Tablets for You and Me

Jan 23, 2012 by

It is pretty obvious that technology and gadgets make me a very happy person.  I would not want to spend my free time talking about the joy they bring me if it were not true because I am a very bad liar.  Some of my favorite gadgets right now to have with me at all times would have to be my tablets/e-readers.  I have been enjoying the iPad 2 since the day it came out, and because I am such a tech junkie I HAD to get the Kindle Fire too.  I’m torn between the two as I do love, love, love my iPad, but the Kindle Fire has this newness about it that makes me want to tote it around with me even more.  So, in order to avoid hurting either of their feelings, I alternate days that I carry my two best tablets.  It might sound silly to you, but I have to show them both some equal love.  

I do think that there are other people out there who get what I am saying, though.  In fact, more and more people now own tablets.  New studies show that it is actually one in four Americans who own a tablet like the iPad, Kindle Fire, or the Nook tablet.  This jump in people owning tablets was probably due to the fact that tablets were a stellar gift to give during the holidays.  In the month of December 18% of people owned a tablet.  That jumped up to 29% in the month of January.  This is a growth that those who study technology use have never before seen.

So what’s the reason for this huge jump in numbers?  One of the potential causes is definitely the fact that both the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet were introduced and marketed at the same time.  Not only were they available at the same time, but they both come with a price tag equal to about half of the iPad.  That makes tablets more accessible for people who do not have the funds to shell out for an iPad.  It is not just the timing and the pricing though.

The e-book industry is contributing to this effort as well.  Productions and publications of e-books are getting a lot more attention than ever before from publishers.  Borrowing e-books is also becoming an easier task for readers, and those who create apps and tools for tablets are really focusing on providing more and more.  All of those things combined make owning a tablet more important to consumers.

With all that said, what’s your reason for owning a tablet or not owning a tablet?  You know I would love to hear from you!