Necessary or evil technology?

Ok, the core issues of usability are functionality, efficiency and satisfaction, bare that in mind. For the last few weeks I have been thinking of getting a tablet, but I keep asking myself why? My smartphone already does everything I need on the move, and when it doesn't I have my laptop for office work. So why? Thinking further, there is only one killer reason I can think of; magazines. Try reading any magazine on a smartphone, even the rather large galaxy S3 and your experience is defiantly not efficient or satisfying. So I made my mind up, a tablet it is! But then I thought, hang on, there is a newsagents fought around the corner, and while my interests may not be as mainstream add most, I'm pretty sure they stock everything I would actually read. So why shell out hundreds of pounds for that little piece of led enhanced plastic? Maybe it's the 'I want' factor, but I feel there is more to it, marketing.

So as we face a future where smart technologies pervade our lives, does the industry need to take a rethink of the life and experiences we can have. Just taking a minute to side line, remember how all the blogs were pretty downcast about the Galaxy S4 launch? The general feel was "hey, that could be useful in that small situation, but really, there is nothing really useful about it". Now, we can be pretty sure that in 50 years time we will look back at these devices we are carrying around now and think "oh my god they are bad", so we can do better, and we will do better. Yes, hardware power will increase, wi-fi more secure and mobile internet faster, but what really makes the leaps forward are those individuals charging through the new User Interfaces and User Experiences. But what can these be? Just throwing toys and gimics together isn't enough, it has to enhance our lives.

Right now Google and apple are pushing forward to give a smart world environment, with data connecting together while being freed from single devices (at least that is the promise). But right now there is something missing, something that has not been achieved yet in human experience (unlike the digital magazines iTunes and Play are pushing us). That is the context of emotion and ideas. How can the feelings we have while working out at a gym relate to the books we read, the posts we share or the photos we view? How can someone experience what I am experiencing and use that to enhance their own life and understanding. I'm sure the answer to that is worthy of a whole PhD, so maybe it is a shame to end here with no conclusion, but one this is certain. We need to stop thinking about replicating life we have already experienced as humans (arguably already achieved by iOS and Android) and think about creating truly exceptional and truly emotional experiences not possible without such interactive, open and ubiquitous devices.