This question has bothered me a great deal. I wanted a tablet very badly. Of course, when that desire bloomed they were called UMPCs or Ultra Mobile PCs. This goes back years before the iPad and long before Android. I never had a plan for all the cool things I would do with one, they were a toy, and little more.
My wife bought this one, and I eventually inherited it. I was happy with it for a time, but now I look at the host of Android tablets and I have that itch again. But…it is very hard to justify the cost of a new tablet when I feel like I don’t use this one enough.
There are many possible reasons why I don’t use my tablet more. Let me go through a few of the more common questions raised, especially about Windows 7 tablets.
Boot Time
This is a significant concern with a windows tablet, and yet it is not a deciding factor. Once I start up my tablet, I don’t shut it down, I just put it into suspend and it comes back from that in less than two seconds, so it is not boot time that keeps me from using it.
Battery Life
Another legitimate concern. Window portables have usually had a battery life of 2-3 hours. The 10 hours claimed by Apple for the iPad may be about like the 5-6 hours claimed by Dell, but it certainly much better than I get with my tablet.
But, battery life has not really been the reason why I don’t use it more. Rarely have I run up against the bottom end of my battery. As I mentioned above, I put the tablet into suspend mode when I am not using it and that allows me to use it off and on across my workday. Since I cannot spend eight hours using it while at work (I do have to do SOME work), I feel like I get by just fine. Now, I might use it more, but so far it hasn’t been an issue.
Something Better at Home
I am not a fan of the iPad. Not too long ago I wrote that I thought most iPads would be gathering dust within six months of purchase. In my opinion, they are too large to be convenient to carry. They require a bag, which means most men won’t carry one everyday/all the time. I also said that at home you are unlikely to use it because at home most people have something that does all the same things, only better. That device is a PC and remember that a Mac is still a Personal Computer (PC).
This one hits home. When I am home I rarely use my tablet, except to write my journal. For any other sort of writing I use my PC.
Recently, I read an article that gave a home use. Most of us don’t use out PCs in front of the TV, even when we have portables. The author described watching the Oscars with his SO and checking email, facebook, and twitter on his iPad. It allowed him to keep up with his friends’ reactions to the show while sitting at home without them.
Now, the article was about how the SO did not appreciate him having his face in the little screen when he should have been enjoying the show with her, but it still showed me something to do with an iPad of home that a PC may not be better at. Now, you could use your phone, but the bigger screen is better.
Now, this gives me something to shoot for, but there is a problem. This thing is terrible for facebook and the internet, etc. There an several reasons for this and they cut straight to the heart of why I don’t use me tablet more.
No Multi-touch
I run Windows 7 of my tablet and it works fine. Windows 7 does multi-touch just fine. I’ve experienced it myself on an HP Touchsmart PC and I have seen many things demonstrated on an HP convertible (they may use the moniker “tablet” but tablets don’t have keyboards). Unfortunately, the Samsung Q is a rather old design and the screen does not support multi-touch. Without multi-touch this thing is a pain to use on the internet. Most internet pages don’t fit very well on 1024×600 and it is much worse in portrait mode. Without multi-touch and the gestures that come with it scrolling around a webpage is just annoying.
1024×600
The resolution of the LCD on the Samsung Q is a bit of a problem. 1024×600 may not sound bad, but that is in landscape mode. Personally, I prefer the idea of using a tablet in portrait mode. This makes the tablet more like a sheet of paper, or a book. Holding a tablet in landscape mode feels clumsy, awkward. Holding it in portrait mode feels balanced and natural.
Now, you may wonder why I have gone on about portrait versus landscape at such length in a discussion of resolution. Well, 1024×600 really isn’t so bad, but 600x1024 is a much bigger problem. Many Windows dialogue boxes are wider than 600 pixels and trying to resize windows with a stylus or a finger is a pain unless you have gestures.
Windows Phone 7
If you have followed this blog, then you know that I have an HTC HD7 with windows Phone 7. After months of using a phone with multi-touch, I am sold. I am also sold on having an OS that is designed for the device, rather than one that is designed for a completely different device with some features added for tablets.
So, there you have it, a rather long-winded discussion of tablets and why I don’t use mine more.
This essay has helped me understand why I still look at and dream about tablets. Mostly, it helps me with figuring out exactly what I want in my next one.
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