Tablet Holiday Shopping Guide (Part 2)

Kindle Fire HD

Another great entry into the 7" market and the ones who started the demand for them is the Amazon Kindle Fire. Now they introduced an HD version for the same price point of the original. The new Kindle Fire HD sports a 7" 1280 x 800 display, Dolby audio speakers, dual Wi-Fi antenna for faster speeds, and a dual-core 1.2GHz TI OMAP processor. Now the device runs a heavily modified version of Android 2.3 to the point that it's not recognizable as an Android tablet. This however, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Amazon replaces all of Google's services with their own, the most obvious difference being it doesn't come with the Play Store instead having the Amazon app store. If you have an Amazon Prime account already and have previously used their app store this shouldn't be a problem. In fact their Prime integration is phenomenal allowing access to the entire instant streaming collection as well as the Prime e-book library. Their app store also has most of the big name apps for example, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Now what does this all mean? This is first and foremost a content consumption device. Don't expect to do a lot of work on this thing, but do plan to watch videos, read books, listen to music, browse the web, and play games on it. It's well suited to the task and should handle all your media well. The speakers on it are quite impressive. Who is this for? Anyone who's just looking to handle media and lots of it. But anyone with an Amazon Prime account or who actively uses their app store will benefit the most from the device. Amazon has done a good job on integrating their services. The best part is the 16GB version starts at $199 and $249 for 32GB. However, at these prices ads and offers will appear on your lock screen. You can either spend $15 extra for an ad free experience at checkout or later on as an additional purchase through the device. Either way hard to beat the price.

iPad Mini

Apple also released their own competitor for the 7" market in the form of their iPad Mini. It features a 7.9" 1024 x 768 display making it the lowest resolution 7" tablet discussed here. It's powered by an older A5 dual-core processor and has a Face time HD 1.2MP camera, and a 5MP iSight camera on the back capable of 1080p HD recording. It also has the new lightning connector requiring you to buy the $29 adapter to use your old accessories with it. It ships with iOS 6 and will be able to run all your standard iPad apps scaled down to size. Now what does this mean? It means it's intended more for the on the go media consumption, but should handle most tasks you throw at it. However Apple priced it at a premium over its competitors, starting at $329 for the 16Gb, $429 for the 32GB, and $529 for the 64GB versions. An LTE version is also available on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T for an additional $130, thus bringing the starting price for 16GB with LTE to $459. The significant price difference between its competitors makes this a difficult product to recommend. So who is this for? People who are already invested in iOS 6 and the Apple ecosystem. If they already own an Apple product, use iTunes, or own an iPhone, and are looking for a 7" tablet this will be the product for them. Also those searching for a simpler easy to use interface will benefit from iOS.

Surface with Windows RT

And last but not least are the slew of Microsoft RT tablets coming to market particularly the Microsoft made Surface tablet. Now it runs Windows RT which is a tablet specific version of Windows and won't be able to run standard programs only those coming through the new Microsoft Store. It's priced to compete with the iPad coming in at $499 for the 32GB flavor. Now when you first see it, it's quite impressive and everything about the device screams premium. It features a 10.6" 1366 x 768 HD display, a built in kickstand around back, the body is a VaporMg casing making it durable yet light. It offers up a microSDXC card slot for up to an additional 64GB of storage. It has a full USB port, and dual Wi-Fi antennas. It has front and back facing camera's both of which are capable of filming in 720p HD. It's powered by a dual-core NVIDIA processor along with 2GB of RAM. What does this all mean? It's a premium device with a premium price. It looks and feels great and runs buttery smooth. However, because it runs Windows RT it is restricted to apps and can't run full desktop programs. It does come pre-loaded with a full version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013. Which is made all the more useful by the optional touch covers which transform from screen covers into full blown keyboards with track pads. I have to admit that the keyboard works much better than I thought it would. However if you absolutely need a full version of Windows 8 Pro you're better off waiting for the Surface Pro. Who is this for? People who mainly want to use apps and have a great mobile touch friendly interface but need to do some serious work occasionally. Students will also make great use of this device with the included Office software. however the Touch cover which brings this together and makes it productive will run you an additional $119, which may deter some consumers. Overall Microsoft has done a good job creating a mobile touch optimized OS that is also useful for working on. The touch cover is truly phenomenal and adds much value to the device.

Well I hope you all enjoyed my little guide and find it a little easier to get the right tablet for the right person. Have fun shopping!

P.S it would mean a lot to me if you checked out this person's blog here. She's awesome and writes about life and cool stuff. You'll also possibly get a cookie too! 
*disclaimer* cookie may be poisonous and fictitious. 

Innovating? (Part 2)

XPS 12 Convertible Ultrabook

Now Windows 8 is apparently what all the manufacturer's were waiting for in order to start getting creative with their designs. Even Dell decided to join the party with their creative convertible XPS 12 Ultrabook. It features a fully rotatable screen allowing you to flip the screen so it faces the other side and turns into a tablet. The body itself offers a very premium, and durable feel. It features a machined aluminum, carbon fiber, and the glass is Corning Gorilla Glass. After years of some pretty standard or mediocre designs it's nice to see Dell branching out and trying new designs.

ATIV Smart PC

Samsung is also trying their hand at the convertible tablet/pc combo with their new ATIV Smart PC. Now it's noticeably similar to Asus' initial approach. However they have also added their own tweaks to the design, making it more streamlined, and providing it with S Pen functionality. While not as original as some of the other designs we've seen here it's still nice to see them at least try a different approach to their laptops. Although I do hope to see something more original from Samsung sometime in the future. They might just be playing it safe unsure if these new convertibles will sell well.

VAIO Duo 11

Sony, and Toshiba both decided to approach their designs in a rather similar design. They implemented a screen that slides over the keyboard, and track pad to cover it, and put the screen front and center. Sony's solution comes in the form of the VAIO Duo 11 with an 11.6" screen. Toshiba's is the Satellite U925t Ultrabook which features a 12.5" screen. However the difference comes in the fact that instead of a touch pad the VAIO has a trackball and relies more on the touch screen and included stylus. Whereas the Satellite does come with a touch pad, other than that however the two are quite similar.

Satellite U925t

Overall I'm quite excited for the new influx of creative designs, and to finally see manufacturer's branching out and experimenting with new things. I think this can only lead to new more creative and fun designs. We're finally seeing the end of the traditional simple clamshell laptop design. Microsoft has done something interesting, unique, and new with Windows 8; and as a result we're finally seeing manufacturer's follow suit and trying new things.

Innovating?

Editor's Note: Because of an issue I had with the site, the original article was lost before I could back it up, as such I have had to rewrite it and have broken it up into two parts.

Transformer Pad Infinity

Competition is a good thing, particularly when it drives innovation. When the first Android tablets running 3.0 Honeycomb (the tablet optimized OS for Android), released they were all a similar design. All for one that is, Asus was the first to experiment with a new design for their tablets with their Transformer Pad tablet series. The tablet itself was pretty standard design with a nice 10.1" display, but what distinguished it was the optional dock accessory it had which transformed it into a notebook. It also adds USB ports has a full keyboard, and multi-touch track pad, and adds battery life to the tablet when connected. It was received quite well, and Asus was praised for experimenting with a new design.

VivoTab RT

Asus decided to also bring the design over to their new Windows RT tablets in the form of their VivoTab RT. They will also be launching the VivoTab featuring the full version of Windows 8. I expect these to be met with even more success than their Android counterparts given the fact that Windows 8 is designed to work both as a notebook and standalone tablet. An advantage Android didn't have. I'm glad to see Asus still unafraid to experiment with their designs.

Taichi 21 Series

However not ones to stay content recycling their old designs they took their innovation to a brand new level in the form of the Taichi 21 Series. Now out of all the new Intel inspired Ultrabook convertible designs I've seen recently this has to be the one that most got me excited. The back casing features a full touch screen allowing it to function as a tablet when you close it. When it's open it features a full keyboard and touch pad. To better things Asus also optimized their software allowing you to do some cool stuff with the two screens. Video showing how it works here. This is definitely one of the most original implementations I've seen from any manufacturer; and I think it will appeal to a wide audience.

IdeaPad Yoga 13

This time around the manufacturer's decided they aren't going to just sit around and let Asus take all the innovative ideas. So in comes Lenovo with their new IdeaPad Yoga 13, which features a flexible display; which allows it to be used in different modes. It can open into a normal laptop mode, or fold back to be used as a tablet, and it can even be folded to use the keyboard as a stand. Better than writing is showing so video here. 

Continue Reading Part 2 here.