Demonax wrote:Sotos wrote:Personally I would never bother to do any productivity tasks on a tablet... let alone on a phone!! Small screens, no physical keyboard-mouse, weaker apps compared their desktop versions, no real multitasking (especially on iOS) etc means that you really can't be productive on a tablet, so whats the point of even trying? Nothing can match a desktop for productivity. If you are constantly on the go then you could get an ultrabook which would be 100 times better than any tablet for productivity. But if productivity on a tablet is your main argument then the best in this will soon be the Surface and the other Windows tablets.
Nonsense. I use my iPad as a replacement for my laptop on a daily basis. I’ve been doing it for the past six months. I use the iPad about 75 per cent of the time, and my desktop 25 per cent. My laptop has been gathering dust. I use the IPad with the Zaggfolio keyboard-case which makes typing every bit as comfy as it is on a notebook. I can write thousands of words on it.
The iPad gives me 10 hours battery life which is great for trips. As well as Built-in broadband. But the best thing about using the iPad are the apps which on the iPad are absolutely focused on getting things done. No icons and menu items you don't require. No rummaging around folders to find documents. No multitasking or juggling around windows to open and close them.
With the iPad, all that goes away. You can devote nearly every second of your time to the task at hand, rather than babysitting a balky computer.
I edit photos quite comfortably on the iPad. Photoshop remains the more powerful tool. But I can apply fancy effects, layer together multiple images into a collage and dress up type on the iPad.
I use Pages and TextKraft for writing stuff. Notes Plus for note taking. Procreate for drawing and painting. Blogsy for blogging, the mobile-browser version of Gmail and Tweetbot Twitter client. I use other photo, video, editing, writing apps from time to time and am frequently discovering new ones; most iPad apps are cheap so you can explore the App Store without blowing much money.
Even with the added bulk of a Zagg keyboard, the iPad is the smoothest, least cumbersome mobile computing device I’ve ever used, and I rarely leave the house without it. At home I'm happy to sit at my desk on a big screen iMac. But unless I have the need for a specific Mac app I will use the iPad mostly.
It's not perfect. But it works really well and apps are improving all the time. It's more or less my primary computing device. I still use my desktop Mac for intensive stuff, and I'm not saying I don't also need a desktop. But I use it less and less. And my laptop, not at all. In a few years time I expect tablets to be more powerful and flexible still. It's been interesting because I only bought the iPad for casual stuff and not productivity. But there you go. Interesting times ahead...
Well I guess it depends on the kind of work that you do. When I work I have a split screen with an editor on one side and a browser on the other. On my computer I am running a web server with PHP and MySQL so I can locally run the backend code. I also need some debugging tools that only come with desktop browsers and several other tools for source code control, pre-processors etc. I also use Photoshop... not that I need all its power, but I do need precision so doing it with my fingers on a touch screen wouldn't really do it for me. So a tablet wouldn't work at all for me. But even for people with more modest needs I find it hard to believe that they can be anywhere as productive on a tablet compared with a desktop with full keyboard, good mouse, large monitor and real multitasking capabilities!
