One thing I've been considering for a while is to purchase a tablet PC. You know, the portable computers that look like someone's wrenched the monitor of a small laptop, making them look like Captain Kirk fresh from the Starship Enterprise, expecting them to denounce the Borg or asking for warp factor six at any point.
But are they actually any use? Many of my friends, colleagues and acquantainces have tablets of one form another. It's very difficult to attend a meeting at work without somebody whipping out an iPad compared to everyone else scrawling on traditional paper as if it's the equivalent of everyone unzipping their trousers to, er, compare their assets with the tablet owners those with the most impressive member.
It was refreshing though, recently, to have a meeting with staff including two people very high up in IT who preferred to do hand-written notes which was refreshing, and somebody with the more sensible to type on laptop. Is an iPad in a meeting truly better? Is it because you have access to your calendar or e-mail (providing you can get a decent wi-fi connection in the regular game of finding a hotspot that you can log in) or can show presentations or type notes, or is it a battery-hungry angry-birds distraction that makes you look a little pretentious or say 'look at the size of my pay packet'.
I upgraded to an Android smartphone last year and this does pretty much what a tablet does for a third of the price. It can access e-mails, social networks and much more and the 3G, though not perfect, is more useful than tablets that are mostly wi-fi only. Do people find their tablets make them more productive or is it just so 'draw something' images can become more detailed? I considered getting a Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 to write notes when out and about as the frankly appalling HTC keyboard is neither use nor ornament, but on any tablet writing on the touchscreen keyboard is like trying to bash your fingers against a table. It's fine for Facebook messages or Tweets or meeting minutes, but is it useful for anything more? Would it not be better to invest in a laptop or is that just too bulky?
Microsoft Surface tablets or getting a Bluetooth keyboard looks more promising, but the former requires a small loan and the second adds to the bulk.
I've considered getting a tablet as I've been in external meetings with companies and everyone around the table has a tablet of some form aside from me with a traditional pen and paper. Does that make me less professional or just look less professional? Behind their upright tablet sat on a folding cover are they toying with stats and images and checking their mail or just knocking pigs over with birds?
Now I can see a lot of benefits to them; typing notes on the go, better viewing of the internet, and the benefits of them in the classroom, but are they worth the investment or is it better spending a little more - or in the case of the iPad a little less - and get a proper PC?
So the question I want to ask is, are tablets worth the investment or are they just over-sized mobile phones lacking a 3G connection for people to either continue surfing social networks or playing games on a bigger screen, or to make themselves look better in meetings in a style over substance move? Let me know!
(Secretly I want one but not sure if it's worth it)
Saturday 12 January 2013
What Is The Actual Point of a Tablet PC?
Posted on 06:15 by Unknown
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