The Rise of the Tablet PC

Tablet PC's, IPad's and similar devices are hot and getting hotter in today's fast paced techno society. But will they survive? Tablet PC's are a natural progression in the trend to make things smaller but in getting this small are they compromising too much on practicality? Could they replace the laptop? I think not. The laptop is a marvel of electronics that continues to evolve in its own right in spite of the glut of new gadgets in the market. Why is this? Well firstly, with a pc or laptop, the user isn't confined to the App market for everything they want to do. The software market is much older and more matured and so the choice of applications is more professional and more widespread. Ok, so in media terms, watching videos, listening to music, surfing the web etc, the tablet PC rivals any laptop out there for its portability and so for the entertainment users this technology will be here to stay. But what about the serious business users? I own an IPad, in fact I'm writing this very article on it whilst sat on a train home from London and I find it invaluable as a business tool particularly since the train I am on, and on regularly, is packed with weary commuters. A laptop just wouldn't be practical. So herein lays the question of practicality. Well I don't think there is a competition between the two; I think the tablet PC and laptop can sit side by side in the professional arena in veritable bliss for many years to come.

Besides writing the odd article, I write software for a living and coding a complex piece of software on a virtual keyboard is my idea of hell. Whilst the IPad keyboard is excellent as virtual keyboards go, it is not what I'd call ideal. Besides that, I find writing software is best done in a comfortable environment with some peace and quiet, like my office. So why would I bother with practicality in that environment? I wouldn't. If I'm visiting a client and I need to show a presentation or demonstration of their software or if I'm working away, I need a laptop, so I can find myself a quiet place and do some work. An IPad just doesn't cut the mustard when it comes to getting some serious work done.
 
All that said, that doesn't necessarily rule out the IPad as a serious tool. I do a lot of work in the insurance industry, an industry where you still see brokers lugging huge claims files around the city, often times in suitcases, obtaining old fashion signed agreements from claims adjusters. This is an extremely labour intensive and archaic way of doing things. I could just see insurance brokers in the future carrying their IPad's around getting agreement to claims electronically using custom built apps. There is no end to the use for big business but I think this lies in bespoke use and not general use. We are already seeing survey staff standing in the street using their devices to complete questionnaires.
 
As I write this I realise that as technology advances many of the reasons for choosing a laptop over a tablet will diminish. The App market will intensify and keyboard technology will greatly improve, perhaps even be replaced with a new way of interacting with your computer.
 
Whatever happens, PC's, Laptops, Smartphone's and Tablet PC's all have their place in society and will continue to live alongside each other for some years to come.

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