Do I need a tablet?

So after a year of saving money I was finally able to purchase a laptop. I have been quite happy with the laptop and I am wondering if I need a tablet. I am a large person so carrying around my 17' laptop is not a big issue. Also as I have said before I don't have a real mobile lifestyle. I go work, go home, eat out and sleep. One place I do take my laptop is to my cybercafe I hang out at. I am not a coffee lover so I don't spend much time at Starbucks. I guess the moral of the story is I don't need a tablet but I want one. It is quite difficult to browse the web with at 17' laptop while sitting on my couch. Now the question is which device to buy.

One device that I am dying to get is the HTC Advantage. The device is thin compared to many UMPCs. It runs Windows Mobile which I don't love but I kinda like it. I have read some blog posts at GearDiary.com that say how great the device is. All of the reviews have been overwhelming positive. James Kendrick over at jkontherun.com made some instant posts while on the CES trade show floor. So I can read ebooks on it, surf using Opera, play all the Windows Mobile games, and always have internet cause it doubles as a phone. This it definitely a device I want to buy. What is keeping me from buying it? Price and screen resolution are my big reasons for not purchasing this device. If I had a gsm carrier and money to burn this device would be mine.

My Mobile Gripe

There is one thing that really annoys me about reading tech articles. It is the constant talk about flying on a plane. I consider myself a poor person but in reality I think I do ok. I make about the national average. I only ride a plane once a year to visit my girlfriend's family. So I don't consider myself a mobile person. I wake up, commute to work, work 9 hours, commute home, and sleep. This is not a mobile lifestyle.

I really don't need a mobile device. I have always had a computer at work and at home. Even when I was in college I didn't really need a mobile device since they had computer labs. I would bet that the majority of people live this way.

So I think writers should write about how a normal working person would use mobile devices. I guess everyone doesn't have an office job but I bet it would be more common than business travelers.

So after all this griping I would like to say I love mobile devices. They aren't a necessity for me but they enhance my life. My Handspring Visor was very helpful in college in tracking my classes and assignments. I loved being able to surf on my couch with my Q1 and 770. For me mobile devices are very fun.

Nokia N810

I originally owned the Nokia 770 and I loved the device. Being able to surf the web on a couch was the greatest feeling. I even ran a website just because I liked the device so much. It was the first time I was really able to web surf without a full computer. Palm pilots just never had enough power. As much as I loved it, I had to sell it about 6 months ago. I was having issues paying my mortgage and gadgets were the first things to go. I also sold my Samsung Q1.

The Nokia did have quite a few flaws. It didn't have an ereader client, which I consider to be the killer app fro me. The Nokia didn't support Flash so I couldn't watch youtube. The memory was so limited that I couldn't go to the website digg.com. I eventually bought the Samsung Q1 and just stopped using the Nokia all together.

Then came the third generation of the Nokia call the 810. The device looks so beautiful. The new keyboard puts this device in a whole new league. Several of my issues have been fixed. I can now watch youtube and I heard people can surf digg. Ereader can be installed with the new Palm emulator. So right now I want either a Nokia 810 or an Eeepc. But I think I might wait cause it sounds like the Eeepcs are going to get some significant upgrades in the future.

Eeepc

Ok I have to admit that I really want this device. It doesn't help that Kevin Tofel at jkontherun.com has one and loves it. So a laptop computer for the low price of $399 isn't something new. There have been a few laptops that reached that price on black friday. But this one is small, I mean really small. One of the guys at my work has one and I was blown away by the size. I might get this device or I might not. I love tablet machines and this isn't one of them. I already have a laptop and don't really need a new one. I want a new Samsung Q1 but at this wonderful $399 price.

Rebirth

I have thought up a new name for this website that goes along better with my interests in portable computers. I think after all this time I think I want a pad like device from Star Trek. It would pretty much be a large Iphone. I think the size would be 8.5x5.5 or somthing like that. I really want a 1024 width screen. But the thing I realized is that I want it cheap. I want a Samsung Q1 Ultra but it is too expensive and I had one before and it was fragile. I want something nice and light and cheap. Kinda like a large cell phone.

Maybe someday I will get my device but for now I wait for a 1024 width Asus Eeepc.
:)