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Comment by pointyhat | Hacker News Reader

80% I'd say.

It seems to go like this:

1) They bought it with a purpose in mind but it didn't work quite as well as they were hoping (khan academy, mapping, general use, recipes in kitchen, streaming video).

2) The games last a while but they are mainly novelty rather than immersive or lasting so it's back to the XBox.

3) then the web browsing gets frustrating as streaming video is choppy over WiFi and impossible over 3G and "what do you mean flash or java doesn't work" - I can't play facebook pool.

4) then the keyboard becomes frustrating when they try and do real work because it's not tactile.

5) then they switch back to their laptop when they have to do something like mail merge.

6) then the ipad goes in a drawer, followed by ebay about 2 months after they find it again.

I've seen this so many times across about 12 ipad owners now. 20% "software dev". 40% "tech enthusiasts". 40% "joe average".

Bear in mind this is just my observation.

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My friends have had a very different experience.

It's much more comfortable to hold on the couch, at the cafe, in bed, or on the plane/car than being on a laptop.

IMHO I think that's wierd. I'd never consider using a computer in any of those places personally. I consider them all "downtime".

I think some of the point in this case is that the iPad is specifically not a computer.

It is though. What is it if it's not a computer?

> What is it if it's not a computer?

An interesting question. Is the iPad a computer?

Your average power-user (let's say programmers, Apple fanbois, Android users, and me) would say, "Umm hello? Obviously!" But your legions of average regular iPad users (grandmas, and your average college students) might not agree. But if you asked them what an iPad was, if it was a computer, they couldn't quite be able to tell you. "Umm, yes? But wait, it can't do so many other things."

This means, as a society, Apple has forced us to rethink the question: "What is a computer?" and "Is the iPad a computer by this definition?"

That is precisely it. Which brings me to the point here:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3003812

"We're slowly being led into paying incrementally for utility computing on a device we actually paid up front for".

If it's no longer a computer, it's an open market to exploit. We are consumers, not users any more.

I really don't understand your point. How is any of this to the detriment of the average user who uses the iPad to browse the net/read ebooks/watch movies/listen to music/as a digital photo frame? The average user doesn't need to use the iPad as a computer. If the problem is pricing, then that indeed is an issue with tablets, but then Apple's products have always been high priced.

It's at the detriment of the user when the iPad is no longer vogue and they wish to retain their books, movies and music.

This is close to my experience. I still use it but less and less, the laptop is so much more flexible and powerful and really just as convenient around the house, even more so at times since it stands up by itself. The big win for the tablet form factor is as a book reader and for traveling because of the great battery life.

But considering how many of these things they continue to sell I don't know if these anecdotes really add up to data. It really is permanently replacing a computer for a lot of people.

It's a fair point.

I'm looking out for small-form-factor Windows 8 devices which are hybrid tablets (much as the ThinkPad X61 but less clunky) and have 10 hour+ battery life.

I'd argue that there is no dedicated tablet market then.

  > then the web browsing gets frustrating as streaming
  > video is choppy over WiFi

Ah, those magic frie^H^H^H^H iPad users. Since when web browsing is all about streaming video, and since when it is choppy over WiFi?

Taking the top 100: http://www.alexa.com/topsites:

YouTube, BBC, Xvideos, Xhamster, Pornhub, Youporn, Dailymotion, Netflix...

It's always choppy over WiFi in London from experience as there's so much interference from the amount of WiFi networks around and contention from the overcrowding.

(for ref, I borrowed an iPad for a week and played with it).

"It's always choppy over WiFi in London from experience as there's so much interference from the amount of WiFi networks around and contention from the overcrowding."

Something that, magically, Manhattan, say, has managed to avoid.

Oh, and your experience is "borrowing an iPad for a week".

Lucky for Manhattan.

Borrowing something for a week is a good way to find out if it suits, which it didn't. The person I borrowed it from was one of the people above who have discarded it. I gave it back as I discovered that it could be harmful.

Better than marketing-spiel and 10 mins playing with one in the Apple Store.

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