How a tablet changed my idea of what a computer is

So, my wife wanted an Android tab for her birthday. Coming from using exclusively high-end desktops for most of my life, this is a, major change. There was a time when I thought that you would always be tethered to a desk for any real work. My how times have changed. The $270 tab does everything my laptop can, within reason. Even though it was my wife's gift, she seems to use her laptop instead, so I've been using it heavily for about two weeks. I only use my lappy when I'm doing heavy research or power browsing.

When my laptop finally kicks the bucket, it will be replaced with a ten inch Android tab and a decent desktop to take care of the real work. I will still be out of pocket for less than a decent lappy, and I'll have far more capability to do what I want, when I want.

If you are a techie that likes lappies for their portability only and use a desktop for everything else, you owe it to yourself to check these guys out when you're looking to replace the laptop. These guys have come a LONG day in the past few years.

I fully assure you that this is not a canoe in any way. I just feel like these tabs fit the GRM lifestyle pretty well.

By the way, this post was made on an Archos 8o G9.

I bought an iPad a while back, and I probably use it at least once per day. Ironically this post is being made via my MacBook Pro hooked to a real keyboard.

I have a small android unit that sits in the corner most of the time. OTOH, this is being sent from my Kindle DX which I dearly love. It doesn't have the color screen and video capabilities of a modern kindle, but it has free 3G for life....It lets me check my email and GRM from places without internet access.

I was very skeptical when my wife wanted an iPad and I did my best to try to talk her into a nice laptop. She told me "I don't want a laptop. I want a toy."

I've got to say the iPad has pretty much won me over. As toys go, it's pretty useful.

I love my kindle fire, which is what I'm posting this from. My wife recently bought a nook tablet and seems pretty happy with it. I agree with the op's sentiments 100%. I will say that touchscreen keyboards blow though.

Relevant to my interests! My wife has beeen wanting a tablet lately.

She has a laptop for doing her taxes/photo editing, but she'd like a tablet for at work browsing in her down time (she's a stylist), appointment book, etc.

Mrs. Zero wants a Kindle Fire, but her track record of technology equipment breakage is . . . , I'm hesitant to get her one.

You should see what she does to a laptop in a year.

As a year plus iPad owner now, I have decided the number one feature of the thing is the instant on...in fact, its almost never turned off. Its "locked" when not in use, so it conserves battery. But the thing lasts a pretty long time per charge, and charges to full in only a few hours. Its not that friendly, but once you figure out the quirks, its pretty ok. It doesnt at all replace a desktop, and actully is dependent on one to do any file swapping, but its a good entertainment, info, and communication device.

That said, I think a more powerful android, or perhaps whatever version of the Kindle Fire is out will be my choice when the time comes to replace it.

Forgive my lack of research, but to tablets have a USB port? If so, one could be a very nice replacement for a laptop when running VAG-COM or other auto diagnostic programs.

Ian F wrote: Forgive my lack of research, but to tablets have a USB port? If so, one could be a very nice replacement for a laptop when running VAG-COM or other auto diagnostic programs.

I can tell you the iPad doesn't, and that might be its biggest detraction. Anything that goes into it is via wireless or a hard link to a computer running iTunes.

Ian F wrote: Forgive my lack of research, but to tablets have a USB port? If so, one could be a very nice replacement for a laptop when running VAG-COM or other auto diagnostic programs.

I have a Vizio VTAB1008, i've made quite a few posts here using it.

It has a USB port, but it's a mini. Some of the larger 10" tabs, Toshibas in particular have full sized USB ports.

The question is... will VAG-COM work on Android OS?

Galaxy has changed my life. Both at work and at home. Now I'm waiting for net books to crash in price.

Until a few months ago our primary computer was an aging but still useful 17" PowerBook. Mrs. Duke kinda wanted another laptop but I easily convinced her to go with a huge desktop (27"-28" iMac) and replace the portability lost by adding a tablet at an unspecified near-future date when they are serious machines with the newness worn off and the bugs worked out.

Ian F wrote: Forgive my lack of research, but to tablets have a USB port? If so, one could be a very nice replacement for a laptop when running VAG-COM or other auto diagnostic programs.

Check out the toshiba thrive. Real ports (incl. Full size hdmi), dual core, 10" screen android honeycomb. 8gb was $300 from bb. Takes regular sd cards to expand to whatever you need. Not as thin as an ipad or galaxy but I actually think that makes it easier to hold. Replaceabke battery, too. Fiance loves it.

I bought an iPad for Christmas and have already returned it. I was told about all the wonderful things pads can do, and they can do a lot, BUT they are no substitute for a real computer.

I had privacy issues with the mail program and printing issues. There were only about 5 printers in the world that would allow you to print wirelessly and none of those were business level printers which meant if you went to someone else's office you were pretty much stuck and you had a printer in your office that was used just for the iPad.

Their "Pages" program was phenomenal and better than the computer version and also better than any WORD suite made.

I think that most of the issues I had will be resolved given time. Time for some competing apps to appear and time for the market to add the capacities to things like printers.

Also I've heard that the iPad3 and iPhone5 are due out summer. This also should add capacities.

iCloud strips your email of functionality as it takes mail back to the 1990s level and doesn't allow filters, smart email boxes, or anything along those lines. I'm guessing there's a different format coming with the iPad3 and all functionality will be returned. iCloud was begun with the idea that iPad3 and iPhone5 would already be out at this time so when their debut was delayed I think that set them back.

Now if they'd only let me incorporate my phone into a pad, I'd be set!

As bluej says thicker could actually make a tablet easier to hold, but at the price of bulkier and harder to carry with you.

bluej wrote:

Ian F wrote: Forgive my lack of research, but to tablets have a USB port? If so, one could be a very nice replacement for a laptop when running VAG-COM or other auto diagnostic programs.

Check out the toshiba thrive. Real ports (incl. Full size hdmi), dual core, 10" screen android honeycomb. 8gb was $300 from bb. Takes regular sd cards to expand to whatever you need. Not as thin as an ipad or galaxy but I actually think that makes it easier to hold. Replaceabke battery, too. Fiance loves it.

It pops up on woot.com fairly often for well under $300 as well. Even the 16gb and 32gb variants.

carguy123 wrote: I bought an iPad for Christmas and have already returned it. I was told about all the wonderful things pads can do, and they can do a lot, BUT they are no substitute for a real computer.

No, most certainly not. Is that how you felt it was sold to you?

Tablets are fantastic for all those things that you typically do on a smartphone because it's convenient, but would rather do on a laptop for the larger screen real estate and better input interface.

They are absolutely not a replacement for a full-fledged desktop or laptop unless you only use such things to check your email and look at pictures of your grandkids.

If you don't like the iCloud mail, go with gmail through Safari. Runs pretty nicely on the iPad with all the filtering, etc you get on a PC. Or you can use the iPad mail app with just about any mail account if you have control issues with gmail and run your own server in your basement.

You can also use an iPad with Skype as a phone.

You can even get a USB port for them that plugs into the Apple port on the bottom, although you'd have to find someone to write an app that would do the VAG-COM work. It could be done. I've got an Innovate OT2 that lets me view and log OBD-II parameters wirelessly.

I've had an iPad for a while - coming up on a year. My wife has an iPhone and travels four days a week by air. She recently tried out the iPad (ie, she stole mine) and is now demanding her own before she gives it back. Basically, it does everything she could do on the phone plus whatever the extra screen real estate opens up at the same time.

I have yet to find anything Android that's integrated enough for my tastes. Janel has an Android phone for work along with her personal iPhone, and it drives her absolutely bonkers by comparison.

Ian F wrote: Forgive my lack of research, but to tablets have a USB port? If so, one could be a very nice replacement for a laptop when running VAG-COM or other auto diagnostic programs.

There is a bluetooth OBD2 port and matching software available for both Android and iOS (iPad/iPhone) There is also a beta available for TunerStudio on Android that leverages a bluetooth to serial adapter.

The thing about USB ports is that they may or may not be full fledged USB ports, so you might be able to use it to transfer files from a PC/Laptop, but it may not work for connecting to external devices like a VAG-COM adapter or a keyboard/mouse. Especially true if they require power via USB as some devices may not provide enough power to the device.

carguy123 wrote: I bought an iPad for Christmas and have already returned it. I was told about all the wonderful things pads can do, and they can do a lot, BUT they are no substitute for a real computer. I had privacy issues with the mail program and printing issues. There were only about 5 printers in the world that would allow you to print wirelessly and none of those were business level printers which meant if you went to someone else's office you were pretty much stuck and you had a printer in your office that was used just for the iPad. Their "Pages" program was phenomenal and better than the computer version and also better than any WORD suite made. I think that most of the issues I had will be resolved given time. Time for some competing apps to appear and time for the market to add the capacities to things like printers. Also I've heard that the iPad3 and iPhone5 are due out summer. This also should add capacities. iCloud strips your email of functionality as it takes mail back to the 1990s level and doesn't allow filters, smart email boxes, or anything along those lines. I'm guessing there's a different format coming with the iPad3 and all functionality will be returned. iCloud was begun with the idea that iPad3 and iPhone5 would already be out at this time so when their debut was delayed I think that set them back. Now if they'd only let me incorporate my phone into a pad, I'd be set! As bluej says thicker could actually make a tablet easier to hold, but at the price of bulkier and harder to carry with you.

I still don't understand why you privacy issues with mail. Just like a PC, you need to ensure the device is locked whenever you are not actively using it. If you weren't using the lock feature, you didn't do your homework on the device. Your other issues with the mail program is valid. It is an improvement over the one used on the iPhone, but unless you have the rules setup on your webmail account, they won't work on the i-device. At least you can access your gmail folders with it, I'm not sure about other e-mail accounts.

Printing is solved by configuring the printer share properly on a networked PC. I agree that it should be able to do basic printing to a networked printer via wireless.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: The question is... will VAG-COM work on Android OS?

Good question... turns out: not at this time. From the Ross-Tech FAQ page:

1.9 Will there be a version for iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry, or Windows Phone 7?

Then again, it's possible this was posted before tablet computers became as popular as they are now, and have the potential to replace laptops for many. Personally, I could see using a tablet, but I'm not sure I'd want to fiddle with VCDS on my Droid.

I suspect their platform independent solution would be a little wireless box that communicates via a built-in web server. Then anything with a browser could talk to it.

I'm (im)patiently waiting for the iPad3 to drop so that I can either grab one of those or an iPad2 refurb cheaper than it is now. Latest guesses are that it will be introduced in Feb for March sale.

There's always something new coming in tech-land

1988RedT2 wrote:

Ian F wrote: Forgive my lack of research, but to tablets have a USB port? If so, one could be a very nice replacement for a laptop when running VAG-COM or other auto diagnostic programs.

I can tell you the iPad doesn't, and that might be its biggest detraction. Anything that goes into it is via wireless or a hard link to a computer running iTunes.

Uhh, no, they have all kinds of things that will plug into an ipad, ipod or iphone. From blood pressure monitors to yes even an OBD2 plug.