It seems like over the past year, the tablet market has grown infinitely. What with the Kindle Fire and other competitors offering consumers more affordable and just as reliable products to the iPad, it’s really not a surprise. Especially with the increasing demand for ereaders. And for me, personally, that’s what converted me into a tablet fanatic.
Before, the awe was around the applications, the ease of use and size of the tablets. Now, more than ever, however, I think that’s not nearly as significant, but an added bonus. Most of us can access whatever applications we want at our fingertips with our smartphones, and our reliance on keyboards continues to diminish when we’re not our offices it seems.
So really it’s come down to two things I think: ebooks and video compatibility.
And here’s been my experience with my tablet from American book store chain, Barnes & Noble, i.e., the Nook:
For those of you located far across from me in the UK or elsewhere outside of America, you may be unfamiliar with the Nook. In all honesty, it’s a weaker comparison to the Kindle Fire. It’s a tablet that offers everything the Fire does, but without the higher quality applications, as well as Amazon’s endless libraries.
That doesn’t mean I don’t like it, though. Because it actually suits me just fine. It offers me Barnes & Noble’s extensive library, which is more convenient for someone like me anyways, because I’d much rather go into the B & N located just outside the subway on my way home rather than order products online. I guess it’s a personal thing.
And the Nook has Netflix and Hulu Plus, just like the Fire. So really, it didn’t matter which one I got as a gift this past Christmas. The only thing I can really complain about it is its small application market, which is more than unsatisfactory for someone like me, who is so involved with all social media.
Instead of having the Facebook, Twitter, foursquare, GetGlue and the countless other apps we all love on our iOS and Android software, I’m only left with the “Seesmic” app which portals my Facebook and Twitter profiles into one unfamiliar platform– created by someone, somewhere, who probably didn’t have much to do one day and made it for fun. It’s an app that took some adjustment on my part to accept, but even after a few months of owning my Nook, I’m still not crazy about it. Oh well, there’s always my Android smartphone for the important things.
As for the rest of my social networks– I have to use my web browser to log into them. Something I find to be SO 2009. And something I hope Barnes & Noble is smart enough to change before the next holiday season. Otherwise, the Nook won’t be around for much longer, especially considering how much the tablet market grew over 2011.
While I’m waiting for that to happen, though, I’ll stick with my Nook and keep reading through George R. Martin’s Game of Thrones during my daily commutes on the New York City subway. Just like everyone else.
