Types of tablets

Tablet PC – this is the first type of tablet even launched, almost 10 years ago. When closed you can easily mistake them for a normal notebook, but once you open them up you observe there’s only one screen hinge compared to the two on a laptop. That’s because you can rotate the screen 180 degrees vertically and fold it facing up over the keyboard. Take the stylus out and you draw/handwrite, or even touch the screen on current models so you can perform specific actions impossible with just the touchpad or a mouse. The downside is that tablet PCs weight more than laptops, cost a lot more and the operating system interface is not that well designed for touch use. Here comes the next tablet category:

Slate tablet – now that’s a nice gadget for reading books, watching movies and TV shows (of course with the proper applications), but anyway I wouldn’t compare them to a proper PC, because it isn’t as handy as a computer if you would have to write long texts or do PowerPoint presentations (virtual typing is not as fast as a QWERTY keyboard). Besides that, most of us are used to MS Office when it comes to school projects  and presentations, so working your way out through Android or iOS might just make you feel like Windows 7 is better suited for that, especially if time is a serious issue. However, less work efficient than a PC, the tablet is definitely more efficient than a Smartphone due to the larger screen and higher performance.

More than that, it is of serious help if you study architecture and you want to take a look at some building plans while you drink your coffee in a nice café bar close to college, because of the wide  display and because it’s weight is lighter than a laptop and not just that, but the battery lasts longer too. A tablet is excellent for reading, just like a normal book and can be used in places you wouldn’t dream of taking a laptop.

If laptops make you feel uncomfortable because of their size, than the right choice for you  is a Slate Tablet  with as fewer inches as possible, seven being a popular small size with 10 inches being the most popular at this time.  Considerably lighter than your typical Tablet PC (read more about them on the link before), this type of device is rather used for multimedia purposes and instant messaging.  It uses a simplified operating system, so it should be a fun toy to play with and easier to use for older people than a complex PC system.

Tablets have started to replace laptop in some domains of activity

Now, if you intend to buy one, you should be quite careful. You should be looking for a resistant plastic housing tablet with a glass protection layer display, so it would last better to accidental shocks. Other than that is the battery. ,,Look for the one with the largest autonomy”, some might say, but that is ten hours, while the inferior limit is seven hours, so it isn’t much of a difference between slates, so all offer way more time away from the plug compared to laptops.

The most expensive one remains the iPad 2, invention of Apple, while the cheapest are the Chinese replicas, available as well in stores. Another important thing is obsolescence, which is, in my opinion, to be taken in account in this case. The market is rapidly evolving in matter of high tech, so if money is a problem for you, just be patient a couple of months, the price will quickly drop as new models will be announced.

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One of the speculations, that seems to came true is the one about Apple’s 10 inch tablet, a bigger version of an iPod/iPhone that will come by default with 3G connectivity, allowing users to access the Internet while on the move. Of course Apple didn’t confirm any information about this device, but sources seem to indicate Apple is trying to launch its 10 inch tablet PC in September, together with new members of the iPod family.

Apple tablet artistic rendering concept

As you can imagine I don’t know any more details that already surfaced, like the fact that the hardware architecture inside Apple’s tablet will likely be an ARM based one, not an Intel Atom as previously speculated. Testimony to this is last year’s 278M $ buyout of PA Semi, a microprocessor company, specialized in low power architectures.

It’s said that Steve Jobs personally supervised the product’s development, as it always did with special products like the iPhone, so I expect it to be a pretty out of ordinary device. So let’s break it down to what we can expect from it:

What to expect from the 10 inch Apple tablet

• multi touch delight: imagine a 10 inch iPhone which can recognize up to 10 fingers moves. This will get iphone covers manufacturers to get new models on market soon
• amazing games for a portable console, but not at PC experience level
• operating system derived from iPhone’s OS
• at least 6-7 hours of operation with WiFi or 3G connection on
• price between iPhone and cheapest MacBook Pro (subsidized price, as it seems Apple will only sell it with a contract)
• simple design with not so many buttons, so no QWERTY keyboard (I don’t like that)
• small weight, under 2 lbs and thin body (maybe thinner than MacBook Air)

So that’s my take on the 10 inch Apple tablet. What do you expect from it? Do you think it will be a winner or just an Apple fanboy must have?

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