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Comment by bbuffone | Hacker News Reader

I still can't figure out the point of a Tablet. That should be the number one reason.

Laptops are an easily portable version of a Computer. Netbooks are really cheaps/simple versions of a Laptop.

A tablet is a ????? version of a computer that isn't covered by a laptop.

The form-factor of a laptop is still a kind of workstation, though it's a portable one. It's designed to absorb all of the user's attention. A tablet is more conducive to manipulating data while interacting. Many of the advantages of an ideal tablet should be the same as that of a clipboard.

    - Low time/effort overhead.

You don't have to sit to use it. You can be walking, stop for a moment to jot something down, then keep walking the next second. You don't have to wait for it to reboot or even come back from sleep.

    - Low attention overhead.

This partly results from the low time overhead. But computers and mobile devices are constantly asking for your attention. A clipboard is just waiting there for you to look stuff up. Low attention overhead enables better in-person interaction. (Ever notice how some meetings with laptops tend to degenerate into people sitting there next to each other IM-ing?)

There are also some advantages that a clipboard won't have. One could imagine a device without handwriting recognition, which only captures and indexes everything you write down. This would be valuable in itself. Add some time and location awareness, perhaps with some multimedia recording & manipulation ability, and this becomes an idea worker's fantasy tool. ("What was that great idea when I was discussing with Bob? Wasn't it in the afternoon the last time I was in Chicago at that contention center? We were talking about eggshells. Let me put in those search parameters!")

You could also sell these like hotcakes to teenagers & college students in coffee shops! (And get tons of $$$ from Facebook and MySpace in the process!)

I can imagine kicking back on the couch (or in bed) with a tablet, reading or doing flash cards or playing go on the internet. I don't do that with my laptop or my iPhone. I just haven't convinced myself to pay close to a thousand dollars for a computer dedicated to that purpose.

Laptops are perfect for the couch. Watching TV is easy; your laptop screen and TV are on the same plane so it is easy to go back and forth between the two. Laptops sit nicely on your lap (Think that is how they got there name), unless you have a thinkpad like mike that operates at 200 degrees.

Chasing another input device like a point would be a pane; Sticking your hands between the seat cushions for the remoe is bad enough. Now I would be chasing a tiny plastic pencil everywhere.

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