I bought an Android tablet this year, way back in January which actually feels like a few years ago! This was back when there was only the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab (7″ version) and people didn’t carry around tablets to record video or take photos. Which when you think about is ancient – kind of when people only had cellphones that were in BLACK AND WHITE!

Anyways I played around with mine, and performance/usability aside, it ended up in a dark corner where useless electronics go to die (hello Flip video recorder). Even when the iPad first came out, I didn’t understand what use cases a tablet would satisfy – yes I could see some specific areas which would benefit from a tablet, such as in the kitchen or as a clipboard, but I think a kid would be happier with a 7″ Nintendo DS instead of a tablet.

With a tablet handy, I’m able to say in situations – hey I could use my tablet for this! But in actuality, the opportunity where that comes up is low. For example

• “Hey I just got an addictive Android game, I could play it on my bigger screen tablet instead of my phone!” Except then I would need to carry my tablet around the house and around outside all the time so that I could continue my game on-the-go. Instead, I just play on my phone which is actually with me in and out of the house.
• “Hey I can bring my tablet on vacation and store all my itineraries or surf the web with it” Except that for me, weight and bulk is a premium while travelling and since I already have my phone then carrying a tablet is redundant
• “Hey we can sit around and play multiplayer games on the same tablet!” My 7″ is too small, and I’m skeptical that you won’t end up bumping heads even if it’s 10″. Plus, I think it falls under “playing cards” and you’d get kicked out of BBT places/library/etc
• “I can use it as a lightweight computer on the couch to look for things or type emails.” My REAL netbook and phone just laughed at their less-abled and redundant friend
• “I can read books or articles on the larger screen.” The tablet’s screen and ~10 hour battery life doesn’t hold a candle to my Kindle’s e-ink, form factor, and month long battery life.
• “I can watch movies on a 7″ screen!” While sitting on the couch in front of a TV?
• “I can buy a $150 dock/keyboard for my tablet and use it like a netbook” Which I’ve seen from the ASUS Transformer. The total ends up being around $500? How much are netbooks nowadays? $200?

I begin to wonder whether device makers have realized that maybe there isn’t such a great market for tablets. With HP’s $100/$150 fire sale of their TouchPad and recent news that you could get a BB PlayBook at 50% off in the States; could these be warning signs?

I don’t see tablets dying, I just don’t see why everyone must have a tablet (whereas everyone should have a computer or cellphone). In fact, I have one strong use case which a tablet would be the best device for, and that is to show photos. I’d like to be able to drop in a SD card and then hand the tablet off to someone who wanted to browse photos from a trip.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: android, techlust