Thinking of buying a tablet? First you need to figure out whether you even need one.
Tablets are essentially the hottest gadgets you can buy at the moment. However, with the amount of choices available, making a decision is tough. And it’s made tougher by the fact that this device attempts to fit into the very small gap between the laptop and the Smartphone. Should you buy one?
Why do you need a tablet?
The jury is out in whether the
tablet is as useful a device as it’s made out to be. It does most of the things
that you can do on a Smartphone and on a laptop. The real thing to figure out
and this completely changes from person to person- is whether the tablet fits
in with your lifestyle. Between the Smartphone and the tablet, that is.
Multimedia consumption:
The tablets, with their 5-inch,
7-inch and 10-inch screens, offer a much better experience than the good old
Smartphone. Most can handle HD video playback, but then again, for every iPad
we have an HTC Flyer that can’t.
Document viewing/editing:
For document viewing, the tablet’s
bigger display is a lot more convenient than the Smartphone. A tablet with its touch
screen, however, won’t be as comfortable as something with a physical keypad.
Web browsing:
Perfect devices for web access.
Access mail and browse the web on the move, at home, wherever-the tablet with
Wi-Fi or mobile network connectivity will make the investment all worthwhile.
Gaming:
Good enough reason only if you’re
buying the iPad. Most Android tablets I’ve tested till now either don’t have
the grunt or prove to be let downs when it comes to high-end gaming titles.
What to figure out:
Do you carry a laptop with you at
most times? If yes, then all these tasks that can be done on the laptop; can be
done quite comfortably on a slightly bigger display. If you’re at home, again
the laptop can be used for the same stuff. Or you could view multimedia on TV.
In this Scenario, how does the tablet fit into your life? The answer will
differ from individual to individual.
Maybe you’re planning on
replacing the laptop with the tablet. However, do so only if you’re comfortable
with typing out long emails and documents on a touch screen. For the calling
bit, the Smartphone is the most convenient. And then again, most tablets don’t
offer that feature anyway.
In an alternate scenario, you
could possibly have been doing all these tasks on a Smartphone. And at home,
you don’t really use the PC or have one. In that case, the tablet could be just
the device for you. Not only does the portability bit remain intact, but the
bigger display and better battery.
However, while this little bit of
this ad little bit of that exists, the tablet does have a lot going for it.
Thanks to the superb battery life almost all tablets offer, they’re extremely
good companions on the road. Also, the sheer amount of apps you can download,
be it on Android or iOS, will ensure you won’t get bored. Thirdly, this device
does have a certain amount of show-off value to it! Walk into office with one
tucked under your arm and be sure that a few questions will come hopping your
way.