The Tab

"The invention of the tab cannot be understated in its importance. Portable access to the Global Web, availability of texts, and a host of features that the layman with no magic would have never been able to achieve alone - these things gave the common people the tools to brand themselves as equals."
Gina Otino, Keynote Speech at TechniCon 3945

Inventor(s)

In 3590 Hara Sukino was an engineer at Rampant Industries, a major producer of Tetokon systems. Tetokon were the precursor of Tabs, linked by the physical Global Web.
Due to their inability to be disconnected from the web and still be useable, their capabilities were limited. Governments, businesses, and the rich could install them and use them to great effect, but for most it was easier to simply send a letter through the Symposiast Mail System and know that it would be delivered within a few hours.
Sukino pioneered a version of the Tetokon that could be removed from the web and still function, storing data and programming within the body of the machine. It was still unable to interconnect with other machines without being restrung into the web, but the simple idea that its other functions could be used in transit was the start of the journey to the modern Tab.

Access & Availability

There is a sliding scale of quality when it comes to Tabs. The most basic models, which function as communication, media, and entertainment devices, are easily available and affordable. It is impossible to function in society without one, between health tracking and interconnectivity.
More advanced models are, in turn, more expensive. Allowing the devices to process and react to magic without becoming unstable is quite difficult, and incurs extra cost. However, for magi, it is a high priority - insurance companies are unlikely to insure the Tab of a magi if it is not reinforced against magical energy.