I think that eventually I will cave and get myself a tablet. Do I need one? Of course not. I think that the vast majority of people don’t “need” one, despite what they claim. Just another toy and convenience that we can spend our disposable income on, sometimes not even disposable. All of these hype and stories, I believe, will eventually work on me. The only real question is not if, as I believe it will eventually be a when, but rather which one.
I do not think that I will get an iPad. The girlfriend has one, and while it would work for me as well, I just think that I want something different. I don’t necessarily think it’s better as everyone seems to think. I’ve used hers a lot, and its not bad. I just think that when I get mine, I might do more things on it that Apple famously does not let you do with their locked system. I am not that into tinkering, and knowing myself and what I didn’t do with my Android phone, I probably will not do anything special with a tablet. I just want that option in case I ever do. Not really a good reason, but just don’t feel like going Apple in this case. I’m typing this on a Macbook right now, so not like I won’t buy Apple. Just kind of want to try something different.
If Microsoft had not announced months ago that they would be creating a tablet with their own operating system, then I think I would of already gotten one of the many Android tablets. But, I think that since I’m not really in a hurry, I will at the very least wait for the Microsoft Surface tablets to come out just so that I can see what it’s like and see if it’s something that I’d want versus an Android tablet. I kind of doubt I’d buy that new tablet though, at least not right away. I definitely would wait some time because the last thing I’d want is to shell out money on that thing, have it for a few months or a year, and then it dies as a product because it never took off. Then I’d just be stuck with some hardware that would never have any apps or such created for it. Thus, at this point I’d guess it’d be Android.
Furthermore, I’m going to decide if I want a Wifi only version or one that is 3G or 4G enabled. In the coming months, I might do some research on the feasibility of using Google Talk and one of the free VOIP solutions on a tablet, and then using that tablet as a phone. If that were possible, then I think I’d just cancel my actual cell phone plan, saving the money on that and helping me rationalize the extra cost of a tablet. Also, if that were the case, I would almost definitely get a smaller tablet, like a 7 inch one. Much easier to carry around, in my opinion. I suppose also if that were the case, I’d not be able to get a Wifi only tablet. Well, unless I want to buy another gadget to provide MiFi service, like I think Verizon’s Jetpack does.
Speaking of replacing things, I think that the tablet would also be used as my eReader, and thus I’d use that to replace my Kindle, which I use every day now at lunch. I’m not locked into Amazon’s ecosystem, but if I decide I like it, the Kindle app is available.
I want to say that even if I get a tablet, I’d definitely still use my laptop to type things like this blog, as its much easier to type on a keyboard than a touch screen. In that regard, the Surface does seem intriguing to me and I’ll definitely want to try out that little keypad they have. If it works really well, I think that the only thing I’d use my laptop for after that is to store my pictures and such. I think that, once again rationalizing here, if I really were able to replace my laptop, Kindle, and cell phone for one tablet, it would be well worth buying a whole new toy!