Tablets forum: Please help me understand today's tablet craze?!

I have a netbook and it is MY TABLET! It's handy and mobile. It holds 250Gig HD, enough for me. I use it in my schoolwork. I also have a phone with camera, video, etc. etc. Too bad the tablet killed the netbook which was just as good a product.

I got my tablet because it is an HP Touchpad and I got it for $99 and it works fine for what I use it for. I like to put it my purse when I am out and about because it is easier to read e-mails, web pages, Facebook etc. than on my smart phone. I had a net book but it was too bulky to lug around and a tablet solved that problem. I would love to get a 7 inch tablet one of these days.

You do realized that your 'bona fide' Kindle is a tablet, right?

But the ONLY bona fide e-reader? Really? Does that mean that the Kindle app doesn't exist? Or Lumiread? or other e-readers? I got my android tablet specifically for E-reading as I can adjust the font size so I don't have to squint, for astronomy, and to preview photographs while on site. I also use it for road trips, as the Google maps tend to be more accurate than the cars' GPS, as G-maps are updated more often. More money than sense?

Hi, Denise. I think I understand what's going on. I think your social network, your group of friends I should say, are the type who actually DO "keep up with the jones's" as the saying goes. Maybe in your circle of reference, your female friends are buying tablets with pretty covers to look cool. This seems to be your complaint.

The reality is, that for the people like, lets use my daughter and son-in-law as examples. Once the kids are in bed, they are on their phones, checking social media, posting photos they've taken of their kids that day to fb, checking twitter accounts. My son-in-law as I mentioned, is a photographer. For a hobby - he owns a company that makes video games for work. (they only make SIMS games.)He is quite bright and very very successful. He plans on getting a tablet for work. There are so many things he can use it for, it's portability, taking sketches/ideas to Sony or Microsoft, both of which they have contracts with. But any professional can use it in their way; an atty, a physician can bring up an xray. We belong to a church that carries our scriptures, and they go on a tablet, snap! The uses are unlimited. Just as the smaller iPod Touch. But who wants to work that small? On TV the show Criminal Minds, shows each agent with the info on a case already uploaded to their tablets before they go into conference. I imagine this is reality.

If you don't need one, I agree don't get one. But they aren't a fad, except among your friends.

No offense intended whatsoever.

Beau

They're not useful, they're a luxury most people in the world cannot afford, as are computers. They're MORE affordable, at least at the under $100 range, than a notebook, laptop, or tower, but still, they are a luxury the world cannot afford.
They do not raise crops, make clothing, create shelter, nor butcher meat, which are things that we NEED.
What we NEED, was useful 2000 years ago in a hunter gatherer society, which we need to return to. Anything else, including civilization, is a luxury we can ill afford and do not need.
Now if there were just some way to get rid of 99% of the world's population so we'd have enough caves to go around, I'd be happy.

Tablets come in different shapes and with different capabilities. For those who forgo pizza delivery twice a week, owning an IPad 4 is very affordable. It's all about HOW you want to spend your hard earned cash. IPad's or any other tablet is not about replacing the way we compute, it's about increasing our enjoyment by doing more with whatever device meets your situation at the time. As far as who are complaining, maybe its just a lack of understanding their limitations and how to best utilize these wonderful additions. This same debate could be had for why some people own a Mac Air and a MacBook. We've got all the above but we cut other corners so we can enjoy everything tech has to offer. Tablets are here to stay but they are NOT a replacement for desktops or laptops. Why can't just be happy we've got more ways to enjoy CNET?

There is a big difference between a fad and a passing fad. Something that is a fad could be around for a long time.

What it all boils down to is individual preference with constraints. What constraints? It is a question of what you want to use it for. It is really that simple. People who are very mobile find them very useful. People who sit at a desk all day and type and click on a lot of things seem to prefer desktops. I'm getting a new desktop at work next week. Not a tablet; not a notebook. (The security people at work have noticed that a lot of portable equipment seems to disappear in comparison to desktops. They also don't have the security protocols in place to deal with critical personally-identifiable data (government data on individuals) being mobile yet.

So, the answer is: if you can find a use for a tablet without too many downsides for what you want to do, go for it.

To be a good reader it has to be a tablet, if no more than to reload books, that's for your dummy look. I live in a small town, that last year was the first city school system in our state to go to e-books instead of paper. Your question came up. Ereaders were cheaper than tablets, however with a tablet the teachers and students can go online ask tutorial questions, join in discussions on school topics and activities. The thing I am trying to say is just buy a tablet, not a book, you will regret saving $20.00. That's about the difference today. What ever you decide you'll own one in two years, cause it'll have you desk top PC out powered and collecting dust. You'll come in home plug your Phablet into it's dock and watch tv, go online, shop, anything, believe me it's coming faster than you think. You won't have a wallet either.

To add the biggest difference to a tablet and an e-reader is the screen. A tablet uses a capacitive screen, which is capable of touch. An e-reader usually uses a screen with e-ink, which is superior to capacitive screens as far as reading in my opinion. Why? Because they absorb light rather then reflect it. Go to the beach? Sit by the pool? Sunny day at the park? The sun will only glare on a tablet, and does not make for good reading. The e-reader however you can have the sun shining on it, and it actually makes it easier to read! If that's all you are doing, it's great! Plus, if reading books is all you want to do, then it won't be so bad if you break/ loose it at the beach/pool/park.

On the other hand, I do find having a tablet nice. I am waiting on my car, and was able to check my email and find this thread while I waited. I would have hated having a laptop just to read and surf, just to bulky. Not to mention trying to hold it or balance it on my legs (and feeling the burn from it getting hot). Couldn't read this on a simple e-reader either. All in all, I have multiple devices to use for different occasions. I also never buy the latest and greatest as it's too expensive. So, fad? Not at all. Times are changing. People's needs are also. Learning how they may be of use to you can be beneficial. It's not for everyone.

I knew that computers were destined to become household items as soon as they came out, but nobody would ever argue that a VIC 20 was anything but a gadget.

As far as showing off, I don't know of anyone who buys the latest and greatest (and I'm talking about from the poorest to the richest here) who doesn't immediately show it off. I know of very few who are still using said technology on a daily basis 6 months after they have bought it. Even I have been guilty of this, and I think my purchases through for a minimum of several months before I buy anything costing over about $50.

Yes, tablets have taken off. That makes them popular. They are still gadgets, by any definition, and they are a fad. When they grow up, then we'll talk.

I use my tablet in the morning to listen to chapters read out loud using a Bible application. We sometimes listen to Pandora while we are getting ready for work. I then check the weather to what we should wear. While I am making my son's lunch I watch Fox news.
I use my tablet for work when I am calling on customers. I have downloaded all the quotes and price sheets on my tablet so I can follow up with my customers on the quotes that I have sent to them. I have catalogs loaded on my tablet, so I do not have to lug around a lot of catalogs.
I check my email while out calling on customers when I go to lunch.I was able to send a copy of a quote that I did to the owner of our company right then instead of hours later when I returned to the office.
When I get home I use my tablet to read news feeds from a number of sources so I get a better picture of what is going on in the world. I use my tablet to practice playing my guitar, learn how to take better photos find read articles I am interested in. When we go to church we have our Bible loaded on our tablets. I have Bible app's with many translation so I can get a better understanding of what I read.
I could go on but I hope you get my point. Tablets are just a tool people choose to use to be more productive, learn a new skill, read or watch a tv show or movie,etc. I do not think tablets are a fad, I think they are a new means to and old goal, man kinds search for meaning, knowledge and entertainment.
Thanks for your comments and I hope you have a blessed year.

Ever watch shows like NCIS or CSI? Tablets are an extension of the main computer systems, desktops, servers, smartphones, e-readers and laptops. Information data like PDFs, photos, streaming video and camera shots are easily picked up an viewed on the tablet (ultra portablity). For the military they offer instant personal contact from drone feeds, recon and target solutions. Restaurants can use them as not only instant menus but also for placing orders. Schools can use them for text books, multimedia devices and WiFi broadcast lectures. They can be used in vehicles and remote locations to watch streamed movies or TV. Medical offices can use them for patient records, histories, diagnostic help, test results and ordering prescriptions. Law enforcement can use them for real-time search of finger prints, arrest records, driver license searches and criminal identification. Any streamed data from WiFi networks, 3G/4G telecommunications, etc. can be received and relayed via a small very portable screen. PCs and laptops are used for serious work where fast processor speed, massive storage and oodles of RAM function best. The real question is whether smartphones are a fad gadget with limited future.

Of course they are useful and not a fad, I think you live in yesterdays world, I wouldn't like to be without my tablet, I use it everyday, for Facebook, Twitter, reading emails instead of the laptop or mobile, surfing the web when I need to look something up quickly, listening to my music albums in the background also, the list goes onI own a kindle e reader too by the way, but the tablet is so much more versatile, It will never be considered a fad to me as it is an extension of my life style. Obviously looking through these posts you are in the minority with your views, tablets are fabulous as are smart phones.

Yup, I'm with Denise.............all the way! I travel a lot and just bought a new Acer netbook.......they still make them! Great piece of kit, fast, huge memory, 4gb ram, good battery life etc.etc., When it's closed it's the same size as most tablets, so it's easy and light to carry around.The only thing it won't do that a tablet will is take a photo but my phone does that!! Before I bought the netbook, I looked at all the leading tablets and could not justify one on both peformance and price. (My netbook was cheaper than some of the all-singing tablets!) So I really don't understand the tablet craze. From my perspective it's simply a large smart-phone! I hope that if any computer manufacturers are reading this thread, they will consider launching a range of "smart-netbooks" that encompass the most useful aspects of a smart-phone, with the computing power of laptop! Now that piece of kit wouldn't be a fad!