Sunday 20 March 2011

Tablet? What Tablet?

Everybody knows that i have penchants for doctors....or someone bit older than me (and by a bit, i really mean a tiny BIT) or combination of both. What most people probably don't know is that i have an upmost hatred for a....tablet.

Yes, a tablet device like these



I mean look at them, they look like something straight of the design of a chopping board.

Hideous.

Some people think that they are very revolusioner and just came up now, little did they know that tablet has been around for such a long time. Its just that the marketing b*stard of that little fruit and co that made it as if its a bloody quantum leap in technology. Hell, Steve Jobs can shit on a CD, pack it and label it as iPoo and everybody would still think its brilliant. Tablets has been around as far back as 2001 when Bill Gates believe that it is the future. Good on ya, Bill. The little shit is all over the place now.

But what i hate about them tablet is that, i see them as having no purpose in life. Its like they are being made for....nothing.

Lets get an example, get a business man, a cool person, alay kid or whateva, who has one of those hideous tablet and ask them this question:

"What do you use your Tablet for?"

i bet you 9 out of 10 they would be struggling to answer that. And if they manage to answer with whatever they have in mind, just answer back:

"Cant you do it with either a netbook/laptop or a smart phone?"

So, i see them tablet as having no purpose other than just to show off and shows that the users who owns it is an ignorant stultus (its latin, check google translate for the meaning)

I always believe, if you are a business man who travels a lot (or don't travel at all), the correct combination for Netbook/laptop and smart phone is a 60:40 or 65:35 . That is in percentage of use of course. Netbook or laptop for heavy usage of processing words, panel, email, whateva and use the phone as an extension of it, to answer email shortly, remind yourself of task, meeting etc.

So where does tablet comes in? when someone said that he/she is using tablet for working, you can immediately realise that it is a lie. Check this example:

1. Somebody emails you, asking for documents and quick, but little bit of details calculation in excel and word

  • Laptop/Netbook: Easy, type everything down, hardware keyboard, no problem.
  • Phone: If you have phone with hardware keyboard, piece of cake too. Bit slower though. Touch screen only? well use laptop. 60:40, remember?
  • Tablet: You scrambled, trying to put numbers in your Big screen, no keyboard devices and trying to type it all down with...emm...how do you get the screen up? put em on a table and type like you would on normal keyboard? or hold it with one hand and type with 5 fingers? good luck to you.
2. Somebody calls you:

  • Netbook/laptop: of course you use your phone, you dummy. 60:40 ! unless you are using Skype.
  • Phone: Pick up, answer, no problem.
  • Tablet: You gonna what? put the whole damn screen onto your ears and looks like an idiot? everybody in the street is just gonna laugh. And trying to use the loudspeaker while you are, lets say, walking, is not practical at all. You gonna look at the person face on screen and walk while shouting endlesly like an idiot looking at a chopping board? good luck, again.
Also one thing that i hate about tablets is just that its basically a big phone. Why would you need a big phone? the OS isn't even prepared specially for tablets yet (yes i know Google will launch Tablet OS for Android, soon, finally) but for know, its an OS for phone that is being stretched out just to fit the big screen. Why dont you just get the phone? its a same thing, does everything the same, albeit, cheaper.

The only environment i think tablet will work is actually in industrial. Like rough work environment. With pen, not fingers only. Imagine you are building something, ticking off works, drawing models, calculating lead time, something practical that doesnt need you carrying papers. It might just work.

But for now, everytime i see you with a tablet, i will ask you what do you use your tablet for, tells you that you can conveniently use Netbook/laptop or phone instead, then i call you a stultus :p

Get a phone and netbook/laptop and your life is complete. Forget about the overpriced, no purpose, marketing bombshell, that is called Tablet.