The Better Way to exercise - use your Tab!

Twist. Turn. Hold Steady. Aerobic steps? Yoga class? Actually these are the antics I was performing with my PC tablet. The tablet was a freebie which came with the purchase of some electronic gadgets. It was my very first tablet, so naturally I was thrilled to bits. The tab came in a bright pink box, the pink colour probably selected because it was actually a tab for kids. It looked much like a cake box and I opened it with childish delight. 

Neatly packed inside was the blue and white-bordered tab along

Opening ceremony

with its wire cables, one for charging and one for attaching to a PC. The user manual with instructions printed in, inevitably, miniscule text was there too. 

Why on earth can’t they have instructions in good sized font? There is a good amount of space in any gadget box so why is it that we always get these silly teeny-weeny manuals?!! 

After admiring the tab for about 2-3 seconds, I jabbed at the white power button. Nothing happened. I jabbed at it again. No dice. I frowned, pressing it hard with my thumb. Still no response. All I could see was my frowning reflection in the tab’s screen. Then the Eureka moment: the battery needed charging! 

Then began the hunt for a socket to plug in the charging cable wire. I am sure many of us play this find-a-socket game to charge a gadget. It goes something like this: head to the living room. The TV is plugged  in one socket; a sibling is watching video, so DVD player too using up a socket. Turn direction and go to another room where there are 3 sockets. Here, another sibling using laptop which is plugged in socket for charging; Internet connection wire plugged in yet another socket; Light feeble, so table lamp attached to third socket. U-turn to the kitchen where, annoyingly, somebody’s mobile phone is being charged. I despair of ever getting a chance to get that tab going. Luckily, a call comes through on the mobile phone & it is removed. I practically pounce and attach the tab’s charging wire. As the tiny red light on the charger piece comes on, there is a weak flicker and the screen comes to life. Hurrah!

Once it is juiced up, the tab is ready to be experimented with. First begins the attempt to understand how to get going as there is a picture of a lock on the screen. This, even a first time user will know, means that it needs to be unlocked to be used. After peering at the instruction manual, I am enlightened – I have to slide my finger across and push the lock to the side. There! Now I am in...

I turn the tab slightly and... good heavens! The screen too tilts and I am looking at the current time in a skewed manner. 

Tilted screen

I turn it around and now I am looking at an upside-down time. 

Upside down tab screen

I am a little bewildered. Am I supposed to do some kind of gymnastic head-stand or what (akin to what the girl is doing in the image below!)? 

However, thankfully I realize that the tab's asanas are merely temporary and it rights itself by itself within seconds. Now that is a fascinating bit of technology & I am duly impressed. After some more exploring of its features, every now and then diving into the manual, I get the hang of it. 

A few hours filled with Hurrah moments later, the screen dies out again. Most annoying , just when I was experimenting with the tab’s camera. To my horror, the tab took hours and hours literally to get its battery charged again. In my mind arose a picture of my next electricity bill...

Hair pulling exercise after getting electricity bill

After a few more days of this nonsensical dying and reviving ritual of the battery, I had quite enough. A call to the customer service guys of the store from where the tab came led to an exclamation of surprise from them, "Oh, how is that possible? It should not take all that long to charge..." etc etc. They said they would come and pick up the tab since it was under warranty and I did not have to pick up the tab (no pun intended here!) on the servicing. (just an aside: the customer service of Croma is terrible & I would advise you to get feedback from other buyers who bought products from Croma).

That was that. Now, naturally, when did we ever get a customer service guy gracing our threshold right away? Nah, that would be going against the norm. So I decided to put the tab to good use. Did you ever think of using your tab as an exercise equipment? I bet not! I had been attending physiotherapy sessions for stiffness in my upper arm and shoulder. One of the exercises was to raise both arms up over my head, holding on to a stick or an elastic band. Another was to raise the arm straight up, as high as it would go. Thus the tab got used in this unique way!

While awaiting further developments on my freebie (a quick query: why is it that when something is free it gives the maximum trouble?), I explored the thought of getting another tab. I zeroed in on Lenovo's latest product, the Yoga tablet. It looked

Good grip

interesting due to a feature not to be seen in any other tabs currently available. This was the cylinder on the left side where the screen ends. 

This was something really useful as it meant that I would be able to grip it firmly whether using it as a tab or for the exercises! 

By the way, that cylinder also houses the heart of the Yoga tablet, namely the battery. Who would have thought of that?

The Yoga tablet also has a nifty hinge. Now, as we all know, hinges are things which are likely to unhinge the thing attached

to it if itself it is loose. The Yoga tab’s hinge, though, is no such weak thing. In fact, it is a remarkable design feat. It enables the device’s kick stand to be self-bolstered in an upright position so that you can comfortably read an e-book or watch a film. Fiddle with the hinge in another direction and you get to type on the screen. Cool!

With the good grip and the kick-stand, the Yoga tab could definitely lead to a better way in terms of using your muscles. Those shoulders and wrists will be strained far less and you won't be spending precious bucks on the physiotherapist!

                                                               
Other features of the Yoga tablet include: quad-core processor, micro SD slot, headphone jack, front & rear cameras, speakers at the front. The battery life is said to be up to 18 hours. Awesome! Definitely eons better than the piddling battery life of my freebie tab. 

So if you are looking for a revolutionary new tablet, then the Lenovo Yoga tablet is worth a look – and a buy. Here are a few tech specs of the device:

• Display: 8” / 10” HD display
• OS: Android OS 4.2 Jelly Bean
• Processor: MT 8389 Quad Core 1.2 GHz
• RAM: 1GB
• Storage: eMMC 16GB
• Cameras: 5.0 MP in the rear & 1.6 MP in the front
• Connectivity: Integrated Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G, GPS

Watch the product video below to get to know the device better

 

Interested? For more product info on the Lenovo Yoga tabs call 1800-3000-9991 (Toll Free)

Finally, pondering poetically about what an ideal tablet would be like...

Why is sensible logic not applied when designing a Tab that is only elegant in design?
Numerous wires are all they think of
~ Why don't they do away with the mess and give us just plain old wireless?

Why can’t a Tab be like your friend

Who when you succeed, will applaud & hoot
Why can't a Tab be like that?

~Perhaps give a yell of hurrah when you finally get that PPT right!

Some friends are so pleasant, charming & nice
Whenever you're with them, you're always at ease.

Why can’t a Tab be like that?

~ Easy to be with, never a tease

One friend in a hundred may not be quite nice,
But by and large friends are just gems, ready to help you through any mishaps.
Why can't a Tab be like that?

~ A decent workable buddy that rights itself & has no weird booby traps!

In short, an ideal Tab should be your best friend - the best work & recreational companion you will never want to part with!

This blog post is an entry for an IndiBlogger contest

(The Animated images in this blog are from www.animationfactory.com/en/)