Tablet Computers

Does everyone really want a tablet computer? A lot of people say no, but when HP laid the huge discount on consumers for their HP TouchPad, suddenly a lot more people wanted a touch tablet pc. Those of us who first eyed the iPad knew we had to own one. However, once consumers saw the cost of ownership, sticker shock prompted them to wait until a price break occurred once additional tablets began entering the playing field making the market more competitive.

Not only is the tablet computer beautifully assembled with some neat features, but it  also has the ability to be very portable. For example, the Asus Transformer tablet is designed in such a manner that it can double as a netbook computer.  However, tablets are not really  designed at this time to be able to replace a personal computer or laptop. Also, some of the tablets are geared toward business people and are capable of being used to make presentations to clients and colleagues. The tablet computer is an ingenious device, we really have to give high praise to the manufacturers.  So, the question remains, why buy a tablet computer?

Who Buys A Tablet Computer?

Gadget Gurus:   These consumers will always line up for the greatest and newest computer gadget which includes the tablet computer. Sometimes, consumers are not able to just purchase one type of tablet computer, but will purchase several to personally compare the features and hardware. Of course, the target="_blank">iPad 2 and Xoom appear to be the most popular tablets among the gadgeteers.  Most gadgeteers love the unique features of each device more than anything else.

Gamers: Gaming is one of the most popular tablet computer activities.  If you look at any of the major app stores you will see that games make up a huge proportion of the most popular apps. A tablet computer is a fantastic multimedia device, and games are a huge part of what makes it so popular. A recent survey revealed that over 80% of all users use their tablet for games, making it the most popular function of a tablet computer.

If you’re looking for something that’ll keep you entertained while you’re traveling or have a few spare moments away from home, a tablet computer is perfect. Online game services are also being produced for tablet computers. While many traditional online games use Flash, the iPad is one tablet computer that does not support Flash. With this in mind, many of the larger online gaming sites are coming out with specific apps to ensure their games can function properly on all tablets. This is a huge benefit for anyone into online gaming – you can keep up with your games even when you’re away from your main computer!

Useful as a netbook:  Some of the tablets are equipped with software, ports and external keyboard that permits them to be utilized as a netbook computer for the most part. The devices not only have the necessary accessories and software, but the battery life and the ability to listen to music and audio books and not to mention reading makes the devices an all purpose must have for the discriminating consumer.

Students/Business People:  A lot of busineses and colleges are utilizing tablet computers for students and employees. Students are using tablets to take notes and for studying. Business people use the device to perform presentations, collect data and both groups use the devices for social medial and email.

Gifters: The iPad out of all the devices is the most popular tablet computer that is given as a gift. The iPad has been given as gifts to retirees, those having birthdays and even for Christmas presents. Most people are intrigued by the uniqueness of the devices and want to share the experience with others. No one can deny how exciting and rewarding it is to own a tablet computer.

You can’t cover who buys a tablet computer without also discussing what to look for in a tablet computer.  There are a number of tablets in the marketplace, but all of them are not equal. Each one has different features and software that makes it stand out from the rest.

Unfortunately, some consumers purchase a tablet without doing the research and will buy based on word of mouth or the popularity of the device. This is not really a good way to obtain your first tablet computer. You have to consider the features or you will wind up returning it once you realize the device does not meet your needs.

What To Look For When Purchasing A Computer Tablet

Internal Memory: Most of the tablet computers come in either 16 or 32GB storage capacity. There are some exceptions, for example the iPad, HP TouchPad (France only), and Blackberry Playbook to name a few have 64GB capacity. Of course the more memory you want, the more money you will pay. If you have a lot of files such video, gaming, books and audio, you will want to get the maximum amount of storage. The other issue this brings up is that if you purchase a tablet computer where you can’t expand your storage then you would want to seriously consider purchasing a tablet with the largest amount of memory you can afford.  Some of the tablet computers that do not have a 64GB storage capacity usually have some way of permitting storage expansion by offering a USB port or SD card slot.

Ports:  The ability to expand storage on a tablet computer is important. Ports most requested on tablet computers are a regular USB port to  transfer or store information onto USB flash drives and external devices and also to upload files from the devices to personal computer for example. SD card slot allows memory expansion and the ability to save photos, contacts, music, videos and apps and games especially if you don’t want these items taking up memory on your device.  HDMI output comes on some of the tablets and is used to transmit digital video and  audio signals between the tablet computer and a HDTV.

Battery Life: Since the tablet computer is portable. It is important that it has a lengthy battery life. It may be difficult to find a location to recharge the battery especially since some tablets require users to charge their battery using only an electric outlet.  Attempting to charge through a USB port on a computer will take an extremely long time because the cord is not strong enough to support the power necessary to recharge the tablet computer. The Ausus Transformer, for example can get 16 hours of battery life (with the attachement of the optional keyboard docking station), while the iPad 2 and Motorola Xoom manages 10 hours or more.

WebOS, Android or iOS? WebOS  is only mentioned here because of the discounted HP TouchPad tablet computer that is currently sold out.  Recently, HP announced there was going to be one last production cycle of the tablets to fill demand for the tablet.  The  OS on the TouchPad was acquired by HP from Palm and debuted in 2009 being used in their smartphones and tablet computer.  The OS  interface brought two exciting features to the tablet war – multi-tasking and Synergy.

• HP WebOS multi-tasking. Open applications on the TouchPad are sorted on the screen as cards which all run simultaneously in the background. To access the apps, just swipe a finger from the bottom of the screen upwards and the apps will open. Users can easily shuffle between apps without any problems.

With multitasking, open applications are sorted on the desktop as “cards,” all of which are able to run simultaneously in the background. A simple swipe of your finger from the bottom of the screen brings up the open applications in your hand, as it were. Shuffling between apps or “cards” on the table is not only easy to do do, but is done effortlessly.

• The other feature on the TouchPad is the called Synergy.  Updates to a user’s calendar or Facebook events are updated and synced wirelessly whether users are making changes through the tablet or their personal computer. Synergy does away with updating information through a central computer hub.  Unfortunately, although the WebOS has a great interface and some really nice features, it seems most people are not that excited about it. Thus, one of the reasons HP threw in the towel and began selling off the TouchPad for a discount.

Apple iOS.  This is the proprietary OS of Apple iPhones and the iPad. It has been updated to version 4.3 with some modifications. Although, owners are still not satisfied despite the updates to the operating system. Overall, reviewers of the tablet feel the iPad OS is better than the Android OS found on the Xoom and Galaxy Tab. The appreciation is mainly due to aesthetics, the Apple experience and the app catalog. On the other hand, the Android OS has managed to outdo the iPad OS in the areas of handling notifications, multi-tasking and web search.

Google Android Honeycomb. The Android OS is geared toward users who want to be able to enjoy the features of the operating system and also having the ability to customize it to their liking.  Some of the more popular features of the OS are:

• Widgets. The OS doesn’t limit users to a row of endless icons on their home screen like on the iPad. The Android OS have widgets that allow users to be able to view and scroll through their inbox, review upcoming calendar events and flip through the latest news stories. This without having to open anything or in other words to open an app for a task.

• Notifications. When you get an e-mail, it is briefly flashed in the bottom of the screen and then leaves an interactive icon for completion of the task. Customization can be done by limiting what you see and don’t. This feature is intuitive and non-invasive, but the same cannot be said for the Apple iOS.

• Voice commands and translations.  The OS has fully integrated voice-to-text technology. Anywhere you can type on a Android tablet, you can also speak it. There is a Google Voice Action system which allows users to access it by icon on the home screen. This system is used for conducting searches and making notes.

• Multitasking.  The Apple iOS boasts multi-tasking, but it is basically task-switching with a limited amount of background processing.  Android tablet computers have full multitasking support which can be accessed by tapping an icon on the home screen that will bring up a box of your most recently used programs. They can be opened anywhere in the system.

• Desktop-like browsing. Reviewers state  the Android OS is as close to an desktop experience you can get. The browser allows multiple browser tabs and it allows users to stay synced to their Chrome installation on their computer. This means you don’t lose any bookmarks, they are always available and up-to-date wherever you go without the need for a PC connection or service subscription.

• Flash Support. Flash is good to have for those websites that support Flash for video, games and animation. If browsing the web with the iPad and if the site uses Flash the item will not show.

• Full access to your files. An Android tablet allows users to connect to their computer and view files on their tablet as if it was another hard drive.  This makes it nice to manage and share files. Not only can users view their files, they can also drag and drop them from their computer with no limitations and without proprietary software.   The iPad, on the other hand is limited when it comes to file transfer since it is app specific and  can only be done through the use of iTunes. It is important to point out that iPad users cannot directly access or manage files on the iPad tablet computer.

Integrated Cameras. Most users of the first generation of the iPad were disappointed when the tablet did not come with a camera. Most of the tablet computers now come with a front and rear facing camera. Since social networking is so popular, the front facing camera is used for video chat while the rear is for recording video or taking photos. The only consideration being is the megapixel which equates to higher quality video and photos.  You may want the camera on your tablet computer to have a high number of megapixels, but if you do not intend to print large photos, but watch them on your tablet or computer, the extra megapixels maybe an unnecessary expense.

Weight. To date, the lightest tablets on the market are the iPad and Galaxy Tab. The tablets that weight more than both of the lightest do not weigh significantly more and are over by a few ounces. The Toshiba Thrive and Asus Transformer come in as the heaviest. The reason weight is a factor involves the possibility of having to hold the tablet for extended periods of time.  It places a strain on your hands and arms.  It basically boils down to comfortability.

Processor Speed.  This shouldn’t really be an issue because most of the popular tablet computers have about the same or close to processing speed. Tests performed on the iOS and Android operating systems showed the Android processor to be faster, but not by much. Competition is so tight between the tablets that they are evenly matched for the most part. However, there are tablets that are not as popular or among the best selling tablet computers  that have a respectable 2.2GHZ processor speed.

The smaller tablets include the new kid on the block is the Amazon Kindle Fire. Amazon has a new tablet coming out in November that is being heralded as the best iPad competition. However, both tabs are like comparing apples and oranges. The nearest competitor to the Kindle Fire is the Barnes and Noble Color Nook.  The Kindle Color‘s features include:  a modified Android OS, a 7-inch IPS  display panel with Gorilla Glass coating, a 1GHz TI OMAP dual-core CPU, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage and it weighs 14.6 ounces.  Users will also have access to the Android Appstore (though no access to Google’s Android Market), Kindle books, magazines and newspapers, music, movies and TV show steaming.  It doe snot have a camera or microphone on it which means it is not setup for video chat.

If you haven’t heard, Barnes and Noble is in the process of launching a new Nook Color 2 (NC2) possibly November 7th before the arrival of the Kindle Fire. The current Nook Color contains a sharp 7-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel IPS display back lit color touchscreen with VividView technology, comes with WiFi, but no 3G accessibility. The tablet weights 15.8 ounce with a  TI OMAP 3621 CPU clocked at 800MHz , 512MB of RAM, 8GB of flash storage, and a microSD slot for additional expansion up to 32GB.  The Nook does not have a camera or microphone.

The tablet computer is more than a larger version of a smartphone. As you know, most of the devices are not configured for phone calls. However, the tablet computer is different from a laptop or netbook . for the most part, it has become a device that has set itself apart from other electronic devices.  Tablet computers are just plain fun because of their portability, the ability to play games, watch YouTube videos and movies and video chat with friends.  A tablet computer has the capability of being able to do it all.

PROs and CONs of Tablet Computer Ownership

 

 

• Tablet computer can serve as ereader (Has larger screen)
• Has extended battery life
• Portable due size and weight
• Versatile in usage: Media reading, gaming, video chat and watching and monitoring email and social network sites
• Multi-touch display screen

 

 

• Tablet computer has limited storage capacity
• Some tablets may have limited expansion or connection ports
• Accessories and hardware are limited which may decrease functionality
• Some tablets are too expensive (Features don’t support price and/or user has to purchase data plan)
• Less features than a netbook or laptop
• No mobile phone capability
• Touch screen function can sometimes mis-interpret digital touch manipulation (no external mouse or keyboard)

 

 

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