Several of us here at Slaw comment from time to time on tablets, and the paperless office - but usually not together.
All Things Digital has a post entitled Use a Tablet, Save a Tree that talks about a Morgan Stanley prediction that the increasing demand for digital content will result in a 2% decline in printer supplies revenue in 2011. It suggests that this trend is one reason that Hewlett Packard is getting into the tablet market.
For the record, I'm impatiently waiting for the iPad2, then will take the tablet plunge. While one doesn't need a tablet to go paperless, it is a useful tool to help in that quest. My thought all along has been to see what the competition is like when the iPad 2 comes out, and make a decision on which tablet to buy. But right now, it seems that while there will be some interesting choices, many won't be available for a while. And while some of the competing products seem to have far better technical specs than the iPad, its the iPad2 that we must compare those to. I have resisted the Apple reality distortion field up until now, but am starting to think that at least on the tablet front, and at least for the near future, resistance is futile.
David:
I agree with you regarding the iPad2 anticipating what it will bring. As for the Apple Reality Distortion Field, well you may find that you fall under the influence as well..once you have bitten the Apple…!
I find it interesting that the two major devices at the moment are the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It is a testament to innovation that Windows 7 tablets are having to play catch-up in this market. Microsoft has let other players define the field. We shall see what happens as computing shifts to the cloud…
Cheers,
Dave
I find the Windows 7 tablet strategy strange. It may have some traction within certain enterprise verticals looking for essentially a touch-screen laptop. But it won't compete in the same market as the iPad or Android tablets. Can't figure out why Microsoft didn't do a tablet version of Windows phone 7 while they were at it.
I often use my iPad to review or revise in progress work rather than printing.
One thing to keep in mind for all mobile devices is security of client materials. From my limited understanding, unlike some brands of mobile devices, security options for iPad (and maybe other upcoming new tech) cannot be easily driven by IT policy decisions without user compliance. I am pretty careful to keep my device security settings in mind when making choices about copies of client specific material on my tablet, even with my personal desire to save trees.
The issue isn't really different for carrying around printed client work, but a wireless device is more universally attractive to those who take things without asking.
"Use a Tablet, Save a Tree" this is all commendable and a lot is being said about cutting back on paper usage and saving trees thanks to the new technology. However, why is there nothing being said about the consequences of discarding these devices when a new more updated version is introduced on an annual basis? Where are the discarded devices going? Are they being recycled?
Or, where are the minerals such as columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, wolframite (ores for tantalum, tin, and cobalt, respectively) and gold, being harvested? If there is going to be balance in the discussion, should there not be discussion also of "conflict minerals"? I'm all for technological advancement and innovation but where's the balance?