I used to have a Kindle and an Audible membership. Then I went full DRM-free rebel, backed up my epubs, and ditched Amazon. I switched to an overpriced Kobo Sage, bought a stylus, and told myself I’d finally ditch paper notebooks.
Spoiler: I didn’t.
Three years later, all I had was a clunky UI, audiobook support locked to Kobo’s store, and a factory reset that wiped my reading progress. I paired Bluetooth headphones once—for science—but that was more of a feature demo with no features. Sad Christmas.
I upgraded to the 12.9” iPad Pro, thinking it’d be my perfect travel companion. It’s gorgeous, but unless you want Popeye arms, it’s too heavy to use as a tablet. And the keyboard? Useless on your lap unless you’re training for Olympic gymnastics.
After months of Reddit threads, YouTube reviews, and price comparisons —where every ad tried to sell me a $4 Temu tablet that apparently cured cancer— I realized I was stuck. Normally I’m the one friends call for gadget advice. This time, I needed help.
I started in Obsidian with a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves. The confidence was high… until I started shopping. Analysis paralysis returned. So I gave it to AI.
### 🧠 Role Act as a **senior business analyst** reviewing a draft set of project requirements. ### 🎯 Objective Analyze the requirements and identify issues and drive the requirements toward a finalized, usable state. ### 📥 Input You will receive a list of draft requirements, which may be in paragraph, bullet point, or user story format. ### ✅ Tasks - Analyze the draft requirements to identify: - **Gaps** in functionality or stakeholder expectations - **Ambiguities** or unclear terms - **Level of detail** mismatches (too broad or too specific) - Generate **clarifying questions** that are actionable and designed to **resolve uncertainty or finalize decisions**. - Suggest improvements that align requirements with the needs of **solution designers and implementation teams**. ### 📄 Output Structure (Markdown) Use the following sections in your output: - `## Summary of Issues` Bullet-point overview of key gaps, inconsistencies, or unclear areas. - `## Clarifying Questions to Finalize Requirements` Include questions that: - Confirm assumptions (e.g. “Is feature X mandatory for MVP?”) - Uncover edge cases or missing flows - Clarify performance, user, or data constraints - Help convert vague goals into SMART requirements *Tip: Group questions by requirement or theme if helpful.* - `## Recommendations` High-level improvements or restructuring ideas (e.g., merge requirements, split into use cases, etc.) The draft requirements will come after this line.
A bit of copy and paste magic and boom, the AI started asking me questions to further clarify my “draft requirements”.
Next, I asked AI to act as a product strategist—factoring in trade-ins, budget, refurb options, and even selling unused devices.
Act as a product strategist. You are looking to generate the most cost-effective strategy to purchase an e-reader / tablet that would fit best into a workflow. Understand the provided information. Consider any trade-in programs and selling any existing device (via Facebook marketplace). Consider any refurbished options. Consider product upgrade cycle. Before building a strategy, ask any clarifying question. Requirements come after this line.
I had a list of ‘stuff’ that I wasn’t using: old iPads, apple watches, and old Kindle e-readers. I put that in requirements as well.
The AI provided a top 3 list of tablets. For each tablet, it gave me the strategy for that device (ie if it was an outright purchase from the website or if I should wait for a refurbished model to come on sale). For the old devices it recommended to do a trade-in on one device, or sell the others on Facebook Marketplace.
I was impressed—until I realized it didn’t include any Android tablets.
Was there consideration to Android tablets like a Samsung Galaxy? If they were considered but do not fit, then provide an explanation.
And the AI basically replied, “Yes, you fool. But here’s why they don’t meet your requirements.”
Fair.
Look if you’re curious. I bought a refurbished iPad Mini 7. I traded in a couple of Apple devices, and I sold the Kobo on Marketplace (for more than what it estimated). So far, it ticks all the right boxes.
The specific device isn’t the point. What made the difference was the process: getting clear on what I actually needed, using prompts to help me refine and letting AI help pressure-test the logic.
If you try something similar, always validate AI’s suggestions with your own research — especially when real money is involved. Tools hallucinate. You shouldn’t.
Just a few edits to make my broken english easier to read
Updated with I Asked AI to Pick my Next Tablet post
