Would I buy an Android tablet?

Yesterday, Andrew Nusca highlighted Verizon CEO, Lowell McAdam's, comments indicating that Verizon was working with Google on a new tablet. While Andrew speculated that this may have just been posturing to gain leverage with Apple in its i* carrier negotiations, it raises an interesting question: would I bother with a Google tablet any more than I've bothered with the iPad?

Before I go any further, I should stress that this post is all about me. It's not about the broader applications of tablet technology or areas where it makes sense. I'll save that discussion for my Ed Tech blog. This is just me, taking my musings public. If you want to take your own musings public, please talk back below and let me know how an Android tablet would work for you.

I'm actually a bit torn on the whole issue of tablets. I could imagine plenty of scenarios where a tablet would make a better quick portable computer than a phone, especially if anyone else might need to see what I'm seeing. However, I'm pretty tied to my phone. I'm certainly not going to give up my Droid Incredible. So then I'd get to carry another very portable (yet far less portable than my Droid) device with me?

Even if the Android tablet could make phone calls, I don't see myself giving up a device that slips in my pocket in favor of a tablet of any size. For me, I write too much to sacrifice a keyboard on the primary device I carry about. If I'm just surfing, reading, or messaging, my phone works very well. Otherwise, I need to write; perhaps I'm being old school about this, but to me, that means a keyboard. Like with keys. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the extraordinary speed with which I could send messages on my Droid, but even with Android's built-in text prediction, I think I'd be hard pressed to write a book (or even a lengthy blog post) without actual clicky keys.

So let's say that I found a good reason to get an Android tablet or become attached to it the way Jason Perlow has to his iPad. Then that leaves me with a phone, a tablet, and a laptop that I'll want to have around most of the time. Isn't the idea to have one converged device to rule them all? Even us gadget geeks have to draw the line somewhere.

So the short answer is probably going to be No. I won't snag an Android tablet. I might go for a Chrome OS netbook and my Android phone is the coolest thing since sliced bread, but the Android tablet? I don't think it's going to happen. Unless it turns out that I really am just an old fogie who needs to learn to type on an LCD as fast as I can type on a keyboard.

How about you?