tablet computers (iPad) and Star Trek

[jefferiestubes8]

With the amount of media news coverage of Apple's iPad tablet computer product let's discuss Star Trek and the use of hand-held computers.

First there was the Tricorder in TOS, then the medical tri-corder in VOY.

In VOY they had bulky but pretty obvious tablet computers that looked about the size of an iPad's (9.7-inch screen) Weight: 1.6 pounds (0.73 kg).

ENT had a slimmer handheld tablet device where in season 3 T'Pol breaks it on Archer's desk in Damage.
That looked a lot like a iPad.
Considering "Damage" aired in April 2004 were many people really predicting that the tablet computer genre was the way of the future?

What about the Trek feature films and tablet computers?

In March 2001 the New York Times talked about

MICROSOFT, COMPAQ AND OTHERS TO WORK ON TABLET PC a tablet-sized, wireless personal computer. The computers will be about the size of a piece of notebook paper

"Our aspiration is that in three to five years, input with pen or with speech will be as ubiquitous as a keyboard and mouse are today."

Heavy bulky tablets have been available for a few years which are basically laptops where the touch-sensitive screen is flipped over.

In the May 2004 issue of Popular Science there was a technology of the future article that mentioned the next device would be a

"smart communicator"
will have memory and processing power of today's best desktop computers, and it'll display on any nearby screen.

Is the Apple iPad (and the inevitable copycats that will be released in the next 18 months) really going to be closer to Star Trek and how people read all sorts of things? Is this where the electronic form of a book really becomes mainstream and more popular than the paper print edition? (Even without a dedicated proprietary E-Book reader hardware unit?)

 

[T'Girl]

Well there was the wedge shaped "clipboard" device in TOS, the one the yeomen were always carrying around. Reminds me more of my kindle than of an iPad, but then I love my kindle.

 

[Michael]

..., then the medical tri-corder in VOY.

The what? Didn't they merely use the regular tricorder introduced in The Next Generation?

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Tricorders

..., then the medical tri-corder in VOY.

The what? Didn't they merely use the regular tricorder introduced in The Next Generation?

Once I remember in VOY when the Doctor is training 7of9 or Kes he says,
"Tricorder"
and she brings him a tricorder and the Doctor gets annoyed and says,
"Medical Tricorder!" (Medical tricorder TR-580 in 2369)
a picture is here:
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Medical_tricorder

I'm really getting at the tablets that Janeway on VOY and the crew on ENT read the reports on though rather than tricorders & medical tricorders...

 

[Michael]

Re: Tricorders

..., then the medical tri-corder in VOY.

The what? Didn't they merely use the regular tricorder introduced in The Next Generation?

Once I remember in VOY when the Doctor is training 7of9 or Kes he says Tricorder and she brings him a tricorder and the Doctor gets annoyed and says,
"Medical Tricorder!"

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Medical_tricorder

Yeah, which, as you will notice, is just the same prop as the regular tricorder (with some gizmo attached on top of it). It's just the same prop they used since The Next Generation (and later re-used in Deep Space Nine and Voyager). That's why I'm puzzled by your wording of "... then the medical tri-corder in VOY". You make it sound like the tricorder was introduced in Voyager, when it sure wasn't.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: Tricorders

That's why I'm puzzled by your wording of "... then the medical tri-corder in VOY". You make it sound like the tricorder was introduced in Voyager, when it sure wasn't.

I'm not that familiar with TNG & DS9 series and all the details in them.

I think you wrote your post while I was in mid-edit.


Surely Picard had a bulky tablet in the beige space hotel too...

 

[Nardpuncher]

This is one of those topics that comes up frequently.
The idea that computers will become simpler to use is a pretty easy guess and I wouldn't give Trek too much credit for getting that right.

 

[Garibaldi O'brien]

No sure if it will be worth a crap or anything yet, but it does feel like a trek PADD.

I just got my iPad and now that I've used it a bit, I feel the treknology flowing through it.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Next up is the HP Slate which may be a decent competitor to get it to the masses (with a removable battery)

Things like support for Flash, a camera, SD card slot, and USB connectivity are all featured on the Slate.

there are

reports its slate computer will ship in the fall.

2010.

http://www.dailytech.com/Internal+Company+Slides+Compare+HP+Slate+to+Apple+iPad/article18060.htm

Yes the next 2 years will have 10 of these things flooding the market from different makers but in the long run we'll end up with probably 4 major competitors that offer full color screens (not E-Book reader's black-only text)
It's a good thing. I think we'll end up with busineses using them and some corporations pushing them all over and using them for PR saying "we are a paperless office" going-green company... At least it's an attempt to be like Star Trek...

 

[22 Stars]

You can also look to Caprica of all places to see the real next step, the tablet becomes literally paper-thin, a piece of material that you can fold put in your pocket, but can do everything a current tablet/netbook can do. They never showed tech like that on Trek.

 

[SFRabid]

I have a iPhone 3Gs and an HP flip top that folds into a pad. The iPad seems to be in between and I'm not sure I need something in between. I don't think the iPad will ever develop into a good device for personnel input. Touchscreen entry is too slow and audio input is not usable in group settings.

What I expect to see in the future is a cross between the iPad and a flip top. A detachable screen that is more portable with a docking station that has a keyboard, extended memory and interfacing, and still portable while being a bit more bulky.

 

[caz345]

The I pads are pretty space aged when you look at them , remember when everyone was laughing at kirks communicator like that will never happen! Speaking of I have a motorola Ming phone thats pretty rare and looks very close to kirks communicator and its a touch screen, I thought about downloading a pic of the communicator with the lid open on the screen and it would be pretty awesome. Im actually thinking about selling this phone now so if anyone is interested in it give me a holler.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k267/caz245/DSC00501.jpg

 

[caz345]

I have a iPhone 3Gs and an HP flip top that folds into a pad. The iPad seems to be in between and I'm not sure I need something in between. I don't think the iPad will ever develop into a good device for personnel input. Touchscreen entry is too slow and audio input is not usable in group settings.

What I expect to see in the future is a cross between the iPad and a flip top. A detachable screen that is more portable with a docking station that has a keyboard, extended memory and interfacing, and still portable while being a bit more bulky.

The ipad has a keyboard its a touch screen keyboard but works very well in my opinion trying to one up the ipad is going to be pretty tough. I have played around with one a bit and its pretty cool, im just waiting for the 3g version later this month.

 

[The Trekster]

We're also not too far away from the medical tricorder scans and even some non-invasive healing. Just look at the full body scans at airports. Or in eastern medicine (gaining popularity in the US) they have laser treatments to treat the channels of the body instead of needles. It's almost as effective, too