Sacred Tablet

I've finally got around to picking up a tablet to supplement my gaming and geek needs, an iPad 2 with 3G to be exact (I'm currently not planning on paying for a 3G subscription, as all the places I use it at have wi-fi access). With the 3rd version having been out for several months, I was able to get this from someone looking to upgrade for a reasonable price, less than a new model of the same capacity minus 3G capability.

I had considered acquiring a tablet or notebook computer for a number of reasons:

• A portable and comfortable device to view the large collection of PDFs I have. I am glad many if not most publishers nowadays are releasing PDFs of their games, but I find that trying to read, reference, or run a game from a non-analogue version presents its own difficulties. Call me old fashioned, but nothing beats having a book to flip through in your hands. I think a tablet would help bridge that gap.
• Aside from PDFs I seem to have also acquired a couple of ebooks, but have no e-reader to view them aside from my desktop.
• As I've mentioned before, music is a big part of gaming for me. And being able to bring select playlists to sessions and manage them without having to turn to a computer or stereo is bonus in my mind.
• Not only is it great place to store all my gaming and campaign notes, but also to edit them as well. Not to mention access all sorts of useful GM tools like notepads, dice rollers, and visual aids one can use.
• Blogging. Now I'm no longer limited to writing out my posts on my computer, or what I can scratch out on my phone. I'm actually writing this entire post on my iPad, because the wasp nest in the wall of the room where my computer is has created an entrance into said room. And now that room is filled with wasps. Hopefully this situation will be resolved soon, but it shows how fortunate that I am to have a tablet to use since I cannot get to my computer.
• All those other non-RPG tablet uses and fun stuff.

The guys over at Gnome Stew wrote a great couple of articles on RPG related uses for the iPad that pretty much sold me on getting one. Now I'm no Apple fanboy, and I'm sure many out there would suggest I'd gone with something other than an Apple product to fulfill these uses, but figured hey I've had great runs with my iPods and my phone so I choose to go with something I know. To each their own.

Until next time...
Cheers!