It always amazes me how much technology changes and how we adapted to use it. Just the other week I was sorting through a random box looking for the Christmas decorations and found my old Gold Card modem and it got me thinking just how much I have adapted my life around technology and even in the space of 12 months how much my habits have changed.

For example 12 months ago I used to use an iPhone and iPad. Both of them fantastic devices that served their purposes well. If I wanted to do a spot of browsing when at home the it was out with the iPad and away I went, or indeed if I was out and about then the iPad came in very useful. No longer did I have to worry about getting my laptop out, which isn’t a great deal I know but it is far easier to do something on a tablet quickly than a laptop, just more accessible.

This whole setup worked wonders and I found myself getting a lot done very easily when ever I needed to, just grab my bag, pop the iPad in and away I went. The only issue I really had was I kind of wished my iPad was a 3G model, working on an iPad as a quick fix tool is wonderful unless of course you need to tether your phone for a internet connection and you are on the phone at the same time.

Now I know that there is free Wi-fi everywhere now virtually but you can not guarantee it so the backup of a tablet with a mobile connection was a tempting offer. So off I go to get myself a new tablet, a 3G one so I no longer had this problem. It was this point that my whole mobile life began to change as it was decision time. For what I needed I couldn’t really justify the cost of a new full size iPad with 3G, as much as I love Apple and thing the build quality is fantastic you certainly pay for that. So I looked at the Mini, was a tempting offer, until I saw the Nexus 7. For a considerable amount less I could get this tablet but it meant moving away from iOS and to something new. So I did my research to make sure all the relevant apps were available and decided to take the plunge.

That was about 9 months ago now and looking back I still can’t work out if I made the right decision, not because it is a bad tablet, but what happened next.

I am a person who likes integration with my devices, sharing browser tabs is fantastic. The amount if times I have email a URL from my mobile to myself so I could open it on my laptop or mobile is uncountable. Using Chrome as my main browser on my laptop meant that everything worked better with my Nexus 7, especially as I use Google Apps for work. This started to make my iPhone look like the weak link in the chain, and yes I tried the Google Apps on iOS.

So after much deliberation off to the Google Play store and I ordered a Nexus 4. Now as with everything new there is always a period of adjustment, the main one being the sheer size of the device compared to the iPhone. It certainly took some getting used to but I stuck with it.

From this point the change started to happen, very subtly first. I would notice that I had forgot to charge my Nexus 7 so I would stick it on to charge and leave it at home. Then in the evening I would notice that I was often down to the last 10% of my battery on my phone. Since getting the iPad my phone would last all day easily, usually with about 30% left. Then it struck me, I had stopped using my tablet. It was sitting in a drawer turned off 90% of the time. Occasionally I would turn it on if I wanted to watch a video on YouTube but that is about it.

Oddly changing to a smaller 3G tablet for easier portability and the ability to work quickly anywhere (within reason) has led me down a path where the very device that I purchased to make my life easier has made itself redundant.

Now I completely understand the need for tablets, they are wonderful devices that help may people accomplish plenty of tasks. In fact part of me kind of wishes I had kept my iPhone and got a 3G iPad instead as the separation was nice. It also makes me understand to a degree why Apple still kept the iPhone compact and haven’t gone to a bigger 5 inch screen like the major Android devices. Why would they? It kind of doesn’t make any sense as you get to a 5 inch screen on your phone and the need for a tablet beings to diminish (or at least it did for me), the lines start to get blurred and there is too much of a cross over.

What does the future hold, who can say. I am waiting to see what happens with the MacBook Air this year, if the rumours of a 12 inch Retina version are true then it may change again. The best part is that everybody is different and it is amazing that we live in such a world there is literally something out there for everybody.

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