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Undoubtedly, tablet computers are taking over a very large chunk of computing. Everywhere you look, you see not only iPads, but also Android based tablets and readers like the Kindle, Nook and Fire. Add to this the conversion of phone screens into tablet-like smart phones and it’s clear that a sea change in the future of computing devices has arrived and is here to stay.
Consider the numbers for the past year: According to research company Gartner, the estimated total units of all types of Windows devices sold in the U.S. fell 8.6 percent from Q4 2010 to Q4 2011. During the same period, according to Apple’s earnings report, the number of Macs sold rose by 26 percent. Moreover, during that same period (Apple’s fiscal quarter 2012), the number of iPads sold rose by 111 percent — to over 15 million. Microsoft isn’t even in the picture, although the introduction of Windows 8, with its Metro interface may make some inroads, albeit simultaneously with the fourth generation iPads and Android devices.
So why aren’t tablets going to completely replace desktop and laptop computers? Mainly because there are a multitude of tasks which are routinely done on computers which just can’t be done on tablets. Most of those tasks involve business processes, but also to some extent personal computing. This may change someday, but it’ll take quite some time. And, of course, big iron servers will always be necessary for larger businesses and server farms.
What, then are tablets good for? Because tablets are lighter, more mobile and have excellent battery life, placing them between a heavier full-size notebook and a smart phone with an unbearably small screen, they are well suited to those tasks we do obsessively every day — such as reading e-mail, searching the Web, checking Facebook, watching YouTube videos, Netflix movies, and recorded television shows.
So, what is a tablet? Tablets fall into four general categories which, depending on features (some are simple e-book readers, some are Internet devices, some have as many features as a laptop), can become slightly blurred:
1. THE Apple iPad: The gold standard against which all other tablets are measured, and will probably always fall short. It has a large 9.7 in. screen, great resolution, lots of memory, hundreds of thousands of apps, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, internal keyboard, virtually anything you could want (except Flash). You can read books and magazines, watch movies, browse the net, check stock quotes, get your e-mail, Skype, do it all. But it’s expensive ($499 to $829, depending on the model).
2. The Kindle: Smaller, lighter, with a built-in physical keyboard and a black-and-white or color screen in several sizes depending on the model, at one-third the price of an iPad, this device is a less expensive alternative to the iPad. The simple model is basically an e-book reader, priced starting at $79 for an advertising-based model with its 6 inch grayscale screen, to the Touch, with less or no buttons and a touch screen interface (one with free 3G communications), up to the Fire, which has Kindle’s only color screen at 9.7 inches for $379 and is more like an iPad. While the Kindle Fire has access to Amazon’s huge library of books, and an expanding library of games, it has a lot fewer apps than Apple in other areas. But it still has all of the basic apps for Facebook and Twitter, as well as Netflix, Hulu and Pandora, as well as many other video and audio activities. It’s said that it’s actually better for reading e-books without eyestrain (the shiny iPad screen can be reflective out of doors) but it isn’t as good as the larger screen on the iPad for some typing apps.
3. The Nook: The offering from Barnes & Noble is an e-reader famous for its simplicity, at least for book reading. Models range from the basic $99 e-reader with a six-inch, grayscale touch-screen to the $249 tablet that comes with a seven-inch, color touch-screen. A lot of people like the way that the hardware is laid out. It also has a microSD card slot (for photos from cameras, for example) which the Kindle doesn’t have. And in May, 2012, it introduced a Simple Touch with Glow Light, an e-reader that uses e-ink but is also backlit for indoor and night time reading ($139). But for web browsing, it’s not as easy as the Kindle or iPad.
The Nook's forte is as an e-reader. After playing with the color version for a while, I liked it better than the Kindle Fire when reading digital books and magazines: the scrolling works more naturally and more quickly, and in bright light the screen is a bit easier to read. I also preferred Nook's microphone, home key, and hardware volume control. The Nook also has a microSD card slot, a feature missing on the Kindle Fire.
4. Android: Because there isn’t one single Android standard, it’s difficult to pin down this category as easily as the ones above (even the Nook and Kindle run, to some extent on the Android operating system, for example). However, Android tablets (as opposed to Apple or Windows based tablets) have been on the market and available (think the Samsung Galaxy, Asus Eee Pad, Toshiba Thrive, Acer Iconia, etc.), there will shortly be pads introduced based on the newest Android operating system known as Ice Cream Sandwich (“ICS” or v. 4.0) so you might want to wait for that, as it’ll have more features. Because Android has been around for a while, and is gaining rapidly in the smart phone market over Apple, you might want to have a device that runs on the same platform as your phone. The Android devices probably provide a better experience for those desiring a browser over an e-book reader.
I haven’t mentioned Microsoft’s devices for Windows 8, with the Metro interface, partly because it’s not out yet (it’s expected toward the end of 2012), and partly because it will still be so far behind the curve from both a hardware, software and app perspective that, unless it accomplishes more than what we’ve been told, I’d wait until it establishes itself before spending money on something which isn’t yet cutting edge. Starting in April, 2012, the Windows 8 Metro interface started showing up on the Nokia Lumia 900 smart phone, so the introduction is starting. HTC and Samsung should follow soon.
Now, let’s talk about compatibility: When you buy an e-reader, you are essentially committing to that one company’s catalog of books forever, because each of the e-reader books are incompatible with the others. You can’t read a Kindle book on Nook reader, or a Nook book on a Sony reader, or a Sony book on an iPhone. Although you can read any of these books on an iPad, laptop, iPhone or Android phone with the use of a special app. [There is also an app named Calibre, which purports to convert from one e-book format to another, but this is very limited, because it can’t convert copy-protected books, which virtually eliminates current best sellers. Besides, most classic books are already available in PDF or text formats anyway.]
This isn’t like buying a car. When you buy a Ford, you’re not committing to only purchasing Citgo gas. You can purchase gas from anyone. Not so with e-readers. You’re married to that brand and it’s catalog of books. If you want to change brands, you’ll probably have to give up all the e-books you’ve ever purchased from a competing reader. [Theoretically, you could copy a library of your books between competing libraries, but it’s a lot of work locating and copying “acsm” files controlling licensing, and it only works with e-Pub books.] Of course, there is quite a bit of duplication in book catalogs, particulary if you’re reading the best sellers. So choose carefully from the start, if you know the type of books you are looking for and the type of hardware features you desire.
I hope that this discussion helps...Keep in mind that, by the time you read this, there will be even more models of these products. iPad 3 is supposed to come out in late 2012, and Nook and Kindle morph almost daily into the son of Kindle, Bride of Kindle, AdverKindle and the like. Moreover, you’ll find that not all stores sell all versions of each product. For example, Best Buy no longer carries the basic physical keyboard Kindle, mostly the later touch versions.
FOR MORE INFO - I’M NOT GOING TO REINVENT THE EXCELLENT RESEARCH ALREADY DONE BY OTHERS, SO GO TO THESE SITES:
CLICK HERE FOR A COMPARISON OF E-READERS
CLICK HERE FOR A COMPARISON OF PAD COMPUTERS.
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