Since iPads came up on the market in 2010 everyone immediately wanted to have a tablet of their own. Right now in some families even 4-year olds get their own tablets as Christmas presents. Indeed, it is hard to imagine any electronics store that does not sell tablets. However, if the person willing to buy a tablet is new to the market, it may be very hard to find the perfect one. So, let’s take a look at the most important steps into choosing a perfect tablet.
1. Size
The first and the simplest thing you should be looking for in a tablet is its size. Small devices of 5-6’’ are not so far from smartphones, yet they are more portable than bigger ones. Bigger tablets, of 7-8’’ are a bit bigger, which would be much better for reading ebooks, yet a little too small to surf the web. The tablet with a screen of 9-10 inches is the most popular kind, and most producers focus on this size. Such tablet will be almost as large as a netbook, yet the battery life is much longer. There are even bigger devices, of 11,6-12,5 inches that come up with Windows 8 and have an extra keyboard that turns it almost into a notebook.
The second important parameter is the screen resolution – the higher it is the better the picture will be and the less pixels you will notice. The resolution 1280×800 is perfect for tablets of a size 9-10’’, and the latest Apple models and some of the Android ones with Retina-displays have screen resolution of 2048×1536. Small screen resolution of 800×480 that is popular for small tablets is often not enough for good experience. Remember, that the tablet is mostly all screen, the better it is, the better your tablet will be.
2. OS
There are several variations of OS systems right now, and you should know what kind of the system to choose for yourself.
Google Android. The Android platform has become much more stable than the first versions and the battery life is much longer. Moreover, as the developer of this OS offers it for tablet producers for free, there are a lot more tablets with it than any other OS and you can get much cheaper versions of it.
Apple iOS. Apple was the first company to open the tablet market and this is one of the reasons their products are so popular. The other reason would be absence of almost any small malfunctions that makes its products work very stable and fast. This OS is great for those who like to play games, read epapers and magazines, watch movies and listen to the music. The iStore with applications for it has the highest number of various apps for your tablet, all of which are approved by Apple. The only drawback would be that the tablet does not support Flash in the web browser and the only place you can get any apps would be iStore only.
Microsoft Windows. The main features of Windows OS would be supporting the same applications as the standard Windows PC – MS Office, Photoshop and others. Yet, there are still not much applications available for this tablet.
3. Technical features
Processor. Most modern Android devices come with a 1-4 core processor, also known as SoC, ARM architecture and are produced by Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Texas Instruments or Samsung. Apple tablets work on ARM processors manufactured by themselves. Windows tablets are built on Intel Atom (x86).
Memory and CPU speed. CPU speed and memory size are one of the most important features you should be looking for – the more and the faster – the better.
Wi-Fi or 3G. All modern devices come with wireless technology – Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (for wireless headsets mostly and some other accessories). Some models can combine both Wi-Fi and built-in 3G modem, if you are planning to use it in places with no Wi-Fi coverage.
Camera. Most tablets come with a camera for pictures and youtube-quality videos. The number of megapixels should not worry you as it is mostly for photographing notes, schedules and enough for Instagram pictures.
Extra Features. One of the important features would be USB port and USB host, for not only connecting the tablet to your PC, but also to mass storage devices. In addition to that, it is great if the tablet has an SD or at least a micro SD slot, which allows you to increase the memory size of your device.
When you consider the materials your device is made of, the difference might seem insufficient to you at first. However, though plastic ones are twice as light as the metal ones, they are not so strong.
All in all, when choosing which tablet to buy you should consider:
– What do you need it for?(Watching movies, playing games and working with e-mails demand different sizes of memory.)
– Will you be using tablet in Wi-Fi areas, or will you need Internet access in other areas?
– Will kids be using your tablet? (It has to be extra proof for kids.)
– Do you need a strong camera?
– Will you be typing a lot? (Perhaps you should consider buying a netbook first.)
To sum up, when deciding on which tablet to buy you should read a lot of reviews to narrow down the list and pick the right one just for you. Remember, you can always find great tablets at jiji.ng.
