The Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google’s Nexus 7, and the new iPad mini, are contributing towards the extinction of laptops in the classroom. In 
the blog, “Tablets in the classroom will soon be the norm,” by Peter Nowak, there was emphasis that there is a greater number of students using tablet’s in classes, instead of laptops. In his blog he mentioned that the Information Technology Department at UBC conducted a survey recently which found that 13% to 15% of students are now using tablets. Furthermore, 60% of students said that they will be purchasing tablets within the next year due to low prices. Personally I find a laptop easier to use in classes because it enables me to use a keyboard, rather than a touch screen. I own a MacBook Air, and I have no troubles with bringing it to various classes. Nowak stated that more students are inclined to use tablets because of their size, and weight. Marketers are working hard to differentiate tablets from laptops as it is a new product for the same target audience. They are currently stressing the fact that e-books can be purchased and read on tablets. This is seen as a great positive for students because e-books are affordable, and they add no weight to heavy backpacks. This point does seem like a positive however it does not encourage me, a laptop owner, to buy a tablet. I do not believe that this is a strong enough point of difference to capture the attention of students because, books can also be purchased online. Apart from minor size, and weight difference I do not see any strong points of difference that tablets have. However, I still believe that laptops are superior because they allow students to create word, powerpoint, and excel documents on them. In conclusion, I do not believe that laptops will soon be extinct because they provide more services for a greater range of consumers. Not all consumers are looking for small computers. Moreover, most students need to have the ability to create various documents throughout the day, and this is most convenient on laptops.
This blog post is in response to an external blog by Peter Nowak