Mark my words: The device—and all the others of its ilk that have sprung up for a piece of the action—are nothing more than a passing fad, at least in the mainstream.

Oh, those words are marked, Katherine. Marked with a big circle around them and the words “KOO-KOO CRAZY BANANAS” written next to them.

As far as I can tell, tablets do not offer any significant functionality that’s not already available on a smartphone or notebook computer, yet they lack critical components like keyboards.

As far as you can tell? You really have never used a tablet, have you?

So why the hysteria? It’s a fancy new toy, and—in the case of the iPad—one from Apple, at that. Never underestimate consumers’ desire to impress each other with the latest and greatest gadget, especially if they’re Apple fans.