iSad: Nobody wants to buy tablets anymore

[marmar]

(MarketWatch) There’s only one thing helping the tablet market right now—keyboards—and even that is not enough to stave off a decline in tablet sales as consumers grow increasingly uninterested in the devices.

Worldwide shipments of tablets fell another 15% during the first quarter as “overall disinterest” in the product category reached record highs, according to analysts at industry tracker IDC.

Apple Inc. AAPL, -1.15% sold the most tablets of any other company during the quarter, giving it a 26% market share. However, that is a decline from a 27% share last quarter as iPad sales plunged 18%, according to IDC. ............(more)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/isad-nobody-wants-to-buy-tablets-anymore-2016-04-29

[cannabis_flower]

2. I love my tablet too. I have a Lenovo Android tablet

[Major Nikon]

34. Big Chief tablets haven't changed in over 100 years

[Reter]

42. Unless it's really old

My iPad 2 is so slow.

[hobbit709]

3. My tablet is used primarliy as an ereader. I've got about 6000 books in pdf format on it.

Paid $100 bucks for a generic 10-inch tablet. Came with a case, stand and keyboard but I hardly ever use it for that.

[Glorfindel]

5. I have a Kindle Fire that I expected to love, as I'm a "constant reader"

But I hardly ever turn it on. I guess I'm just too old to give up a lifelong love of actual books. Plus, it does me good to waddle to the library once in a while.

[nruthie]

7. Me, too.

I still want to hold an actual book in my hand. I don't enjoy reading at all on my kindle , but I use it for everything else.

[Pakhet]

10. I would love to be able to read a real book again

Unfortunately, I need the adjustable font and screen enlarging capabilities of the tablet. But I love it and I love being able to carry more than a couple of books at a time.

[tularetom]

31. I can read it in bed with the light off

And not have to listen to my wife complaining that she can't sleep with the light on.

But maybe that's what happens when you've been married 53 years.

[Egnever]

33. 53 years!

Now that is love!

[tularetom]

35. Or at least tolerance

I'm pretty certain she doesn't visit here so I think I'm safe.😄

[mrmpa]

32. I have an tablet...........

I got it from Verizon for free, when I changed the name on my Fios account from my Dad's name to mine. My 86 year old mother is the user of it & it's to read.

Prior to getting the tablet, I would order large print editions of books, wait for an email that they were at the Library then go to the library, and then 3 weeks later return them. And I would repeat the cycle again. Though I didn't mind doing it for my mom, it especially in the winter was difficult.

I have a nook and I have about 400 books on it, none of which I paid for. I subscribe (no charge) to bookbub.com and every day I get an email showing deals, often there is 1 if not 2 books available at no charge.

I go to Barnes & Noble's site, put in a search for "free nook books" and then starting looking through those.

I originally bought the nook for mom, because she began to complain that books were heavy and she had difficulty holding them. But she didn't like it. But she has taken to the tablet like a duck takes to water.

[SheilaT]

38. While I understand why some people like, or prefer,

or even need an e reader (vision issues mostly), I am also one who prefers real books.

I really hate it when a book is released only in an electronic format. Sometime I'm going to work up the nerve to ask one of those authors why they are so willing to say Fuck You to those of us who prefer the real thing. And, I believe that real books still outsell the electronic versions, so publishing something only electronically is a real mistake.

If I were to go off on a very long space voyage, I'd consider an e reader. But even on a long ocean voyage, I can bring a fair number of my own books with me, the ships have libraries, and we may well dock in ports where I can get more books.

[Nedsdag]

16. Which is what my iPad mini is for: books only

Maybe an occasional photo, but that's it!

[Liberal_in_LA]

24. Mine is mostly for web surfing and reading books

[Logical]

28. 6000 books? Read one a day for 20 years? :-)

[hobbit709]

41. I can easily read 3 or 4 books a day.

[Logical]

43. Where did you get PDFs? Public released?

[hobbit709]

44. Found a program that will convert most ebook formats.

Stanza.

[Logical]

46. Thanks

[stopbush]

6. My iPad mini is just fine for surfing the web etc.

No features to add that aren't included in an OS upgrade. Why spend $ just to spend $?

[Archae]

8. My Mom has an iPad, I have a Wii U...

Obviously, my Mom's iPad is far more capable than my Wii U.

Face it, I spend much more time using my desktop and laptop.

Both are just far more useful.

[dembotoz]

9. bought a cheap one last year. found i really need a full keypad and a bigger screen( old guy)

so my laptop is by far my device of choice

i do not regret my tablet purchase but i am happy it was a cheapie

[Blue_In_AK]

11. I love mine.

Phones are too small, and my real computer is in my office in a dark corner of the house.

[jwirr]

12. My family bought tablets for all of my 11 great grandchildren

even the littlest ones.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

13. Anything that isn't a piece of shit is too expensive

And for the price of a tablet that isn't a piece of shit, there are many dandy laptop options.

[1939]

14. I know, Walter

about the economics of laptop vs pad, but the pad is easier to shlepp around and when I am bored (like waiting for my wife in a doctor's office, I can cruise my .pdf books with something easy to carry (I have a couple of pairs of Levis shorts where it fits in the cargo pocket).
YMMV.

[Egnever]

15. Depends what you are looking for

I prefer 7 inch tablets and I that size there are several different options that are great for under $200

[Igel]

37. And yet ...

that piece of shit would have been bleeding edge 5-6 years ago and still does what most people like.

It just isn't as good as others on the market.

A lot of schools in the area have "piece of shit" computers, according to some of the students. Yet they work fine for what they're to be used for--in fact, better than fine--as long as the kids don't corrupt the OS with proxies and such. They don't work streaming a lot of movies (the kids confuse bandwidth access and the device in front of them) or with a lot of new games (which the end-user agreement they signed says are no-nos).


In other words, it's often a case of envy and conspicuous consumption instead of evaluating a device's adequacy for its uses.

[shanti]

17. i'm not ready to give my mini up anytime soon.

sooooo much better than having to lug around a fullsize laptop when traveling.

[bigwillq]

18. I love my iPad

Using it right now. I use it more than my laptop.

[NightWatcher]

19. Technology's biggest problem is we don't need one every year

We've got a smartphone that's a year and a half old, some of us who wanted a tablet got a tablet a year or two ago, and the rare person who wanted an Apple Watch isn't going to buy another one this year.

The problem with tech is we don't need whatever it is every time a new one comes out.

[AZ Progressive]

20. Computer companies have gotten ridiculously rich on the need for upgrading

Apple had been doing what PC companies used to do so well, requiring an (or creating the desire to) upgrade at least every two years. You can't keep on doing that forever.

This was to be predicted especially with the rise of Phablets.

[edhopper]

21. Phones are big enough

to do what most people would use a tablet for.

[PowerToThePeople]

22. I may buy a new one for my son at some point

He dropped his and cracked it.

But, I'll let him suffer with it cracked for a while. Maybe he will treat his next one with more care.

[lindysalsagal]

23. Love mine for surfing on the sofa. Don't have to sit at the laptop.

Great for travelling, and waiting rooms.

They probably last longer because they have few moving parts, and Android is so much easier than Windows.

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. Exactly. Great for starbucks. Fits right in the purse

[basselope]

26. I got a surface and love it.

I don't think they qualify that is a tablet

[stone space]

27. I have a surface pro II.

It's small, but for the most part, I can do what I need to do on it, and battery life is pretty good with a keyboard that acts as a second battery.

[whistler162]

30. Just picked up a refurb Surface Pro II

and a keyboard /battery combo. So far it is nice.

[Logical]

29. Love my iPad for books, magazines, streaming music and videos. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. I use my iPad for two purposes

1. I prop it up with its slotted keyboard and use it to read during meals

2. It is loaded with books, games, and TV shows, and it's great for entertainment during plane flights.

However, I have always carried books in my purse for reading at odd times, and now I have a Kindle, which is much less bulky.

[ScreamingMeemie]

40. I have a Kindle Fire (gift from a company I work with).

Great for books, games and DU. Need my laptop for my job.

[footinmouth]

45. No need for a new one

I still love my iPad 3 that I got a few years ago. Between that and my Kindle PaperWhite, I am all set.