I don't think we're quite there yet with tablets. Maybe another 3-4 years. They are relatively inexpensive and they have a strong hand-me-down life cycle. A lot

I don't think we're quite there yet with tablets. Maybe another 3-4 years. They are relatively inexpensive and they have a strong hand-me-down life cycle. A lot of people buying new iPads every 1-2 years are doing so to give their old model to kids/family/etc. They are very personal devices no one really wants to share a tablet. There is also going to be more churn in the market because they are very mobile devices more prone to being broken or lost. Being very mobile devices they are more likely to be replaced/upgraded simply due to fashion/social pressure. Best parallel to that is car sales. A lot of people buy new cars simply because they don't want to drive an old/unfashionable car anymore. SmartPhones are much closer to that 'good enough' point though I think subsidized devices are still very much in impulse buy territory for a lot of people. Given the cost of your cellular contract there's questionable value in saving $100-$200 every two years skipping an upgrade. You have to pay for the service either way it's in your best interest to have a device that can make the most of it. For unsubsidized devices (non-Apple devices at least) there is a healthy low-mid range market developing where the same trends should play out.