Comparison of the latest tablet PCs

In the market today there are a plethora of mobile tablet devices that provide users with a choice that simply did not exist earlier. These new devices are light, extremely powerful and very flexible in terms of what they can do and how they work. While the most popular is the iPad – for reasons discussed further below – there are actually quite a few different options available at a lower price point that might suit your needs just as well and are worth reviewing.

iPad and iPad2

Apple’s flagship product, the iPad2 has far exceeded all sales estimates and user expectations. When this product was first conceived the market as a whole dismissed it as a mistake as the iPad is neither a fully fledged laptop/netbook nor a phone but something in the middle. The assumption was that Apple had finally made a mistake – however once users started to get their hands on it, that assumption was quickly proven erroneous!

Pros – The iPad has a significant penetration into the market and also has the largest “app store” which ensures that most functions a person desires are available in either a paid or free version. In addition with an average battery life of between 8 to 10 hours on the newer iPads you are going to be covered for most of your day and can enjoy it to its fullest. In addition to the App store and the battery life, the size and crispness of the touchscreen that the iPad enjoys is exceptional!

Cons – Unfortunately the biggest negative with the iPad has nothing to do with its functionality but more to do with its price. While this is definitely the world leader, its price point at £400+ for a lower end unit and going up to almost £600 for the higher end units with built in mobile roaming can be painful to bear. There are ways to reduce the high upfront cost though and by obtaining an iPad on a mobile broadband service you are able to get a discounted rate on your iPad that might make it a lot more bearable.

Android Devices

The Android operating system (created by Google) is becoming the fastest seller in the world today and phones and tablets with this system installed are continually growing market share – however no one individual company has yet to beat Apple’s power in this area although if anyone is going to beat them, Android devices have a very good chance.

Pros – Android devices have an App Store also. While not as complete as the Apple store, the number of applications and services that you can obtain through it is very large and growing. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a smaller device to the iPad which means that while the screen is not as large, it is actually even more portable than the iPad giving users an excellent experience on the road.

Cons – here again price is definitely an issue, with the Galaxy Tab being one of the more expensive Android tablet devices on the market. However with an extremely fast processor and a more than acceptable amount of built in memory it is definitely worth considering. Once again I would suggest that users without an existing mobile broadband deal try to bundle this in with your purchase of a tablet PC as significant discounts are available for new customers.

About the author: Hutch Morzaria writes on behalf of Broadband Genie and mobilephonegenie.co.uk, the independent comparison sites for broadband, mobile broadband and mobile phones.