The Balance between size and power in a digitally dominant age

As you can't help but see the rush of tablets onto the market has been built in two distinct platforms; size or power.  I'm a follower of this format, and a believer that we are witnessing the emergence of a new format of device, similar in scope, to when fax machines, or bank cards first hit the market.


What was that?  What makes this such an important moment in consumer electronics?  The answer lies in the way that people are organizing their digital lives.  From the most simplistic viewpoint of a tween who is texting her friends, to the executive typing and fending off a political event while driving in traffic.  We now live in a digitally connected world.  


We are connected on a 24/7 basis.  And likely, I'm connected to you, by no more than two degrees of separation.  If you look through my LinkedIn profile, I am connected to more than 6.4 million people.  And as many times as i click on someone's name that I do not know I am amazed to see that within two people we could be connected.  So since we are likely connected, and you want me to know that you did something noteworthy at a time you want me to know it, you have added alerts to your information so I can learn immediately what you want me to.


Want to have some fun with this?  Stop and look the next time you go to a movie, while waiting for it to start, at the number of people using a smart device to read about the movie.  Look for all of the bright screens that light up the room before they dim the lights.  Really, you don't need the overhead lights any longer as the small  screens light up the big one.


I also see this on my Twitter account (@magicianah46) where people have "I'm at..." postings so they can let folks know where to meet them.  Really cool way of keeping people in the loop of where you are and what you're doing, in a very public way.  


So where is this all going?  My belief is that these tablet devices will proliferate and become the standard for all people to carry, replacing smart phones, PDA's and other intermediate devices.  I truly believe that tablets will replace your wallet in the upcoming years, my view is as credit cards have moved to simplify transactions (paypass), the extension of the wallet, payment, identification, storage for images, business cards, receipts, etc. can all become digital, and will in the near term time horizon.


I can foresee a time for my kids when they have two tablets, one for school; power, and one for personal; size.


What do you think?


This is my first blog, so let's have some fun and chat about this!