Tablets (No, I’m not talking about the medicine type) are the in thing today, the gadget everyone has to have whether technologically savvy or not. Given the tablet’s appeal and how popular it is, a majority of people do not quite understand what the gadget is.
Simply put a tablet is a computer that has the main features and functionalities of a personal computer such as, processing power, screen display, RAM and resolution. The main difference is that tablets are portable. Also a tablet utilizes a touch screen as its main input facility. Some of the major tablet brands include the Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HP Slate, Amazon Kindle and the Nook among others.
[Read more: Five Tips for First-Time Tablet Owners]
Do you think tablets are becoming the preferred computing choice? Tell us in the comments.
So why the Shift to Tablets?
By design, tablets are not made to compete with laptops and desktop computers but several important features and benefits of tablets clearly illustrate why tablet devices are the preferred choice. The most touted benefit of course is size and portability of the tablet. The largest tablet in the market right now, the iPad is a mere 1.5 pounds while the lightest laptop is 5 pounds. This is a big advantage for travelers, bloggers, researchers who like to travel light as well as just common folks who work while on the move.
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Another feature greatly loved in tablets is the touch screen functionalities; they are simply amazing. Scrolling and screen rotation on tablets is very fast, something most people adore in contrast to the rigid display of a laptop or desktop. Also tablets are super fast; the iPad features a 1GHZ processor, the HP Slate has 1.86GHZ and 2GB of RAM. Another excellent feature is battery life with most tablets going up to 8 hours per single charge, a huge advantage to a business traveler or traveling salesmen who may need to do presentation. Coupled with presence of Wi-Fi networks that tablets easily hook up to, tablet devices are the preferred choice.
So are we in a “Post PC” era?
A recent research by the Nielsen Company showed that people are preferring tablets in doing tasks ordinarily performed with laptops and desktops. The research shows that 77 percent of tablet users will use their tablets instead of their laptops or desktops while 35 percent never touch their desktops. This trend coupled with steep rise in Wi-Fi and mobile data consumption has led to what some are referring as the post-PC era. Tablet manufacturers are packing more and more power and features into tablets as people are opting for these devices and are increasingly mobile.
It appears like desktops and laptops are becoming the niche computing products for instance for office use, while tablet devices become the preferred choice for everyday computing.
[Suggested reading: Technology Upgrade – Swapping Your Laptop for a Tablet]
Are we in a Post PC era? Tell us what you think.
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Hi Peter,
At first i really don’t like using iPad2 when i blog. I just don’t like using the touch screen keyboard. It feels really uncomfortable and the screen size just feels awkward. However, i downloaded dragon dictation and now i happily blogging through my tablet. It’s a great application that converts voice into to text. With that being said, i guess people now preferred tablets as their computing device due to portability and the amazing applications.
Yeah that’s quite an app, but in most cases it doesn’t seem to translate accurately. Thanks for the comment Veronica.
Yes These era is of PC, tablets and laptops. we cannot live without them.
At this point of time, I think I will be agreeing that tablets are really preferred because it is not just portable but very helpful and useful whether you are home or in different places. With its portability, you can bring it along with you wherever you go and you can stay online 24-7.
Yup you’ve got a point there Liane 🙂
Thanks Peter! And also, people are getting to be practical when it come to their own way of living!
Yes we are :). On my iPad 2 at the moment.
Yeah Brad, a lot of people think so too.
I my opinion, if you are not doing heavy task over your pc/laptop then you may consider to replace with tablet. Especially for inline or small online games only.
Tan,
What about blogging? Would you use a tablet to blog?
I think blog in an Android tablet PC definitely is a great match.
It will be a long time before I give up my desktop for a tablet. I think they are better for casual users but people who need serious processing power will not be able to make the move for a long time.
Imagine doing some design work on a tablet, thats is years off!
So I guess you are possibly right when you say that the ablet is for more “everyday use”
I admired the technology of tablets but practically I still prefer to use my old laptop. Thanks for the comment Krissy.
I think tablets are becoming more popular, but at the moment i don’t think it is the prefered computing choice because it still can’t do everything a computer can do. But i think it has differnetly taken over from netbooks as you can see they are fading away.
for me no! I still like having laptop than using a tablet. tablet is good in different way but laptop is still better for me.
Yup, me too Kevin.
I still think computers are more prefered than tablets. Tablets are very compatible don’t get me wrong but they are still limited. Does anyone agree?
Yeah Chris, although tablets are becoming more popular these days but personally I think they are still not there yet to replace desktops and laptops.
This is an interesting question. I think the answer is both yes and no. Some people love to always grab onto the newest technology so they will easily gravitate to using tablets in place of PCs. Other people are a bit slower to make changes with their technology. Personally I like my laptop and do not plan to abandon it anytime soon. I think there is room in this world for both tablets and PCs.