How many more of the breathless predictions about the tablet are going to fail?

It’s been obvious for a long time now that the tablet isn’t going to save the magazine. In fact, it’s been a money pit that publishers have been all too willing to waste their time on — for very little return.

Sure, some publishers are doing … I wouldn’t say well, but you could say they’re doing okay on the tablet. But overall it’s been a big waste.

Now we hear that teenagers are reading less and less despite the tablet.

But wait! Wasn’t the story that if we put things in a new, more “immersive experience” (add buzz words and such here) that we would be able to reach new digital audiences? It’s not that those young folk aren’t interested in serious stuff, it’s just that you need to add video and chat and social sharing and jelly beans and kittens.

The tablet is here to stay for many reasons. It’s an incredibly convenient device for some things. I check the weather every morning on my tablet, and I often check my email or look things up on the web while I’m watching TV. It’s great for getting recipes (or listening to Pandora) while you’re cooking, and I always use the mash / sparge calculator on my tablet when I’m brewing beer.

It also has serious limitations. It is not a productivity device, and the screen glare does make it hard to read — although it’s convenient to be able to bring along a hundred books on one device.

Tablet magazines are cool for about the first five minutes, but you quickly realize that a paper magazine is simply better.

I’m not anti-tablet. They have their niche. But that niche is not going to save publishing. I don’t even think it’s going to help.