People using android as an entry level computer

[FAST6191]

Helping out in running various types of support for different programs, devices and whatever I have seen this a few times lately and wondered if it is a general thing.

The title more or less says it but recently I have seen a lot of people, often teenagers and kids, have an android device as their sole computing platform. When queried "I am getting a laptop next year" is often a reply. I find the concept strange but I am probably not the person to ask here, not to mention people always want to give me their old junk laptops (rather nicely these are now in the core2 era, and most people I know that do such things barely use them and/or buy business class dell and lenovo) so me and mine tend not to be without options here.

Has anybody else met this?

 

[TemplarGR]

It is simple really: For most people, an Android device is more than enough for their needs.

What are the average user's needs from a computing device?

To surf the internet, watch videos, listen to music, play some games, read some ebooks/documents, communicate with friends, that short of thing...

What exactly an Android device can't do?

If you connect a physical keyboard and buy an advanced Office suite or Office 365/google docs, you can use it for office work too...

Granted, it is not suitable for heavy duty work or AAA gaming, but there are other devices for that. The average user is covered by an Android device.

An Android device is cheaper, lighter, easier to use. The software for it tends to be cheap too. What's not to like?

I believe this phenomenon will continue in the foreseeable future. PCs and Laptops are a thing of the past for the general consumer, only advanced users/ professionals will be using them from now on...

 

[FAST6191]

Oh yeah I meant to go a bit further into that, likewise I have met several people that have "gone ipad" and such. Such a thing is pretty inevitable too, a pity it had to happen in locked down devices though.

I was not really expecting it to happen for another few years though and for it to start happening in the sorts of people that want to use the software and hardware I end up supporting is an odd one.

 

[ResleyZ]

I always need a laptop for my education (IT and Networking), however I also bring my tablet with me, which has a cover with a built-in keyboard for taking quick notes. I do think that computers which are used at school and clerical jobs will be replaced by tablets with keyboard and mouse, since this is much cheaper, and you can take the tablet home, and easily continue working there.

 

[pwsincd]

I think if you multitask frequently then a pc is the obvious choice here... i would say that its 50/50 personally... with the usual browsing etc . but from a work point of view i could do all i need on an android , but its interface and multitasking abilities limit that massively.

From a family's point of view the Windows enviroment covers all our bases . Individually they all have tablets/ smart phones and cope very well if im working.

i guess you could say the android is perfect for the casual user . A kin to how they had those netbooks a few yrs back with a similar limited useage. i forget the OS used though prolly some linux based thing.

 

[Kippykip]

You can emulate Windows XP now on android, just need the most powerful phone ever though

 

[FAST6191]

I have seen emulation of old games on android and the likes of http://www.android-x86.org/ and the actual processor emulation for android on PCs (when most stuff is java it does not really matter but there are occasions where it is necessary) but I had not seen it come the other way, though frankly I have not looked.

ResleyZ so you predicting a shift back towards mainframe/thin client? Or is this a usability thing?
Networking though.... I reckon you do a great emulated network on a tablet actually.


On the other hand I was waiting around for a guy to come and do a floor plan the other day for someone, he wanders in with a tablet and it was proper professional grade software on it (granted I am not the best at roomplanning/floor plan stuff and it could well have been low needs or high skill bridging the gap).

 

[duffmmann]

After my laptop broke a couple of years ago, I turned to my android tablet. I was in no rush to full out replace the laptop, as the android took care of all my internet needs and most other computing needs. Whenever I would actually need to type something up, use professional software, or whatever, I'd ask my roommate if I could use his computer and he always let me. Now about a week ago, I bought a new computer and finally replaced my old laptop. Really though life without an actual laptop or computer was completely fine, I use a computer at work and had plenty of free time there too to do whatever computing needs I may have had. But really at home, the android tablet did take care of most my needs, I had access to all my music and videos, and I could look up whatever I needed on the internet. There were very few times I found myself wishing I had an actual laptop on computer in those two years. So honestly, I dunno, I don't think its a big deal, I find it very understandable in this day and age to use an android device for most casual users of computing.

 

[ResleyZ]

ResleyZ so you predicting a shift back towards mainframe/thin client? Or is this a usability thing?
Networking though.... I reckon you do a great emulated network on a tablet actually.

Most companies I worked with, and my school,are already using thin clients but with computers. Everything is stored on servers, so there is no real need for the computers.

The only thing that the tablets would need are a specific kind of application like Citrix XenApp or Splashtop to connect to the 'PC' or in this case, the servers.

 

[PityOnU]

Helping out in running various types of support for different programs, devices and whatever I have seen this a few times lately and wondered if it is a general thing.

The title more or less says it but recently I have seen a lot of people, often teenagers and kids, have an android device as their sole computing platform. When queried "I am getting a laptop next year" is often a reply. I find the concept strange but I am probably not the person to ask here, not to mention people always want to give me their old junk laptops (rather nicely these are now in the core2 era, and most people I know that do such things barely use them and/or buy business class dell and lenovo) so me and mine tend not to be without options here.

Has anybody else met this?

A few years ago, I would have laughed at this proposition.

But now, with all the features and really awesome software available for Android, it can indeed function as a full PC platform for most users. On my phone, for instance, I have Firefox, an Office equivalent, a torrenting client, an audio and video player, an email client, Skype, and YouTube. An they are all very stable and feature packed.

I think this year we're going to see Android PC's entering the market in earnest, and I for one welcome it.

Perhaps more interestingly, what do you guys think about this idea? It's a PC "core" that's the size of a smartphone that slots into different peripherals to make your PC the form factor you need at any given time. I think this is the future and shows a lot of promise.

 

[FAST6191]

Perhaps more interestingly, what do you guys think about this idea? It's a PC "core" that's the size of a smartphone that slots into different peripherals to make your PC the form factor you need at any given time. I think this is the future and shows a lot of promise.

Between online storage (read email it to yourself), USB drives and liveCDs/liveUSB I have done something like that for years. It is quite nice.

 

[DinohScene]

I personally will continue to prefer full blown laptops instead of Android.
I do however see the benefit of having that to take quick notes and do quick things with/communication etc.