I Can't Find a Single Productive Use For My Tablet

I've actually found a sweet spot for a tablet. More than a year ago I ditched my smartphone for a Nokia C3-00. This phone has 2 weeks (!) of battery life and I use it only as a phone - it never drops calls or dies. I use the tablet (Galaxy Tab 8.9) for everything my friends struggle on a phone - much bigger screen for reading, bigger keyboard, more battery. It fits perfectly in the bag I always carry with me.

Note that I don't compare it to a PC - a real computer is a lot more productive when it's around.

My primary use for one has become displaying music scores.

This is another way of saying, "Why do I need that? I've always done it this way." It is also a form of soft ludditism. Why do I need a word processor? I have a typewriter.

My regular use of a tablet (with a data plan): Reading. It's almost energy replaced books for me. Email when away from my desk. Note taking. Reference. Lots and lots of it, whether through a web browser, PDFs stored in my Dropbox, or special purpose apps (language dictionaries among many others). Extra screen to put a document on while working on my laptop away from an external monitor. General web browsing, on the couch, when eating lunch, etc. News. Flipboard has replaced newspapers entirely for me. Emergency server maintenance - I once resurrected our storefront server at 1:00 AM without getting out of bed. Remote VNC over VPN from anywhere. Casual gaming. A 9.5" screen is so much better for this than a 4" one. Movies while flying - way easier than trying to work with a laptop in coach.

Not to mention anything I would do on my Laptop - if I had my laptop with me at the time. I carry my tablet with me everywhere. I leave my laptop on my desk.

I think the key difference there is that those are 'passive consuming', which is what tablets are excellent at. But those things are entertainment, not 'productive' in terms of output.

I don't agree with the authors conclusion, but I do agree that tablets aren't usually the right tool to efficiently be productive on. But they're great for consuming. I don't see a problem with that.

Before going to bed, I sometimes would prop up a softcover book, hardcover book, or laptop on my stomach and read. The hardcover book was usually much too heavy, and even the laptop was too heavy. The softcover book was light, but a little hard to hold, and I would flip the page every minute or two. Also, many softcover books I read once and then would have to look for a new one.

My tablet - very light on my stomach, as easy to hold as a book - easier with no page flipping etc. The half hour before I sleep is usually when I use my tablet.

Also - I develop for Android. Honeycomb was the first Android version designed for tablets. It came out about 2 years ago, early 2011. Back then the Android smartphone to tablet ratio was something like 95 to 5, if not greater. The integrated smartphone/tablet ICS Android version came out at the end of 2011. Meaning, the tablet OS and API hooks have only been out for two years, and initially there was very little of a user base.

In other words, these are still early days. I am sure the popular Android tablet focused apps of the future are yet to be written.