I took a much needed trip to Boston this weekend; more of a quick getaway. I really enjoy getting away from my small town to see how people in the city live. It feels great to rub elbows with strangers on the subway and makes me feel cosmopolitan.
As I boarded the train at Alewife my eyes darted from one open seat to another trying to make a decision where I was going to park myself until my next stop. I ended up sitting next to a young couple that was discussing their new apartment.
“You won’t believe how good the place looks” he remarked just before his partner gave him a doubtful look. Within two minutes one of the guys grabbed a tablet from his backpack and started showing off the new apartment. Once the apartment conversation ended they immediately started talking about the Android tablet.
It’s estimated that tablet sales will outperform PC and laptop sales within the next two to three years. Tablets include the Apple iPad and Google Android based products. Most tablets do not have a separate keyboard or mouse and use the screen as the sole means of inputting data. Typical tablets cost anywhere from $300.00 to $1,000.00.
Tablets have come a long way since they mainstreamed a couple years ago. All modern tablets come equipped with wireless, Bluetooth, and a solid state drive. Some have USB slots and SD memory capacity as well. Most tablets on the market have ten inch touch sensitive screens. From my personal research, I’ve discovered most have processors rivaling low-end laptops.
Convenience of tablets is a major selling feature. Most tablets are smaller than a standard magazine and weigh about the same. My unknown travel partner talked about how he purchased the tablet because of its size. Once he unwrapped it and used it for a few weeks he figured out he could do nothing more than play Angry Birds, video chat, and surf the web. He found no easy way of printing, editing documents, or writing lengthy e-mails.
At this point I butted into his conversation with an: “Excuse me, I couldn’t help overhearing…” After his initial disapproving look we started talking. He originally paid around $500.00 for the tablet around six months ago. In addition, he’s purchased a new compatible printing system, keyboard/mouse, and external storage. According to his estimation, he’s spent well over $500.00 in accessories alone.
In his own words, he explained he would have rather purchased a netbook or smaller laptop for around the same price. Windows based machines, he explained, simply support everything. “Microsoft Office, printers, scanners and all digital cameras are all supported by Microsoft.” He went on to tell me that he’s had nothing but headaches with compatibility issues.
Netbooks, which I’ve talked a lot about over the years, have been the volume leader among laptop sales. Netbooks are also among the lowest cost of their laptop rivals. A typical netbook includes a dual-core processor, keyboard, and mouse. In addition to that list of standard equipment, almost all of the netbooks on the market today also include all the features of a high-end tablets.
Tablets have a long way to go before they can match the capabilities of their laptop rivals. Though they meet the requirements for about 80% of what users purchase them for, many people are going to become frustrated with the limitations. Prior to making a purchase you should really consider the purpose. As a primary computing device a tablet probably shouldn’t be your first choice. However, if the tablet is going to be used to augment the computer’s functionality then it’s probably a reasonable investment.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can text him at (978) 413-2840 or call him directly at (978) 919-8059.) www.localcomputerwiz.com