Since that time I have had chance to use them more, and a few weeks back bought an iPad. I have to say I was very torn between the iPad and the Asus Transformer, largely due to the fact that iPads wont play flash, however, they remain the best “tablet” and, as I already have a netbook, a laptop, a desktop all flash capable I did not see that as too much of a stumbling block, after all, the pad was to fill a gap in my life right!

So, why the change of heart? Well its portability and the fact it can be left on. There are many times when I quickly want to do something online and I either have to:

1. Use my phone
2. Boot up my netbook

My phones screen size is too small, and my netbook is slow to boot up, and for me, this is the gap the iPad fills. I can leave it on in a drawer and it wont over heat, and the battery lasts for hours, and charges back up really fast. You can just pull it out, use it and put it down again.

The fact it doesnt require a keyboard means its easy to use when your lying on the sofa, or if you are travelling.

It is fast for browsing the internet, and pretty stable, in fact the only app I have had any issues with is “IMO”, a great integrated messenger that handles Skype (text), MSN, Gtalk etc really well… until it crashes and forgets who you are… but that aside, the iPad is very stable.

So, I have one, I like it… what it is not however is:

1. A work horse
2. Value for money

Anyone who things they can “work” with an ipad really needs a rething, touch typing is very diffucult as you cannot feel the keys, processing documents is not easy, for example there is not a single app that will allow you to edit an open office document. A lot of text editors save in formats that do not translate well to PC.

In terms of value for money, you can get a laptop for less money than an iPad, I dont think there is much more to say on that!

So… why the change of heart, really? Well, one of the biggest barriers to the iPad as I saw it was the inability to transfer documents to and from your PC. There was no USB interface for example. What changed everything for me was the availability of DropBox integrated apps.

If you dont already use dropbox, try it, its great! You will find apps for all tablets and smart phones now, as well as support for all PC operating systems, with dropbox I can not work between all my devices and this alone makes a tablet many times more useful (for me at least)!

The main reason is that tablets don’t fill a specific roll like other gadgets. Laptops became popular because they allowed mobile computing. Netbooks are popular because they’re even more portable and great for writing/editing while on the move. They’re also cheap making them perfect for low processor intensive tasks. It goes without saying what the mobile phone is useful for!

Tablets are OK for surfing the internet while on the move, not great for typing because of the touch screen keyboard and not so portable that they are easier to carry around than netbooks. They’re also generally more expensive than netbooks, are more restricted when it comes to applications (if you have a windows netbook you’ve got a far greater choice of good “apps” than any app store) and sometimes even bulkier than netbooks. I get that they are great little gadgets but I can’t see how people will justify buying them in the long term. I certainly can’t justify the cost of getting an iPad even though I think it’s a good product.

In truth, only 4000 people will actually lose their jobs, with another 3000 who’re working on Symbian being moved to Accenture. The company say that people who’re going to lose their jobs will be able to pick up their pay until the end of 2011.

I’ve read that the amount of redundancies in the UK is going to be around 700. That’s a lot of people to lose their jobs in one go, and shows how much Nokia feel they need to reduce their costs and workforce.

The jobs aren’t going to all go at once though. Instead, Nokia plans to have several phases of reduction until the end of 2012. Apparently the company is already talking to groups who represent their employees. I’ll keep the blog updated with news on this story as it develops.

The new BlackBerry Torch which looks great in its original Black has been released in White, and now Red. How long before we see a Pink BB Torch I wonder? To be honest I dont expect to see that, the Torch is a rather expensive flagship and I cannot see too many “pinkies” being sold for that handset, but, stranger things have happened!

Perhaps that is not entirely fair as some of these additional colours are actually released by the networks rather than RIM directly. Never the less, its amusing to look at a site which compares all currently available blackberry phones and see just how many phones they have available.

I think at time of writing there are around 40!

Now, compare that number to the number of actual models RIM have out at the moment, the:

• Curve 8520
• Curve 3G
• Bold 9000 (surprised thats still on sale!)
• Bold 9700
• Bold 9780
• Pearl 3G
• Storm (only one handset, no colours, soon to be replaced me thinks!)
• Torch

Ok, so stacking it up like that, 40 odd does not seem too bad, but when you think you cna cross the 9700 and storm off that list it does start to look a little different.

In particular the curve 8520 released a LOT of colours, I think there were 10 available at one point.

I guess RIM are not the only company to do this, there are plenty of others who release a single phone in five or six different colours, its just a little more obvious with RIM because their handsets were always black for a long time, and its only recently after getting into the retail side of things (as opposed to corporate) that they began doing this.

Its also more noticeable because they have such a small product line compared to other manufacturers, but then, that never stopped Apple did it!