The tablet is a form factor that we can safely say is here to stay. When Apple first unveiled the iPad, naysayers lined up to take potshots; not only at the actual device but at the form factor as a whole. Two years on, and strong sales – including healthy mainstream crossover – suggest Steve Jobs and the other visionaries were right all along.
As well as the iPad we now have a multitude of other tablets from the cheap to the expensive. Amazon took tablets further into the mainstream with the Kindle Fire, while the Nexus 7 from Google is even being complimented by dyed in the wool Apple fanboys. Apple will likely follow Google with a smaller iPad soon, while Microsoft is climbing on board the bandwagon with Windows Surface. The present is exciting, but what of the future?
This Week’s Question…
What Is The Future For Tablets?
The tablet isn’t a new phenomenon, with Microsoft and Bill Gates deserving a lot of the credit for pushing the slate form factor onto the general populace. Unfortunately the technology just wasn’t up to scratch at that time, and it wasn’t until the iPad was born that we got a glimpse at the tablet we all wanted to own and to use on a daily basis.
This form factor has already evolved in the short space of time between the release of the original iPad and the present day. Which suggests it will keep evolving at a phenomenal pace into the future. So we want to know how you feel about the tablet of the future. What will it look like? What will the user interface be? Will Apple still reign supreme?
The big question is whether tablets will grow to dominate, knocking the traditional desktops and laptops from their lofty perch at the top of the tree? Or will they instead prove to be a small, insignificant footnote in history? Perhaps the hybrid devices featuring touchscreens and keyboards will win out in the longterm. Can you see yourself ever shunning a keyboard and mouse completely? What would touchscreens need to make them the ultimate input devices?
Drawing Conclusions
All comments will be digested to form conclusions in a follow-up post next week where we will detail what ‘You Told Us’. One reader will be chosen for the coveted ‘Comment Of The Week’, getting their name up in lights, the respect of other readers, and 150 MakeUseOf points to use for Rewards or Giveaways. What more motivation than that do you need to respond?
‘We Ask You‘ is a weekly column dedicated to finding out the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. The questions asked are usually open-ended and likely to start a conversation. Some are opinion-based, while others see you sharing tips and advice, or advocating tools and apps to fellow MakeUseOf Readers. This column is nothing without you, as MakeUseOf is nothing without you.
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I was not a naysayer of tablets. For me, it was, “What took so long?”
Here’s how I see it breaking down:
Tablets will be primarily for consuming media.
Traditional computers will be primarily for creating things.
You could be right. Is there anything that could be added to tablets to make them better for creation as well?
I purchased an Android tablet with ICS (Acer A100) for the purpose of learning what Android can do. I am not impressed. It is useful as an entertainment device, but as a serious tool, no. After adding a keyboard and a case to protect it, It still doesn’t measure up to a much cheaper netbook such as an Acer Aspire One.
Out of curiosity, what serious applications did you experiment with?
Netbooks still have a place for sure, but it depends what you want the device for.
I don’t have any and I’m not going to.
It will reign over the world and sooner or later everyone will go nuts because of that thing, if not already. Here in Russia people buy tablets only ‘coz they think it’s so fancy to have one.
I agree with Greg Allen’s breakdown for the most part, but word processing has come to tablets(surface)
We can never tell where something is ultimately going. In the early days of computing, who would have thought computers would be small enough and cheap enough for most people to own them at home? Or imagine what we would be doing with them and the type of displays they use?
I don’t remember who said it or what it is verbatim, but an ancient roman engineer said “There is no more room for engineering advances”. I think I heard it in a civilization game, Yet how far have we come?
I think tablets could evolve greatly from here on in, perhaps with Surface leading the way?
as technology growing fast, lots of people see tablet as a solution for a mobile equipment. In the future for what my opinion is tablet also will be replaced by a device which smaller, thinner, and very easy to bring anywhere. Tablet only a gateway to a new era of mobile devices, however, we need a person who have a vision er, have a taste of mobility and the one who can make it real as a trigger for all the changes, for example Mr. Steve Jobs.
There may be a future for them as toys but the form factor is useless for business or any serious use. To make them usable requires a case and a keyboard and a lot more power – but we’ve already invented the laptop! They may even survive as large smart phones, but it is most likely that they will eventually vanish as do all passing fads.
Could it be because you, personally, have difficulty adjusting? I sold my laptop because all my work had shifted to my iPad – presentations, network management, debugging, web development, and, yes, entertainment. I bought a bluetooth keyboard, but now I rarely use it.
You seriously consider tablets to be a passing fad? That’s an interesting point of view.
I used ipad, its good.
At presents tabs are no more better than being just a fashion statement and status icon.
On the productivity end, it is good for entertainment purposes however it lacks some of the basic features which make net books more suitable as mobile devices giving full functionality.
I recently checked Asus Transformer tablet. It is a really good device but just think of carrying such a big tab but when you have to make a call then you have to use a cellphone.
Tabs would be great if manufacturers made them more practical and added features more features that will make it an ideal device which can replace cellphones and to some extent notebooks !!
Perhaps the phablet (Galaxy Note) is the way to go!
Ipad rules but android will be the biggest player. Next to 10 inch (great for work & home) I love the 7inch version for use on the road (fits in (suit) pocket.
Prices will go to $200 soon and people will have multiple versions. Ebook with E-inkt are nessesary for holiday because of excellent battery life, sunlight contrast & because you can only read books with them.
Yep, that’s exactly why I would get a 7″ tablet… suit pockets. It’d be stupid if Apple didn’t release one, just for this reason alone.
Regarding E-Ink – really, unless you’re jungle trekking, how far from a wall charger are you? I have an iPad-friendly (2.1 amps) 8,000 mAh battery which I only use when taking a buttload of photos – with my iPhone. Never had to use it with the pad, even on a weekend in the jungle in Java.
I agree with you on the E-ink issue. I have a Kindle Fire that I use for internet functions and I also have a Kindle Keyboard that I use for reading. I read for hours at a time on my e-reader. I can’t do that with my Fire (or any other backlit device) because of the lighting. So I still require at least two devices, the backlit Fire tablet and the e-ink e-reader.
i dont have any tablet but i tried it before even not to the extent, the first thing came to my mind is that the keyboard, im not used to look always in the keyboard just to check if i type it correctly in my typing job.. but i like to have one soon :)
As long as the technology evolve, the future of tablets will be bright, with some new technologies like memrestor I can see an even brighter future for tablets. Tablets are here to stay. I am not sure wich form factor will be most popular. The 7″ or the 10″ cause the 7″ is more portable, but you can see more things in a a 10″ I think the first tablet that use memrestor will have an edge on all others.
I think there’s room for both sizes but I have an inkling the 7″ to 8″ form factor will prove to be the bestseller.
There is no question that tablets are here to stay. It is a technology that the art and geek world has been pining for for decades, in the form of science fiction. Their future uses have been proposed many times through the same medium – yes, most are fairly similar, but there’s plenty out there, starting with the famous pre-existing art trumpeted by droid champions in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Newspapers, control panels, diagnostics, adverts. Most pre-iPad scenarios were special purpose; a bit like the Kindle is, now.
Let’s take a side step here and address your secondary question.
Keyboards. Mice. Crutches, both of them.
When was the last time you saw a scifi movie where mice are used? Let’s take a classic example scene – Minority Report, sifting through the imagery projected by the psychics. In that scene, nothing but gestures are used. Natural motions to indicate what we desire to take place: a twist to rotate an image, a slow turn back and forth to step through a video. If you haven’t yet, load up Opera and take the gestures for a spin. They get addictive. Now let’s go to an even older film: Flight of the Navigator. The spacecraft was controlled by what was essentially a pair of trackballs – trackballs that went one further and allowed for 3D movement, which translated the pilot’s movements into fluid flight control. How natural was that? Mice are and were designed to allow us to simply navigate a user interface by pointing and clicking (a press). Take away the mouse and you have a touch screen. Take away the touch screen and you have Kinect, or, better yet, a Leap.
There is another Human Interaction Device (HID) which has been coming to the forefront recently. Voice control, voice interaction, natural language processing. This is what will kill the Keyboard, once it has matured. Siri is getting there – still in Beta, it has no problem understanding my dictation, with only some minor corrections necessary per paragraph which I’m happy to put up with when in a rush.
The mouse was designed to translate our actions. The keyboard, our language. The mouse is almost dead, the keyboard will be next.
Back to the topic, the small-factor device (tablets, here) is here to stay. They won’t replace desktops. They will BE the desktops. Going to work? Pull the tablet core out and go. Arrived at work? Slot in your tablet in any station and you’re where you left off. Roaming profiles for the 21st century.
Eventually, say 15-30 years provided the Mayans weren’t just pulling our collective legs, computer cores will be small enough that you’ll have an entire mainframe in a signet ring, and this entire discussion will be laughed at.
Exactly. This is what I see for the future also and cannot wait until it gets here. I have a desktop, laptop, IPAD, IPOD, IPhone and Kindle reader. I look forward to one device that I take everywhere that is powerful enough to do all that I need – without a mouse and keyboard. I love the idea of the stations to just slide the tablets into and continue where you left off.
You paint quite a picture of the future, Laga :)
Touchscreens are a much more natural user input than keyboard and mouse, we’ve just adapted to get used to the latter. Siri and Kinect are both strong indicators of the direction we could be heading in.
Here’s something not many have considered…traditional computers w/keyboards & quick keys offer a lazy & laid-back feel (elbows on desk, head on hand…allowing me to slouch) while the tablet is primarily hand held making me uncomfortable. Until tablet makers can figure out how to change my unconscious habits I’ve grown accustom with a computer (which allows me to stay at my computer for long periods of time) I don’t see a tablet becoming my primary computing & social option.
Exchange your chair for a hammock. Seriously, you won’t regret it. :)
Here’s something not many have considered…traditional computers w/keyboards & quick keys offer a lazy & laid-back feel (elbows on desk, head on hand…allowing me to slouch) while the tablet is primarily hand held making me uncomfortable. Until tablet makers can figure out how to change my unconscious habits I’ve grown accustom with a computer (which allows me to stay at my computer for long periods of time) I don’t see a tablet becoming my primary computing & social option.
Exchange your chair for a hammock. Seriously, you won’t regret it. :)
im not so crazy over tablets, still it would be nice to have one handy instead of lugging around a netbook, or a notebook. but still in terms of power, I think there is still no doubt that bringing around a notebook is great, tablets are just for entertainment I guess…
At the moment perhaps, but things could change rapidly.
true, but still, it still needs time to tap into the power of these tablets, making them at par with notebooks will just be one of the steps to undertake in order for it to truly be a necessity for everyone…
i think the future Tab will be as thick as a piece of glass and transparent too when it is on the lock and function normally when unlocked, or will be a 3D emission of the thing you are doing over it in the air
I have an Amazon Kindle Fire. I love it. However, I would use it a lot more if the touch screen allowed a Swype or Swype like keyboard. Currently, it is difficult for me (or time consuming may be a better adjective) to tap away on the touch screen. In addition, the fact that it doesn’t have a large memory keeps me from using it more. If I had more memory or an option for a memory card, I would use it to create and store documents and store pictures, etc. I love that I can just grab it and go out when I go babysit my grandson. Before I had my Fire, I had to take a laptop and charger and case and mouse with me. Now I just grab my Fire, stick it in my purse and go. There is a lot of room for tablets in the future. People will use them differently and if we were given more options to customize or build the tablet we will most use, I think tablets can quickly replace a lot of the devices out there.
Tablets or some equivalent will dominate the market in the next decade.
Considering the increasing computing power (Moore’s Law) and willingness, even eagerness of developers jumping into mobile/tablet development, tablets will dominate the large middle ground between smart phones and desktop computers (which already have affordable computing power far beyond what anyone really needs).
With the coming of built in projectors and smaller form factors, there’s little chance tablets won’t start picking up momentum in next few years.
First a little bit about me, I work in the mainframe part of computing and have been for over 30 years, so I have personally experienced the astounding advances in technology over the years. All of this was “Science Fiction” when I was a kid.
I have done my best to keep up with everything and today I still do programming for the mainframes but I also do programming on PC’s, and am now learning to program for Android.
I’m not an Apple “fan boy” but the Apple II was my first personal computer (it was also my last Apple).
When laptops first came out I thought that they were the future of the smaller computers but, for gaming and intense graphic and video work, they were not powerful enough. That held true for a long time, but today you can get laptops that are amongst the most powerful of the personal computers. So the technology has, and always will, advanced to meet the requirements of the people. I believe that will be true for the Tablets as well.
I believe that the tablets are the next logical progression of personal as well as business computing. Already there are office apps that are almost as good as the Windows and iOS office apps, and some will say they are better. The email and calendaring apps are as good as or better than what is available for the more traditional personal computers. For me, the only thing that makes me keep my laptop is the need to access the network and mainframe at work through a VPN connection. And I am sure that will be resolved soon.
In my opinion the tablets will evolve into flexible displays that can roll up into a small container. They will be touch enabled and can have an optional keyboard and mouse for any intense work you may need to perform.
I believe the desktop and laptop computers days are numbered.
Of course, my opinion is probably not the best opinion to go by, back when the internet was first catching on I said it was a “passing phase”. :-)
“back when the internet was first catching on I said it was a “passing phase”. Ouch! Thanks for your input though, you may be more correct on this one ;)
I like the idea of flexible, ultra-portable tablets. I wonder how long such tech could be away from reality.
Tablets didnt really work for me..I prefer a laptop..
I can see myself, and other users as well, ditching mice in favor of touchscreens, but not keyboards. To date, no touchscreen can adequately reproduce the tactile feedback of a physical keyboard. Likewise, few tablets are large enough to have a full-sized onscreen keyboard. My keyboard, a standard non-ergonomic model, has a letter layout of about 11 inches. I, for one, think that this is the right amount of space to have for typing, at least with my hand size, and no tablet I have ever seen has a screen wide enough to support such a large keyboard.
Aside from the above issue with typing, I don’t see the PC gamer market ever adopting tablets. No current tablet can match the power of a desktop gaming rig. Even if all the necessary hardware could be crammed in to a tablet form factor, the battery life would be measured in minutes. For comparison, I have a laptop that has a Core i7 with switchable graphics, powered by a standard six-cell battery. When on integrated graphics, I can comfortably rely on three hours of normal use, web browsing, productivity apps. However, when I switch to dedicated graphics and load up a game, that battery life is reduced to at most twenty minutes. Also, with active fan cooling, it still heats up to a point where it uncomfortable to hold. As far as I know, no tablets are fan cooled, so they would almost certainly become unbearable to hold as soon as a game was launched. The only solution would be to have a powerful fan in the tablet, which would increase the power consumption and probably the thickness as well. You would also be tethered to a power source as long as the game was running, as well as a little while afterwards while the fan runs to get the device back to normal temperature.
All this being said, I am in the market for a tablet to take to college with me this fall, as I believe it will nicely complement the laptop I’m getting. I see myself using the tablet to research whatever content I may be creating on the laptop.
Bottom line: I think tablets are here to stay. There is a market for a device designed solely for consumption, as there is a market for devices for creation and consumption. If a tablet meets someone’s needs, then they have no reason to buy anything more.
Touchscreens with tactile response may arrive in the future, which would be pretty awesome. So, tablets for consumption, laptops for creation?
I’m actually pretty sure I saw an article about a touchscreen that could produce bumps under the keys when a keyboard was displayed, but I can’t find it again. Probably StumbleUpon.
I do know that even with the tiny buttons, I prefer my slider phone’s physical keys to the onscreen keyboard.
Tablets will grow & I’m not saying all this will be there in the future, but if i was in the R&D department of a tablet i would start with the Google Nexus 7 tablet and add these features in it eventually.
1. No see through screens for starters. The way they are now is fine, those screens look good only in movies.
2. A projector to watch movies and even project the entire UI, so we can interact with the projection. This is not impossible because even now we have projection keyboards, so the tech is available for sure.
3. Solar powered battery, PLEASE!!!
4. Toughness like we have in Sony Xperia GO or Motorola Defy.. :)
You’d start with the Nexus 7 rather than the iPad? Is that because of the size?
its beacuse,
1. apple would never release its sources and hardware to anyone to develop.
2. android is more developer friendly. so while 10-20 minds are thinking to develop a better iPad, almost 100 times minds develop for android (samsung, motorola, asus etc.)
3. Nexus 7 is a exceptional tablet for just $200, i mean seriously wtf is that. its specs rate it in a price range of atleast $450-500
thus nexus 7 is a perfect example of future development where tech with psychological worth of $450 is being sold for half prices showing how tech is going obsolete and needs newer and newer tech.
The use of tablets seems to be exploding in some areas – I’m thinking of some health professionals and university students I know. I think inputting is an issue and expect that voice commands need to get really sharp. Maybe they already are and it just has to get wide-spread. I think ebook tablets will stay separate – they are good at the one task, and cheap enough to drag around with few worries.
I expect to see tablets as the common interactive portal in a lot of areas, replacing blackberries and laptops. I’m thinking of anything medical, real estate, government, business and schools. I’m not sure when you go back to the office to write up a report that you would have gotten rid of the desktop. But remember when wireless phones first came into our houses, we would still go to the hallway and sit down to talk on the phone. It took a while to get used to talking and walking around. And, referring to old movies, future-citizens always are sitting at lovely view-points with a device in their hands, not needing an office, furniture or equipment, whilst writing reports and shopping. No real reason we can’t go there. Except the weather!
At home we seem to be headed to computer integration with television screens, so perhaps we’ll completely lose the notion of sitting at a desk. However, I find it helpful to sit at a desk and stare at a screen when I need to get organized. Is that just the habit of an era which will disappear, or will the officeless-mobile trend run out of steam at some point? I’m curious to see!
That’s an interesting question, whether the idea of sitting at a desk for hours on end is an old-fashioned one. Tablets will certainly help break that trend.
I believe tablets will morph into all the computer that most of us need for personal use. And will grow as essential for business travelers.
I just wish the airlines would get with the program and provide wifi!
I believe tablets will morph into all the computer that most of us need for personal use. And will grow as essential for business travelers. I just wish the airlines would get with the program and provide wifi!
I think now they are gonna be small so anyone can wear it like a watch or a glasses and going to provide some good 3D functionality…
To date, all successful computer formats have not died out. We still have mainframes, desktops (in a wide variety of sizes and shapes), laptops, netbooks, smartphones, tablets and book readers (currently still distinguishable from tablets). I see no reason why tablets will not continue to exist in the future. As technology evolves though, they will change, become more powerful and/or power efficient, thinner, better screens, better connectivity, so where it’s all going to be in 10 years time is rather difficult to know!
for me i prefer laptops
the tablets of the future should be the size of a sugar cube and be able to project a hologram of the screen and keyboard in 3d . and it still should be able to play bejeweled.
Wow, that’s quite an image. Angry Birds over Bejeweled though, any day ;)
angry birds on a 3-d hologram…cool
I use tablet and my wife also. But let me tell you a story…
My wifes old laptop was failing…so, we had to decide what to buy. After a long discussion with my wife for WHAT would she need her new computer for, we’ve come to conclusion that, tablet is the perfect choice. WHY?
1. She doesn’t need keyboard (she writes only few emails per week)
2. she watches youtube
3. she uses facebook and twitter on daily basis
4. she plays “casual” games
5. it must be lightweight and portable
6. big screen (bigger than mobile phones)
So, in my opinion tablet wins in all aspects over laptop, if you know exactly your own needs. The price also wins over the laptops.
The future of tablets is definitely bright.
While I foresee a future where (finally) all our gadgets are truly cross platform and communicate with each other, I can also see that the number of personalized geek gadgets we tote will dwindle to just two: the tablet and the phone. In fact, we will most likely only carry the phone with us for day to day business uses, leaving the tablet at home for the mundane tasks of shopping from home and streaming multimedia. After all, if we can use today’s phones to make presentations in the boardroom, what ever we define as “the future” will surely result in functionality to the nth power.
I was there from almost the beginning of android tablets. Had a couple of Archos, a dell streak, and an iconia a500 (oh… and I tired a view sonic out for a couple of days before returning it).
The iconia is the closest to letting me dump my computer, but it’s still not there yet. Some webpages just refuse to work correctly on android (different browsers/different problems). I can’t even think of switching until that’s cleared up.
I’m going to try out a non-arm windows tablet this fall. I’m hoping that will finally be a replacement for the desktop in my personal life.
As for my work life, I will never get rid of my desktop. When I work I need the desk and monitor in the home office to get in the work mode. I can replicate that with a tablet, bu I also edit HD video for my job so yeah… I’m kinda stuck on my desktop for probably the next 5 years. Basically until the tablets match the power/memory of a close to top of the line PC.
I’m just waiting,who will create first tablet in circle shape :D get it,TABLET tablet shape :D
I’m sure someone will try it, even if just for the novelty value ;)
I use tablet and my wife also. But let me tell you a story… My wifes old laptop was failing…so, we had to decide what to buy. After a long discussion with my wife for WHAT would she need her new computer for, we’ve come to conclusion that, tablet is the perfect choice. WHY? 1. She doesn’t need keyboard (she writes only few emails per week) 2. she watches youtube 3. she uses facebook and twitter on daily basis 4. she plays “casual” games 5. it must be lightweight and portable 6. big screen (bigger than mobile phones) So, in my opinion tablet wins in all aspects over laptop, if you know exactly your own needs. The price also wins over the laptops. The future of tablets is definitely bright.
That’s the way it should be…determine your specific usage and then decide. Plus, I have found it is easier to check out recipes on a tablet in the kitchen, than it is on a laptop.
Exactly…we also use it for recipes.
Tabs are here to stay. I think they’ll go through the usual bigger bigger HUGE, smaller smaller tiiiny loop (like laptops, phones etc.). Also, the minimalist, utilitarian > some nicer graphics > nVidiia 16 core 65536MB RAM > back to square one loop.
But there are things they excel at. For me at least, I love the DJ and music creation apps, the portable programming IDE’s, and the browsing on the move thing.
However, I know many people hate BlackBerry, but when it comes to typing/emailing/browsing IN BED, it’s king. I just can’t understand why they couldn’t put cursor keys on them. And why you can’t use one as an HID controller working as mouse/keyboard/gamepad for a tab.
Tablets are here to stay, agree. I had my first tablet a month back and it really changed lot for me. I don’t have to pick up my laptop and boot through windows every time i need to make a quick search. Mobile just doesn’t seem to have large enough screen to read.
I think the future for tablets is very bright, and we will be using smaller and more powerful devices soon. Thanks to nano technology.
I have galexy note 10.1 and it’s so awesome . For the student it’s everything he need , read books . Write notes . Listen to music while sketching . Research . Edit his diary . What more I can ask . Why comparing a garbage tablet like iPad with the mighty note
Couple of reasons why am not moving to a tablets in a hurry
1. The transition from laptop to tablet is not so obvious and smooth as from desktop to laptop. You still find yourself going back to the laptop for help !
2. The price difference is not so high – might as well stick with the laptop which is more value for money
3. Not tried and stress tested for years like the laptop ..The different platforms like Symbian ( no longer there), Androd, Apple are yet to stabilize ..the apps are in 2 or 3 minds which to support
4. The laptop is more sturdy I feel than the tablet… or more easier to handle…the chances of falling are lesser than the tablet and the tablet is very fragile…
So I think the tablets will be the order of the day in future but a long time to go ….because even if tablets become a mandate in a few years ….there will be another technology challenging tablets and all making all surfaces looks like tablets…
So I might well buy a tablet just to keep my kid happy so that she does not feel left out in her impatient (just kidding) group !