In the 21st Century, there was the "new: Technology.....Tablets which is not the same as PADDs from Star Trek.
The people that designed this prop, Michael Okuda, Denise Okuda and Doug  Drexler had  great imaginations. The idea of telling a story of what was going on in any scene with a PADD, this prop was its own character.
Did the viewers of Star Trek want to see what was on that PADD,I know i did. As a kid, I would record an episode and stop and look at the PADD but could not read what was on the screen.....my eyes are paying for that experiment from doing so with the VCR machine now.... :/
You know, today's engineers may have watched Star Trek and knew they could invent a PADD.
Now I can say I have a PADDs, just like Captain Janeway. :)
This is a standard Star Trek Voyager PADD:

 




And now we have mobile tablets!

 I purchased a Google Nexus 7  Tablet last year. It was a fun toy. I tried to read a E book once, once was enough. Holding the tablet while reclining in bed was too much, I kept dropping it on my lap or on my cat      (who would conveniently lay underneath the tablet as like the cat is reading along with me or just trying to suck off the heat the tablet generated).
The Google Nexus7 for me, has been relegated to video games and surfing the internet.
I enjoying holding a hardcover and paperbacks books. The tactile feel of the pages, the smell of a book when open, is the best feeling i have when reading as well as getting lost in the story or learning something new. Yes, I do have a library card...I am one among the few that still have them.
I might give the Nexus 7 another try, i might :/


This is the last post in this series of Star Trek Props into the reality of the 21st Century.