People are becoming more and more mobile. As a result the mobile industry is booming leaving behind desktops. But surprisingly laptop sales have suffered a bit as well. Why? A powerful force in the world of computing is emerging.

Thomas Friedman is onto something in his book, The World is Flat. The world is becoming flat in the world of computing. What this means is that people have the power of information at the palm of their hands. It used to be that such information was accessible via smartphones. But there is something even better than smartphones.

What is it?

Tablets are mobile devices that use applications to provide the user with the same function as a laptop, gaming system and sometimes a cell phone put together. They are becoming very popular because they allow mobile functionality anywhere. Laptops used to serve this purpose but they needed to be charged and even then they would only provide a few hours of use before needing to be charged again.

With tablets it’s much simpler. I have a Samsung galaxy tab. I charge it once and I can use it for up to 9 to 13 hours depending on what I am doing on it. I use it for business, personal schedule and errands, gameplay, movie watching on long flights, news and updates, investing and even for typing office documents that I later transfer to my desktop for printing. With a tablet, it seems the possibilities are endless with the many applications out there. It’s not going to be long before laptops are a thing of the past altogether.

Do you have a tablet? If so, what do you use it for primarily?