1) No, I know the companion app is out.. I'm talking about the inevitable expansion of Steam to iOS and Android itself. They won't be selling 'mobile games' but all games as the hardware by next year will be greater than Vita and capable of matching anything on consoles. Granted, me saying Steam will be there is based off of nothing specifically stated, just me putting together the dots.

2) The whole printing via web thing is relatively new (2011), but it is becoming standard fare... just like wifi in printers pretty much is now.

I personally leave my Nexus phone stock as it works perfectly fine. However, my last phone had samsung's flavor wrapped on the phone and I had a blast rooting and putting tons of different roms on my phone. Then there are tons of launchers that require no root to change the way it works. Basically anything goes. I also like how Android is more like my windows desktop. I can change not only arrangement of tiles/apps, but also colors, backgroud pics, etc. Plus for me I'd be pissed if Win8 locks you to Bing and other MS stuff. I want it to be like Google where its default to the maker (obvious) but can be changed to whatever you like.

1) Mobile games are just games that run on mobile devices in my head, so that point remains. I still doubt Valve is going to start selling mobile games any time soon, but I could see them expanding the Steam APIs to Android and iOS if that's what you mean.

2) So still a bunch of legacy devices out there that need attending to then.

Actually, many W8 previews have been commending Microsoft for moving away from that whole "most own the entire eco system" mentality they had going a few years back. Now they're basically trying to accomodate everyone and letting everyone integrate themselves into Windows on equal footing. It's quite a sensible solution they have going.

1) I just mean Steam will be on mobile devices the same as it is on PCs.

2) Possibly, but http://www.google.com/cloudprint/learn/ reading that says it can work with any printer, just the new "could ready" printers are easier. So I bet it really isn't much of an issue for anything really.

3) That's what I like to hear. lack of openness is why I refuse to give my money to Apple, regardless if their products are good or simply just overpriced.

Ipad what?

Im waiting for Windows 8. It seems more efficent and better equipped.

If I were to ever, ever even consider investing in a tablet, it sure as hell wouldn't be an Apple iPad. I want an OS a little more open and friendly than iOS, so I'd take Android or Windows 8 any day. Preferably, assuming it turns out well, Windows 8 would be the only way to go.

But it must be said that tablets are simply a waste. If you already own a computer, a laptop, a netbook, a desktop, whatever... why do you need a tablet? Seems like a total waste. If, and only if, they ever begin to replace game consoles, will I invest in a tablet. And from looking at the trends, that is still several years away from becoming reality. We've still got one more generation from Sony, MS, and Nintendo before the game box is abandoned for greener pastures.

First of all,

both iOS and Android.

Second of all,

Windows 8 is the ugliest shit I've seen in recent years and not fun to use, they did the resize and location of their bricks pretty well but man it's unintuitive and ugly as fuck, I hope they fix a lot of that shit on release or it's gonna be like Vista for me all over again.

Third of all,

We'll see what Jelly Bean brings to the table, not a lot of info avaliable yet but that's the plan.

Finally,

any decently powerful tablet that can't last 10-18 hours is fail in my book, that's the bare minimum for modern and future tablets, get to work Intel, work your ass off, thanks, OK I'm out.

BTW ASUS Transformer Series rock, if you want an iPad alternative that is, OK now I'm really out.

It all depends what you are going to do with your tablet.

There is no denying that the Ipad is the superior tablet but the truth is a lot of people won't be using all those fancy apps you see in Ipad commercials...

There is no denying either than the Ipad is a rip-off in term of price compared to cost to make..

Personnaly I do the following with my tablet :

- Read magazine and newspapers ( Wired/ Wall Street Journal, I have digital subscriptions to both, sometime a french newspaper..)

- Read novels ( a lot) and comics

- Listen to music

- Watch some videos

- Use a few apps like ESPN one to follow sports.

- Surf the web.

I have a Kindle fire and I do all of those on the Fire and the only thing where I am not 100% satisfied would be surfing the web ( the screen is a little small for comics too although they have  technology that enlarges part of the screen and reduce this issue).

The tablet is fine to surf as long as you are not on web sites with hundreds of tiny links like CNN or VGChartz, in that case navigating the site is a bit of a pain.

But otherwise I am very happy with my Fire. I would even argue that for my useage the Fire is superior to an Ipad as it's size and integration with Amazon makes it a better tool to read and purchase novels.( I know you're supposed to read on a regular Kindle and I have that too but since I got my Fire I have been doing all my reading on the Fire, the font seems sharper, and it is a lot more convenient to purchase new books or even watch your collection, the only reason I keept my old kindle keyboard is for travelling ( battery), and free 3G support when in areas with no free WI-Fi )

Of course if gaming or using complex apps is more your thing, an IPad might be a better device ( but the size/weight makes an Ipad not such a convenient tool to read, it's fine for 30 minutes, not so much if you're reading a novel for 4 hours).

Wouldn't an ultrabook essentially adress that particular disadvantage? Sure they are ridiculously expensive at the moment but IMO an ultrabook is where my portable computing interest lie. Tablets don't do anything for me.

Possibly, I think the best option is the Sony Vaio Z. It is effectively an ultrabook, 10" ish really thin with good battery (or fatter with much better battery), and an external GPU to allow you to run games when at home

The advantage of laptops compared to most tablets are keyboards and extra ports like full USB, ethernet ports and optical drives primarily, but I am not sure ultra books have all these things (going by my mum's MacBook Air). In the past, light and small laptops have been rubbish in terms of power, but now with the new chips, they should have enough power.

The main issue is they are less easily accesible, and even in terms of size, something with their clamshellesque design, it just means it takes longer to start using them, which is why the hybrid form factor does work best, like the transformer prime