Discussion about the future of tablets/computing (Split from other thread)

[ekianjo]

There are so many things wrong with android i dont even know where to start:


- apps with intrusive ads everywhere


- apps stealing your private information


- java applications slow as hell


- no reliable way to switch between applications, everything is full screen and android kills backgroud apps randomly


- impossible to update your OS : no long term support of your device


- an interface ONLY made for touch screen. Thats why i will never consider the transformer.


- painful to setup sdk and emulator, even on Linux. What a bunch of crap.


- no open development since google does no do open source during development, only after release.


- need to root your device for thetering. Or pay for a stupid app.


Seriously, how can it be better than a good desktop environment? Its nothing else but compromises.

 

[Nintendo]

There are so many things wrong with android i dont even know where to start:


- apps with intrusive ads everywhere = I harldy get any.


- no reliable way to switch between applications, everything is full screen and android kills backgroud apps randomly = I surf the web on one little window and play games on another little window at the same time.


- impossible to update your OS : no long term support of your device = What do you mean by this?


- need to root your device for thetering. Or pay for a stupid app. = The price is cheap, anyway.


Seriously, how can it be better than a good desktop environment? Its nothing else but compromises.

 

[Exophase]

The future of Android on desktops and laptops will be running it in a window inside your real OS. The concept of people replacing their machines with tablets boggles my mind. Cheap x86 netbooks indeed are being supplanted, but not just by tablets - a quite full featured laptop can be had for under $400 now. Ultrathins and the like are getting more and more market attention as well.


Android was designed for phones. It has made a long and painful transition to tablets. The hardware it runs on has been improving much faster than it has been, although it'll be quite a long time before it's really anywhere on the level of "good enough" for desktops/laptops, where being fast enough even 90% of the time doesn't really qualify.


It isn't solving any kind of great problem in desktop computing. And I have no doubt Google would love to push MS out of their markets, why wouldn't they? But that doesn't mean they'll be able to, or at least not with Android.

 

[Binky]

I'm seeing the 'desktop PC' mraket dwindling:

creative types will be using 'workstations' like current high-end PCs (which will become more expensive)

while everyone else will by using tablets, android, ARM, touch&swipe etc

the bottom end of the x86 market will drop out

 

[sandwhich]

I agree. I don't know why some people can't see it's ARM and Android/iOS which are the future.

The future of what? Tablets, maybe. For a desktop computer, and for people who actually want to make something with their computer, you need desktop software.


Tablets are just for "consumers".

Willing to bet money on that future?


Consumers are almost the entire market.


People saying Android/iOS/ARM are not the future are simply not keeping up to date with the state of things.


Have to say I raised my eyebrows on the Pandora Android release thread where several people who had been vocal about why the Pandora should NOT run Android had clearly never even tried Android...

A good part of money made with software these days is made with enterprise/office applications(look at companies like SAP/Orcale/IBM), i.e. things that run nowhere near Android/iOS. Whilst ARM is very interesting for low-power servers iOS and Android are just not made for professional use. And the consumer market may be more visible to you than the enterprise market, but assuming it would be "almost the entire market" is a little... well, you know.

 

[kojack]

need to root your device for thetering. Or pay for a stupid app.

Android has had tethering built in for free since around version 2.3. No root or apps needed, just check the tethering box in the settings panel. My galaxy s phone is a wifi hotspot for my pandora, acer a500 tablet and clevo laptop.


Some manufacturers or isps might disable it, but mine doesn't.

- impossible to update your OS : no long term support of your device = What do you mean by this?

That's the main thing that has annoyed me so far with android. I haven't felt like rooting my phone or tablet, so updating the OS is damn annoying.


Recently Acer upgraded the A500 tablet to ICS. But they only exposed the update to small batches of tablets based on serial numbers (or some other method). My tablet wasn't allowed to update until over a month after other people were installing it.


Phones are even worse, It's not only the manufacturer that delays android releases, but the isp too. It takes ages for both samsung and optus to approve (and add branded bloatware to) an android release for something like the galaxy s, can be 6 months to a year after rooted phones could be using it, if they ever decide to release it at all.