Are the tablet PCs useful to you? Here are 8 reasons why they aren't

Tablet PCs are the frenzy currently and you might be bombarded with the shiny displays of latest and greatest tablets, but if you do not have any business purpose, how useful is the gadget to you?

The device is well suited for some selected industry segments or specific types of users, but not for an “average” tablet user, reports PC World.

It’s just another clichéd piece of hardware with a shiny exterior, and a baggage of difficulties.

It’s not even easy to carry without a case or a bag. You can keep your Smartphone in your pocket, but tablet PCs can only be awkwardly carried as a book. Then why not carry a laptop along in a bag?

Only smaller 7-inch tablets are portable compared to the iPad or other popular tablets like the Motorola Xoom or Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Tablet PCs are just extra gadgets which offers just a tiny bit more than a laptop or desktop computer. It is great to use while lounging on the couch and surfing the Web or while listening to some music. Its flexibility when compared to a laptop is helpful too. However, when working for an extended period of time, the laptop - with the larger, easier-to-use keyboard, bigger display and better selection of applications - is definitely an easier option.

While on move, it’s better to go for a Smartphone, as it’s more portable and though it has a smaller display, it can do everything else that a tablet can along with the feature to make phone calls. Most of the tablets, like the iPad, don’t offer the calling facility or a memory slot, discounting the use of memory cards or data sharing.

You can use your smartphones for taking pictures, as they come with a 5.0 MP camera or higher for taking amazing quality pictures.

Playing music can be done from most other mobile phones. For watching movies, most Americans already have a 40 flat screen HDTV at home with a better sound system. So why do you need a tablet PC for that?

Tablet PCs still don’t come with a support for Web-browsing like the desktop-PCs do. So for leisurely surfing of the web, laptop computers are a better option.

IPads could have been a suitable browsing alternative to a laptop had it supported Flash. The Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the BlackBerry PlayBook, offer full Flash support.

But even tablets that support Flash still have limitations since many popular sites identify their browsers as mobile browsers or don't fully support the specific mobile operating systems. For instance, both BlackBerry Tablet OS's Webkit browser and Android 3.1 Chrome browser fully support Flash and they should be able to seamlessly play Hulu.com videos, but that site has blocked playback on BlackBerry and Android tablets.

Further, tablets lack durability and they could break any time if used everyday. Even the BlackBerry PlayBook, though one of the more durable tablets in the market now, has a display that will shatter if dropped a couple of times.

The thin slab of glass or delicate glass-like substance, that the laptop is made of, makes it very vulnerable.

The tablet screens aren't protected like a laptop's screen, so you just know they're going to get scratched up when people put them in back packs or briefcases.

Tablet PC will find its place in some industries such as healthcare, field-service work and for general on-the-go inventory management, but it’s not of too much help for a common man.

The hype about tablet PCs in TV and magazines may not take it too far.