There are so many tablets on the market that it can be difficult trying to decide which one to buy. Here, guest blogger and tech-toy junky Doug Pagnutti gives his take on which pass the test for the average consumer:
My favourite one so far is the Asus 10″ Transformer. The tablet itself is pretty much like all the other Android honeycomb tablets but the keyboard that comes with it is genius. Not only does it provide a few USB ports and an SD Card reader (perfect for getting pictures from cameras) but it has a built-in battery so you can double the battery life on the road. Basically you get a netbook where the screen detaches and becomes a tablet.
All the other tablets at the moment seem pretty uninspiring. The iPad and iPad2 are probably the best for ease-of-use but the fact you can’t view flash sites, as well as the proprietary ports make it less useful. The slew of android tablets are all pretty much the same although prices seem to be going down quickly. Definitely get one that runs honeycomb (3.X) because Android 2.X doesn’t really work for tablets. The only other 10″ of note is the HP TouchPad that just came out. Apparently the software is great (it’s really made by Palm, which HP bought) but the hardware is already out of date (HP should only make printers).
Personally I’m holding out for a good 7″ tablet with usb ports and there’s a good chance the Acer A100 will fit the bill. Amazon is planning to come out with a bunch of tablets this year too but it’s hard to guess what they’ll be like. The one I was really hoping for was the Asus Memo but they just announced it would be “indefinitely delayed”.
I should also say that if you’re looking for something to read e-books, you’re much better off buying an e-reader. The screens don’t hurt your eyes, they’re much much lighter (easier to hold for extended periods) and the batteries last months instead of hours.