Tell us what you think about tablets

Development What's Next?
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So far we have already received over a thousand in-depth replies to our crowd development survey. Thank you all for your brilliant responses! We can’t wait to share the results with you, but in the meantime we would like to ask additional questions about some of the product categories to better understand what makes them special to you.

We’ll be tackling these in a random order, so don’t be too disheartened if your category isn’t picked first: more of these topics will be popping up over time. The next product we want to know about: tablets.

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THE ULTIMATE TABLET

We want to better understand what your vision is of the perfect tablet, and what can we do to make it a reality. We haven’t forgotten about the in-depth ideas that have already been shared in our What’s Next? category, but here are some high-level topics to get a fresh discussion going. Product categories selected for development will be discussed in substantially more depth!

So here are our questions for fans of good tablets:

  • Describe yourself as a user. Where do you use your tablet, and for what?
  • What tablet are you using now? What made you choose this one?
  • What kind of things do you feel a tablet is most suited for?
  • Would you like to use a tablet as your main PC (productivity device) or have it complement your PC?
  • Which operation system is suitable for your ideal tablet? Android, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, iOS?
  • If you were to buy a new tablet today, which one would you choose and why?
  • What do you think are the common shortcomings for tablets currently on the market, and is there a unique value or innovation that Eve & the community could bring?

Please let us know your thoughts!

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Which category does a 2in1 like the V come under? :stuck_out_tongue:

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I use my tablet mostly for media consumption and rarely to play games.
I chose the Xperia Z3 Tablet compact because it isn’t as big as a full tablet, it’s light and water proof, it had a good price and was bundled with quality blotooth speakers :slight_smile:

Tablet can’t replace a PC for anything serious except specific tasks where you have to draw stuff.

I would love to see an android Tablet with the same form factor like the Xperia Z3 Tablet compact, with a reasonably smaller bezel, a resolution of over 300PPI would be nice too, a bigger battery and the latest Snapdragon, 8gb RAM, 256gb SSD(upgradeable on shop) a slot to further upgrade the capacity, a Headphone Jack ofc, IP 68 Certification, dual front speakers with acceptable quality.

Design: Metal Frame, Aluminium/Glass back
Colours: Forest Green, Black/White, Silver, Deep Sea Blue. China Red :wink:

OS: Android with an unlocked boot loader and Vanilla Android.

Current tablet market is lacklustre and shrinking due to saturation and strong competition from big phones and 2-1s.

Unique Value?
Price competitive product with good specs, “crowd-sourced” development.

Problems: OEM is known for being bad at producing in a given timeframe and doesn’t process refunds.

Solution: Plant more Grass.

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  • What tablet are you using now? What made you choose this one?

Eve V

  • Would you like to use a tablet as your main PC (productivity device) or have it complement your PC?

Currently not because the ev is not a high end computer but maybe in the feature with cloud gaming

  • If you were to buy a new tablet today, which one would you choose and why?

A Eve V

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Put it under Laptop, then again there is already the V.
Maybe make a Thread asking for V2 oppinions?

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Describe yourself as a user. Where do you use your tablet, and for what?

  • I’m a 2nd Year Aerospace Engineering student and am currently using one Surface Pro 3, one Eve V and one Lenovo 720s. I use the tablet/2-in-1 devices mainly for notetaking in OneNote. Used my Eve V as my daily driver (even did CAD modelling on it!) up until a few months ago when I spilled coffee on the keyboard and ruined it. I use my tablets everywhere, I seldom venture without them. I keep all my notes and documents digital, and I don’t use physical paper at all.

What tablet are you using now? What made you choose this one?

  • I initially got my SP3 during my foundation year as I hated the mess with physical notebooks. This was a cheap 2nd hand device about a year old and only came with 4GB of RAM. This was limiting and I therefore jumped the gun on the Eve V. I chose the V because of it basically being a Surface but at a cheaper price (HEB) and because of a number of features that weren’t available in the Surface lineup like good port selection, good advertised battery life and bluetooth keyboard. Also ofcourse the screen which is amazing.

What kind of things do you feel a tablet is most suited for?

  • Definitely productivity/mobility devices to use as a digital notebook. Though also as multimedia devices.

Would you like to use a tablet as your main PC (productivity device) or have it complement your PC?

  • This is depending on the internal components. My Lenovo has an i7 8550U, the same one which is in the SP6, and the CPU productivity performance is therefore very similar. However, for a device that uses the Y-series CPU’s like the Eve V, I find it lacking. As I explained in a different posts, it would be better to have a tablet with an U-series CPU and rather create a power profile/undervolt it and limit turbo clocks for use on the go than equipping it with an underpowered Y-series CPU.
    To compare, an i7 8550U gets around 570 in Cinebench while running on full power, while the i7-8500Y gets 270. Say you limit the turboclocks on the U CPU and undervolt it as well, by doing this you can make it run both quieter, cooler and with less power, maybe you’d only get 400 in a benchmark, but you’d still have that extra omph if you wanted it, and it’d be there when you plugged in your charger. If it’s something I’ve learned with my i7 8550U it’s that it’s idling for most of the time while I’m doing office work, consuming only 1-3W. Most of the time the entire laptop only has a power drain of 6500mWh. Compared to the V’s 4000mWh it’s a bit more, but my Lenovo is also a 14" laptop, so the extra screen area would consume more, doesn’t 100% even out, but the ability to have that extra performance on demand is so worth it.

Which operation system is suitable for your ideal tablet? Android, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, iOS?

  • I’ll just say that I actually HATE Windows as a tablet OS. On both my devices the touch keyboard takes 20s to appear if I haven’t used it for a while :slight_smile: Not to mention it’s really not optimized for tablet use, but having a Windows tablet is more versatile than having any other OS out there since your tablet can also serve the dual purpose of general computing. For example, the ipad Pro has fantastic hardware that beats the Surface Lineup, but you can’t connect a mouse OR use a file manager on it, severely limiting its uses. I also wouldn’t be able to have the full extent of functionality in programs that a Windows or even MacOS could offer.

If you were to buy a new tablet today, which one would you choose and why?

  • Seeing as I already got a laptop to use as my main, I would maybe actually be interested in an ipad Pro, but I’m generally not fond of Apple products so I’d probably get a SP6 or maybe a ThinkPad X1 Tablet. Depends on how much value I get for my money.

What do you think are the common shortcomings for tablets currently on the market, and is there a unique value or innovation that Eve & the community could bring?

  • That Windows sucks as a tablet OS. On the hardware side, there are the obvious ones that I still believe Eve did very right with their V, which is having many ports and a multifunction keyboard with bluetooth(even if one port is so loose you can’t use it and the bluetooth keyboard drops keys). I was also thinking it’d be cool if a tablet could fit two kinds of bases, one which is the typical typecover we’ve gotten used to, and another which is a Performance Base like the Surface Book that houses more battery and a powerful mid-tier GPU (i.e. RTX 2060 or 1660). This would give the device very good flexibility and user choice. Also LTE would be awesome. Most of all though, make the device reliable. Nobody likes having features that only half work. See this post for a list of things(some overlap with this post).
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  • Describe yourself as a user. Where do you use your tablet, and for what?
    I mostly use my tablets for casual web browsing, typing and writing notes, casual games, and drawing diagrams/wireframes for work. I’ve also been messing around with doing some coding on the Chromebook lately.
  • What tablet are you using now? What made you choose this one?
    I have a few–Surface Pro 3 (used to be primary device), iPad 6th Gen (personal tablet), iPad Pro 2nd Gen (work tablet), and an HP Chromebook x2 (just got a couple weeks ago).
    My favorites considering the costs are the iPad 6th Gen and the Chromebook x2, both of which I had gotten for around $350 each. iPad is super snappy, great stylus support, tons of apps that run perfectly, amazing battery life. Chromebook x2 has the full Chrome browser, amazing screen, great battery life, Linux support (I’ve been using Visual Studio Code, Libre Office, and running code via the terminal), Android support, expandable storage, and comes with a nice keyboard + stylus.
  • What kind of things do you feel a tablet is most suited for?
    In general, I think tablets should be a complement to your primary machines. Something you can use for media consumption, casual gaming, and light productivity on the go for when your main machine is too big to lug around or not comfortable to use in bed.
  • Which operation system is suitable for your ideal tablet? Android, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, iOS?
    iOS and ChromeOS. ChromeOS makes Android and Linux kind of redundant since it supports both, and Windows is messy on a tablet. iOS has so many tablet-specific apps and nails the idea of a tablet being just a tablet, it just falls apart if you try to make it a primary machine.
  • If you were to buy a new tablet today, which one would you choose and why?
    There isn’t one that I’d buy right now outside of what I already have.
  • What do you think are the common shortcomings for tablets currently on the market, and is there a unique value or innovation that Eve & the community could bring?
    With iOS being off limits for Eve and Samsung already getting as much out of Android as a tablet as I think is possible with the Tab S4, I think a ChromeOS tablet, 10-inch Windows tablet in the vein of the Surface Go, or an Eve V2 would be the best areas.
    The ChromeOS market has very few premium options, and the ones that are there make major compromises. You could literally repackage the V with ChromeOS and immediately have the best ChromeOS device available, even if you downgraded some specs like the amount of built-in storage and started it at 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB to have a lower starting price.
    The Surface Go showed that there’s a strong market for 10 inch Windows tablets, and while I’m not a huge fan of Windows as a tablet, there’s enough flaws with the Go that Eve could make some headway, starting with battery life and performance. But it also might be too soon to be doing another 2-in-1 Windows device.
    And a lot of people have already said their thoughts on a V2.
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Upgrade the current model, maybe some cosmetic changes too and that’s all.
Make Android version as well.
Nothing much more to say there…

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  • I use my tablet mainly for taking notes or copying them afterwards so at home or at university, but then also for media consumption while travelling
  • I’m using an iPad Pro 10.5 inch (2017) and I choosed it for its large apps compatibility and its flawless apple pencil (Ok the pencil has some space to be improved but for fast and precise writing is perfect)
  • I think a tablet is the best option for what I’m using it right now, so not for business related things or complex stuff
  • I’m still convinced 2in1 is the best solution, but right now my V doesn’t match with iPad capabilities for writing, it has the potential but not the same effectiveness
    -I’ve never used crome OS, but iOS for a tablet use is the reference by now at least for me (not speaking of 2in1)
    -Again, iPad pro 12.9 with Apple pancil
    -I’m clueless I wouldn’t point eve effort on the Tablet market
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  1. Describe yourself as a user. Where do you use your tablet, and for what?

For everything as my old laptop, except it’s very transportable.

  1. What tablet are you using now? What made you choose this one?

Eve V because it was more complete and better than a surface pro for a bit cheaper.

  1. What kind of things do you feel a tablet is most suited for?

Everything and more than a laptot except for games (and that’s perfectly ok). Eve V is really missing LTE and GPS though to be even more useful.

  1. Would you like to use a tablet as your main PC (productivity device) or have it complement your PC?

As main PC.

  1. Which operation system is suitable for your ideal tablet? Android, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, iOS?

Windows for compatibility and software availability reasons.

  1. If you were to buy a new tablet today, which one would you choose and why?

Surface pro 6, because price is now equivalent with the hardware installed, and support is way better.

  1. What do you think are the common shortcomings for tablets currently on the market, and is there a unique value or innovation that Eve & the community could bring?

No specific reasons, the market is full of competitors that don’t want to take risks.
Eve should continue bringing a bit better and a bit cheaper tablet than Microsoft does. Also a innovation allowing an easy replacement of an old battery would provide a huge advantage to Eve.

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What tablet are you using now? What made you choose this one?

Eve V: It had the best battery life among Windows tablets at the time, great display, and last but not least, the cheapest Windows tablet with 8 GB RAM.

iPad Pro: I like how light and portable it is, and the app support is top-notch. Truth is, I wanted it to be a laptop replacement like the V, but iOS just isnt there yet.

What kind of things do you feel a tablet is most suited for?

Honestly, anything you could do with a phone that doesnt require a lot of typing, plus anything you could do with a PC but outside of the house

Would you like to use a tablet as your main PC (productivity device) or have it complement your PC?

Definitely to complement. I have tried it several times, and it never really works. Desktop is always snappier, faster, especially for engineering and gaming

Which operation system is suitable for your ideal tablet? Android, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, iOS?

iOS and Windows, each has their own strength. Windows can do more than iOS, but for what iOS can do, iOS does it better.

If you were to buy a new tablet today, which one would you choose and why?

Ideally, it would be an iPad Pro that can switch between iOS and Windows easily. Ideally, it would be the perfect blend between my Eve V and iPad Pro.

Otherwise, I would have to choose a compact Windows tablet for its desktop features. Perhaps a Surface Go.

What do you think are the common shortcomings for tablets currently on the market, and is there a unique value or innovation that Eve & the community could bring?

Other than the iPad, there is really no good 10" tablets. The current 10" tablet market is filled low-cost alternative to their more premium 12" products. That means, you’ll see low resolution screen (FHD) and lesser build quality than the premium 12" models. Its also often compromised in RAM and storage department. Same with the Snapdragon Windows tablets, they have impressive battery life, but unimpressive everywhere else.

On the opposite side, we have the Surface Go which aims to be the premium 10" Windows tablet, but still falls short on short battery life, poor performance, and unimpressive screen (both in PPI/resolution and bezel).

Here’s what Eve could bring, and its rather simple: iPad Pro running Windows, powered by either Intel Lakefield 10nm or Snapdragon 8cx 7nm.

So compared to other 10" tablets, it would have:

  • Premium build quality, like the V
  • Much better display: 250+ PPI, IGZO/OLED screen with 120 Hz (if possible)
  • Large RAM (6+ GB) and storage capacity (128+ GB)
  • Crazy long battery life (compared to Intel-based ones)

And compared to Surface Go specifically

  • Better performance in UWP apps
  • Much better display as mentioned above
  • Crazy long battery life (we are looking at 200% - 300%)

From another point of view, Eve could revive the asymmetic design:

image

Xperia Tablet S

image
Lenovo Yoga Tablet

The idea is to move the battery --the heaviest component-- to one edge of the device instead of being “distributed” nearly equally everywhere from the center. There are FOUR main benefits:

  1. Center of Mass closer to your hand in portrait mode: Imagine holding the Lenovo tablet above, but from the thin side, I am sure it would be much harder to hold. Its due to the classic lever effect.
  2. Less top-heavy in laptop mode: This is by far the biggest complaint of a detachable tablet (see the picture below).
  3. Lower cost: Battery in 18650 and 21700 cylindrical cells are produced in large quantities at near-commodity cost (e.g every Tesla vehicle has thousands of those)
  4. Most importantly, longer battery life: The 21700 cell is the most interesting one due to its density of up to 18.5 Wh per cell. On a 10" tablet, you can fit up to three of those cells for a total capacity of 55 Wh, 15% larger than the V, and larger virtually any tablet out there. Remember, this is on a 10" tablet that’s just as big as the non-Pro iPad. Despite the extra capacity, the weight of 69gr per cell would total to just 207gr, or approximately the same as the battery on the V. With the more common 18650 cells, you could get 39 Wh for 3 cells (10" tablet), still larger than 32 Wh in the iPad and 28 Wh in the Surface Go. The weight is around 48 grams per cell, so 144 grams for 3 cells.

Untitled-2
The difference in stability between a tablet with equally distributed weight and a device with low center of gravity

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I own a V. My 10.5" Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 LTE tablet has replaced V as my favorite travel companion. Really? Here’s why in no particular order.

  1. Battery life
  2. LTE (with a little work can be used as a phone on T-Mobile)
  3. Has DEX desktop mode
  4. Optional keyboard (works great) $99
  5. Smaller, less weight, small universal type C charger,
  6. Better audio over BT
  7. More programs available thru Google Play, including my favorite PC programs, Outlook, Word, Edge etc. Plus Microsoft launcher for Android is great.
  8. Includes pen
  9. Colors more accurate without calibration (measured)
  10. Low battery consumption in stand-by.
  11. Auto stand-by when closing cover
  12. More and better games available for idle time
  13. Updates for drivers and system are automatic.
  14. Size, size, size, weight, weight, weight
  15. PC’s (V) do not support many security programs active warnings or video. Android does. A must have for me.
  16. I hate the cumbersome case that I need to use with the V when traveling. I prefer the smaller tablet folding cases.

In short, I prefer Android over Microsoft OS for travel, especially when I can use all of my PC programs on the Android. This does not mean I will do any serious audio/video work on it. For that I use a homemade i7 desktop with a very large monitor running Windows 10 Pro. I also like the big screen for multitasking.

Most LTE tablets are tied to a carrier. Mine with T-Mobile. (It’s ok, I like T-Mobile for now). It would be nice to see more LTE tablets unlocked with similar features by Eve. I’m sure Eve could beat the Samsung price and design a nice up-to-date tablet.

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-Describe yourself as a user. Where do you use your tablet, and for what?
I’m on the go in rough environments. I work and play outdoors. I change locations from hot to cold/indoors to outdoors all the time. I use WiFi and wired networks equally. I use my tablet for portability and the benefits of a mobile OS (apps, touch input rather than keyboard).

-What tablet are you using now? What made you choose this one?
iPad Mini 3. LTE with my carrier, better than the Android alternatives that were available. Eve V…although I’m not sure I think of that as a tablet exactly.

-What kind of things do you feel a tablet is most suited for?
Web browsing, any light work that can be done remotely (light data entry, GPS field work, basic network admin, etc), watching videos. Really anything that needs better battery life than a phone but doesn’t require the computational power and larger screen of a 2in1 or laptop.

-Would you like to use a tablet as your main PC (productivity device) or have it complement your PC?
I would like it to be my main device for everything that doesn’t require the power of a 2in1 or laptop. Apps are so much easier to use on the go and mobile OS’s are less cumbersome.

-Which operation system is suitable for your ideal tablet? Android, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, iOS?
Android and iOS. Both have capabilities that other doesn’t and I want things from both platforms. I would probably choose iOS if I could get all the apps I need. If Windows gets it right with CoreOS and the app selection is good enough then I’d go Windows.

-If you were to buy a new tablet today, which one would you choose and why?
Not really sure. Something in the 7-9" range probably. Android if I’m doing to be using for drone flying because Solex won’t run on iOS. iOS if I need it for GPS work because Gaia GPS can be run from the Apple watch allowing you to leave the iPad in the bag. Maybe an iPad Pro…idk. Yogo Tab Pro looks pretty nice.

-What do you think are the common shortcomings for tablets currently on the market, and is there a unique value or innovation that Eve & the community could bring?
Everything @Patrick_Hermawan said plus TB3 and the ability to work with a modular Mini-PC system.

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I have an old Asus tablet, 8", I liked it at the time…

  • I do NOT like Android… 1) b/c: I could browse the Internet for ~ maybe 2, 3 years, then Android got too old (it is 4.4.2), and the tablet takes toooooooooooo loooooooooooong to looooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaad any site or to reeeeeeeespoooooooooooooond to keeeeeystrooookes…

used it for watching YouTube (music, concerts), and browsing/reading news.

I also have ArtRage on the tablet, but 2) why I do not like ANdroid: the Android version of ArtRage is… more than poor…

I would like WINDOWS on a tablet.
8". if possible with an active pen

(I had a Samsung 10", and loved the screen & pen, but sold it b/c of ArtRage Android Version…)

… so that besides News and YouTube(music), there woudl be also painting on the screen :slight_smile:

Would love to see such a thing :wink: …

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The Eve V should be improved to match more performance and modern aesthetics.
Performance wise:

  • discrete graphics card Nvidia for example, to be able to run professional 3D CAD software
  • liquid cooling if possible (think Acer switch5 black edition)
  • +2 Thunderbolt ports at least.
  • wacom EMR compatible in order to be able to use non battery powered styluses like the great Wacom ones. This standard is the way to go for professional tablet work, with Photoshop or whatever software.

Aesthetics:

  • thinner screen bezels
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For those who want or don’t want Android tablet, it doesn’t matter at this point.

Android tablet is dead. I mean, Google’s latest tablet isn’t even running Android. If you wanna bet on it, be my guest.

Oh, and now they are axing the tablet division altogether

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I use a tablet to read from, and to do work from.

My dream tablet would be a 10inch ChromeOS tablet that had a Snapdragon 855 with 8gb of memory. Also the ability to add a keyboard would be amazing.

The chassis should be metal
The battery should be big
Front facing stereo speakers would be nice
Pen input would be nice and the pen stowing in the tablet

The Google Slate would be a good device if it had a Snapdragon 855 and 8GB memory. Something like that but with the stowable pen and without the crazy price tag.

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  • Describe yourself as a user. Where do you use your tablet, and for what?

I am a light user. I use tablet for media consumption including watching Youtube, Twitch, browsing the web.

  • What tablet are you using now? What made you choose this one?

iPad Air. I bought it because it runs smoothly when compare to android counterparts.
And I really like the light and thin design which makes it very portable.

  • What kind of things do you feel a tablet is most suited for?

Entertainment, web browsing, reading.

  • Would you like to use a tablet as your main PC (productivity device) or have it complement your PC?

They are not the same thing, it won’t replace a PC as long as the tablet is running mobile OS and lacking I/O ports and a good keyboard.

  • Which operation system is suitable for your ideal tablet? Android, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, iOS?

Hard to say. People usually think iOS is the king of tablet OS but many apps are just up-scaled but not optimised, wasting the opportunity to take advantage of the gigantic touch screen. And I can’t even organise files which is a joke. Windows 10 supports touch screens which allow users to run desktop programs is a huge advantage but the UI is not as snappy as that on the iOS and it drains battery. Android is more preferred as I want UI customisation, good touch screen support and power efficiency.

  • If you were to buy a new tablet today, which one would you choose and why?

No. I couldn’t pick one until Eve makes one. iPad Pro is ideal but overpriced.

  • What do you think are the common shortcomings for tablets currently on the market, and is there a unique value or innovation that Eve & the community could bring?

Tablets these days look almost the same I want a renewed design.

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  • Describe yourself as a user. Where do you use your tablet, and for what?

I have been using tablet computers for more than 10 years. I currently use my tablet computer (Surface Pro) everywhere for everything (work, leisure, drawing, note taking).

  • What tablet are you using now? What made you choose this one?

Surface Pro. Because it is a full PC with a pen and tablet factor

  • What kind of things do you feel a tablet is most suited for?
  • Would you like to use a tablet as your main PC (productivity device) or have it complement your PC?

I would like to use it as productive device and I think there should be no difference between a tablet and a PC in terms of functionality. It has been obvious to me that personal computers, which started as desktop and then laptop computers, would eventually take the form of light tablets. That path was, fortunately or unfortunately, shortcut by the iPad and following Android tablets, which reached the required thinness, light weight, and long battery life at the price of using low-power processors and limited operating systems. This created a somewhat artificial separation between traditional PC with unlimited functionalities on the one hand, and tablets limited mostly to media consumption and games on the other hand. I think that this separation, which exists only due to technical limitations, should be eventually removed. For this reason, I think Eve should continue to push in the 2in1/hybrid direction, rather than making a regular laptop or tablet, for which there is already ample offering.

  • Which operation system is suitable for your ideal tablet? Android, Windows, Chrome OS, Linux, iOS?

For the above reasons, it should be Windows. It is not perfect, but it is currently the only universal operating system that can both run on a tablet form factor and provide the full fonctionality of PCs.

  • If you were to buy a new tablet today, which one would you choose and why?

I am still waiting for the ideal tablet that will address the ergonomy issues of current devices.

  • What do you think are the common shortcomings for tablets currently on the market, and is there a unique value or innovation that Eve & the community could bring?

Current tablet PCs have two major design flaws. First, in the ridiculous quest for being the thinnest device and a lack of serious commitment to pen input, almost no device provides a satisfactory storage solution for the pen. Second, they are either in the form of laptops whose keyboard can be flipped over behind the screen (Yoga) or tablets with attachable keyboards (Surface, iPad). This is very compromised ergonomics. There is however a design with a double hinge flipping display that would allow to solve all these issues. This is the ideal tablet design that I have been waiting for after using tablet PCs for more than 10 years and I have made a concept video to show how it would work.

By adopting this design, I think Eve and the community has a unique opportunity to add real value and make something different from the current market.