I've never really understood tablets.
I'm of the opinion that if I was going to carry around something too big to fit in a pocket, I might as well just make that thing a laptop.
I'm of the opinion that if I was going to carry around something too big to fit in a pocket, I might as well just make that thing a laptop.
It's never been something I had given much though to. The idea of craning my neck and reaching my arms to operate a laptop on the table beside me strikes my as uncomfortable, though.
To each their own, I guess.
If you take the author's 10 reasons and strip out the stuff that's a retread of previous products ("Look, it's portable! And OMG you can watch movies!") it seems to me you're left with one key point: the user interface makes it fun & easy to use. I don't think it's an accident that the only two tablet platforms that look viable so far, Apple and Android, are based on years of usability testing in the smartphone arena. Tablets may be computers inside, but in terms of product design they're consumer entertainment devices.
If I want to go out to a coffee shop and do some writing I have a netbook bag that I throw my iPad, a set of earbuds and an apple wireless keyboard into. It's great because it's a lot easier to focus on writing than it is with my laptop. I use Elements which syncs to dropbox. I also use that bag if I want to just hang out, sip coffee, and read the latest book I downloaded.
I love my iPad. It makes so many small tasks so much easier. Right now it's streaming a SomaFM station. I can look through and pick stations on the SomaFM app faster than I can dig through their website. It also makes a wonderful remote for my Apple TV.
Edit: I haven't had much exposure to smart phones aside from a blackberry that I didn't care for. I have owned an IBM ThinkPad 750 which is basically ye olde netbook. (Yay 14.4 modems)