Why the iPad is the Best Gadget Out There

I’m not just talking about the iPad, but also about the tablet, which is the defining invention and lifestyle gadget of this generation.  You see, tablets have been around for quite awhile but they never really caught on.  PDAs and iPods have dominated the scene from years ago, and tablets were nowhere in sight—they mostly existed for graphic designers.  The most that the tablets from years ago did was to serve as graphic design tools that transferred the users stylus-written lines into digital mode and that was that. 

One technology that truly changed the whole scene was the intuitive touchscreen tech, which when applied with smartphones and other pocket gadgets revolutionized the way we see technology and the way it is being used.  Things suddenly did not require buttons—which leads to the possibility of more screen space in lieu of traditional keypads.  How many times has one seen a child with no knowledge of computers playing with a tablet gadget for the first time… and turning these same children into wizards.  

Suddenly the aged with their complaints of the generation gap and technostress have easily conquered the tablet in just a few hours!  Even the developmentally disabled are able to navigate the tablet thanks to the touchscreen technology it employs.  I would know myself because my brother, who has autism, searches for his favourite videos on Youtube on his iPad without any help from anyone!  He learned the whole thing himself.

So when Steve Jobs first introduced the iPad years ago, people scoffed at the idea, saying the thing was junk, an oversized iPod Touch.  But look where those comments are now—the world is now teeming with all these devices patterned after the iPad, which had entered the market amidst pessimism and skepticism. 

So what truly makes this new gadget the best among its peers?  Let’s look at the most popular reasons why the tablet is the top lifestyle gadget of this generation.  

Portability.  It’s not necessarily more portable than a smartphone like the iPhone.  But it is definitely less cumbersome like most laptops or ultrabooks.  It also offers the screen size that small gadgets can’t offer—one can watch movies better with this in tow, for example.  Yes it is definitely weird to see someone using his or her iPod as a camera, but since tablets like the iPad pack in a whole lot of features like a camera in there too, it’s definitely worth carrying around. 

This gadget is as light as can be expected compared to the average laptop.  It also has a pretty advanced core CPU chip, especially the latest ones out in the market.  One particular feature that Apple has added is the Retina display which shows colors in brilliant fashion.  Due to the lack of keyboards, or the fact that it is no longer necessary to have keyboards on the gadget gives it more space for display and use. 

All Around General Purpose.  From the previous thread, we’ve just discussed how the tablet has everything packed in it.  The truth is encompassed in a single word: APPS.  Thanks to applications—from calculators, weight management applications to photo editors—basically everything out there, one can cram practically anything into the tablet and use it for anything.  From star-mapping tool to an app that measures your pace as you run, the tablet can pretty much do everything you want it to do. 

Gone are the days when you’ll have to carry a cellular phone in one pocket, a compass, a digital watch, a notebook and pad paper and a digital camera and a laptop in your bag.  The tablet is the trapper keeper of the millenials—carrying anything and everything within its folds and it seems that’s the way it’s going to be for quite awhile it seems.  

Easy Sharing.  Interestingly, one of the best features of the tablet is the fact that not only is it highly useful on a variety of PC programs, it is definitely a tool when it comes to online social media.  Facebook, Twitter and other platforms are definitely matched with this tool, they’re basically made for the other.  Taking a picture and automatically sharing it on Facebook is definitely easy with this gadget, and that’s only one of the thousand other applications that is possible with this thing.    

Sharing does not only pertain to online sharing but as a device to physically share between people.  Business presentations for example have accepted tablets as part of the norm, with CEOs and executives passing the holy tablet full of graphs across the room.  It’s the end of the sorry business of LCD projectors. 

The portability of the tablet is also very telling of our human ability to make better batteries.  Without decent batteries to power all those energy-consuming applications, the technology can be problematic.  What other technologies can we look forward to in the future?  We definitely have more in store for us in the coming years after the tablet.