I must admit I was surprised. I engaged in my usual wake-up regime of reading the news and Facebook when I came across an article posted on wpcentral.com and USA Today. It spoke of a study that showed that while millions of people own smartphones, most barely use more than five apps on a regular basis

The central thought journalists were trying to make is for the millions of apps floating around the various stores, most users really didn't seem to care. Outside of news, weather, email, and some social network apps, most apps simply are barely used or never used; and thus it looked like apps are not the driving force behind one's decision to buy a smartphone in general or of a particular brand.

I'm sure the photo above is quite familiar to many out there who own smartphones. You're in the car, on the bus, on the train, or even on foot and you whip out your smartphone of choice to look up something, scan a QR code, check your email, or even look up directions on a map...only to find you don't have service.

This has been my story as of late. Originally I would have spotty data only on Chicago's subway system, and I accepted that mainly because I was underground. However, I'm finding that "Searching" message showing up far more often in places above ground, even in areas where one would not expect it.

Lenovo's push into the tablet market first came as a surprise to some, since their CEO once stated how he felt slate tablets were not in Lenovo's interests. A year later, they unrolled the IdeaPad K1 to a lukewarm reception. Like other Android tablets, many simply just saw it as an iPad imitation with not much to offer to user compared to the Apple empire.

For those like myself, the announcement of the ThinkPad Tablet is when we took notice. I've stated before how much I wanted a tablet that honestly could act as a laptop substitute in many instances, and I think this tablet hit the nail right on the head. Promoted as a business machine, I look at my ThinkPad Tablet as the ideal tablet for those who would like to leave the laptop at home in many instances.

Today I was dealt a disappointment in a story I have seen unfold many times in the last year. I was all set to buy my first tablet, a Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet, when I saw they had raised the initial price point and made one of their much touted features a separate accessory that one has to buy at additional cost. I'll even toss in that any types of discounts were not being honored.

Sound familiar? I remember seeing the same scenario when Motorola released their Xoom tablet, and HP with their now killed Touchpad. Consumers hoping for a tablet with the "iPad coolness" without the "iPad price" end up finding a competitor that isn't offering much more than the iPad. After seeing what happened this past week with HP, it's becoming clear that price is holding back consumers from embracing tablets.

It's been a month now since I first heard about Google's new attempt at making a social network, Google+.  When invites were being sent out, I did work feverously to get one, but now two weeks into my experience on Google+, I have to more say that it's going to take time for me to be convinced that Google+ will overtake Facebook, but I like what I see so far.

I WILL NOT sit here and pass judgment, and I think it's crazy how many are already saying it'll wipe Facebook out or it'll fail, when the site and system are not even out of Beta yet.  Everyone is so desperate to be the one to say "I said so" that we're seeing way more articles and editorials than needed.  All I'm handing you here are my thoughts and what I think of Google+ thus far.