The mish mash of mobile devices, tablets, notebooks, desktops etc has me interested in collecting some of my thoughts (blogging ftw), now that stuff like Android devices, Chromebooks, and normal Laptops are bluring the lines ever more so. My TF101 is my go-to machine for almost everything that doesn't involve Direct3D/DirectX or Internet Exploder, even at work. I'm going to start blogging about the implications of such a bit more but it also makes me curious about what specifically keep people tied to the old world PC. Mine is only software developers that still target Windows on x86.
Maybe I'm sick of the never ending ICS and Prime stuff on this forum or maybe I've just got to much time on my lunch break. The TF101 and technically Android in general, provide 95% of what I need out of a computing device. We have had a few threads that amount to people asking if they can use a Transformer like a notebook, so I just have to ask why do you still use your notebook? What do you need to do that you cannot use an Android device for.
Between things like the TF's and Android x86, lack of a decent way of typing doesn't count lol.
-> disclaimer: my job involves more programming than editing office documents. I've had fully functional life using *BSD systems, let along needing Windows or OSX.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Lack of a decent way of typing. Sorry, but the dock keyboard isn't that great. Oops, that does not count.
#1 THERE IS NO ANDROID OFFICE SOFTWARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE THAT WILL REPLACE MS OFFICE. I HAVE TRIED THEM ALL. SIMPLE EXCEL CHECK BOX DOES NOT SHOW UP IN ANY OF THE ANDROID OFFICE SUITS.
If all you do for example is surf for porn then yes, the transformer could replace your netbook, laptop, or desktop.
I find all the good productive software are on Windows, if I was not at home I have to choose between running these software on a x86/x64 architecture laptop natively or running a remote desktop connection back to my home PC to satisfy such needs. The small screen is also a factor when it comes to using it for productivity of any kind. The most downer for Android atm is probably the horrible multitasking for tablets. There is no way to open even two apps side by side, seriously?
What I mean by 'doesn't count', as far as the TF is concerned it is no worse than typing on a netbook or a comparably sized laptop. I should know, I've used laptop keyboards from 12 to 18 hours a day for the last 5, nearly 6 years now. I type and read excessively. For the wider scope of Android, it's more a matter of screen space.
Issues like the stock browser's text area's lagging on the TF or lack of certain keystrokes from Win/GTK/Qt, are purely software artifacts that can be fixed with updated or replaced software, hell maybe even contributing to ASOP! Hardly killer given what can be done (e.g. opera and HC's text selection) to work around, and when it comes to handwriting, there are more options than the typical PC.
If text input is your problem, then why?
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
I have a powerful desktop, a notebook that's a few years old but was top-notch when bought, and now my TF101 with dock.
I use the dock less than I expected to, largely because the keyboard isn't very good. I mostly use the dock as a stand when watching movies, and for very light writing work. (Making quick notes, answering email, Facebook posts, etc.) although I find the stock Honeycomb soft keyboard *almost* as fast to type on, if I put the tablet in my lap.
The other area where the TF101 doesn't come close is for replacing my notebook for work. I need apps like Photoshop CS5, Dreamweaver CS5, etc. for my day job, and short of using MyDesktop I can't get those on my tablet. (MyDesktop works in a pinch, but again the sub-par keyboard means I don't use it as much as I might, and the lack of things like right mouse-button support reinforce that.)
So my Transformer becomes my content-consumption device -- browsing the web, listening to streaming radio, watching movies, checking Facebook and Gmail, maybe playing an occasional light game.
My desktop is my go-to machine for work, and for everything else. Proper gaming, anything where I have to do much typing.
My notebook is now demoted to where it gets used maybe a couple of times a month, when I don't want to be chained to my desk, but need more than my tablet can offer.
Each device has its own purpose, and none will ever fully replace the others for me.
Anything that requires power or precision you need something other than the transformer. For example you like watching movies on the tab but no way can you encode them on it same goes for video editing. You can view drawings on it but you can't create them on it even if you do have a stylus. Tablets are great for consumption but other that text based work, aren't very good at creation. They definitely have a use and I wouldn't be without mine but I need my laptop as well.
v8code said:
You can view drawings on it but you can't create them on it even if you do have a stylus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adobe Ideas begs to disagree:
http://www.adobe.com/products/adobe...m-en-casestudy-creativesuite-design-brian-yap
So does Photoshop Touch:
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-touch.html
why i sometimes still need a laptop or desktop.
v8code said:
Anything that requires power or precision you need something other than the transformer. For example you like watching movies on the tab but no way can you encode them on it same goes for video editing. You can view drawings on it but you can't create them on it even if you do have a stylus. Tablets are great for consumption but other that text based work, aren't very good at creation. They definitely have a use and I wouldn't be without mine but I need my laptop as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It all depends what you need to do, as we can all see. for my wife, it has perfectly replaced her cruddy old laptop, since all she does is faccebook, email, web and the pics/movies etc. she doesnt miss windblows. i dont miss another laptop to douche/clean every year either. i can back it up easy enough, etc etc... me. i have one too, but for the same reasons - light stuff - i can't encode movies/mp3/etc etc - many things a power user cannot do on a tablet lol.. good tab tho, we both love it, the dock is killer - adds so much life to it, we both like it more than the ipad or ipad2 (which we both tried for a week).
thanks!
For me, my laptop is a necessity. I am a grad student, and therefore always seem to be taking notes (both personally and in class) and writing papers. While the tablet can do most things I do okay, it cannot compare to the PC for doing them all at once. I am constantly having to have multiple PDFs of books and various journal articles open, as well as at least two Word documents, in addition to web browsers. The laptop allows me to to all this while virtually anywhere; if I get too restless at home, I can sit outside doing work, or go to a coffee shop, etc. While at home, I can connect a separate monitor to the laptop to have research on it while the paper I'm writing is on my main screen. Printing is important, and while there are some ways of printing with the tablet, nothing as advanced or smooth as on the laptop.
The tablet can't even have two screens visible side-by-side at the same time, which is a major downfall. Also switching between PDFs and documents I'm writing is not at all convenient or smooth.
It's a great little device for doing basic reading and light research, but it has a long way to go before I even begin to consider using it as my primary machine.
I'd have to agree with most of the reasons for still using a laptop as above. Although I don't use my laptop much, my main reason is for the multitasking.
Most of the uni work I do (computer + social science) typically involves me having many windows open for referencing etc. Using a few messengers, social networking sites for communication, PDF viewers + browser windows for research papers, a few more browser windows for API references, Microsoft or Libre office for strict and formally formatted documents, reference software (Mendeley) for references + formatting and maybe an IDE or 2 all at the same time, just isn't possible on android at the moment.
If ICS improves on some of the existing multitasking concept and some more apps begin to realise their potential with regards to presentation of created content, then I'll probably use my desktop and laptop even less.
That's not to say I don't thoroughly enjoy my TF and use it for a lot of other things (mainly lazy content consumption, lectures, and reading eBooks, as well as travelling.)
I still don't find much "serious" software for Android. In specific, if Android had an Adobe Premiere analog I would be so down. I would much also rather do a lot of things on a bigger screen. I have a 15" laptop that is a nice size for most things; I wouldn't like editing video much on a 10" screen unless there was some amazing new interface for doing non-linear editing. I also really like being able to work between Windows 7 and Ubuntu on the laptop. But I'm wondering if the next couple of months won't have us triple booting Win-Lin-Droid. So how about a 15" Android dockable tablet with a full size keyboard and can triple boot the aforementioned operating systems and has about 4 gigs of RAM. With that much space in the full-sized keyboard dock we could probably see 30+ hour battery life, too. My $1000 is waiting for such a monster.
adampdx said:
...So how about a 15" Android dockable tablet with a full size keyboard and can triple boot the aforementioned operating systems and has about 4 gigs of RAM. With that much space in the full-sized keyboard dock we could probably see 30+ hour battery life, too...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. This is what I want too.
Multitasking is a good point, and one which is a major blocking point for me in using Android more (and in my day job).
Say what you like, but what we have now where most programs lack the ability for the user to close them, and can be unpredictably closed by the OS (losing work in the process) when you switch away from them for an indeterminate amount of time is NOT proper multitasking. In my opinion, this is the biggest single area where Android needs to improve. I understand that not everybody wants control over when apps start and stop, but for many of us it is crucial. It should at the very least be an option for the user to override the default behavior and assume full control over which programs are opened and closed.
Laptops are more flexible than Android/iOS tablets. my least favourite thing about getting my Transformer was when I transferred random video files over to it to watch in bed... and none of them worked in any video player I tried. With a Windows/Linux/MacOS laptop, it's just a case of installing VLC and everything works right away.
Then there's the fact that the browser doesn't suck even on my 900MHz Celeron-powered eeePC from three years ago. Even when overclocked to 1.6GHz, the Transformer can feel very very sluggish at times. Not something I want from a Tablet or phone. At least when my trusty old eeePC is being sluggish, there's an obvious reason why.
I still use my Laptop when I have to, I can do most of my work from the tablet but a few online services wont work without popups. and I cant find a browser to handle them.
Firefox will handle our citrix site at a pinch, but requires practice as the screen size is skewed. But its only a matter of time before these things are attended to IMNHO
Spidey01 said:
The mish mash of mobile devices, tablets, notebooks, desktops etc has me interested in collecting some of my thoughts (blogging ftw), now that stuff like Android devices, Chromebooks, and normal Laptops are bluring the lines ever more so. My TF101 is my go-to machine for almost everything that doesn't involve Direct3D/DirectX or Internet Exploder, even at work.
-> disclaimer: my job involves more programming than editing office documents. I've had fully functional life using *BSD systems, let along needing Windows or OSX.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
personally for me, the prime will be my general use item. I can web browse, email, view media, play some games etc and it will become my workaday.
but the tablets are not yet at a place to replace a full blown laptop because I do a lot of graphics work, sometimes with 400-600mb images, so until photoshop can run on a tablet I will still have a main machine.
so. can a prime replace a laptop? no, not entirely, because I still need my main machine to do graphics work, I use my main unit to convert video media to play on the tablet but for my writing and general use, the prime will be excellent.
I have a desktop, laptop, and Transformer.
Desktop is used for primarily gaming, not much more than that.
Laptop is for creating docs, VPNing into work, keeping track of fantasy football team over multiple websites.
Transformer is for quick web surfing, long trips/on the go, various apps, forums such as XDA.
All three devices I have serve a purpose and are all important to me.
knoxploration said:
Adobe Ideas begs to disagree:
http://www.adobe.com/products/adobe...m-en-casestudy-creativesuite-design-brian-yap
So does Photoshop Touch:
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-touch.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By their own examples its a photo touch up editor and not a graphics creator. Sure you could probably do some good stuff but it isn't full photo shop on a 17"/21" monitor and a graphics tablet hooked up to it. You could also do VNC onto a server and do 3D cad if you really wanted to but why. Its just so much easier to do on a full desktop or good laptop.
Cut, copy and past pictures and videos from my cameras is a lot easier on a proper laptop.
Android 3.x won't even allow me to view the vidoes from my cameras - my laptop does with the standard media player.
Creating and editing documents, especially long ones, is easier on a laptop.
Multitasking is far better on a laptop - two programs side by side.
Image editing is far more intuitive and easier on a laptop.
Storage space.
Inking. When you've used a proper Tablet PC you'll realise just how pathetic a modern tablet is.
Voice dictation. My old 1.3MHz Atom laptop can run Dragon Dictate without problems.
Don't get me wrong, I won't be selling my Transformer, but there is no way it can replace a proper computer. The last time I went away on a trip I left my laptop at home and just took the Transformer. Never again.
Hi guys, today I saw Nokia WP7 Lumia 800, before myself.
No doubt WP7 looked Beautiful. I mean Android is far better in definition of smartphone, for e.g. True multitasking, etc. but I never found Android OS beautiful.
I had Android in my hand (CM7 with complete ICS look, also ICS status bar), and my friend had WP7, and WP7 looked amazingly beautiful.
Personally I would love an OS which is beautiful, since I look at it (the OS), and I'm not a huge app user. Also I'm not a user who does not need apps running in background. Here are the apps that I use on Android (only these apps)----
1) App Lock - Prevent unauthorized access for any person to any of my apps (Very useful)
2) Calculus Tools
3) Handy Calc
4) Concise Offline Dictionary (Very useful)
5) Moon Reader (epub reader ebook reader) (Very Very useful)
6) MX Player (Very useful, plays any video format)
7) Opera Mini & Opera Mobile (Very useful, saves data cost, but IE10 does same, opera saves 97% how much IE10?)
8) USB Tunnel (Reverse Tether, very useful)
So, I want to ask, are these apps ( or there replacement apps )are available on WP7 market, or WP8 market???
I'm looking forward to buy WP8 in future. Please reply if you know these apps or replacement apps are available for WP7 orWP8?
Also, Windows is major PC OS, and I'll always have Windows ( Mac never ), and Windows PC has many software, so there is great possibility that WP8 will see many new apps in market, ( WP8 ports of the PC softwares ). Also looking for full integration with my PC. ( like iOS and MAC).
"App Lock" sounds like something that should be provided by the OS. On WP7 you can easily set a PIN or password, and configure the phone's lock behavior in other ways. That said, I don't know of a way to lock apps without also locking the rest of the phone (although some behaviors, like taking pictures or placing calls using voice, can be enabled even while the phone is locked if you want them to be).
The calculator that comes with the phone is very good, but if you want something more like a graphing calculator (or otherwise intnded for calculus) you'll need an app. I don't know how good they are, since I just tend to use the Scientific and Programmer calculator modes (which are built in), but such apps do exist.
There are a number of offline dictionary apps, for sure. English is well-supported, but quite a few lenguages are in the offline dictionary app list.
There are many Ebook reader apps. I personally use the Kindle app (which takes minor hacking to use with ebooks not from the Kindle store, and uses .MOBI or .PRC files) but there are several free apps for EPUB as well.
Not sure about media player apps. Most of them just support the codecs built into the phone (which are a good selection, but hardly all-encompassing). Apps are allowed to implement additional codecs, but I have never personally used any that do. Zune software on the PC can transcode most codecs to something the phone can read when you sync the files from your PC, though.
Opera (mini and mobile) for Windows Phone is currently only available on fully-unlocked custom ROMs, though it may be made to work on root-unlocked stock ROMs soon. I don't know about the data savings of Windows Phone IE.
USB Tunnel is for letting the phone connect through the PC's Internet connection? That feature is built into the OS. When the phone connects to the Zune software on the PC, it automatically enables Ethernet over USB.
Please bear in mind that nobody knows anything much about what will be available for WP8 right now. It was ony just announced, is still months from release, and there's very little meaningful and reliable information about it available yet.
I am slightly handicapped, very difficult to use left hand for typing. My job requires me to be on the computer all day. I am wondering if there is any way to use my 10.1 and it's S-pen (or any tablet with a pen) to be able to write on the tablet and use programs like Outlook, word and excel?
If this question should be asked in a different forum, someone please let me know.
Thanks
IIRC, the tablets can't be connected to a PC just to share their touch screen or any other input method.
(With the exception of it's camera)
To accomplish what you want you would have to run specialized software on both your PC and tablet, eg connect from your tablet to the PC using remote desktop software.
---
Well that's all for now, 3M
Click the THANKS button if i was helpful in anyway ^^
I believe there are some apps in the play store that will do this. You need to run a corresponding server application on the Windows machine for this to work.
It might be worth a try if you already have the equipment and don't want to spend any more money. However, I suspect you're not going to get a very satisfactory experience going this route.
Windows 7 does have some native support for pen/stylus input, including handwriting recognition. Windows 8 is probably even better for this, although whether the desktop pen support is enhanced I'm not sure. In any case, I think you'd probably be better served getting a dedicated tablet for Window, i.e. a Wacom tablet or something similar. Wacom makes some very expensive tablets (Cinteq (sp?) and Intuos) for pro designers/artists but they also have more reasonably priced consumer tablets (the Bamboo line) which should be adequate for your purposes and these will have very mature Windows drivers.
I'd also suggest, however, that you do a little research on dedicated one-handed typing hardware. I know there are one-handed keyboards which are essentially the same as a standard qwerty keyboard cut in half and you would hold down a button with your thumb that would switch between the native key or the key in the mirror position. If you happen to know touch typing this type of keyboard is probably not hard to learn and may be your best bet. If you're not already a touch typist you should also research other types of "chording" keyboards which use combinations of buttons or switches to specify input characters. There are a variety of these and several are designed for one handed use.
Many thanks for the info. I got the Microsoft android remote desktop connection app from the play store to try it out before posting this thread. I am just dense enough to not be able to figure out how to set up the RDC on my home pc. Wanted to see if it would work before approaching the it guys at work.
I wondered if the Surface tablet would do better with the office suite. Something tells me there could be a real need for something like this to work if someone could figure it out.
I'll look into the keyboard option again (I think I did once before).
tmagritte said:
I believe there are some apps in the play store that will do this. You need to run a corresponding server application on the Windows machine for this to work.
It might be worth a try if you already have the equipment and don't want to spend any more money. However, I suspect you're not going to get a very satisfactory experience going this route.
Windows 7 does have some native support for pen/stylus input, including handwriting recognition. Windows 8 is probably even better for this, although whether the desktop pen support is enhanced I'm not sure. In any case, I think you'd probably be better served getting a dedicated tablet for Window, i.e. a Wacom tablet or something similar. Wacom makes some very expensive tablets (Cinteq (sp?) and Intuos) for pro designers/artists but they also have more reasonably priced consumer tablets (the Bamboo line) which should be adequate for your purposes and these will have very mature Windows drivers.
I'd also suggest, however, that you do a little research on dedicated one-handed typing hardware. I know there are one-handed keyboards which are essentially the same as a standard qwerty keyboard cut in half and you would hold down a button with your thumb that would switch between the native key or the key in the mirror position. If you happen to know touch typing this type of keyboard is probably not hard to learn and may be your best bet. If you're not already a touch typist you should also research other types of "chording" keyboards which use combinations of buttons or switches to specify input characters. There are a variety of these and several are designed for one handed use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android devices are so powerful today, and the hardware is becoming so powerful that I don't think that the software is utilising that.
We already have much of the technology in devices of today to enable a desktop environment to be streamed from our phones.
Display output: Chromecast (wireless display), MHL (Wired display & charger), etc.
Input methods: Bluetooth Keyboard & mouse, Accelerometer (to emulate mouse input), etc.
UI: Separate Launcher for the desktop UI.
With Microsoft bringing Windows 10 later this year as one OS for both the Phone & Desktop, surely that will allow them to work better in sync with one another, but that will still require a separate desktop computer and phone to create this kind of experience.
But Google now has the chance to simply output a separate UI from the same device that can display a phone UI all at the same time.
If we look at past launches of major Android builds then this coming Google I/O would be the perfect time to announce something like this, since they say that they usually deliver one major build that focuses on UI, and then one that focuses on major feature integration.
And not only would this allow for us to take our desktop with us everywhere in our pocket and connect wirelessly to any compatible display but also it could enable people in poorer economies to buy one device which could give them better access to the internet with a portable display integrated into the device, and also they could connect to the larger displays to browse the web or work on office documents with apps such as 'Google Docs'.
This could really be useful for people who wish to use their device in the work place too.
With Android mobile now offering multiple user profiles on their phones, surely they could create one profile for work, with all of their work apps available in both their phone and desktop UI's, but also a personal profile with all of their media applications & games available when out of work.
The desktop tower may still be useful for a few years to enable support for legacy applications whilst we are waiting for those applications to be ported over to Android/Android Desktop, but that shouldn't take too long considering how quickly we are see'ing apps becoming available to Android offering the kind of services that many of us desire, and if the developers only need to create one application back end for both the Desktop mode & phone mode, then it will be much quicker to bring apps to market with a small bit of time required to make a UI which can be scaled between the phone & desktop mode well.
There are multiple projects trying to create this very experience, but if it was a major part of the Android OS then finally people will get the experience that many people are waiting for, you only have to look at the comments on the developer pages of these projects to see that many people want this kind of experience.
With 64-bit now supported in Android too there is less of a reason to hold back this kind of experience.
I agree totally. Is this the only thread on this subject? Was going to setup Chromecast for video and Bluetooth for keyboard, mouse and audio. Doing this on a Jiayu S3A which is very powerful. Would like one place to discuss what works and what doesn't. Launcher options also need to be discussed.