Welcome to 2010

I broke down. I compromised my moral integrity. I did what I laughed at others for doing. I bought a tablet, and I couldn’t be happier.

What changed? Did my opinion change? Not drastically. I still don’t see them as the future of computing. They are a consumption device, and it would be difficult to do much more with them than that. But that is what I wanted.

Pricing has also changed drastically. When the iPad first came out, it was a 10″ behemoth, and it costed around $500, putting it well outside of my interests. (A high end laptop could be found starting at ~$800.) However, within the last year, some solid contenders have entered the 7″ ~$200 arena. The nVidia Tegra 3 chipset, quad core processing, and the latest Android experience on sale in the Nexus 7 for $155 shipped was too good for me to pass.

I have long said that I could’t justify a tablet when I have a desktop, two laptops, and a smartphone all within reach. My circumstances changed however during our latest vacation, and I found myself draining the battery on my smartphone daily trying to stay connected. I have discovered a few good areas that a tablet excels over other devices

• Entertaining when space is limited (car, airplane, bed, etc)
• Reading eBooks
• Reading technical posts with code examples
• Games developed for the touchscreen
• Quick reference during certain table-top activities…

I find my discovery process similar to getting my first smartphone. I remember a few days after I had my smartphone I had the realization that I could get from my location to any other location without ever missing a turn again. I drove to a retail store to make a purchase and realized that I could mitigate buyer’s remorse by price checking while standing in the store! Information is power, and I had the Internet in my pocket. I could check reviews, prices, availability, stock nearby – all without carefully planning my trip beforehand at home.

While that smartphone does some things really well, it is a small form factor. For anyone that has ever upgraded their monitor to a larger size, or their computer to a faster model, you will know the feeling when you migrate from a smartphone to a tablet.

Despite my fears, I don’t think it will quickly become a device that collects dust. I’ve heavily used my smartphone for close to four years now, and there is no sign that this will change in the near future. The tablet is the extension of the smartphone.

I’m not saying to go blindly buy one – you should still have good reasons, and stick to a budget. But if you find yourself running your battery down on your smartphone from overuse, let me recommend a tablet to you.

And welcome to the year 2010!