With the trend moving away from desktops to laptops and now tablets, the way we use technology has really changed.

I have a laptop, tablet and smartphone. I have a go-to device that varies depending on what I am doing. My tablet gets the least use of the 3, but that is changing as I find more ways to use it.

Here are the top 5 ways I use my tablet.

1. Watch a Movie Anywhere

With a tablet by your side, you can watch a movie anywhere. Or read a book or catch on on your online reading.

When I was on vacation in Belize, I saw a couple who brought their tablet out one evening to the thatch covered pavilion and watched a movie with a bottle of wine and the waves crashing ahead of them.

You could even take your tablet to your favorite restaurant and watch a movie over dinner.

Me…my favorite place to use my tablet to watch a movie is in a hotel room or on my deck. I also use it regularly to catch up on my blog reading while I’m eating dinner by myself.

Yes, I sometimes have to use my phone as a hotspot if wifi isn’t available, but so far that’s worked for me.

SEE ALSO:

• Netflix Movies – 20 Favorite Hidden Gems
• 13 Amazon Instant Video Movies to Watch
• Product Review: Stream Movies on Roku 2 XD

2. Take Notes at Conferences and Training Events

A few months ago, I attended the Blog Paws Conference in Las Vegas. I took my tablet and keyboard with me to every session to take notes. This conference was extra fun because you could bring your pets with you. Milo was napping under the table and Lexi decided she preferred being up high where she could see everyone.

Once the session got started, I switched to Evernote for my note taking…and Lexi decided she wanted to help.

I’ll never walk out of a training session again with hand scribbled notes that need to be typed up later.

SEE ALSO:

• Road Trip Planning for Blog Paws Conference
• On the Road to Vegas…with Dogs!
• Impressions of a First Time BlogHer Conference Attendee

3. Fill Your Home with Music

I no longer own a stereo for my home. Instead, I have a small speaker that props up my iPad while it is charging, and amplifies the sound well enough that I can hear it in the entire home. It’s actually one of the cheaper speakers you can buy but it’s good enough for me.

I do play the music I own occasionally, but more often you’ll find me streaming Pandora.

4. Kill Time While Traveling

If I’m going on a long trip and plan to do some blogging while I’m gone, then I bring my laptop with me because I find it easier to deal with photos on the laptop than on the tablet.

Even if I do bring my laptop with me, I always bring my tablet too.

My tablet is what I use while I’m in transit. If I know I will be somewhere without wifi, then I plan in advance for some things I can do without the internet. Sometimes I work on reorganizing my camera upload picture folder or inputting information that somehow ended up as paper notes.

I use the tablet for navigation in the car, researching things to do and simply as something to do in the hotel before I got to bed.  I can’t imagine taking a trip without it.

SEE ALSO:

• Travel Planning with Evernote
• Tips for First Time Train Travelers
• 5 Reasons to Buy a Travel Guide Book Before You Go on Vacation

5. Get Cooking

Years ago, I would type up recipes I liked and print them on index cards for my recipe box. I still have that box and the recipes, but I rarely pull them out anymore. I’ve uploaded my favorite recipes to my Food.com, Key Ingredient or this blog. I also discover new recipes on dozens of sites online.

When I am ready to cook, I find the recipe I want on my tablet. I prop up the tablet on the kitchen counter along with all of the ingredients and get cooking.

My favorite website for using recipes is Key Ingredient. There are 3 things that make this website better for cooking than the others:

• the screen doesn’t time out, forcing you to use messy hands to bring back the screen
• the split screen lets you scroll through the ingredients while not scrolling on the directions (and vice versa)
• you can drag a marker down as you work your way through the directions so you can easily find your place on complicated recipes

That said, most of the recipes that I want aren’t on Key Ingredient and I found uploading my recipes to their site cumbersome. So I typically use the website where the recipe lives and deal with scrolling and reviving my screen as needed.

What are your favorite ways to use your tablet?