Arusha — DIGITAL tablets are not only taking over from desktops and laptops as the ultimate computing gadgets, but the slates are also slowly replacing Bibles in Arusha churches.

A study conducted during Sunday services at a number of religious houses here, has revealed that a considerable number of people in Arusha would rather carry their tablets to church, for the sermons than lug their old traditional analogue Bibles.

Apparently, there are a number of digital Bible applications available free of charge and these enable people to transform their tablets into a Bible with just a touch of the widget.

"I usually take my (Apple) Ipad to church every Sunday, it has the required bible application which looks, feels and read better than the traditional Bible which is heavier and cumbersome in comparison," explains Mr George Adamson.

Pastor Andrew Laizer of the Philadelphia (T.A.G) Church in Sanawari is also shopping for a digital tablet; "I intend to use it as the basic Bible during my sermon but also it may come in handy as document reader and storage computer," he states.

For many brethren, tablets have all the advantages above the old Bibles in that different versions of the holy book can be stored in a single slate which is also ten times lighter and thinner than the printed book. Digital Bibles available for the tablets include those written in Kiswahili which also come with audio option.

The applications also have the Holy Qur'an covered though we are yet to establish if this is helping the slates to find their way into mosques as they are doing in churches. The tablets, also have the 'chameleon' effect, meaning as soon as one is out of the church gates, the slates can change back into the usual multi-media slabs providing music, movie and internet as well as enabling one to catch up with news and current affairs online.

"And unlike in the old days when after the Sunday service you had to go back home to leave the Bible before getting on with other activities, tablets have solved the problem because they can be carried anywhere at any time," chips in Mr Daudi Laurent, a resident of Njiro.

The slates also come in different sizes to suit every person and their needs; apple recently launched the iPad mini measuring a diagonal 7.9 inches, smaller than the original offing measuring 9.6 inches. Samsung has all the sizes covered from 6.4 inches, 7.0 inches, 8.0 inches and 10.1 inches Galaxy tablets.

Sony on the other hand, has just set record with what is being described as the world's thinnest and lightest Xperia tablet, while Google is about to release its brightest yet, Nexus series.

But they also don't come cheap; with tablet prices ranging between 400,000/- to 1.2 mil/- the days when all people are likely to migrate into the digital world entirely, according to some observers here, may not be anytime soon.