Tablet & Ereader Reviews

The Motorola Xoom is one of a recent spate of released and announced tablets, which is due for release in the next few months. Alongside the iPad and Blackberry Playbook, it offers an engaging range of technology, all of which is useful in its own right and offers a tablet to rival all others.

From a purely aesthetic point of view this tablet is stunningly attractive, providing smooth lines and a style that is unmatched. It incorporates an impressive array of functionality and technology including the latest android version 3.0, otherwise known as honeycomb. The unit itself measures 249 mm high by 167 mm wide and is 12 mm thick and weighs 730 g in weight.

The unit sports a 10.1 inch display screen, which is one of the largest available, and within which it has a resolution of 1280 x 800, as well as providing full HD 1080p support. The unit is able to record video at 720 pixels, with a playback capability of 1080p. Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend the iPad 2 prices were released at Best Buy by a hidden source. Pictures were published showing prices ranging from $599 to $699. This is really exciting information, but what does it tell us about the new iPad 2?

We already know that the iPad 2 will have a bunch of new features. One of the biggest things that pretty much everyone knows for sure is that there will be a front facing camera. The reason why they are adding this is to go with Apple’s new FaceTime application. With this you should be able to use your iPad 2 to talk with people on computers, iPhones, iPod Touches, iPads, and iPad 2. What else is there going to be on the iPad 2?

There should be a mini USB port so that you can plug in different accessories to the iPad 2. I’m guessing that this will be the beginning of Apple pushing lots of new devices to plug into the iPad 2 and other Apple products. Read the rest of this entry »

Android based phones have a diverse array of applications available. For the new Android user, it can almost be overwhelming choosing which apps to install. With the recent release of new Androids handsets from major brands like Motorola, HTC, and Google, the Android developer community has been given a boost to crank out good quality Android software. Today, Android Marketplace features more than 10,000 apps from personal finances to games and utilities. While some applications are more useful to some than others, here are my top 10 Android apps.

Connect Bot
Connect Bot is an absolute must-have application for anyone that works with Unix or Linux servers. This app is a very decent and capable secure shell client for the Android phone. Connect Bot is an SSH Client for the Android Phone which allows you to connect to remote servers directly from your hand-held device. Read the rest of this entry »

The concept of tethering Android tablets or your touch screen tablet to your cell phone offers a number of advantages and improves the versatility of the device. Tethering is convenient and once again stretches the capabilities of everyday technology to make our lives easier than ever.

What does it actually mean to “tether” one mobile device to another? And why would we even care about doing this? Before digging a bit deeper into the advantages of tethering your Android tablet to your smart phone, let’s look at the commonly accepted definition for tethering so that we are all on the same wavelength.

According to Wikipedia: “Tethering is the use of a mobile device such as a mobile phone to supply internet access for another device which is otherwise unconnected, using the mobile device as a modem. This can be done through Bluetooth wireless technology or cables (such as USB).” Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethering

It is easy to see why tethering would be of use to us. Tethering allows you to connect your Android tablet to the internet via your cell phone’s built in 3G connection. The recent explosion of the touch screen tablet craze, tethering gives us the ability to save money and hassle by not paying for monthly internet subscriptions for all of our devices. Tethering makes for the most cost effective use of a smart phone.

Tethering Android tablets to a smart phone is useful in emergencies when one needs reliable, fast online access and the nearby Wi-Fi connection is weak or non-existent. Tethering an Android touch screen tablet to a smart phone is great for business people who travel frequently or find themselves needing internet access in normally inconvenient situations. Tethering can bail one out of emergency situations if the internet connection at home is down.

Another advantage to tethering is that it is an ideal option for those who don’t like the potential security issues of public Wi-Fi. Tethering is much more secure and allows complete privacy when handling confidential work or other files.

With all the tethering software available and the easy, widespread use of Android, tethering is a very viable option indeed as there is plenty of support in case difficulties arise. Tethering is definitely the next step in advancing smart phone and internet tablet technology. Tethering proves that the way we access the internet expands and gets better each and every day.

Susan Slobac is a consultant in the personal gadgets industry. Susan writes about trends in Android Tablets & touch screen tablet.

Android Tablets vs. iPad – this may well become the big tech debate of 2011. I will break down the differences for you and tell you what side I am on! There are several key differences between the two devices.

Operating System

Obviously, one of the largest differences between the two systems is the operating system. Android tablets are running on some version of the Android OS from Google, while Apple’s iPad is running on Apple’s iOS. Both are the same basic OS that runs on the companies’ respective smart phones.

To me, this is just a matter of preference. These days, many developers prefer Android over iOS, as it is much easier to get a new app into Android’s app market. However, every Android tablet (and phone) may run on a different version of the software, which can make it a bit unsettling for users, as some apps may work only on a newer version of Android, which every tablet may not get.

The companies that develop the tablets decide when to push an update of the Android software to each type of device, so one type might get an update, while others may wait for months, or never get an update at all.

As far as I am concerned, there is no clear winner in this arena. If you get a chance, try each one and see which operating system you like best. Personally, I am a bigger fan of Android.

Screen Size

Having a big screen can be a plus or a minus depending on what you plan to use it for, and especially on how you plan to carry a tablet around. For example, I purchased the Samsung Galaxy Tab, considered one of the best Android tablets currently on the market, and a big selling point for me ws the screen was actually much smaller than the iPad.

The iPad screen is over 10 inches, making almost as big as some small laptops. That can be great if you plan to carry it in a backpack all the time and want to watch videos on it, but it does make it harder to carry around. For me, the Galaxy Tab made more sense because I don’t carry a backpack and like to bring it to meetings.

So, again, no clear winner here. You may want to decide first whether you want a wireless device that is portable or if you want the biggest screen possible. One caveat here, however – soon there will likely be tablets running Android on the market that have screens the size of the iPad.

Apps

You can have a discussion about Android tablets vs. iPad without talking about apps. Apps make or break the tablet in my opinion. Having used both operating systems extensively, I will say that, although the iPad certainly has more apps than Android, I have not been disappointed with Android and can find just about any kind of app I can think of. In addition, almost every company that makes an iPad app makes an Android app as well.

In fact, in my estimation, given that Android sales are now surpassing iPhone, and the fact I mentioned above – that it is easier to develop apps and get in the Android market, I would not be surprised to see Android catch up the Apple in the future when it comes to apps.

Cost

It seems that even the best Android tablets are cheaper overall, and you can find some good, cheap Android tablets out there. Both have data plans, and you can’t do much without a data plan on a tablet unless you stay in a wifi zone, so you will likely end up paying about the same there.

However, when it comes to the cost the device itself, Android wins.

This argument will rage on during 2011, but when it comes to Android Tablets vs. the iPad, I am all for Android!

Casey has a new site dedicated to the best android tablets! Check it out at http://www.androidtabletsblog.com.