper or a quick browse of the internet. They are not a replacement for a proper computer and never will be.