PC World offers WiFi-only Motorola Xoom Android 10.1" tablet for £449.99

Look at the videos online, the Sense stuff works really well.

No matter how many times you keep saying this you're still wrong.

A tablet isn't for you, but that doesn't mean they don't fill a market for others.

Yeah they did! Ask any Motorola mobile phone users about their experience and if they would care to repeat it.

You can keep saying that as well but as people will start to realise the economic truth of their purchase the rot will set in. Marketing can drive sales but I wouldn't recommend a tablet to anyone for the reasons I have stated.

Are you or anyone reading this recommending a tablet (any) over a laptop to anyone? If you are on what grounds?

2.3 isn't designed for tablets. Google have said so and release Android 3 for tablet devices. There are a long list of technical issues that this solves, not least the default Android Market installed by default and working properly and support for the screen sizes.

Bearing this in mind, why install 2.3 on a yet to be released tablet? Mind boggling decision.

Yes. We are on the verge of trying iPads for our sales reps, primarily so that they can access the companies web-based systems without having to wait for their laptops to startup. The hope is that it will be significantly more practical for them to use tablets in their cars and at customers premises.

Yeah, to anyone that wanted a device just for browsing the web, checking their email and reading/basic editing of simple documents in a stylish and easy to use package. My parents for example.

I'd also get myself an iPad for when I'm on tour if it wasn't for fucking itunes. I'm very tempted by the new HTC one. I'm not after something that can run tons of apps, I just want web browsing, email and the ability to made a skype call.

I don't think the notion is daft, but I don't think Android tablets have sold enough or been shit enough to really make a big effect, yet.

Yep. I'll never buy anything made by Motorola again, after my experience with a truly awful mobile phone.

Not logical at all I know, but hey ho.

Yep. WAP being touted as "the internet on your mobile" when it fact it was nothing of the sort had a similar affect on buying trends.

You can do all of that and everything else you would like with a decent laptop which has a bigger screen and a keyboard. My current Dell comes out of sleep in <1 second so start up time isn't an issue. You can watch movies on it without having to prop it up or hold it. You can type much faster on a proper keyboard and use industry standard tools like Office and anything else that takes your fancy. If you want to buy something like the Xoom or an iPad over something like this
http://www.dabs.com/products/toshiba-c660-11k-i3-15-6-4-320-w7hp-77M8.html
or
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/363157/lenovo-thinkpad-edge-11 (bit more expensive but its not so far away to not be in the same price bracket)

If you are then your ignoring basic common sense.

Having a cut down low powered computer is a fine concept, but at low cost. These devices are at the same price as reasonably powerful laptops and suffer from some unavoidable issues, the same issues that the phones suffer from but we tolerate due to its functionality and size.

Oh what a surprise, Sunray dismisses the views of anybody that dont happen to match his own views. Because he is the guardian of common sense, of course, and the source of all IT wisdom.

Millions have bought tablets and your opinion means nothing to them, you narrow minded fool.

So anyways, do we have some idea of when this thing is out? Im looking forward to seeing some decent alternatives in the tablet market and want to try one of these hands on. Are we talking days, weeks or months?

Weight: 3.3kg. Has fans, gets hot, has to be 'managed' (anti-virus, file tidying etc), is very obviously a 'computer' even when it's turned off.

The ipad is light and compact enough to pass around the room, carry in one hand, generally treat it like a book or magazine. When you turn it off, it's a thin, unobtrusive thing that won't clutter up the coffee table. The battery lasts twice as long, it doesn't get hot or make fan noise. Those are the reasons I bought an ipad instead of a laptop. I paid a premium for being an early adopter, and it seems that plenty of other people are too.

You're still utterly missing the point.

?? That would imply a desktop is portable so is a stupid thing to say.

I am comparing like for like in terms of portability and cost.

Tablets are heavy, low powered, inflexible, ergonomically challenged and do less for more money. You might all be basking in your tablet glory....err...well all two of you. I see that a year after the iPad and a whole rack of so called tablet goodness, two of you own one.

500 quid now apparently...

Fuckers, it's only fifty quid, but to me it seems to cross the border from reasonably priced to out of my reach