They each take a stroll around the place, take in everything the Showcase has to offer, and ultimately settle on three different devices that run different operating systems and have differently sized screens.

They’re all buying laptops, right? Think again. The introduction of devices such as Microsoft’s Surface, the latest iPad and various Android devices has launched tablets into a heyday. The devices are rapidly replacing both the laptop and the large movil android barato in the modern college student’s technological arsenal.

There’s a method behind this seemingly mad suggestion. When I look at the 13-inch laptop I’m typing this piece on and the 4.5-inch smartphone sitting next to it, I see a shameful redundancy. Both devices have word processors, cameras, music players, basic video editing capabilities and screens to consume media and play games on. They can also access the Internet, and through it, an ever-increasing number of apps and information.

What distinguishes the two are the laptop’s size and the smartphone’s calling and texting capabilities. The laptop can do nearly everything the smartphone does at a far higher level and on a far more viewable display — other than call people over a mobile network.

And the smartphone’s size is necessarily smaller than a laptop’s in order to keep the mobile phone “mobile.” The tablet is the logical next step, able to do almost everything better than a large smartphone, perform all but the most strenuous computing tasks, and able to be easily slipped into the bag, purse, or backpack of your choice.

Though the hardware in a tablet may become outdated relatively quickly as new ones are introduced, its basic capabilities have already advanced to the point where the same tablet could be used for years without an upgrade. Thanks to cloud storage like Google Drive, office software is free to acquire and easy to use, and many video sharing sites have their own apps that work on devices of any generation. And with high-definition displays already standard on many tablets, it makes sense that apps and videos made in the next few or even the next half-dozen years would display acceptably, if not well, on even a relatively old tablet.

For college students, all of the above should make buying a tablet in favor of a smartphone or a laptop a no-brainer. Wi-Fi is a given on this campus, and there are a plethora of cases and covers available that give tablets a full keyboard. Also, the tablet’s smaller size compared to a laptop would make sense for taking notes, especially in buildings like Lorch Hall’s Askwith Auditorium and the Dennison Building, where the amount of desk space allotted for each student is barely sufficient for a laptop of any size. And even though the commercials during the World Series extolled the capabilities of the latest smartphones, dropping $100-200 on one every two years while buying a decent laptop at some point makes little sense when a $500 tablet has so much power and versatility. Considering this, along with the tablet’s support from wireless carriers who give them mobile Internet access, why would anyone want to buy a big smartphone?

A tablet android makes sense even for those students who need the processing power of a full-fledged computer, considering that between the Sites and CAEN computers located around campus, there are more than 1,500 computers available for use and even more when including the computers in the dorms. These computers are equipped with the advanced audio and video, programming, engineering and design software needed by students in multiple programs.
Though the technology involved does not currently support tablets, there are also virtual computers that are available for use on one’s own machine that have the same software as the Sites and CAEN workstations. As tablets take off, it’ll only be a matter of time before they are able to take advantage of this virtual computing power.