How to choose and buy a Tablet PC or a Tablet Computer? Since each person has his needs and his ideas of what is good and what is not, answer is not simple. Here are some guidelines that may help you in your choice.
For one thing, putting in search of a new Tablet PC, you have to clear it, since the sector “tablet” very confused and varied since Apple launched the iPad and millions of incompetent people have started talking about tablet without ever having seen and used.
The main thing that should be known how is that not all tablets are the same, not all allow you to do the same things and, above all, at the moment there are two large groups of devices, “tablet”: there are tablets that represent an evolution of the Personal Computer (i Tablet Personal Computer or Tablet PC) and those that represent an evolution of smartphones (such as the Tablet PC iPad or Android tablet).
What is the difference between Tablet PC and Tablet Computers? The difference between a device equipped with a complete operating system that allows you to do anything and use any PC application and a device with an operating system that, although much more usable with just your fingers, it is thought mainly for displaying content and not to create them.
In short we can say that if you look for something to read, play randomly, surf the internet and watch videos (and nothing else), a Tablet PC is what you need.
If you search for something with which to work, write, create content and operate without restrictions of applications, file formats or codecs, the Tablet PC is the device to which the choice must be addressed.
Including this one, as you can understand what is the best device? You can say many things but the truth is that each person has his needs and his own ideas and what may be good or very good for some may be totally useless for others.
It is therefore essential to understand their needs and ideas, because there is a Tablet PC or Tablet Computer best “ever” but surely there is the best tablet for the needs of a person.
Tablet Computer based on a number of general characteristics (weight, size, connectivity, …) or personal (aesthetic, price, …). Each characteristic is rated on a scale from one to ten and the sum of the individual scores indicates the goodness of the Tablet PC based on the perception of the person who assigned the scores.
What you should do then is simple: you create a list of features that are important or interesting to suit your needs, and reviews and sheets in hand, we evaluate the features in a personal way. It is important to emphasize that the assessment is personal: a person interested aesthetics might consider less suitable for the Lenovo X230t preferring the HP EliteBook tm2-2101sl, a person is not interested in pen and replaceable battery might consider Ergo Tabula more interesting than the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 – there is a tablet absolute best.
In the picture above you can see an example of Hugometro designed to evaluate Tablet PC, and compared to the original version of Ortega, modified with custom features. Are evaluated, in particular, twelve features:
- Ability to replace a desktop PC (as a connectivity, wired or not)
- Ability to replace a desktop PC (as a power of the device is then evaluated primarily the power of the processor and video card)
- Ability to replace a desktop PC (defined as the presence of a docking station of some kind: the doors of a tablet may be limited, which may be fine in mobility, but a docking station can turn a well-made ultra-light tablet in a multi-workstation)
- Functionality Tablet PC (understood as a feature of pen: specifically, we evaluate the digitizer and the functionality of the stylus)
- Functionality Tablet PC (understood as a feature of touch: the type of digitizer, number of touches available, flush screen with the frame that offers the possibility of using also the first line of pixels, … You can even take into account an assessment of the quality of touch according to the power of the processor; eg experience touch Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 is very limited by the processor Atom)
- Mobility (defined as weight and dimensions)
- Mobility (understood as autonomy. It also assesses the presence of one or more replaceable batteries as for purposes of mobility, a device with three hours of autonomy but a replaceable battery and light is better, for the mobile user, a device with four hours of battery life and built-in battery that, when it ends, forces him to use the power supply)
- Format, size and screen resolution: it is personal assessments, but here it must be said that the screen size is critical.
- Visibility of the screen (defined as the angle of vision, clarity and brightness: if you are not going to use the tablet outdoors, anything goes, if you want to use on the move a glossy screen and a little light could result in serious difficulties’ use)
- Secondary characteristics (defined as all those things like the side scroll wheel or customizing software that are not essential but that improve – or worsen – significantly the user experience)
- Aesthetics (because the eye wants its part, this assessment is totally subjective)
Price
The sum of sub-scores provides a numerical representation of the goodness of the Tablet PC to meet your needs.