[maemo-users] iPad

[From: Kate Alhola]

ext Attila Csipa wrote:
> On Thursday 28 January 2010 16:36:16 Mark wrote:
>   
>> The thing is, Maemo is only necessary on small devices with limited screen
>> real estate and non-X86-compatible processors. In a tablet of the iPad's
>> size, there's no reason not to use an Atom and full-blown desktop Linux.
>> Mark
>>     
>
> Finger based keyboardless input. That killed full-blown desktop Linux and apps 
> right there. In fact, that is one of , if not the most important reason why 
> the original TabletPC was a flop. I don't see any rationale in (current-gen) 
> embedded X86 if you want linux on it, either, but that's just me (ARM is 
> cheaper, is far more power efficient, allows always-on, and, with A9-MPcores, 
> *at least* on par performance-wise). 
>   
I agree, the thing that has been reason why no tablet-PC has ever made
any success was that they always were running desktop operating system,
mostly Windows from original manufacturer.

I had my first tablet PC, Dialogue Flybook several years ago. It came with
Windows and of course I installed Linux to it immediately. Flybook
was with touch screen twist display so that it was possible to twist as 
tablet.

With desktop OS, stylus is just mouse replacement and not even good on that.
Total use experience was nonexistent and device become just mini laptop

To be usable as tablet, all UI need to be redesigned to be usable with 
finger.
Maemo 5 is good example of excellent finger optimized UI. I have not 
used stylus
at all.  It is no so much issue of screen real estate but how UI 
elements are designed.
Many things work different way like no scroll bars but scrolling from 
content pane,
UI elements must be enough large for finger, there is no right click, no 
<alt><ctrl>click etc
It is not just issue of virtual keyboard.

Taking desktop applications and desktop OS, you wont get any good user 
experience,
just an other laptop where stylus is needed to be mouse replacement and 
user experience
is worse than normal laptop. You will get lot of application with as bad 
uer experience.

Kate