I am so excited for the future. It's so clear to me that tablets are a stepping stone, and a very very exciting one. They're going to be the first time a consumer computer has lived up to their dreams and expectations of the future of computing: it works, it's fast, it's easy, it's safe and it's fun. Using Windows on a desktop is none of those things. It turns out that iPad was a glorious thing; not in that it was physically incredible, but that it opened up a world that Google understands and is preparing for. We're going to have Android and iOS running HTML5 applications (and native apps of course) on nearly every device in just a few years.
Agree 100% -- ubiquitous tablets will cause some really interesting changes in society. It's illuminating watching a novice user use an iPad; I've seen both young kids and senior citizens become proficient with it in an amazingly short amount of time. You can take pry my terminals and Emacs windows away from my cold dead fingers, but for 90%+ of the population, something like an iPad / Android tablet (with perhaps an optional keyboard for writing) is really just about perfect.
I mostly agree, and believe tablets (iPad /honeycomb) is what would suit the majority of consumers -- with one glaring exception: typing. I've had iPad since release and I still loathe to type anything more than a ssntnece or two on the thing, then again maybe twitter and fb updates are teaching us to type in short bursts which is tolerable using current tablet keyboard inputs. (I don't consider 3rd party keyboard HW a viable large scale solution)
Isn't the form factor just terrible for that tho? It always seemed to me that Tablets are an excellent form for consuming information. Content creation, on the other hand, is best left to our laptops and keyboards that we already have.
So a docking station for a tablet makes sense (effectively changing the form factor back to something more traditional). Holding the thing with one hand while typing with the other really doesn't so much. I think that's ok, the context dictates how you use the device.
People have been using paper as a content creation medium for millennia; there clearly isn't anything inherently anti-creation about the tablet form factor. Tablets are only bad for content creation if you consider 'content creation' to mean traditional creative computer software. Photoshop CS5 would be terrible on an iPad, yes, but that doesn't preclude the future existence of equally deep and compelling tablet image editing software (for example).
I class things like "writing an email" as content creation too, and it doesn't look like a pleasant experience on a tablet. You could write a sentence using one hand whilst holding it in the other, but if you want to write a paragraph or two, you really need to put it down on a surface and then hunch over the device to type down on it. I say "hunch", because the screen is flat rather than at an angle when you place it on a surface, unlike a laptop.
I'm not considering the fact that you can plug a tablet into a hardware keyboard because if I had a tablet I certainly wouldn't want to carry a keyboard round with me just in case.
I'd rather just carry my laptop around for content creation, and use a combination of my laptop and mobile phone for content consumption.
I really hope somebody comes up with an innovative solution to add a hardware keyboard to a tablet. Something along the lines of a very thin hidden internal keyboard which you can pull out of the bottom, and then bend to an angle so you can place it flat on a surface with the screen angled towards you. I'd barely need a laptop anymore then.
Have you played with the latest version of android's voice tools? They're amazing. Content creation should only be regulated to existing modes of input (keyboard) only if we don't come up with better input
methods.
I agree completely. New inputs beyond QWERTY need to be developed. The tricky part I think is getting people to use new methods. I think things like 8Pen are a good start, however.
It's still obviously far slower than an actual fullsize keyboard , but for a smaller form size hardware keyboard (such a phone), I've actually found Swype to be faster. It completely blows the on screen keyboard out of the water, but I was never that fast at that. I was a major fan of hardware keyboards before swype (in fact, it's why I got a Droid instead of another Android phone), but I'm beginning to find myself becoming faster on Swype than an actual phone keyboard, and that's even with a 2+ year headstart of using hardware keyboards.
However, this all depends on the size of the tablet. If it was laptop sized (with Fn keys to allow for slightly smaller size even), I'd probably take the keyboard over Swype, but it would really depend on where I was typing. Swype is designed to be used one handed, and would be perfect for when you can't just set your tablet down. If the keyboard would be netbook sized, I might actually take Swype over it most all of the time.
To followup: today multi-touch tablets are primarily consumer luxury devices (toys if you will). But as mobile OS's mature and move into the business market this will change. Tablets and tablet OS's will be used in businesses. And yes, this will expose some of their current weaknesses, but there are straightforward solutions to many of them.
For example, a docking station in the form of a monitor stand which turns a tablet into a monitor for a traditional mouse & keyboard. Or, laptop/netbook form factors with attached keyboards (this is not a new form factor, there are already touch screen tablets of this sort).
What makes the new generation of tablets novel is not merely their particular physical characteristics today, it's the method of interaction, the simplicity of the interface, and the simplified and streamlined methods for managing applications. All of those things will still be relevant if you add a mouse and keyboard.
The implications on current work environments in almost any business might be profound. Enterprise Software design, Work desk architecture, cubicles, 9-5, are all but symptoms of a industrial era work culture.
While effective (indeed there are jobs i am hard pressed to imagine another model) this work environment is long in the tooth, and shows significant strain in knowledge and creative workplaces.
The current batch of smartphones, and pad computing had a profound effect on my life, and on the life of everybody I know who uses them, the lines between work and pleasure are blurring, you can only imagine when hi-res kinect like interfaces will be integrated into them. whats more, IT managers (myself included) are easing control over these systems, permit them and encourage them, it is cautious, but it will be a sea change.
Small "enterprise" apps, that do simpler tasks, might become more and more prevalent, The disparity between the desktop environment and pad for some tasks (like reading for instance) is getting bigger, and makes the older one seem outdated. The coming workforce shouldn't be expected to perform to the best of its abilities with outdated tools, or stay in their chair all the time for that matter.
There are many clouds I personally see in this horizon, DRM for one, the disappearance of material from a cloud resource (ala wikileaks) without any due process another. But for me, especially in the US, and here in NY, where the last mile everywhere is owned by Verizon, bandwidth, its cost, and control over it, is the biggest concern, these technologies are stymied by the draconian control of Telco's.
We are on the verge of another giant leap in computing, this one, apart from new usability paradigms differs from the previous PC revolution on its reliance on connectivity and bandwidth, without them, the devices are a poor experience.
Something got to give, Telco's cannot be allowed to control this future.
> A quote from Steve Jobs comes to mind. "I think PCs are going to be like trucks. And this is going to make some people uneasy."
Yes, Jobs has been predicting the death of the Windows PC (when he says "PC", he really means "Windows PC". He is offended if you call the computers he creates "PC's") for a while.
He's not very often wrong, but it's one of these few times.
I don't think so. Actually if you go back and watch the video where he said that, he very deliberately defines the "PC" category as Windows machines and Macs. Kara Swisher is a little confused, because for her "PC" means a Windows box. She gets some kind of clarification, but it's clear that Jobs wants to use the word "PC" as an umbrella term for all high-powered keyboard+mouse+12-24in screen machines.
Apple does the whole "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" thing, but where have you ever seen Jobs personally try to assert that Macs are not PCs?
It seems like a very different set of cultures, and it's not as if the stock-holders are revolting (no pun intended).
Personally I'd prefer some good healthy competition in mobile/tablets/HTML5 - as we saw what happened to the browser when left to one dominant player...
The browser market languished with one dominant player because that player specifically wanted to kill the market. Microsoft/Bill Gates didn't want the browser to take off. They wanted to become the dominant player so that they could just funnel everyone away from the browser and to their other products.
On the other hand, if Google were to have the only browser on the market, they have incentives to keep improving it.
Not that I'm advocating a one-player browser market with Google at the helm. I'm just stating that the goals matter. Having a single dominant player isn't necessarily the death of innovation, so long as they have incentives to keep innovating.
Never. Not in the next 10 years.
They are based on extremely different philosophies and gain money in very different ways.
If this would happen, it'd be the death of one of them.
I think ChromeOS could succeed in "kiosk" situations -- libraries, coffee shops, hotel lobbies, etc. Verified boot and automatic updates would be a boon for maintenance concerns, while customers would be much more likely to trust Google than a random Windows kiosk with a shoddy browser and questionable shell.
Of course, kiosks / public access terminals may be as unnecessary as phone booths once we're all carrying personal tablets...
There are a lot of people outside of the 1st world's lavish lifestyle and deep pockets (filled also with $500 gadgets). If you live in the USA you don't even have to leave your own country to see the other side.
Strike the last sentence and I agree with your comment wholeheartedly.
Interestingly, outside the "1st world" mobile phones are quite common. The speed at which this technology trickled down is amazing, about ten years from yuppies in major cities to subsistence farmers in failed states. Even more amazing is penetration. Most things just don't go that far down the economic ladder at all. Basic, fundamental things like vaccination, artificial fertilizers, electricity or regular phone lines which our grandparents took for granted have been outpaced by mobile phones in many places.
Tablets may be similar enough to mobile phone to hope that the same economics apply and we might see the <$3-a-day majority benefiting by 2020. Hopefully.
I hope Google will bring Android to the notebook/desktop, make it a rich platforms so that we can finally have Photoshop running on Linux. I'm guessing this is probably the direction: Apple has the same OS code base for phone, tablet and desktop; Microsoft is trying the same with its porting of Windows to ARM processor, targeting tablets.
One can't really tell from a promotional video, but the main thing that stands out to me is the improved home screen over iPad. It's too "technical" to be mass market in this version; viz. "Books \n 3x3" type stuff - my parents won't know what 3x3 means, even after explanation. Even I'm only guessing is the size the widget takes on the home screen. However, assuming they fix that, it's rather an improvement on Apple's iOS SpringBoard, which is looking rather dated (alongside their notification system). Here's to competition accelerating an upgrade in iOS 5!
The rest of the applications, one can't really tell in short clip. A lot of them - mail, video chat etc - seem very similar to what one would find elsewhere, except with the Honeycomb chrome (take it or leave it, as personal preference dictates). In others, I worry they've gone for eye candy over usability. For example, in "Books", the circular scroll is all very well, but I can't see any way of telling how far through your collection you are, nor where the book you want might be. Of course, the is prerelease promo, so it might be obvious in the real thing. What most people don't seem to get is that Apple tend to use eye candy only when it's useful - not just to look like something in Minority Report. Even they don't get it right all the time (I'm looking at you, Time Machine animation!). Eye candy is really cool for promotional videos, but when you're trying to use the application for the 4562nd time you really hope that it's added just to enhance usability, rather than impress CES visitors.
Not enough eye candy, too much eye candy. And the usual Android is too hard. Too bad this logic has been wrong for the last two years of Android and I'm willing to bet it will continue to be wrong.
It so frustrating to discuss about Android (or iOS). Some people will take the slightest criticism and interpret it as platform bashing. The grandparent never claimed that Android is doomed because it has too much eye candy.
Eye candy is damn hard to get right. It’s easy to have too little or too much or to be kitschy. Apple seems to be really into kitsch and Google seems to be really fond of doing too much lately. (You can’t really tell from the video, though. I would love to see some extended demo or a guided tour.)
Man, functionality aside since I haven't used it, it is not very impressive. I would describe it as ugly as sin. It looks like the graphics were all thrown together in an afternoon. I hope it is placeholder.
- They replaced the nice soft gray/blue Chrome UI with a harsh gray one.
-The keyboard buttons are flat and lifeless.
-Arrows for selecting text has no depth and high contrast border.
-The page turning looks like something from the 90s
-The Youtube videos pop in from the left
This has really set my expectations low for what was suppose to be a significant UI upgrade. As a designer this makes me cringe.
You can't argue with the page turning, though. I have no idea how the Google engineers turn a page, since it's nothing like anyone else does it (or iBooks, for that matter).
This looks fantastic, but I'm concerned about what isn't being discussed: namely, what happens to small form factor devices in the Android 3.0 timeline, like my Nexus S?
Is Google going to pull an Apple: temporarily bifurcating Android between tablets and phones, and then later reunite them? Or is Honeycomb going to ship for phones, too, but with less of the large-screen optimized UI goodness?
It certainly appears that way. With the high requirements for Honeycomb and no phones on the market that currently meet that requirement I think it will be a while before the releases are synchronous.
Anyway my contract is just about up and this CES is not making me look forward to renewal. CES has a way of blasting out announcements for really great sounding products and then what actually ships may be selective or may be cancelled entirely. No one ever remembers the products from the last CES that never arrived.
As a long time Android user I'm definitely looking forward to
a tablet. I've been holding off on buying anything until a good tablet comes out. I really wish I could watch this video without an ad preventing me from reading all the text in the video so I knew more about what to look for and not just stare at the omg eye candy.
As far as ChromeOS being dead, I dunno. I have been playing with my cr48 a few weeks now and love it. Its a great system for most things. The things it prevents me from doing well right now (ssh to hosts and doing dev/support) are minor.
In general I have a browser, IM App, and terminal open on my computer. If a good and secure way to remotely manage hosts via ssh is added into ChromeOS it will quickly become my goto system that I drag everywhere with me. I doubt I would ever say that for a tablet, unless its really good and has fantastic keyboard support. I just hate having to deal with wireless keyboards and their aaa batteries that never seem to last long enough.
They seem to have checked all the right boxes on this one - Eye Candy, Tablet UI optimizations, Video Chat (Great stuff if it works well - all GTalk users even on desktop can use this), No physical buttons, Dual Core minimum (easier on devs - they don't have to worry about crappy hardware), HTML5.
I can only hope that Android 3.0 will be available on the swath of 2.1 and 2.2 tablets that have been released thus far. Neither of those operating systems were well optimized for tablet use.
It appears google is requiring a dual core cpu for Honeycomb. So it's unlikely you'll see official updates for them. Even tablets that skipped market access and such probably won't upgrade if there is a serious performance penalty, and it's hard to believe google would make that restriction if it was unnecessary.
There has been plenty of claims that Google is going to limiting hardware with the next OS update, and those are always been squashed. I mean, when has Google ever shown a even an inkling of trying to lock down Android? I'd be surprised if they could do it even if they wanted to.
In order for a manufacturer to be able to include the Market on their device Google imposes a bunch of hardware restrictions. For Gingerbread the restrictions include
- the size and density of the screen
- it has to have a touchscreen
- it has to have more than 128MB RAM and 150MB flash
- it has to ship with a 1GB or greater sdcard installed
- home, menu and back buttons required
- all kinds of restrictions on the accelerometer,magnenometer, gps, gyro, etc
- it has to have fast network capability
- the camera has to be 2 megapixels or greater
- it has to have USB
I don't see why they wouldn't be able to add a dual-core cpu as a requirement
It is quite a jump from needing a pittance of RAM, touchscreen, connectivity, and a SD card to requiring a dual core. Android's model requires large market penetration, and requiring a dual core doesn't really make sense.
I suspect all of those weren't rejected because their hardware didn't meet specifications, but the manufacturers didn't want to go through the trouble to get the Google stamp of approval. In particular, one of the last things Barnes and Noble want for their e-reader is Market access, with the Kindle app being available and all.
Google requires [for market access] “all hardware components have the same software APIs as defined in their SDK to be compatible,” says Kitagawa. “This provides consistency to third-party developers that access these components,” he says.
That means devices always need to have some key components, such as touchscreens with a specified minimum resolution, a certain number of navigation keys, Wi-Fi, camera and accelerometer. Devices such as the Alex e-reader or a digital picture frame don’t conform to these requirements.
Torn. I like that it isn't just a grid of icons and some apps with split views, but I doubt Google can really pull off a great tablet OS by forking Android. I still think there needs to be an OS built from the ground up to be a tablet and a tablet only. I want an revolution like the iPhone was went it was originally announced, not a half hearted evolution.
I bought the original iPhone on day one (my upgrade from the original Motorola Razr). I vociferously read about technology and gadgets, but am rarely compelled to act on my consumer desires unless I feel like I'm 'gaming' the system by buying at the optimum time and also by defeating the endless upgrade cycle prompts.
I succumbed last year and purchased an iPad while on holiday in The States (ostensibly because of the cheaper price compared to the UK and because my wife wanted to watch Mad Men on vacation).
In truth it was because even though the iPad just seemed to be an enlarged iPod Touch, Apple had certainly hit a home run with the (dare I say it) 'revolutionary' first iPhone, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about.
It immediately made my first generation iPhone obsolete for kicking back at home and mucking about on a touch-screen device, but it certainly wasn't a revolutionary device. It really was just a scaled-up less-portable (read: less useful) version of the original iPhone.
I got an iPhone 4 for christmas and it's a beautiful upgrade from iPhone 1. And it immediately relegated the iPad to 'sitting on the shelf' status in our flat.
This promo video, however teaser/vaporware-like it is, has me rethinking my current reliance on the Apple ecosystem.
It's feels a bit revolutionary... like the first iPhone. A re-imagining of on OS specifically designed for the new form factor. The iPad OS isn't that beast... Apple were first to market with a credible tablet because the initial iPhone OS, albeit upscaled, did a passable job.
For the first time in years, I'm interested in my next device being outside the Apple Walled City.
To be honest, I think you can get my general opinion of the iPad from my original comment. But in one line, an excellently realized product that doesn't really fit my particular pipe dream for a tablet.
really? I agree much more with the reviews near the ipad's release that it made the iphone seem almost like a too-small ipad (and it seems like it could be the same situation here).
what would you like to see that would be unique to the tablet form factor?
My impression of the video was that Android 3.0 applications will be entirely a Google stack... where does that leave developers?
I applaud Google for finally taking on the role of owning the whole OS experience, like Apple, but if they are going to do this then they'll also be judged on those merits. I give Android OS a lot of leeway for what it lacks by saying "a developer can fill that niche"... It looks like their tablet will be much closer to an iPad experience in having a singular vision.
I imagine they're just showing off their programs for the platform. Google have been touting Android as an 'open' platform, I doubt they're going to turn back at this stage.
I'm not particularly in the know, but I think it's important to keep in mind that this isn't a "normal" platform release. Honeycomb is still a bit immature, we're not expecting to see shipping devices for another 3-6 months (Motorola is simply saying "Q2" at this point from what I can tell).
It's a bit too early for 3rd party developers to be invited to the party I think.
I'm really impressed by the video, it looks like there are a lot of cool ideas and the tablet form factor really brings the homescreen widgets that android has to life.
That being said, I find the prospect of this not ending up on Android phones disappointing. Android 2.2 is fantastic to use but definitely needs some love in terms of UI.
First, I had to watch an annoying commercial. Then, there was an ad overlay to the video that obscured part of the video. Goddamn that's annoying, so I didn't watch.
Guys, that promised future is coming!