Greetings,

I thought I would take a few minutes and blog about a subject I get lots and lots of questions on - tablet computers. The tablet everyone knows about is the iPad and/or iPad2. Android based units are also very common; if the tablet you are reviewing is not specifically an iPad then it is probably an Android unit.

Let me start by saying this blog is not about which unit to purchase - folks will argue with me all day on which unit is the best. This is to help educate those interested in purchasing a tablet computer on the strengths and weaknesses of tablet computers.

So why so much buzz about tablet computers recently, they have been around for years (one of my clients was using one back in the mid 90's in his medical practice). A couple of factors. in my opinion, have helped the tablet market. First is price, tablet computers used to be extremely expensive - now they are about the same costs as a traditional laptop (some are cheaper but I will discuss those in another blog). Additionally, these more expensive tablets were slower and had less functionality than a similarly priced desktop or laptop computer so the only real 'feature" of the tablet was portability. Very few people wanted to pay an extra $1000.00 just to be able to carry a limited use PC everywhere they went.

Second, the growth of wifi and cellular service. All tablets have wireless network functionality built into them and nowadays most fast food establishments, coffee houses, hotels, and the like have free wifi service. In addition, all tablets purchased from cell phone carriers have the ability to stay connected almost anywhere via that carrier's cellular signal. With this change people stay connected all day, everyday not just when at home or work (some will argue this is actually a bad thing :-)

Third, Apple and Google created operating systems designed and optimized for tablet computers. Before these were developed nearly all tablets still ran some version of Microsoft Windows. While Windows is a good product it was designed for desktop computing. It also works fine on laptops as most people use laptops as portable desktops. The tablet is a different animal and is used for different purposes; yes, there are overlaps but tablets are NOT just laptops with touch screens and no keyboard.

Tablets are great for surfing the web, checking email, checking in on Facebook, playing a little Angry Birds, and watching a movie or video. They can be used to show presentations but I would hate to have to create a presentation on one. This would be the weakness of a tablet PC. Many of my clients call asking about tablets and the first thing they say is I want to get rid of my laptop and replace it with a tablet. This gets me to asking questions about how they plan to use the tablet and I end up explaining why getting rid of the laptop may or may not be a good idea.

Tablets do not come with physical keyboards only an on screen keyboard. A couple have docking stations with keyboards and all support external bluetooth keyboards but carrying those around kind of defeats the purpose and portability a tablet offers. If you use your laptop to create content (documents, spreadsheets, presentations, edit photos, etc) a tablet is not a good replacement option for you. If all the programs you use are Microsoft Windows based applications, a tablet is not a good replacement option for you. If you only watch movies, listen to music, surf the web, or show presentations to clients a tablet is a great replacement option for you.

Before purchasing a table I recommend finding out if an application or "app" has been created for the iPad or Android that will fill the current use of your laptop. Both tablet genres have Office type apps but writing a thesis on a tablet could make you rethink whether getting your Ph.D is really worth it and most doctorial students wonder that already :-) If you sell insurance or financial services and feel a tablet will help you present your information more easily to your potential clients you better make sure that program runs on an iPad or Android based tablet - unless it is web based - most do not.

In conclusion, it is not my desire to sway you away from a tablet computer - I have and use both an iPad and an Android based tablet. I like features of both and use them regularly. My goal is to make sure when you spend $300-$500 on one it will provide you with the functionality you think it will. The salesperson at the store is looking to make a commission and may or may not give you all the details.

If you have any questions regarding tablet computers feel free to call or email or comment and I will be happy to help in anyway I can.

Have a nice day!

Doug