Tablet Computers are here to stay

So, I have an IPad.  I love my IPad.  I have a rather intense and intimate relationship with it. I am not sure that having had it, I could live my life without it.

Maybe you think I have gone too far and said too much, but I am not sure that is true.  It might be the purchase with the single most impact on my life in the last 24 months.  I didn't realize that I needed it as much as I did, that it could do what it does or that I could potentially replace SO many different items I have at home with it.

Recently, I have seen various articles on whether or not the IPad will win the so-called tablet-wars and other articles saying that they are glorified iphones.  One author said he was unsure why they were popular as no one NEEDED an IPad.  I guess his rationale was that if people don't need it, it isn't important.  I disagree on both fronts:  people need it and it is important for many reasons. 

It is a game center; a telephone (video chat in IPad 2 and just voice Skype on the original IPad); a photo repository; a music purchase and delivery system; a book library (and book store); a portable television set; a radio (online streaming is here people, get used to it!),  It has become my bank. It is my preferred method for reading magazines and newspapers as they are now video and reading formats delivered in one platform (think Martha Stewart magazine morphed with her show and you get the idea)- simply fabulous! 

I can shop from it.  I can track my weight and the arrival of my airline flight.  I have friends who use it for medical coding.  Most importantly, I can use it to vote for my favorite singer and dancer on popular TV reality game shows.  Hooray, no more annoying busy signals I used to get calling in!

These are all important features of the IPad.  However, there are three main reasons why I believe it will be the gadget that changes the way we all view and deal with computer activity. 

First, it is easier to read while on the toilet.  Laugh it you want, but if you have one, you know you have checked your email while seated on the porcelain throne.  This goes for couch web-surfing too.  How many of us have sat watching TV and wondered how old a celebrity was or where Crimea actually is or what is the distance from the earth to the moon?  Well, that leads me to item two.

Second, being able to access your applications, data, photos, music and telecommunication needs in one place increases our ability to get things done quickly and easily.  If you make it fun and easy, we end up doing it more and more.

Lastly, it is cool.  Face it, half of what we do in this world hinges on the coolness of the thing we are doing.  I feel so Star Trek - Remember those computers that Piccard used to use to take report?  NOW WE HAVE THEM!  It is probably a matter of a few years before they become a defacto telephone and communication system, document reader and video display.  In fact, all of those components are part of the platform now but they need tweaking before they work the same way as they do for Piccard on TV!  It is easier to read from than an iphone and big enough that you can see a video chat without being chained to your desktop.  Add the additional features and it is basically the perfect gadget.

Here is an article on some non-Apple tablets. Pick one, your life may never be the same!  http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/category/tablets/