And so, it's not hard to imagine my long holdout for not getting any smartphone or tablets. My regular cell phone, basic as it might be, works fine. I don't have hyper needs to be online or stay connected via email sync or web access. (I guess I'm not that important a player; but I can live with that, for want of a simpler life.) All I need, is some voice calls, with occasional texting. I don't even play games. Yes, yes, I know - I'm quite a dinosaur; but again, I can live with that as well; I have better use of my time than checking with Facebook every 30 mins, as a lot of people seem to do these days. That's what I call, "busy for nothing."
It wasn't until the battery of my basic cell started dying on me, and I couldn't find any OEM battery anymore, that I finally accept a hand-me-down smartphone from my husband. I appreciate it, more to the fact that the battery lasts much longer, with much longer talk time, and there's enhanced capability to set alarms and check time using world-clock. I appreciate nice user interface, but I would not pay premium for it; I'm sure the late Steven Jobs would turn in his grave, literally, knowing such holdouts as I am.
As you can imagine, I have much less need for tablets. At least, with my cell (and now the smartphone), I have it with me all the time. I don't even bring my laptop with me all the time when I go out; why would I need a tablet?
But, on recent trip to Europe, I'm having second thoughts. My kids are taught to pack their own bags and decide what stuffs they need (or want) to bring. Books are a big part of it. Prior to the trip, we've got maybe 25 books sitting on the table that they want to bring with them, so that they can read while waiting in the airport lounge, or on the plane, or the quiet time in the evening, or whenever wherever, really. But, bringing 25 thick books with us will not do. We always travel light, avoiding the need to check bags (and then the eventual wait for bags to come out upon arrival). Hence, our first need of a tablet - or rather, an e-reader - is born.
After we came back from the trip, my daughter decides that she wants an e-reader as birthday gift. She's thrilled with the idea that she can now have her own library of a few thousand books that she can bring with her when she's on the road. (Yes, she is every bit as pragmatic as I am, even though she's still young.) I've been undecided as to whether I would go for a full-fledged tablet like iPad or just an e-reader like Kindle or Nook. My son wants iPad (or even just an iPod Touch, if iPhone and iPad are not on the deck); my daughter is fine with an e-reader (though she's unsure about Kindle or Nook).
Last week, we went to the nearby Barnes And Nobles store to buy books (physical books) of a new book they've been waiting on in the public library. It's a popular book and the wait is bound to be at least six months. While there, they play around with the Barnes And Nobles devices, including the Nook Tablet, Nook Color, and the regular e-reader. My son loves the color and the responsiveness of the Nook Tablet, and Color, when playing games. My daughter just wants to read with the devices. The Nook Simple Touch is basic enough as an e-reader, with the e-ink not too taxing on the eyes when reading long hours, but it's not as responsive as the Nook Color or Tablet. The half-second lag in response sometimes have me wondered if I have turned the page already or not, which is not very good.
I toy with the idea for a few more days, as to whether we would go for a device that is single purpose, or whether we should go for something that serves a few more purposes. I recall the now buried alarm clocks of mine that used to be staples in our daily lives and during trips; with the cell phone that is with me all the time that doubles as clock and alarm clock, I don't want to go back to the days when I carry all the single-purpose devices (in which I have to ensure each one has sufficient battery too) in my bag anymore.
Suddenly, the choice becomes clear to me. If I dim the brightness of a color device, the reading won't be so bad. But with the first foray, I don't want to spend big money on something that might not work out (or work as smoothly as it claims). Plus, I need the device to allow me to borrow books from public library too.
With those goals in mind, it makes decisions easier. I won't go for Kindle because it doesn't support open standards like e-pub (hence, it won't allow for borrowing books from library). Most people complain about the lack of apps on the Barnes And Nobles store; but to me, most of the apps on the Apple iStore are white noise anyways, which I don't have much care for. I do want the wi-fi capability to connect to the web to read newspapers and to surf. The touch-screen is much more sensitive and responsive in the Nook Color than the Nook Simple Touch. And Nook Color isn't that expensive, which means that, if it doesn't work out, I won't feel so bad trashing it.
And so, we went to the Barnes And Nobles store again to buy our very first Nook Color, with screen protector and a hard cover to protect it. Full retail of everything was a little over $200 which is still much cheaper than getting the hyped-up Apple devices. I do have to go to Microcenter to buy a wireless router to hook it with my home network too. (Yes, I've delayed setting up wi-fi at home due to security concerns for quite some now, until WPA/WPA2 comes along which is better than WEP.) And then I have to set up my account with Barnes And Nobles. In no time, the kids got their first e-book on the Nook Color. They've been playing some basic games (eg. chess) on it, and read up on things on wikipedia too.
From a user's perspective, I know the process for all these are pretty much the same for all the other devices, and across vendors. Now that we've got one going, I'm thinking of getting a few more (used) Nook Color so that the kids can have their own device while we're traveling. They love it; and I love it too.
My son is itching to write his own iPhone/iPad app, so I know one of these days, I'll have to get some Apple devices for him, from a developer's and tester's perspective. (Afterall, a simulator in the IDE will only get you so far.) But for now, Nook Color is a good start, with a very reasonable price tag and performance. I can't ask for more.
PS: I can see how (and why) tablets will eventually cannibalize the netbook market, with the tablet so much smaller, lighter, more responsive, less expensive, yet serving essentially the same purpose. Netbooks are too small and limiting for serious corporate work, and mostly serve the single-purpose to surf the web, in which tablets can easily do. Plus, tablets like iPad (based on iOS) and Nook Color/Tablet (based on Android) are much more lightweight in terms of OS, without having to drag along the heavy Windows OS (or even other OS like linux) which can take forever to boot up. Just a week into it, my kids have all but forgotten the netbooks; one can easily understand why.
PPS: When you see how consumer behavior can easily mold and change, Steve Jobs had it right. One should observe how intuitive and un-intimidating a device is for kids to pick up, without having to go through a thick manual, and not be intimidated by the device and the whole process.
PPS: When you see how consumer behavior can easily mold and change, Steve Jobs had it right. One should observe how intuitive and un-intimidating a device is for kids to pick up, without having to go through a thick manual, and not be intimidated by the device and the whole process.
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