Touchscreen Tablet Reviews

Consumer electronics manufactures are trying to launch a new type of product, the touchscreen tablet. Nobody had one before, but they're supposed to change our lives. Put simply, they're flat touchscreens with no keyboard and a wireless Internet connection via Wi-Fi or 3G. How you use them depends very much on your own needs, but also the technical specifications of the products themselves.

What's it For?

For some people, these devices are a handy way of surfing the web from the comfort of the sofa, but for others they're a good way of browsing and sharing photos or watching videos.

Some people even go as far as to suggest that these new handheld products could replace your main desktop PC for doing most things. Not everyone spends hours playing the latest 3D games or editing HD video, and for everyday, basic computer tasks like reading your e-mails, surfing the web and watching videos, tablets could be the ideal compromise between portability, features and price. In fact, tablets generally sell for the same price as the cheapest computers and netbooks, and some people are even starting to wonder whether netbooks will survive the onslaught of the touchscreen tablet!

What to Look For

With size, compatibility, applications, and connections all important factors to consider, you'll need to think about how you plan on using your tablet before you pick a model. For example, there's no point buying a high-end spec-laden model if you're mainly going to use your tablet as a portable media player.

What do I need? That's a very important question to ask yourself when faced with a market bursting with very different types of device. However, it's perhaps an even more complicated question to answer when considering tablets—a product developed to create a need rather than respond to one. The tablet can be a handy day-to-day companion for anyone who consumes a lot of digital data, from multimedia to surfing the web, but it can also replace a netbook or games console for occasional users, making the tablet a great device for families too.

Design & handling: although all tablets have the same basic rectangular design with a casing made from plastic or aluminium and a 4:3 (Apple, Memup, HP) or 16:10 (all the rest) screen, there are several different types of tablet out there, all offering different possibilities for user interaction.
Some models have a smattering of physical buttons, while others are purely touch-control, for example, and some have loads of connections while others rely on optional accessories to make up for missing sockets. In fact, no two tablets handle in exactly the same way.
It's therefore important to pick the product up, consider its weight and how it feels in your hands. Tablets can sometimes be heavy (over 750 g in some cases), bulky, or so small they barely stand out form a smartphone. With so many models on the market now, there's something for everyone!

Screen: if you're a regular reader of DigitalVersus, you'll know that we're allergic to TN screens, especially cheap, entry-level TN panels. These are often found in budget tablets and have tight viewing angles and ridiculous contrast levels, which really isn't great for this kind of portable device.
We're fans of IPS screens, as found in Apple, Asus, HP, LG and Motorola products, with extra-wide viewing angles, good general performances and contrast of at least 750:1. There are some other very good screens out there too though, such as Samsung's PLS displays and the PVA panels used at Acer and Packard Bell tablets.

Brightness is an important factor too. Go into the settings, turn off the automatic brightness and push the cursor up to the max—if the result is almost blinding then you're in the presence of a decent tablet that you'll even be able to use outdoors!

Battery life: often a disappointing feature in smartphones, battery life is a key selling point for tablets, especially higher-end models. If you're a multimedia addict, you're better off avoiding budget models which often run out after just five hours of use.
The best models can usually hold out for over seven hours, with some even boasting nine and a half hours of battery life. What better way to keep the kids quiet on long car journeys or to keep you entertained on a long-haul flight?

Applications: as an extension of smartphones and their operating systems, tablets can be loaded with all kinds of applications downloaded from special online stores. Most smartphone apps work on a tablet running the same OS but developers have also started making apps designed specifically for touchscreen tablets, thus getting the best out of their large screens and powerful processors.

Accessories: like the iPhone, the iPad has paved the way for a whole load of accessories, some of which you may find you can't really manage without. With cases, stands, quick charging docks, SD card readers, optional keyboards and keyboard docks with batteries and connections, accessories are often designed to compensate for features that are missing from the tablet itself. The lack of memory in most Android tablets can, for example, be easily overcome with a microSD card.