After reading the presentation listed in the blog topic, please comment with your thoughts on the impact this new technology may have on society. Share your thoughts on such things as benefits or challenges perceived, note how the power structure in society might change, discuss ways this technology might be abused, or discuss who will win and lose as a result of this technology.
Full-disclosure...um, I LOVE the iPad! And, I thought I wouldn't, because as you mentioned, I still use and need my laptop and smart phone.
However, I'd like to offer a thought in response to your mentioning that some felt 1) as if the tablets didn't take off because they were too early and expensive, and 2) other tablets will take over the iPad market. A factor that counters those beliefs is, the "consumer hold" that iTunes and open source (OSX) apps have on the mobile generation (13-55 yr-olds). I think (most humbly) that with first the iPod, the iTouch, then the iPhone, and now the iPad we have become intertwined with iTunes in a way that has us "attached at the hip." The more we use these technologies, the more look for apps, the more we love apps, the more we want apps, and the more we go to the easiest place to get them - iTunes(!!!), and right on the very same technology that uses it via the very same consumers that love them too. It's a circle without a break.
I'd like to hear from a Blackberry and non-iTunes user? Do you have as much productivity fun with your smart phone? Seriously. I want to know if there is another smart phone and app interface that rivals. I really do (excitedly) say "I have an app for that!"
Thanks for the article on tablets Stefanus! I appreciate the links to all the tablet information within your article. I got engrossed in the exploration to see what was new. I came across the Fujitsu Lifebook T900 that I think is actually better than the desktop I'm using at home. Hopefully all the competition will bring the price down to a level more of us can afford.
Stefanus, Thanks for the wealth of information. I have not indulged in or kept up with this technology so a lot of this information is new to me. In the short term, I think the whole Mac vs. PC battle looks like it will play out again in the Ipad vs. Android battle. I think this is good for us as consumers as the companies will have to constantly adjust until they find the perfect tablets for consumers. I plan on waiting a couple years until they work out the tweaks, then I will buy one (I know I'm behind the curve :)) In the long run, I think you have shared with us the technology that will eventually be our all-in-one device that rolls laptops, music and video players, and phones all into one mobile device.
I have dreams about iPads in the classroom - I think the apps and overall user potentials are amazing. So, I believe that if Xoom or some other tablet pc can offer educators better value (along with some useful/promising apps)there will be a great opportunity for them to maybe not overtake... but certainly gain on iPad in the marketplace. Thanks for sharing this with us.
An interesting chronology of tablet evolution. I must have been under a technology rock until the last 3-5 years. I'm still very much on the fence regarding the tablets (all of them). I see them as a bridge between laptops and smartphones. If they are not designed to replace laptops (as MicroSoft discovered), then what is their true purpose; a smartphone with a screen display that us old-timers can actually see? I see the value of tablets really coming into play inside the classroom. The ability to replace those heavy and terribly expensive textbooks with one tablet per student is so inviting to me. The compact mobility and updatability (I think I just made up a new word) to content gives it a decided edge for me. There is also the potential for assignments to be interactively exchanged (student-student and student-teacher).
Full-disclosure...um, I LOVE the iPad! And, I thought I wouldn't, because as you mentioned, I still use and need my laptop and smart phone.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'd like to offer a thought in response to your mentioning that some felt 1) as if the tablets didn't take off because they were too early and expensive, and 2) other tablets will take over the iPad market. A factor that counters those beliefs is, the "consumer hold" that iTunes and open source (OSX) apps have on the mobile generation (13-55 yr-olds). I think (most humbly) that with first the iPod, the iTouch, then the iPhone, and now the iPad we have become intertwined with iTunes in a way that has us "attached at the hip." The more we use these technologies, the more look for apps, the more we love apps, the more we want apps, and the more we go to the easiest place to get them - iTunes(!!!), and right on the very same technology that uses it via the very same consumers that love them too. It's a circle without a break.
I'd like to hear from a Blackberry and non-iTunes user? Do you have as much productivity fun with your smart phone? Seriously. I want to know if there is another smart phone and app interface that rivals. I really do (excitedly) say "I have an app for that!"
Thanks for the article on tablets Stefanus! I appreciate the links to all the tablet information within your article. I got engrossed in the exploration to see what was new. I came across the Fujitsu Lifebook T900 that I think is actually better than the desktop I'm using at home. Hopefully all the competition will bring the price down to a level more of us can afford.
ReplyDeleteStefanus,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wealth of information. I have not indulged in or kept up with this technology so a lot of this information is new to me. In the short term, I think the whole Mac vs. PC battle looks like it will play out again in the Ipad vs. Android battle. I think this is good for us as consumers as the companies will have to constantly adjust until they find the perfect tablets for consumers. I plan on waiting a couple years until they work out the tweaks, then I will buy one (I know I'm behind the curve :)) In the long run, I think you have shared with us the technology that will eventually be our all-in-one device that rolls laptops, music and video players, and phones all into one mobile device.
I'm totally intrigued by the Xoom, but I share René's questions about apps and that keeps me from moving on this (well, that and the money).
ReplyDeleteI have dreams about iPads in the classroom - I think the apps and overall user potentials are amazing. So, I believe that if Xoom or some other tablet pc can offer educators better value (along with some useful/promising apps)there will be a great opportunity for them to maybe not overtake... but certainly gain on iPad in the marketplace. Thanks for sharing this with us.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting chronology of tablet evolution. I must have been under a technology rock until the last 3-5 years. I'm still very much on the fence regarding the tablets (all of them). I see them as a bridge between laptops and smartphones. If they are not designed to replace laptops (as MicroSoft discovered), then what is their true purpose; a smartphone with a screen display that us old-timers can actually see?
ReplyDeleteI see the value of tablets really coming into play inside the classroom. The ability to replace those heavy and terribly expensive textbooks with one tablet per student is so inviting to me. The compact mobility and updatability (I think I just made up a new word) to content gives it a decided edge for me. There is also the potential for assignments to be interactively exchanged (student-student and student-teacher).