iPads (Pro or otherwise) as Computer Replacements
I read an exchange on Twitter earlier involving two people bickering about whether or not iPads can replace computers. Apparently, according the article which triggered the debate, the one side was adamant that they can't be. And the Twitter follower obviously adamant that they could be.
Here is my stance; they cannot be.
Let me clarify. Absolutely, some people, most of the time, can get by with iPad or Android tablet. The problems come when you hit those rare scenarios where they can't. Or, when you hit cases where you can, but subjecting yourself to it is idiotic when a desktop or a laptop solve all of your problems much more efficiently.
The moron arguing against? A lawyer. I'd wager he either has a Mac or a PC on his desk as well and it either gets more than 0% utilization OR his paralegals and other assistants need to use such a device to get work done, on his behalf, on occasion.
How can I make such a bold assumption? 2 simple problems law offices deal with all of the time. Scanning and storage.
Scanning a document? You're not going to use an iPad Pro for that. Sure, apps exist, and most times they can produce a reasonable facsimile. But, when it comes to legal documents you can bet they are using a professional scanner and that bad boy likely isn't talking to a tablet.
And storage? Those iPads aren't exactly packing massive terabytes of storage. And you ain't backing that shit up to iCloud. These are confidential, legal documents. If you're putting these in Apple's cloud, you're VERY stupid. More than likely, you sync the documents to a computer, and from there store them both locally and offsite with a storage company whose primary objective is securing your data. And, more than likely that relies on... NOT A F***ING IPAD!
You probably CAN find ways around virtually every thing an iPad is lacking. But, it generally requires the purchase of additional services or hardware which a PC user wouldn't need. And, if that is the case, then it isn't the iPad alone which is eliminating the need for the PC on its own.
You might as well argue that you don't need a PC at all. Law was practiced long before PCs existed. You'll go through a lot more paper and ink. You'll need to hire people to produce duplicates of documents. You'll spend tons in storage. But, hey! I can work as a lawyer without a PC! Right? Sure you can, but it isn't practical.
And, even if we go to the mundane end of the spectrum. Let's say your job only requires you to surf the web. Would you want to spend 8 hours a day looking at an iPad Pro on a desk? Or a full sized PC monitor? Sure, you CAN surf the web for 8 hours a day on an iPad Pro. Not many people have a job where that is the sole requirement though.
So, let's say you need to write emails and surf the web. Yep, you can still do that on an iPad Pro. But ONCE AGAIN... would you actually DESIRE this? The keyboard is tiny, and the screen is tiny. The apps were NOT built with this usage in mind. So, while they certainly can, you won't be productive. And the device costs more than one on which you WOULD be productive.
Now that I've mentioned cost of the device. I'll also point out, iPads themselves aren't physically built for work. Those screens aren't very durable. They are meant to be attractive consumer devices. Not robust corporate work horses.
I mean, if you don't care about screen and keyboard size... why are we even bothering talking about the iPad or iPad Pro. Why not sit there and argue that you can work on your iPhone? It has all of the same apps. Unless you need the Apple Pencil, there is literally nothing you can physically do on your iPad Pro which you can't do on an iPhone. And yet... somehow, we all seem to accept that an iPhone IS NOT replacement for a computer. An iPad of any denomination is literally just a big iPhone!
Please understand, I'm not painting with overly broad strokes here. I fully understand that different people's jobs have different demands. And I fully understand that there exist a wide range of jobs which can, technically, be achieved on a tablet. The ability to perform some light work tasks on a device does NOT merit it the moniker of "PC Replacement" for productivity.
For a device to be proper productivity device it has to be able to handle most work scenarios and handle them well. Most work is performed at a desk (Executives [and Lawyers] who are often on the go represent a minority of the workforce). Most tasks on a screen are more productive with larger displays. Typing is generally more accurate and faster on full sized keyboards. Many lines of work benefit from TRUE multi-tasking (the ability to have as many applications open and visible and working simultaneously as needed). Most corporate environments demand properly domain joined machines so that they can be properly monitored and administered. Most work places have minimal budgets for hardware and even smaller budgets for maintenance.
This is not an exhaustive list, but you'll find, in most cases, if you're being honest with yourself that a traditional computer will win out in most work environments. And by no small margin.
With tablets running such a huge deficit, simply being able to perform most, or even all of the tasks isn't enough. That hit to your productivity or the added costs you need to incur to undo those losses defeat the argument. These are NOT PC replacements. They are supplemental devices in all but a few rare cases.
In a home? Sure. I use my phone for virtually everything. If I had a decent tablet with decent specs I'd probably never need to crack open my laptop. Except (ignoring things specific to me as a developer)... when I want to write a resume. I COULD write a resume on a phone or tablet. It would SUCK. I would need to buy a new printer, but I could print it off even. When I want to browse a major retailers web site, blog, or compose any reasonable length email... I still turn to a PC. It may be less than 1% of the time. But the only reason I wouldn't use those for such tasks, is if I was dumb enough to assume I only needed a tablet.
The proof is in the pudding. No one in their right minds would use a tablet for productivity purposes unless they didn't have a laptop or desktop. Even if 90% or even 99% of the time they didn't use it.
A true PC replacement would be a device you would use for the same tasks EVEN if you had one readily accessible.
Here is my stance; they cannot be.
Let me clarify. Absolutely, some people, most of the time, can get by with iPad or Android tablet. The problems come when you hit those rare scenarios where they can't. Or, when you hit cases where you can, but subjecting yourself to it is idiotic when a desktop or a laptop solve all of your problems much more efficiently.
The moron arguing against? A lawyer. I'd wager he either has a Mac or a PC on his desk as well and it either gets more than 0% utilization OR his paralegals and other assistants need to use such a device to get work done, on his behalf, on occasion.
How can I make such a bold assumption? 2 simple problems law offices deal with all of the time. Scanning and storage.
Scanning a document? You're not going to use an iPad Pro for that. Sure, apps exist, and most times they can produce a reasonable facsimile. But, when it comes to legal documents you can bet they are using a professional scanner and that bad boy likely isn't talking to a tablet.
And storage? Those iPads aren't exactly packing massive terabytes of storage. And you ain't backing that shit up to iCloud. These are confidential, legal documents. If you're putting these in Apple's cloud, you're VERY stupid. More than likely, you sync the documents to a computer, and from there store them both locally and offsite with a storage company whose primary objective is securing your data. And, more than likely that relies on... NOT A F***ING IPAD!
You probably CAN find ways around virtually every thing an iPad is lacking. But, it generally requires the purchase of additional services or hardware which a PC user wouldn't need. And, if that is the case, then it isn't the iPad alone which is eliminating the need for the PC on its own.
You might as well argue that you don't need a PC at all. Law was practiced long before PCs existed. You'll go through a lot more paper and ink. You'll need to hire people to produce duplicates of documents. You'll spend tons in storage. But, hey! I can work as a lawyer without a PC! Right? Sure you can, but it isn't practical.
And, even if we go to the mundane end of the spectrum. Let's say your job only requires you to surf the web. Would you want to spend 8 hours a day looking at an iPad Pro on a desk? Or a full sized PC monitor? Sure, you CAN surf the web for 8 hours a day on an iPad Pro. Not many people have a job where that is the sole requirement though.
So, let's say you need to write emails and surf the web. Yep, you can still do that on an iPad Pro. But ONCE AGAIN... would you actually DESIRE this? The keyboard is tiny, and the screen is tiny. The apps were NOT built with this usage in mind. So, while they certainly can, you won't be productive. And the device costs more than one on which you WOULD be productive.
Now that I've mentioned cost of the device. I'll also point out, iPads themselves aren't physically built for work. Those screens aren't very durable. They are meant to be attractive consumer devices. Not robust corporate work horses.
I mean, if you don't care about screen and keyboard size... why are we even bothering talking about the iPad or iPad Pro. Why not sit there and argue that you can work on your iPhone? It has all of the same apps. Unless you need the Apple Pencil, there is literally nothing you can physically do on your iPad Pro which you can't do on an iPhone. And yet... somehow, we all seem to accept that an iPhone IS NOT replacement for a computer. An iPad of any denomination is literally just a big iPhone!
Please understand, I'm not painting with overly broad strokes here. I fully understand that different people's jobs have different demands. And I fully understand that there exist a wide range of jobs which can, technically, be achieved on a tablet. The ability to perform some light work tasks on a device does NOT merit it the moniker of "PC Replacement" for productivity.
For a device to be proper productivity device it has to be able to handle most work scenarios and handle them well. Most work is performed at a desk (Executives [and Lawyers] who are often on the go represent a minority of the workforce). Most tasks on a screen are more productive with larger displays. Typing is generally more accurate and faster on full sized keyboards. Many lines of work benefit from TRUE multi-tasking (the ability to have as many applications open and visible and working simultaneously as needed). Most corporate environments demand properly domain joined machines so that they can be properly monitored and administered. Most work places have minimal budgets for hardware and even smaller budgets for maintenance.
This is not an exhaustive list, but you'll find, in most cases, if you're being honest with yourself that a traditional computer will win out in most work environments. And by no small margin.
With tablets running such a huge deficit, simply being able to perform most, or even all of the tasks isn't enough. That hit to your productivity or the added costs you need to incur to undo those losses defeat the argument. These are NOT PC replacements. They are supplemental devices in all but a few rare cases.
In a home? Sure. I use my phone for virtually everything. If I had a decent tablet with decent specs I'd probably never need to crack open my laptop. Except (ignoring things specific to me as a developer)... when I want to write a resume. I COULD write a resume on a phone or tablet. It would SUCK. I would need to buy a new printer, but I could print it off even. When I want to browse a major retailers web site, blog, or compose any reasonable length email... I still turn to a PC. It may be less than 1% of the time. But the only reason I wouldn't use those for such tasks, is if I was dumb enough to assume I only needed a tablet.
The proof is in the pudding. No one in their right minds would use a tablet for productivity purposes unless they didn't have a laptop or desktop. Even if 90% or even 99% of the time they didn't use it.
A true PC replacement would be a device you would use for the same tasks EVEN if you had one readily accessible.
Comments
Post a Comment