Why are tablets dying/PCs still alive?

[RadiatingLight]

1 minute ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Phoenix wasn't great for gaming pre-7.1 but not it's using Nougat's native freeform windows support so it works a lot better.

 

Couple con sides to it over Remix:

 

1) Installing the Play store is a bit of a pain. There's no automated tool like with Remix, so you need to root it, make some modifications, and then stick Play store in. Theres a guide on XDA that walks you through step by step.

 

2) it's Chinese by default so some of the default apps look a bit wonky, and you need to make sure you select English at install unless you can read Chinese.

 

3) Because it's Chinese no CTS/Safetynet support, so no Google Pay/Banking apps, and games that check Safetynet will refuse to load.

Thanks man!

will definitely try phoenix.

[Drak3]

27 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Pheonix is a cheap chinese clone of RemixOS but while Jide (the remix team) seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet as of late, Pheonix just released an alpha build based on Android 7.1

Jide didn't dissapear, their 'rom' is Android x86 with a multitasking capable launcher and a few other things. Problem with that, Android 7 came out before Android x86 even got a full release build for 5.0 (best they had were 2 release candidates, and it might still be that way. Haven't checked in a few months).

[DnFx91]

47 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

I personally use a tablet *all the time* but I'm an oddity among the people I know.

 

The issue with tablets is that on the one hand you have iPads and Android tablets which people look at and see "Big Phones™". "Why do I need that when it does *exactly* the same thing my iPhone or Galaxy do?". They're more powerful than a phone in some cases (Pixel C) but not meaningfully so, and still can't do a lot of the multitasking that a traditional PC can.

 

Then on the other hand you have Windows tablets. Which in theory could do all the things your laptop would, but are absolute shit at it. Sorry for the language but there's no other way to word it. Systems with 1-2GB of RAM and processors that struggle with 64bit code trying to run a full fledged desktop OS.

 

That's where laptops are a nice middle ground. They're more portable than a desktop but far more powerful than your phone. They can power much richer experiences and have specs to match.

 

That's why tablets are fading away in favor of Windows and ChromeOS convertibles. You can have all the benefits of a laptop and a tablet with very few of the downsides. Windows devices have the web and the huge catalogue of Windows apps, and Chromebook devices have the web and the huge catalogue of Android apps.

totally agree with exception of the surface pro's

 

they are the only good tablet in existence, when i was a kid and tablets were first announced, i imagined something pretty much like the surface pro, running windows with USB ports and video outs and shit. You can imagine how dissapointed i was when i was presented with a first gen ipad

 

[Sniperfox47]

2 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Jide didn't dissapear, their 'rom' is Android x86 with a multitasking capable launcher and a few other things. Problem with that, Android 7 came out before Android x86 even got a full release build for 5.0 (best they had were 2 release candidates, and it might still be that way. Haven't checked in a few months).

Yeah Pheonix is based on Android x86 too. The thing is that after Jide's latest kickstarter they kinda went *poof*. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're gone for good, but they certainly haven't kept in touch very much with their community. I mean their latest update was what? 5 months ago. No security patches or anything since then.

 

The issue is Android x86 development has basically slowed to a snails pace because of lack of developers.

 

The Pheonix team on the other hand pushes regular updates on work they're doing, even though the Android x86 team isn't getting anywhere. They've ported pretty much all the Ax86 stuff over to 7.1 and it's actually pretty stable for an early Alpha showcase.

4 minutes ago, DnFx91 said:

totally agree with exception of the surface pro's

 

they are the only good tablet in existence, when i was a kid and tablets were first announced, i imagined something pretty much like the surface pro, running windows with USB ports and video outs and shit. You can imagine how dissapointed i was when i was presented with a first gen ipad

 

Yeah, that's why I've always seen the surface pros (and their clones from HP, Lenovo, and Asus) as convertibles. There's just such a huge gap between them and any of the cheaper tablets.

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Yeah Pheonix is based on Android x86 too. The thing is that after Jide's latest kickstarter they kinda went *poof*. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're gone for good, but they certainly haven't kept in touch very much with their community. I mean their latest update was what? 5 months ago. No security patches or anything since then.

 

The issue is Android x86 development has basically slowed to a snails pace because of lack of developers.

 

The Pheonix team on the other hand pushes regular updates on work they're doing, even though the Android x86 team isn't getting anywhere. They've ported pretty much all the Ax86 stuff over to 7.1 and it's actually pretty stable for an early Alpha showcase.

Then I would put money in Jide attempting to pick up x86's slack and their busy testing their own x86 6.0/7.0 bases.

It's also possibly that Phoenix is tied to Google's Android more closely, and that's why Phoenix is getting more updates, even if illegitimately. X86 and Remix exist heavily in the AOSP space, and Jide has been maintaining a dependance on x86's full releases and release candidates, prior to x86 seemingly falling off of the Earth.

[TVwazhere]

1 hour ago, MEC-777 said:

Primarily use a PC at work (AutoCAD), but also use a tablet when on site visits. The tablet is very limited though with what it can do. 

I cant imagine Autocad on a tablet. Nevermind Inventor, Maya or any 3D work space. 

[Sniperfox47]

1 minute ago, Drak3 said:

Then I would put money in Jide attempting to pick up x86's slack and their busy testing their own x86 6.0/7.0 bases.

It's also possibly that Phoenix is tied to Google's Android more closely, and that's why Phoenix is getting more updates, even if illegitimately. X86 and Remix exist heavily in the AOSP space, and Jide has been maintaining a dependance on x86's full releases and release candidates, prior to x86 seemingly falling off of the Earth.

The thing is Jide had really close ties with Google and Android x86 had development support from a lot of Google devs, but now with Google trying to push Chromebooks into that space, I imagine they're contributing a lot less to these efforts.

 

I'd love to see a puchasable lisence in the future of stock ChromeOS+Android for PC though. That would be amazing. Instead of having to hack something together with ChromiumOS and an Android VM.

 

[Mothballs]

My vote is invalid as both are needed in my workflow. However, as my Tablet is a Surface Pro 2, It may have some impact.

Reguardless, most Smartphones are taking over the Tablet market, with larger, better screens and all the capability of a tablet in a smaller form. 

Meanwhile, desktops and laptops offer more powerful solutions to productivity, so they are more of a mainstay. And buying a tablet and tethering a keyboard to it for document processing doesn't make all that much sense in the long run; you end up with about the same bulk as a laptop, but with less features.

Tablets are an intermediary between smartphones and laptops, and they still have uses, but as a whole they end up being akin bulky, large phones, or slim, ultra cut down laptops.

Basically, Tablets are getting pinched on both sides by the advent of smaller, more powerful laptops and bigger, more powerful Smartphones.

[minibois]

Tablet are somewhat of an 'extra thing'. Most customers will still want a laptop and they also have a smartphone. With the speed of laptops starting up (thanks SSD's)and the bigger screens of phones: tablet are not very useful.

[Tieox]

Up to now only used my iPad 3 in regard to tablets, tempted to grab a Surface 3 second-hand and have a bash.

[dizmo]

For work, 100% laptop/PC. The tablet just falls short in a lot of areas, and honestly a phone with a decent sized screen does me just fine when it comes to a large portion of what I need to get done. Plus I can use it on the move. I'm not going to haul a tablet around.

I use my tablet to watch YouTube in bed and if I feel I'll need an extended sitting in the loo

I also used it for travel.

Honestly it's probably one of the purchases I'm less thrilled about.

[daniielrp]

For work, I use my laptop hooked up to a monitor, cus I have actual work to do.

 

At home, I always use my iPad, its just much easier to walk around with, move around, prop up anywhere and do general home stuff - plus it only needs charging a couple times a week, is always fast.

 

I've wanted a tablet to replace laptops for years, ever since I had some Fujitsu thing running windows 2000, to convertible HPs, to the Surface RT and Pro 2/3. But I've never been able to get the most of them. The surface pro 3 came close to being a useful tablet to get work done, but piss-poor software support (Windows Store is a joke, and basically no major 3rd party apps make use of the touchscreen) and Microsoft's odd decisions with their OS made me get rid of them for a laptop and iPad.

 

At this point, I feel hybrids just can't work. I use a laptop to do laptop things, and an iPad to do iPad things, and they're both great.

[djneo]

i Like my tablet, but i think the sales are less steller cause tablets don't get replaced as fast as phone's

 

i have had 3 phone's in the time i had my iPad, and its still running decent for what i do on it, (youtube, facebook, web browsing)

[DnFx91]

1 hour ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Yeah Pheonix is based on Android x86 too. The thing is that after Jide's latest kickstarter they kinda went *poof*. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're gone for good, but they certainly haven't kept in touch very much with their community. I mean their latest update was what? 5 months ago. No security patches or anything since then.

 

The issue is Android x86 development has basically slowed to a snails pace because of lack of developers.

 

The Pheonix team on the other hand pushes regular updates on work they're doing, even though the Android x86 team isn't getting anywhere. They've ported pretty much all the Ax86 stuff over to 7.1 and it's actually pretty stable for an early Alpha showcase.

Yeah, that's why I've always seen the surface pros (and their clones from HP, Lenovo, and Asus) as convertibles. There's just such a huge gap between them and any of the cheaper tablets.

ok i guess it's a semantics thing, i accept that tablets have evolved into the convertible kind of area, but the surface still feels like a true original tablet device to me, they are crap in the docks, or if you try to use them like a desktop/laptop IMO.

[Sniperfox47]

8 minutes ago, DnFx91 said:

ok i guess it's a semantics thing, i accept that tablets have evolved into the convertible kind of area, but the surface still feels like a true original tablet device to me, they are crap in the docks, or if you try to use them like a desktop/laptop IMO.

That's absolutely fair. I'm not debating that they are tablets at all, I've just never truly thought if them that way.

 

It's absolutely semantics but the way I've always described them to others is a fairly powerful laptop crammed into a tablet form factor rather than something that evolved naturally as a low power tablet from the bottom up.

[MEC-777]

1 hour ago, TVwazhere said:

I cant imagine Autocad on a tablet. Nevermind Inventor, Maya or any 3D work space. 

There is an AutoCAD app for android that actually works pretty good. It's just cumbersome with only touch input and limited tools. We mainly used the tablets for data acquisition, emails, spreadsheets etc. while on-the-go.  

[SansVarnic]

Wen certain tech becomes the rage it becomes the hype. Yeah tablets were and still are just hype. PC's will never go to the wayside, tablets do have their place but will not replace pcs.

[crysilis]

5 hours ago, RadiatingLight said:

BUT ITS NOT BLUE

lmao ewwww who are you @deXxterlab97?

lmao jk i like blue too

[ARikozuM]

I traded in my Samsung tablet for a Lenovo Thinkpad 2 in 1. Get the performance of Windows and a fuller system with the comfort of a touchscreen tablet or laptop.

[BuckGup]

The only people I see use tablets are, very young kids, old people, and mentally disabled people

[TetraSky]

They are good source of entertainment if you have literally NOTHING else to use, like your phone that's already loaded with EVERYTHING you use or your computer that can literally do 10000x more than a tablet. Maybe if I traveled I'd care more about tablets, but as it is, in my home where I have all my other devices, tablets are useless other than making my nephew shut up when he's annoying.

[skywake]

5 hours ago, argyle said:

I don't think the tablet failed, but sales stopped growing like crazy.

This here is the reason. People look at growth curves and just assume that they'll keep going until the new thing replaces the old entirely. I remember having an argument with someone almost 10 years ago now about the future of mobile tech. They were arguing that eventually everything would be mobile and there'd be no need for xDSL/Fibre/Cable internet. I argued that a fixed connection will always be more economical and therefore people will continue to consume most of their data at home. 

 

At the time? The stats showed that in Australia about 11% of data was over some kind of wireless tech. Which included smartphones, mobile hotspots, satellite services and so on. That was up from almost nothing a few years before. It's easy to see why people could have assumed mobile would take over entirely. But today? It's about 7%. Eventually we got to the point where everyone had a mobile device and everyone who was ok with just mobile had already got rid of their fixed line connection. Then growth continued on as it had before.

 

It would have been very easy to have made the same conclusion about tablets vs laptops. Or mobile gaming vs dedicated handheld gaming devices. Or whatever the next thing to supposedly die is going to be. But eventually the new tech will reach a point where it can't grab any more people. And if the "old" tech still has some merit? The new tech will fail to replace it entirely. I mean, how are DVDs still around? 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, RadiatingLight said:

BUT ITS NOT BLUE

How would you know? 

[yathis]

I hate using a tablet

I try not to bury my head in my cell phone either.

I notice too many people doing that and its not good.

 

To be quite honest with you, when people are not looking up and they are walking. I do not move out of the way for them, never.

[themoose5]

Saying that tablets were going to completely replace laptops/PCs always seemed ambitious to me. The experience of using a tablet in the same way a laptop is used is pretty terrible. Mostly because tablets are made to be huge smart phones and their really successful use cases come from that area, not the laptop/PC area. I know you can attach Kb/M to the tablets to make them more into a traditional form factor but at that point you might as well just get a really thin laptop and be done with it. 

 

Tablets are great for "I want to sit on the couch or in bed and cruise the internet" but when it comes to getting real work done laptops and desktop PCs still are pretty much king. I don't think tablets are going to die off as a product but I just don't think, for the time being at least, that they're going to drastically change how people interact with computers.