For as long as I’ve been working with computers, having the latest greatest model has always been a status symbol of sorts. I get that this isn’t limited to the computer industry, but that’s where my heads at, so that’s where we’ll stay for this post. When I was a kid, it was having a computer in your home. In my 20’s it was having a laptop. Now, It’s all about what tablet you have. I love using my tablets.
1) They’re highly portable – Never before have you been able to have the entirety of your office (and quite frankly the whole of human knowledge) in your briefcase, backpack or purse. Having a tablet means that you can do anything you want from anywhere in the world. I used to joke with some of the people in my office that because 98% of my job was done on a computer, I could do my job from the deck of a boat if I needed to. That joke became less of a joke and more of a reality when I took my wife on a cruise a few years ago and used my iPad to answer a few emergency e-mails from the office. The portability of these machines has become the staple of how they are built and marketed as both personal and business machines.
2) They’re just as powerful as any computer would be – previous to the Tablet revolution, in the computer world, bigger meant more powerful. This was because if the case your computer worked in was bigger, it could hold more memory and allow you to do more things. With Cloud technology, that is not an issue anymore, so we can trim down to the bare bones of what we need for memory and make it as small as possible. Luckily for us, the computer industry has also made it so that more powerful chips and processors are smaller than they ever have been before. We are now in a world where portability and functionality are going hand in hand. Hence, tablets walk the file line between productivity and power which makes it so that you can be just as productive anywhere you need to be.
3) They have all the accessories you need (if you needed any) – Something that I love tablets because everything is built-in. The camera is built-in, the microphone is built-in, the speakers are built-in, heck, it will even bring up a digital keyboard if you want to get some writing done. That being said, if you’re going to have things that attach or connect to your tablet, that’s always available as well. I have to admit, I have an iPad Air, and I have made use of and LOVE the keyboard case that I got with it. If you’re looking for wireless connections, there are multiple Bluetooth accessories that you can use for all of your productivity or entertainment needs. These, quite naturally, will have to be purchased separately, but they are all the same. It’s nice because while your tablet provider (Surface/iPad/etc.) will probably also make accessories for your tablet, you don’t necessarily need to go with what they provide. A Bluetooth connection is a wonderfully universal technology, so it won’t matter what brand you’re using.
For portability, accessibility, and overall functionality, there is nothing on the market that beats what your average tablet can do. No matter if it’s an iPad, Surface, or Galaxy tablet, There is no computer on the market today that will be as dexterous as a tablet will be. Funnily enough, while I wrote the bulk of this post on my computer, I’m finishing it on my tablet. Partially because I wanted to prove the point that I could work anywhere with it, but mostly because I’m helping my son with school this morning, and my computer is downstairs, so I was able to use my iPad for this.
What use would you have for your tablet?
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Hi Jason! Hope all is well. I’ve struggled for awhile if I need a tablet or not. I can do most things on my Samsung S10+ or I have my computer nearby wherever I am. But interested in your perspective!
Dan,
That’s a great thought thanks so much for bringing it up. For me, I can certainly do everything on my iPhone that I could do on my tablet, but there are two things you need to consider. 1) The size factor – I know I’m showing my age here but I like the larger screen of the tablet for working on because I can see what I’m working on a bit better than I would on the phone. 2) Keyboard accessories – When I’m doing a lot of my writing on my tablet, I have a keyboard case to go along with it because it is easier on my fingers than hitting the screen itself. While you can Bluetooth a full-sized keyboard to your phone, in my opinion, it looks silly to have such a small screen and a full-sized keyboard.
It does depend on your setup. If you are rocking a laptop you may not need a tablet. I personally have a desktop computer which obviously doesn’t go anywhere, so my portable system is my iPad.
Hopefully, that helps!
Jason