Tablet & Ereader Reviews

It is a battle between iOS and Android and this fight has evolved tremendously from Smartphones to Tablets. Strategy Analytics, a market research company, reports that on quarter four of 2010, Android Tablets sold in the market has tremendously increased to 22% of the market share. This increase in the market share in Q4 is a tenfold increase as compared to that of Q3 of the same year.

The Samsung Galaxy Tablet contributed to the large jump in the market share for the last quarter of last year. Apple iPad distributed around 7.3 million iPad units in Q4 of 2010. On the other hand, Android Tablets accounted for 75% of the shipments made worldwide. The strong sale of Android Tablets is seen as continuously emerging despite the fact that Honeycomb or Android 3.0 has not yet been released in the tablet market. Android 3.0 is expected to rise as the main competitor of Apple iPad once this is made available to the public. As the battle continues, Apple iPad is scheduled to release Apple iPad 2 this year. For now, let us try to understand why customers prefer to buy Android Tablets over Apple iPad.

iPad has amazing graphics, clear videos, touch screen sensitivity, 3G connectivity, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 10 hours battery life, games and other applications that can be installed in this unit. An Android Tablet, on the other hand, has an open source for Operating System. This means users can still improve on the applications and coding. There are more games and applications developed with Android Tablet. It has GPS, 3G and allows users to read e-books. It also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth similar to iPad. Android Tablet has a camera and flash support while iPad does not have this feature. You can do multi-tasking just like iPad and it is relatively cheaper in terms of cost.

As for the disadvantages of the two products, iPad does not have a camera and lacks USB port. It does not support flash. Likewise, YouTube, CBS and Huku are reportedly to be problematic with iPad. It does not have GPS too. For Android Tablet, its battery life is not the same as that of an iPad.

What Apple iPad does not have right now, it may have in the near future especially with iPad 2 coming out in the market soon. The same goes with Android Tablets. This is seen as an unending battle between the two. What these two are undergoing right now is similar to how it was before in the cellular phone market. As one or two features become basic, additional and more sophisticated features are incorporated in cell phones. The Tablet market is no different from this.

Laptop users and cell phone users have identified their need for tablets. The tablet market is relatively new and is still unsaturated so users will have to scrutinize between the two to meet their tablet needs and observe on who will still lead the race. Read the rest of this entry »

I think deep inside everyone there’s conflict going on between what is practical and what looks awesome. The Entourage eDGe is billed as the market’s first dualbook: an ereader, tablet, notepad and media player in one machine. It is available in bright red, midnight blue or Ice blue, dark red and the standard piano black or glacier white. From afar one would speculate when closed, it looks like a spiffy netbook, after closer inspection though you will observe dual-screens and perhaps the reflection of the smug grin on your own face.

The left screen is a great sized E-Ink display which is touch-enabled. The right screen is an additional touch screen display, this time LCD. The right screen is where you can manage applications like a browser and e-mail. It can link via WI-FI or (which is just so convenient) using the SIM card position for its own broadband connection. It is also designed with an audio player, webcam and mic.

This nifty gadget is marketed for students. They will be able to keep the left reader screen active while taking notes during a lecture in the right display. And for those like me who find it hard to rid yourself of the paper notebook (because I must scribble) you are able to hand write information within the E-Ink tablet as well.

An additional plus for me about this tablet device is that left handed people like me can rotate each screens to be able to hold the reading screen on the right and the LCD screen where you type or take notes on the left(how great is that lefties?). I additionally think that the pop up software key pad is simply so ‘Star Trekkie’ if you ask me. You are also provided with a built-in stylus but if that still does not suit you then you can plug in a computer keyboard to the USB.

And so now let us look at it from a purely eReader standpoint. The E-Ink screen has 8 grayscale contrasts which will make readability adjustable according to the surrounding illumination. As for downloading books to the device it is a snap because you can WI-FI it from the LCD side. The types of files it supports unfortunately is not as numerous as the Sony reader as it reads only PDF and ePub formats. The internal memory space is big compared to other readers at a hefty 4GB internal memory and it also has SD card position should you need to browse the encyclopedia. Page turning is actually snappy and easy. The large display is also an option for those who buy the oversized paperback books.

The cons however (which is why it’s a tug of war between functionality and desire) really do prevent you buying the gadget. The eReader’s function is comparable to it’s competition but it is simply too big at 3 lbs. It is larger than the netbook I’m currently typing on. Another issue, and some would say the deal breaker is the price, an astonishing $499. Yes, it costs nearly as much as an iPad and we all know which gadget consumers may pick if they had the $499 to spend. The company is going to produce pocket edition though. If this costs $220 or less, I’m purchasing.

Martin Sweeney is a self confessed ebook junkie and the co-creator of eReader Review HQ your one-stop-shop for all things eReader! Check it out for eReader reviews, news and buying guides! Coming soon the coolest eReader accessory reviews!