What to do with a tablet that’s new?
August 8, 2011 Leave a comment
Here at the T.R.A. office we are not just geeks because it is our job. We are geeks because we love technology. Hence the “gather round the computer” moment of watching a PC Mall webcast on “How to Choose the Right Tablet”, featuring overviews and discussion from Mobile Tech Review‘s Editor-in-Chief Lisa Gade.
We can’t sum up the entire hour of tidbits and comparisons that has us scribbling notes and raising eyebrows, but here’s a few things that stood out:
-Only 10% of consumers have purchased a tablet, but the range of brands and types is expanding rapidly.
-The iPad2 (iOS), a popular, user-friendly favorite, doesn’t have Adobe Flash! What’s up with that?
-The HP TouchPad (WebOS) does play Flash, and has a great user interface. It syncs to Google and has a neat-o wireless charging stand, but was considered “limited but promising”, more appropriate for business use than anything else.
-The Android (Honeycomb) tablets (admittedly, some of our personal favorites) offer a wide range of models, features, and prices, making them versatile for different kinds of users. Their Motorola Xoom was compared to the phone, but with twice the speed. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is super-thin and has a sharp, bright display, but lacks HDMI, USB and MicroSD ports. Lisa’s favorite was the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, which has the option of attaching to a keyboard that not only turns the tablet into something like a notebook, but practically doubles tits battery life. It does not yet have 3G or 4g but performs well with multimedia and runs a fully-functioning Microsoft Office Suite, unlike most of the other models that allow you to view documents, but not edit them. Finally, the Acer Iconia A500 is a more wallet-friendly Honeycomb Tablet with HDMI, USB and smooth Adobe Flash delivery but some problems with high resolution video playback.
-The Blackberry Playbook sounds great- IF you already have a Blackberry phone. Otherwise, you get no PIM apps. Still, it’s fast and intuitive. Note it is Wi-Fi only and has fewer apps than some of these other tablets. But it’s fast, and will be upgrading to 3G and 4G versions next spring.
These were just a few of our notes. Choosing a tablet is a tricky decision, whether you’re interested in it for mobile business functionality, multimedia fun, or just crave a light-weight on-the-go device. What do you think of the various models out there? While we decide what to buy for ourselves and for our T.R.A. inventory, we’d love to hear from you!
