guide to tablets

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tech-manager/an-executives-guide-to-tablets/6023?tag=nl.e106

The iPad is the 10,000 kg gorilla in the tablet space, despite Microsoft’s half-hearted attempts over the better part of a decade. The device has been hailed as “magical and revolutionary” by its creators and as ”just a big iPhone” by detractors, and like most debates, the truth is somewhere in between. The “big iPhone” jibe actually rings quite true, and for this type of device, it is largely an advantage. If you’ve used an iPhone, you’ll feel right at home, and if you haven’t, the learning curve is more of a speed bump than a mountain.

Frankly, I found the actual operating system underwhelming. Messages to alert you to a new email or other messages are just as bad as the iPhone (an annoying pop-up window, slated to be fixed in the next version of Apple’s iOS operating system), and two minutes after you pick up an iPad for the first time you may find yourself asking, “This is it???”

The Transformer, in particular, has a compelling price and an available keyboard that seems like an exec’s match made in heaven: take the tablet for your basic email, web browsing, etc., then pop on the keyboard when there’s real writing to be done. The unit also had a superior screen to the iPad, and I preferred it for reading books in the Amazon Kindle app,  even with its distended screen, which is narrower and longer than the iPad.