I’ve heard a yearning for a tablet for a long time.  I made a (misguided) foray into the world of pen computers, scoring a used device on eBay some number of years ago.  Suffice it to say that that particular puppy hasn’t seen the light of day in some time.

The iPad is now all the rage.  And while I understand the allure of the device, and the particular niche it fulfills, the more I look at the iPad for my intended purpose the more I’m realizing that there are way too many shortcomings to even consider dropping $600+ on the thing.  And unfortunately, the same goes for the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the current champ in the non-Apple tablet world.

Here’s the thing.  I’m not looking for a device to carry around with me.  That’s what a smartphone is for.  Which isn’t to say that I wouldn’t want to travel with the tablet; rather, it would tend to “live” mostly at home.  So I’m not particularly adverse to the 10″ form factor; weight may be an issue, but if we’re talking solely about “portability” then there’s nothing wrong with 10″.

Now, I decided a long time ago that every portable device deserves a wireless connection.  I didn’t spend long with my Compaq iPAQ 3630 before an expansion sleeve and PCMCIA WiFi card were ordered.  Fortunately, any modern computing device worth its silicon has a myriad of wireless connectivity options – one of which is “3G”.  The carriers love to push this, as more 3G-toting users means more revenue.  But again, given that my intended use for a tablet is for home use, I’m pretty sure I can get by with WiFi – and tether to my smartphone whenever truly mobile connectivity is needed.

So what of these shortcomings?  I’m getting to that.  And in order to get to that, I have to talk about the fact that these devices are actually quite capable little devices.  The Tab, in particular, feels very powerful to me.  It screams “computer” much more than the iPad, and that’s not a bad thing.  It does its job so well, in fact, that I’m chomping at the bit to cram an Android smartphone into a pant pocket.  As a mobile platform, I must say that Android is getting it done quite nicely.

The iPad, on the other hand, still comes off as a large toy.  I just can’t shake the feeling.  Sure, you can run cool apps, but I’m not looking to run cool apps at home.  My home needs for a tablet are quite modest – surf the web, control my home automation systems, check email.  It really doesn’t have to get more complex than that.

And in that vein, the Tab also falls short.  Every time I pick up a Tab I feel like I should be putting it in my pocket and carrying it around with me for the entire day.  This is not a feeling I want to get from a device that’s supposed to live on the living room table.  I think that Samsung is intending the tab to be a mobile, portable device – but that’s not the niche that I want it to fill.

Then there are more tangible shortcomings – like the complete and utter lack of multi-user support.  Some of the coolest things you can do with the iPad and Tab come from using the native apps, which are the most pure reflections of what the manufacturer intended you to use the device for.  And some apps, like email, are very personal in nature – do I want some house guest to pick up my tablet and start reading my email?

And so… I’m conflicted.  On a few fronts.  I don’t like Apple’s walled garden, but I think I do like the 10″ form factor.  I like Android’s utility, but I don’t want/need my tablet to be that powerful.  So what am I saying, really?

One, is that none of the tablets on the market now are going to get the job done for me.  I mean, I’d take either one if I won it (though I’d probably sell the iPad), but there’s no way I’m paying $600+.

Two, is that I know what I need:

• multi-touch interface
• capacitive touchscreen
• tabbed browser with Flash support

I think I’d like a capable built-in media player, but I do not want to store media on the device.  Not even pictures.  Any media should be streamed over the network  – perhaps using UPnP or DLNA.  And while I’m not adverse to accessing a marketplace and running other native/3rd-party apps, I think that this capability must go hand-in-hand with the some sort of fast-user-switching ala Windows XP Home.

Until these criteria are met, I may find myself sitting on the sidelines of the tablet game.

[update 2011/08/30]

Interesting article from Engadget, questioning the tablet’s position as a productivity device and the real necessity for a “third device”.  At this point I really wish I had scored a $99 TouchPad – not quite “taking one if I won it” that I mentioned above, but close enough.  Oh well, so it goes.  I figured I could move run an Android port on it as soon as that technical feat was accomplished.  Surely it wouldn’t be long, right?  But something strange happened when I played with a TouchPad in-store for 30 minutes or so, followed by a couple of Honeycomb tablets – I was far more impressed with WebOS than Honeycomb.  In fact, Honeycomb felt like the cross between a media device and a mobile computer that I alluded to earlier in this post, to the point that the promised functionality belied the limitations of the device (reported so well in that Engadget article).  I suppose that experience reaffirmed an earlier tweet I had made that WebOS on a tablet would be killer.  It’s unfortunate that software support will be lacking though; I did note some issues with the native web browser, and it’s very questionable how timely updates would come out (if at all) to address such issues.  If a port of Honeycomb or even Gingerbread ever surfaced for TouchPad, then certainly updates would be frequent – but again, Honeycomb felt like an entirely different beast, with WebOS wearing the tablet pants much better than Honeycomb.

So it seems that not much has changed.  My requirements still remain the same – multitouch with tabbed browsing and Flash support.  If anything, I’m now more convinced of the things that I don’t want – ie, a tablet with a complex interface.  Keep It Simple Stupid.

Even the multi-user conundrum has a workable solution on WebOS.  Firstly, I imagine that the only player who will solve this problem outright is Microsoft with Windows 8.  And I already know that such a tablet will be insanely expensive and too powerful for the light duty I’d want it to perform.  Secondly, a tablet’s increased real-estate means that visiting webpages is a very practical alternative to running the dedicated app (think Facebook, Gmail, etc).  Thirdly, I’m not of the mind that – even at $99 – it makes sense for a household to have multiple tablets for the sole purpose of casual usage; quite simply, it’s an unnecessary indulgence and a real distraction.

So how is the conundrum solved?  Whether through fast-user switching (ala Windows) or actively logging in/out, the fact is that a multi-user system requires a user to reauthenticate and “unlock” the device.  Now, if you’re working on a tablet that’s little more than a casual media consumption device, I can imagine that it’s enough to do this un/lock dance on a per-“app” basis.  And the ability to login and logout is something that every website application presents as a matter of course, but no native tablet app presents as a matter of course.  Many people are probably used to doing so within their web browsers.  So right there, the “requirement” to run the web version of your “productivity” apps – and crucially, the ability to do so on a generously-sized screen – means that you don’t have to worry about somebody sticking their nose into your private data.

But here’s where WebOS shines.  If I’ve got a video open on the family tablet, or a series of webpages – neither of which are “private” – then somebody else can pick up the tablet, stack my open apps, and open their own apps and webpages.  And so you end up with a shared user space, where each user’s resources are sitting in their own stack.  When I want to use the tablet and restore the state of my “apps”, I stack all other apps and unstack mine.  And finally, since we’re talking about a simple tablet here, I can imagine that each stack would only be a handful of cards deep – ie, very manageable for both user and system.  I certainly wouldn’t have 10-15 apps open simultaneously like I tend to do on a desktop computer.

I’ll say it – it’s unfortunate that TouchPad went from overpriced at $500 to unsupported at $100.  A happy medium may very well have been $150-200.  Here’s to hoping that WebOs lives on and that somebody picks up the hardware mantle.  Certainly everybody has seen that there’s demand for a non-iPad tablet at a lower price point?  It doesn’t have to compete with iPad; rather it just needs to fill the niche that the $99 fire-sale flushed out.

[update 2012/01/27]

Well well well…

That may change things.