Tablets forum: For an elderly person, is the tablet a good move from a desktop/laptop?

Hear, hear, "Why?" !!! I'm quoting Forrest Gump to only inject a bit of humour. I host a small Tech Forum at a private site for Landscaping. Members range in age from 18 to waaaaay past 80. I also provide answers for real-life friends, regarding tech stuff. I've personally witnessed 70+ year old's adapt to a smart phone or tablet instantly and yet 30-something's toss them away in utter frustration! It really depends upon the person' desire for technology, their dexterity and learning curve. I bought my crew foreman (age 35) and best friend a Thrive for Christmas 2 years ago...he NEVER uses it and asked permission to regift it to his 13 year old daughter! WHY did I buy him a tablet to begin with? Because I had a Samsung Galaxy and he was enthralled with what I did with it, both in my personal and professional life. But, for whatever reason, his brain couldn't make the "jump" from desktop to tablet. He claims that he kept "accidently hitting all different apps"; would get impatient with the sensitivity of the virtual keyboard and the weirdest comment was "...I don't know how to hold the darn thing!" LOL Apparently, he'd lean it up against his steering column and hated that. Used a clipboard and hated THAT! Tried with just one hand...well, you get the idea. He never used the Kindle app but once, saying that he "felt like I'm not really reading, if it's not a paper book." And let me remind you...this guy is in his frickin' 30's!!!! Now, my 82 year old M.I.L. did research on her OWN DIME, visiting Barnes & Noble, Apple and Best Buy, and bought her own self a Thrive. She liked the heft and weight of it for her arthritic hands (loves the grip!). She Facebook's and Skype's our grandchildren who are in Uni in Scotland and Jordan, plays Angry Birds, and found and downloaded an app (all by herself) that features Old Timey movies that she enjoys. Her hearing is diminished so we bought her a Bose Bluetooth speaker for the movies but now she uses it to amplify her phone calls and to listen to Pandora when she's gardening.

Just as ALL women know, there is truly NO "One Size Fits All", the same can be said about tablets. Some people walk to work. Some bike. Some take transit and others drive. Tablets are just ONE version of how to "get from here to there."