A couple of days ago, I noted an Asus related find by Engadget. Well, they have a follow-up on their site now that tends to confirm my suspicions. It looks like the odds-on money is for a tablet-phone combo. My first impression is to like the combo: most tablets have some kind of cell service bundled with them, smartphones anymore require the same service, so why not kill two-birds (Angry or otherwise) with one stone? Pricing and spit-and-polish will be a key here.
I’d say this news is further evidence for my theory that Asus is Apple’s main competitor.
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Wait…isn’t that the device that they have been advertising with the idiot at the airport screening where he is explaining his phone/laptop to the TSA and then they take him away because he can’t say what it is?
Am I mistaken or are they breaking news on something that has been advertised for like two months? Even if it is a Tablet/Phone, I don’t think it is groundbreaking, actually I think if that is the case, it might be disappointing. Basically you are buying a small and big version of the same device, whats the point?
I haven’t seen the commercial yet, so it’s new to me.
I think the point is that people want/need both devices- a tablet and a phone. The reasons aren’t totally important, but I think it’s become clear that the 2 devices complement one another. So, why not take a stab at a product that offers both. I’d say the main selling point is the need for only 1 data plan, since everything happens through the phone, presumably.
Another consideration is whether the value of the 2 devices together is greater than the 2 devices separately. How is the battery life? Can you take calls when the phone is driving the tablet?
Guess we’ll be finding out the answers to these questions soon.
Apparently…http://www.google.com/chromebook, these are drawing a lot of interest as far as where they are going…a friend of mine in the industry told me there is a prototype that they are testing around the world right now that is an extremely thin “MacAir” style laptop with a touch screen and is a Chromebook. However, it is not a tablet, apparently this is the type of device that Apple fans have been desiring for a while, but have not gotten.
Most likely, Apple fears that too much similarity and integration of their existing devices would cause one or all of them to be unnecessary, which may lead Jobs to an even more premature death. At this point, the genius of Apple is that once you get one device, you realize that you need to take the next step to the “little bit more” that the next device up offers while still being able to take advantage of “it does this but is not as ” ” as that” factor. I have flown with a lot of people who have an iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, all in their bag at the same time, simply because they say each one has its benefits and specific purpose.
Of course, clouds could change that dynamic pretty quickly…once they are perfected…
I’m, personally, not a big fan of the cloud. Google is almost certainly mining that stuff for advertising purposes. I have no interest in that. Hardware is at the point where it’s not a big deal to have a several hundred gig in a small form factor, plus USB sticks and the like for further portability purposes. There are other means for having data available everywhere as well without giving it all to Google, Apple, or whomever else.
I did not associate “cloud” with any company…although I know they have them, I actually enjoy using Google’s version with my Gmail account…I am talking about a personal cloud, however you want to set it up, there are a lot of options out there as to how to do it. My point was, once the device is independent of the data, I am not totally sure you will need all three to function. Most likely the tablet, reasonably sized, with a phone function built in that would be accessible through an ear-piece, would trump all other gadgets. Unless you had no need for a computer-type interface, then the phone will suffice. If you don’t need a phone, whoever you are out there, the one person on Earth, then you would most likely gravitate to the laptop or the tablet again.
Everyone is mining it, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Linux, IBM, Seagate, Cisco, etc. etc. etc….everyone in the world, don’t go all anti-Bill Gates on me here with the cloud thing…your people like it just as much as the rest of the world. If not, I think I saw a floppy drive down in the basement at mom and dad’s house a couple weeks ago, you can relaunch the format!
Well, the “cloud” typically refers to not only your data being available on the web, but also there being web based, or server side if you prefer, applications like word processors, etc. that are used to accomplish whatever task with the data. I’m all for using resources to create a “personal” cloud, as it were, I’m just not a fan of the ones offered by the folks you mentioned. I’m equal opportunity hesitant here.
As for the preferred means of interface, I agree for the most part it will be smartphones/ tablets in whatever combination. For those such as myself who wish do a little programming, we’ll likely gravitate more towards laptops and desktops (though the other gadgets are a convenience for light surfing, email and whatnot). As long as there is a web, there will be servers and as long as there are servers, there will be PC like machines out there; though, their numbers will dwindle as the average Joe/Jane figures out what they really need.