The Tablet Guide

The matter of Internet connectivity as well factors into decisions about the other tablets we looked at. Many users will want to opt for tablets without built-in cellular service, given that most 3G or 4G tablets come with 2-year service contracts as part of their subsidized prices. For instance, the speedy Galaxy Tab 10.1 on Verizon’s 4G network will set you back meanwhile $30/month for two years at its advertised $529 price tag.

A better alternative for users who will typically be within range of a usable Wi-Fi network when Internet access is needed is to compliment the tablet with a Wi-Fi mobile hotspot capable smart phone – in other words, a phone that can share its Internet service with the tablet. True, using one’s cell phone to feed the Internet into a tablet is not quite as seamless and does drain the phone battery, so there is value to cellular enabled tablets. After all, the mobile hotspot option comes at a lower cost and no contract during giving the added flexibility of sharing that network connection with not just one tablet, nevertheless any Wi-Fi enabled device. Anyone who will only need to use cellular connectivity every-once-in-awhile will likely find this solution ideal. Verizon and AT&T add $20 onto cellular data plans for 4GB of mobile hotspot access; Sprint asks $30 for 5GB of the same.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7Of the major tablets available right now through normal channels this one is the price leader, at $299 as a Wi-Fi only device, $199 with a Verizon 3G contract or $99 with an AT&T 3G contract. The first Android tablet of note is as well the best reading-oriented Android tablet we have tested so far. The tablet feels very solid and has a pleasantly textured backing. For a diminutive slab, it feels heavy, however one can grow accustomed to the weight quickly enough.

The Tab 7 uses the phone-oriented Android Froyo or Gingerbread as a foundation. This may sound like a substantial hindrance, even though as far as the built in apps are concerned, it never becomes an issue. Samsung heavily cribbed the design of the iPad for the core apps it included, just as the mail application, mirroring Apple’s design down to the individual onscreen button locations. During this is anyway you look at it the sort of situation that has led Apple to sue Samsung, the end user benefits from Samsung’s “reappropriation” of Apple’s sensible design.

In many ways, the software of this little 7.0” tablet proves more enjoyable to use than that of its larger 10.1” counterpart, reviewed below. During iOS and WebOS both have superior mail customers to any Android tablet’s bundled mail app, the Galaxy Tab 7’s iOS clone e-mail app comes the closest to offering a worthy competitor. In addition, the standard Android hardware buttons and layout are much more consistent and logical than the new, virtual button design used in the Android 3.0 Honeycomb platform that other Android tablets use.

To be sure, Samsung’s decision to use a heavily customized phone-based Android base does mean that as more tablet-oriented apps are released this tablet will be increasingly left behind. However, many Android phone apps enlarge gracefully and look quite good on it. Better after all, the somewhat oddly proportioned 1024×600 resolution screen provides a much better landscape reading orientation than the normal 16:9 ratio most Android tablets use.

While limited to 3G networks, we found the Verizon version of this device snappy enough for web surfing, checking e-mail in short on. Comparisons to the Kindle Fire are difficult, since we have not tested Amazon’s new device but, however on paper, the year old Tab leads on three counts: 3G connectivity, internal storage capacity and microSD support.

Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Motorola XoomWhile the Galaxy Tab 7 seems better suited as a “reader’s tablet,” the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Motorola Xoom are the mainstream bearers of the Android standards. Both of these devices run the tablet oriented Android 3.x Honeycomb platform and sport very similar form factors, including 10” 16:9 displays.

The preloaded Honeycomb operating system is a mixed bag in both cases, as we hinted at above. The interface is somewhat inconsistent, particularly when using a mix of phone and tablet applications. Given that Honeycomb drops Android’s standard hardware buttons, software buttons on screen are displayed when using pre-Honeycomb apps. This results in a confusing interface, where, for instance, menus are displayed on the top of the screen in tablet-oriented applications, nevertheless show up on the bottom of the display in phone-oriented apps. The very fact that there are two bars on the screen – one on top, one on bottom – reserved for core system functions speaks to inefficient interface design, exacerbated by the widescreen display that already feels too narrow.

Google urgently needs to refine its tablet operating system experience and help third party developers to do the same. Until at the time we expect to see more companies follow the lead of Barnes & Noble and Amazon, both of whom have opted to create highly customized Android-derived tablets that bear little resemblance to their standard Android cousins.

As it is, the Xoom and Galaxy Tab 10.1 are primarily interesting for those in the market for their cellular enabled editions. As it stands, the best reason to buy these tablets is that their 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology) enabled versions can take advantage of Verizon’s incredible LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology) network. During AT&T’s version of the iPad 2 can take advantage of quasi-4G speeds on Ma Bell’s upgraded HSDPA network, the Xoom 4G and Galaxy Tab 10.1 leave Apple’s tablet in the dust when connected to a cellular network.

While LTE redeems these tablets significantly, those opting to buy a Wi-Fi only variant, would do then to look at the remaining two contenders in this piece as better alternatives. Paired with a 4G-enabled phone and Wi-Fi mobile hotspot service, the HP TouchPad or Apple iPad 2 can as well enjoy speedy mobile Internet access during rewarding the user with easier, more intuitive interfaces.

While hard to find, the $149 tablet is not only the cheapest major tablet on the market, it is as well one of the best. Simply put: no other non-Apple tablet comes even close to the TouchPad’s level of fit-and-finish, with thoughtfully designed, beautiful apps, innovative gesture controls and the best multitasking system in the business. In addition, HP wisely mimicked Apple’s choice of a 9.7” 4:3 ratio display, a ratio ideal for using the tablet in either portrait or landscape mode, the former being best for reading and the latter best for multimedia functionality.

While the TouchPad’s application store is much smaller than the stores for iOS and Android, many of the most desirable apps make an appearance on the platform – Angry Birds, included – and most of the apps we tested follow the base system’s example to sport clean, beautiful interfaces. The TouchPad has several office suites available, including a weak, however free, suite bundled with the device; includes built-in Dropbox support; and offers the best social information synchronization and merging in the business, bringing at the same time disparate information on the user’s friends, business contacts in short forth.

Apple iPad and iPad 2If you have read this far, you already know a few things about the iPad. This is the tablet by which all other tablets must be measured, if only because of its sales dominance as the first commercially successful tablet computer. Both the TouchPad and Android tablets follow Apple’s lead in transforming smartphone operating systems into sophisticated tablet operating systems, nevertheless no one does that transformation better than Apple.

The iPad is the only tablet we have tested suited to handling most of the tasks the average user would want to do with a full-fledged computer. Android is more flexible, nevertheless Apple’s iOS 5 manages to bring at the same time an easier to use interface with a more powerful e-mail client, better synchronization of data between the tablet and one’s desktop computer and the best battery life of any tablet we tested.

The original iPad

The original iPad and iPad 2 offer an identical user experience. What differentiates the iPad 2 is its faster processor, increased RAM and slightly refined exterior – each of which contributes to an improved user experience – and dual cameras. The iPad’s 9.7” display is formatted in a 4:3 ratio, which is significantly better for reading and on the whole works great for video. As noted above, the TouchPad copied Apple’s cue on this point – unfortunately the other competitors have not. The hardware feels so then balanced in the hand and is more comfortable to hold during reading than the alternatives we tested.

Apple’s hardware is very then crafted, nevertheless the company’s iOS platform is the real star of the show. The platform is populated with a very strong set of built in apps and a mindbogglingly large app store. There are far more tablet optimized iOS apps than Android or WebOS tablet friendly apps.

This is no mere statistical point: during Android scales phone apps up to tablet-sized screens gracefully, tablet optimized apps offer a superior experience to even the best scaling job. Simply put, users interact with tablets differently than they do phones – use a tablet for even a short time and this becomes apparent. Ideally, one should aim for a tablet that provides all the apps one needs in tablet-optimized forms.

Apple’s Mail application is the easiest to use tablet e-mail app we have seen along these lines far and, thanks to the iOS 5 upgrade, now offers rich text editing. Notable and new to iOS 5, the Messages app gives the iPad a free, SMS or BlackBerry Messenger-like app that can share an account with a user’s iPhone iMessage account and be used to message other iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users.

Best of all, Apple has a track record of providing free major system upgrades to all of its iOS users for for the moment three years afterwards a device’s release. During many of Samsung’s and Motorola’s Android phones have been left on aging versions of the Android operating system less than a year afterwards their phones’ releases, Apple has consistently upgraded older iPhones and iPads to the latest and greatest. Time will tell how Android-oriented manufacturers handle tablet software upgrades, nevertheless buyers looking for a sure thing will find the iPad a safer choice.

The iPad comes in Wi-Fi

The iPad comes in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi plus 3G configurations, the latter offered for both Verizon and AT&T. Verizon, in our findings, remains the network with the best coverage and reliability. However, given that the iPad does not support Verizon’s 4G LTE network, the AT&T variant of the iPad 2 is the only choice for quasi-4G speeds. As noted at the outset, many will be better off using a smart phone’s mobile hotspot functionality with the Wi-Fi only iPad instead of buying one with built-in cellular. This is especially true for Verizon clients, who will want to take advantage of the carrier’s LTE network.

ConclusionThe iPad was the tablet that created the “tablet market” of today and, for now, remains the king of the jungle. People who do not require a cellular enabled tablet will find that the iPad provides a better interface, better battery life and more apps than any of its competitors. The iPad offers a near perfect user experience and, surprisingly, is priced at a lower no-contract price than many of its competitors. As a potential gift, the iPad is the safest tablet choice; it is almost undoubtedly capable of accomplishing whatever your recipient may want, be it playing games or replacing a heavy business laptop for lighter travel.

The only compromise of note with the iPad is in the area of cellular connectivity. If you plan on giving a tablet to someone who will want cellular support built-in, the two LTE-sporting 10.1” Android tablets offer the best network experience available today. Even though Android has a ways to go in the tablet world, Verizon’s LTE network alone is enough to make the Xoom and Galaxy Tab 10.1 worth a look.

Looking to get acquainted with Apple's latest operating system? Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible, the definitive Mac OS X reference, features OFB's own Timothy R. Butler alongside Galen Gruman and Mark Hattersley.