Touch screen tablets are amazing devices. With a swipe of a finger we can access enormous quantities of media information, sounds, images, words and ideas. Besides playback capabilities and the huge storage, touchscreen tablets such as the iPad or the capacitive Android tablets offer many other advanced functions like GPS, accelerometers, cameras, WiFi and so on. We have them all in one place and find it normal to carry such an astounding amount of data around with us.

Yet only two decades ago, this technology was the stuff of Sci-Fi. Movies such as Star Trek, Robocop, and others imagined personal devices which sported some of the same functionalities of modern capacitive Android tablets. So is it possible that the concept of a portable computing device was ushered in our imagination by Sci-Fi works such as those mentioned above?

Many argue that the incredible success of the iPad is owed to the overall quality of the product, along with the clever advertisements created by Apple to market the device. Nevertheless, touch screen tablets have an appeal that cannot be explained only by clever marketing. There is something inherently attractive to the concept of touchscreen tablets used as a personal computing device. The popularity of the concept can be traced back to the days when the original Star Trek series captivated audiences around the world by presenting the adventures of Captain Kirk and his crew. The crew of Enterprise used tricorders, handheld devices that provided technical and scientific information. Using the tricorders, they could instantly access vast databases or determine their position in real time; things which are common today in most touchscreen tablets.

In the later series, the Next Generation, the members of the ship crew carried around their PADDs - or Personal Access Display Devices. These gadgets are strikingly similar with today's touch screen tablets such as the capacitive Android tablets. They have a similar form factor with the real Samsung Galaxy Tab and even shared the same minimalistic design with the real device. The officers of the Enterprise accessed all the information they needed with a few presses on a touch screen.

The resemblance between the fictional PADD and the modern touch screen tablets is striking. It is like reality imitated the products of the imagination of Sci-Fi writers. The current adult population grew up with Star Trek, Star Wars, and other movies where the touch screen tablet was anticipated. Gradually, the image of the tablet computer became embedded in the conscience and everyday lives of many people. This may well be one important reason that can explain the massive success enjoyed by the touch screen tablet.