Which Tablet Computer?

August 19, 2010 at 9:56 am, Category: General Computing, Reviews, by Mike

At the beginning of the year, much hype surrounded the emergence of next generation tablet computers; indeed, many computer industry experts were braced for what would surely become the ‘year of the tablet’. Despite the hoopla, the first half of 2010 has turned out to be a major disappointment in the tablet computer industry so far as competition is concerned because, unless Apple’s numerous competitors pull their socks up the final quarter of the year, 2010 will forever be known as the ‘year of the iPad’. However, although the iPad has undoubtedly emerged as this year’s tablet of choice, there are one or two other products that have dented Apple’s market share; more encouragingly, there are several tablets in development which may yet influence the current year.

The Apple iPad was released in the US at the beginning of April and was available in the UK towards the end of May. The launch of the iPad was preceded by considerable expectation following Apple’s hugely successful iPod and iPhone products. The iPad was billed as the next generation tablet computer and, on looks alone, it fails to disappoint with a 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen multi-touch display including IPS technology, fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating and a 1024 x 768 pixel resolution at 132 ppi (pixels per inch).

iPad

The smooth, sleek and sexy iPad exterior, which can be protected by a reinforced microfibre case, hides a relative monster under the hood; the iPad’s 1Ghz A4 processor features high-performance, low-power technology that is perfectly suited to most personal and business requirements.

The iPad also comprises 16GB, 32GB or 64GB flash drive memory and is available in two wireless models: the standard Wi-Fi version and the Wi-Fi + 3G model, the latter of which features UMTS/HSDPA and GSM/EDGE mobile networking. Audio and video playback are also well-supported, whilst the iPad Keyboard Dock is likely to appeal to business users. Unfortunately, USB and camera support is limited for the iPad, with the dock connector and camera connection kits available separately.

HP TouchSmart tm2 Notebook PC

Despite featuring mail, web browsing (Safari), calendar, photos, iTunes, iBooks, maps, contacts and more than 200,000 applications, Apple’s chief rivals have described – perhaps not unfairly – the iPad as a super-sized iPhone that lacks mobile phone technology. Microsoft and HP had teamed up at the beginning of the year to build the Slate PC, which was expected to compete with the iPad, but development plans have since been shelved.

The HP TouchSmart tm2-10101ea Notebook/Tablet PC is arguably of the most popular Windows 7 machines in its category, boasting a 12.1-inch HD display, 1.3 or 1.6Ghz processor, 320GB HDD, 4GB RAM, ATI Radeon HD Graphics card, DVD drive, 3 USB drives and wireless networking. Despite its impressive technical specifications, however, the HP TouchSmart is simply not an iPad.

Dell Streak

One tablet computer that has managed to hold its own against stiff competition is the Dell Streak, which features a relatively small 5-inch screen but runs the popular Android OS and comprises a Qualcomm SnapDragon 8250 processor, up to 2GB memory and superb video, audio and camera functionality. However, the Dell Streak is also no iPad. Serious competitors to the iPad may soon exist in the form of the Samsung Tab, which is expected to run Android 2.2 (Froyo) on a 1.2 Ghz Cortex A8 processor.

The Adam from Notion Ink could also nibble on the iPad’s market share towards the end of 2010. Adam is likely to feature a 10-inch Pixel Qi display, NVIDA Tegra 2 Dual-core Cortex A9 processor (2 x 1Ghz), 3.2 megapixel camera, USB, HDMI, SIM, MicroSD, WiFi and 3G connectivity. Of course, by the time the Samsung Tab and Notion Ink Adam hit the market, the cheaper, lighter and more technologically advanced iPad 2 will be hovering on the horizon…

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