What's everyone's opinion on tablets? I always thought it would be cool to have one but not sure if it's worth investing hundreds of dollars.

For those that have one, are they actually useful to you and would you rather use a laptop or a tablet?

Even if a tablet shot .50 rounds fully auto, I'd rather have a nice laptop instead.

They're actually kind of useful, even if you think they wouldn't be. They have a great battery life, and they're quite nice to carry around in my opinion. Really slick, easier to just take out and show someone else something on it than on a laptop. If you have the money in your budget, you'll really enjoy it.

Got my mom an Asus Transformer, she loves it. I plan on getting a tablet as well. Specifically the Asus Transformer line appeals to me due to the optional keyboard dock. To me, tablets are infinitely more useful than laptops for the following reason:

tablet battery life blows away laptops
significantly more portable
significantly lighter (goes with the above)
due to the use of ARM, create significantly less heat (which'll help with life expectancy)
perfect for content consumption (which is what most mobile computing is)
more capable of content creation than a smartphone (the Asus Transformer line in particular, with the dock, is in-line with a high-end netbook I'd say in terms of content creation capabilities)
remote into a desktop for the full OS experience when needed.

I've bought one laptop (and only got that instead of a netbook because I had to do some stuff in Access and didn't want MS Office contaminating my desktop), and I don't plan on ever buying a laptop again.

For daily casual usage, tablet is all you need. If you want real works or gaming, nothing can replace a real PC.

I tried opening some macro fulled xls and it simply killed that Andriod I have, doesn't matter what Office I use. There's no powerful mobile graphic tools for me to complete my works wherever I go. Tablets are weak, but well enough for those who don't do resource taxing jobs.

So it all end up on what do you need it for.

They are great for reading e-books.

I would but to difficult to swallow.

http://img.dooyoo.co.uk/GB_EN/orig/0/7/7/4/4/774414.jpg?
http://www.slipperybrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ViewSonic-ViewPad-7-Android-Tablet.jpg?
or
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumblarge_540/1285047971j8031P.jpg?

Shut up and take my money!

I've got an ASUS transformer and I love it. It's not too big or heavy, the keyboard dock has USB ports so I can watch movies from my hard drive, it's got enough storage for music, photos and videos, and it has an awesome graphics card so you can play some cool 3D games. Do wish I'd known the Transformer Prime was coming out though, since I think the keyboard slides away rather than being detachable.

Laptop for me, personally. I had a go on a friend's tablet and I have to say it was too much of a gimick to be taken seriously, plus the touch screen seemed to have a personal mission to piss me off. I couldn't use one on a regular basis. Give me a mouse and keyboard anyday, much easier to navigate.

I always thought a tablet was some kind of small table...

Puns aside, I love my new smartphone (HTC's Explorer.) I really didn't think I'd take to it as much as I have, considering I have half a dozen desktops and laptops distributed across the house already, but where I would before tether myself to the nearest computer to look up some trivial fact, I can now do it from the convenience of my sofa/bed/loo and without anywhere near the same loading up times. Great for looking stuff up on IMDB or Wiki, and with the added benefit that you can then pass the device over to whoever you wanted to show it to (much simpler than hoisting a full laptop around.) It doesn't replace my computer for real work and gaming, but it does fill in all the little niches I didn't realise were there all along.

As for "tablet" tablets like the iPad... well, it won't fit into your pocket, so I can't see them being as useful as an Android or iPhone, but good enough for a coffee table to replace magazines and laptops.

I hate tablets.

And...?

Perhaps you can tell us your expectation for a mobile internet device? You may discover features you never thought of, but at least before you purchse something, you got to have some form of expectation right?

I've never seen you make a post that isn't either 'I've never heard of that' or 'I hate that'. What's the point in even posting?

If I had to choose betwwen a laptop or tablet I would go for the laptop.

They told me to do it I had no choice.

I have a desktop and a smartphone, which is really just a smaller tablet. I have no reason to own another PC, so a tablet would be useful and different. But I doubt that I'll get one as the smartphone works fine.

I've used in iPad before, but so far nothing that I've seen it do can't be done with my Droid.

Is there any reason to get a tablet if I already have a smart phone? I wouldn't really use it for anything other than internet use and maybe netflix/books/movies.

Try calling someone or recieving a call (which is impossible on a tablet). Also try putting a tablet in your pocket.

Then no. Only get it when you think you have extra cash to explore a foreign ground to discover surprises, maybe.

Yes, this is true. I've always though of the iPad as an "Oversized iPhone that can't make calls." But other than that, I see no difference between Smartphones and Tablets. Aside from Phones being smaller.

If you already got a smartphone then there is no reason to buy a tablet (unless you have money to burn) and they also cost more.

Tablets are nice.

Uh. What. Sure it would have to be VOIP but...