This post seems slightly Apple biased. It might be, but based on stats and not personal preference, as per my little insanity moment dialoguing with myself over phone brands a little earlier.
Well.... In 2011, the year after the launch of the iPad, the device was already the best selling consumer electronics to date. By 2013, as the leading brand of the category, the iPad had out-shipped laptop PC’s and so Microsoft decided to stick by its previous statement that the best interface possible was still a combination of screen and keyboard and launched the Surface tablet, a touch-screen tablet with an optional keyboard interface that also acts as a cover and stand. I think that was particularly important as it marks the general consent in the industry that the personal computing is moving into the portable device category. Predictions last year were that all brands of tablets combines were to out-sell desktops and laptop PCs this year.
Of course some things will never change, and powerful machines will still be required for professional use, but the everyday use for keeping in touch or being entertained have already been shifted onto portables. Aside from personal usage, tablets have also made their into the education and health systems. Doctors take advantage of their portability to update patient’s charts into the hospital’s system and to demonstrate simulations both to patients and in conferences. In addition, some students today carry a lot less weight on their back then when I was at school. E-books and interactive learning applications have been adopted by many schools as learning resources.
So lets have fun expanding this scenario a little bit:
Let’s say a school adopts to be entirely paperless. Not only reading in class, but downloading media from a central or even the state library through a membership account would certainly free some space in that room used as library at school.
I know if I still were a student I would be very excited to know my marks on a test I just completed on a tablet as soon as the bell goes off, when the teacher syncs all devices with the results. Of course we are assuming a tablet would be a standard way to carry textbooks and notebooks because who wants to carry a laptop if the classroom desk has built-in keyboards?
And with NFC (Near Field Communication) students could also collect and hand in assignments as soon as they leave or enter the classroom. If the teachers use a surface desk (interactive desk) they could “flick” or “AirDrop” content onto the student’s tablets/desks and have a much more engaging activity.
In the medical industry we already experience advancements in patient care with apps that can either give you a heart rate reading or accurately diagnose the glucose levels of diabetics. Not to mention this amazing equipment that empowers people with disabilities to communicate and interact with the world. Taking in consideration the evolution that will continue to take place in hospital equipments, imagine getting a quick X-ray reading by the doctor holding a tablet device near your injury. It would obviously not be the tablet sold at your local electronics store, but rather a portable device with a tablet interface.
Since I can remember I have watched movies with interpretations of the future with tablet-like devices and holograms. Why not throw in some holographic capabilities in our tablets too? Would bring FaceTime into a whole new level—maybe it will redefine our perception of calling each other altogether. Maybe it allow you to kick some real butt when presenting a pitch to an investor by making them experience you presentation, instead of watching it.
Would you agree that as hardware is gradually thinner and lighter the tablet category will completely substitute personal computers as a portable device and that phones, which today are merely apps, will disappear merging into wearables?
2087
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