Tablet PC Comparison

I went to Amazon.com and browsed for “mobile devices” and then clicked on the “Tablets” category under “Computers & Accessories”. I then sorted the results by most popular and this is what I found:

• ThinkPad Tablet 1838 Android 3.1 32GB 10.1″ – $554.00 – 3 Reviews – 4.5 Stars
• NextBook Next3 Touchscreen Reader with Android – $299.99 – 35 Reviews – 3 Stars
• Creative ZiiO 8 GB 7″ Android 2.2 Tablet – $218.98 – 58 Reviews – 3.5 Stars
• 8.9″ Windows 7 Tablet PC – 1.66GHz Intel Atom 64GB HDD – $895.99 – 4 Reviews – 4 Stars
• Motorola XOOM Android Tablet (Verizon Wireless) – $799.99 – 67 Reviews – 4 Stars

Lenovo’s ThinkPad 1838 Tablet PC

This tablet runs a 1 GHz Mobile AMD Duron processor (single-core) with 2GB of SDRAM. It has a 32GB SATA hard drive as well as a full size SD/SDHC/MMC card reader, full size SIM card (not mini as was rumored), full size USB and micro USB, and a mini HDMI to round out the port listing.

Coupled with everything an IT department needs to standardize a fleet deployment(customized imaging, zero-touch deployment, etc), your company’s own marketplace, remote management/remote wipe, LDAP authentication, etc; Lenovo has not disappointed it’s loyal Thinkpad followers!

Product Features

View, edit and create Microsoft Office files with Documents to Go. Take notes or make updates right into your files with digitizer pen support. Run apps like Angry Birds – or buy or rent movies with Digital Rights Management (DRM). Connect to your entire social networking empire with Lenovo’s breakthrough and exclusive SocialTouch app. Video chat with your circle from anywhere in the world with the front and back mounted webcams.

Easily transfer data to and from your PC with a micro-USB port. Share files across devices with the built-in, full-size SD card reader, full-size USB port and Lenovo’s unique file copy utility. Save, sync and share large files between team members and offices with integrated cloud storage (2GB free). Display your presentations and videos in HD on an external monitor with the mini-HDMI port.

Get work done safely and securely with business apps specially enabled for the ThinkPad – Good for Enterprise, Cisco AnyConnect and Computrace Mobile by Absolute Software. Use your corporate network password to access your ThinkPad Tablet. Share and distribute company-purchased apps to numerous devices through a custom, client-controlled app shop. Access unique corporate preloads from the Lenovo Image Technology Center. Protect all of your confidential data with robust security.

Nextbook Next3 Touchscreen Reader with Android

Just because something is the most popular, doesn’t mean it’s the best. This mobile device is first an ereader, then a tablet PC. It has a resistive touch screen, not capacitive. That means it’s designed to work with a stylus (included) and not your finger like an iPad. The screen does not respond well to human touch so you really have to use the stylus. Pages don’t scroll smoothly and sometimes it clicks things when you don’t want it to and won’t click when you do.

The standby mode does not power cycle off and drains the battery dead, despite turning off the screen with single power off click, so each time you’re done using it, remember to manually shut it off.

You can’t install Android Market on this devices unless you know how to flash custom ROM’s and root it, but so far no one has publicly done this and made it available for this Android tablet. Also, Youtube isn’t included and doesn’t work if you install it and Facebook will only work if you manually download it as an APK file.

The screen is very reflective, almost like glass mirror. So if you are standing outside in an evening sun, don’t expect to see much action on the screen.

However,  it plays videos well, including the hi-def 1280×720 ones right off the SD card of your HD movie camcorder.

It also has a good eBook Reader and photo browser app.

The mini USB port can connect to your computer with a USB cable (included) and you can see the SD card mounted as a drive on your laptop to transfer files between this Tablet and your Mac or PC. It can also accept SD cards upto 8GB.

This device is really an eBook Reader with a color screen, WiFi and internet browser built in. If that’s all you need, it will serve you well.

Creative ZiiO 8 GB 7-Inch Android 2.2 Wireless Entertainment Tablet (White)

Ideal for games and media, the ZiiO 7-Inch Wireless Entertainment Tablet lets you experience wireless audio playback with the help of Pure Android Audio. Simply touch the onscreen Pure Android Audio icon to manage paired audio devices and wireless-connectivity settings. The suite of applications makes it easy to choose a wireless speaker system or headphones and begin streaming lossless audio.

Utilizing Bluetooth 2.1 wireless technology, the ZiiO Tablet offers seamless Bluetooth pairing, so you can stream high-fidelity stereo wirelessly to compatible stereo Bluetooth speakers and earphones. And, as the world’s first apt-X-enabled touch-screen tablet, the ZiiO allows you to transmit your audio content to apt-X-enabled Bluetooth speakers and headphones.

Pure Android Audio incorporates Creative’s X-Fi technology, which enhances your digital audio content and brings games and movie soundtracks to life with immersive surround sound. X-Fi Crystalizer restores detail that is often lost in compressed audio files, such as MP3s. X-Fi Expand improves the depth of field for especially immersive audio when gaming or watching movies.

The ZiiO Tablet lets you connect to the Internet, send emails, watch movies, and more. It runs on the Android 2.1 operating system, enabling you to easily install any of thousands of applications from the Internet. Access the largest selection of the most popular books with Kindle for Android and a paid app for free every day in the Amazon Appstore — both pre-installed on ZiiO.

The tablet’s 7-inch color screen (480 x 800 pixels) offers a sharp display for viewing movies, video clips, and photos, as well as web-browsing. To see video on a larger screen, simply connect the tablet via the HDMI port for HD resolutions of up to 720p (HDMI cable sold separately).

ZiiO tablets utilize Creative’s in-house ZMS-08 processor, which is engineered to deliver the high-performance, media-rich processing required of next-generation devices. Equipped with 8 GB of RAM, the ZiiO 7-Inch Wireless Entertainment Tablet also contains a number of built-in features, including a front-facing camera, a microphone, a stereo speaker, an accelerometer, high-definition video out, Wi-Fi capability, and a microSD card slot for up to 32 GB of additional memory.

Netbook Navigator’s NAV9 Windows 7 Tablet PC

At barely 2 lbs. and under 0.8″ thick, the NAV9 offers unprecedented, powerful wireless PC mobility in an ultra-compact 9″ Slate PC form factor.

“Netbook-like performance in an iPad-like case” – LiliPuting
“Thinner and lighter than the average netbook” – enGadget

Run multiple PC applications simultaneously — Skype with friends, surf the web, watch movies, play games, edit documents, spreadsheets and more, all at the same time! Whether at work, school, home, the coffee shop, or on the road, at just half the size of a standard netbook, you can carry the NAV9 with you literally anywhere.

“Handles Windows 7 extremely well” – CrunchGear
“Built for productivity” – LAPTOP Magazine

“Pinch”, “Flick” and “Tap” your way around the Windows 7 desktop in exciting new ways. Right-click with a tap of two fingers, pinch-to-zoom web pages and swipe to navigate through documents with ease. With a multitude of new touch-friendly features, the NAV9 offers users an incredibly versatile PC experience.

“Accurate and responsive to both finger and stylus” – CrunchGear
“Pinch-to-zoom worked surprisingly well” – LAPTOP Magazine

The Nav 9 comes equipped with tough Solid State hardware, so there are no delicate internal moving parts to worry about. With 3 USB ports, an SD/MMC/SIM slot, VGA output, LAN input, audio/mic jacks, built-in WIFI 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1 and optional 3G, the NAV9 represents a whole new generation of versatile mobile PC platforms.

“More expandable than the iPad” – LAPTOP Magazine
“A worthwhile investment” – CrunchGear

Motorola XOOM Android Tablet (Verizon Wireless)

This Motorola (now owned by Google) tablet runs Android and if you already have an account on another Android device, it will sync all of your apps over seamlessly on install.

It features a 5.0MP camera for capturing high-definition video and a 2.0MP webcam for video chatting with friends and family. There is a high-speed USB 2.0 port For fast data transfer and the built-in Wi-Fi allows you to connect to the Internet without wires. Embedded 3G mobile broadband technology with EVDO Rev A Keeps you connected.

It features a NVIDIA Tegra T20 1.0GHz dual-core processor with 1MB of L2 cache, a 600MHz system bus, and 1GB DDR2 RAM. The 10.1″ high-definition widescreen touch-screen display Showcases movies and games in stunning clarity while the 32GB hard drive offers spacious storage.

ULP GeForce graphics renders images greate and a HDMI output allows for connection to an HD TV.   Bluetooth 2.1 EDR + HID interface Easily link with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or MP3 player. Weighs only 1.5 lbs. and measures just 0.5″ thin For lightweight portability. Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system Provides a stable platform. Google Mobile Services Include Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction, access to more than 3 million Google eBooks and Google Talk with video chat.

Looking for a powerful Android tablet under $300?

Check out this Android 2.3 Tablet from Samsung Electronics. It’s low priced, but not necessarily “cheap”. Samsung makes most of the parts used in the iPad so you know they’re good.

Main Features of this Samsung Tablet PC:

• CPU: Samsung S5PC110–1GHz
• Operating System: Android 2.3
• Processor Clock Speed: 1GHz
• Touch Screen: Multitouch Capacitive Screen
• Max TF Card Support: Up to 32 GB
• Battery Type: Built-in 3.7V 6800mhA Li-ion Battery
• Audio Format Support: MP4/ WMA/ WAV/ AAC/ AAC+
• Video Format Support: MPEG4/ H.264/ H.263/ VC2(WMVp)/
• AVI/ MKV/ RMVB/ RM/ 3GP
• Browse Format Support: PDF/ Word/ Excel/ PPT
• Wireless Connection: WiFi, External 3G, Bluetooth
• Others: 1080P, Skype, MSN, Google Market

>> Click here to buy it now <<

Nook Share has reported that the Nook Color 2 is coming this September 2011. Reportedly, it has very similar features to the original Nook Color, which was more of a tablet PC than an ereader. The Nook Color is actually very similar to the iPad – hardware wise – besides the lack of 3G, but Nook Share speculates that 3G may be one of the features that the new Nook Color 2 features, although no one but Barnes and Noble knows for sure. Supposedly, this is supposed to go up against the new Amazon Tablet, which is something new from Amazon.com that has not yet been released. It looks like this Christmas season will be a repeat of 2009 when the original Nook went head-to-head against the Kindle 2 in a royal battle of the ereaders. This time, however, Lenovo’s 7 inch IdeaPad and Apple’s iPad may squash both Amazon and Barne’s and Noble’s hopes and dreams. Only time, technology, and market forces will tell.

Get the best tablets you can for under $600 from Motorola, Apple, Acer, ASUS, Blackberry, and ViewSonic including the Xoom, iPad, Iconia, Eee Pad, Eee PC, Playbook, and the ViewPad.

Get the best tablets you can for under $400 from Archos, Dell, and Le Pan including the Internet Tablet, the Streak, and the TC 970.

Get the best tablets you can for under $300 from HP, ViewSonic, Plexon, Archos, eLocity, and Creative including the gTablet, the ViewPad, the Superpad, Internet Tablets, and the ZiiO.

Update: looking for the newest tablet PCs under $300?

For much of 2011, the only tablets you could get under $300 were mobile Internet devices or media centers, but that’s all changed recently. The Nook Tablet ($249) and the Kindle Fire ($199) are new choices for tablet PCs under $300. Also, get the HP TouchPad while you still can for $270. This Christmas is going to be the biggest for tablets yet, but they’re just getting started in this post-PC era we live in.

While the HP TouchPad is nice, you might want to consider the Pandigital Color Touchscreen Tablet PC at Wal-Mart that at one time was on sale for as low as $77. I mean this is all happening BEFORE Black Friday. Can you imagine what kinds of sales there are going to be this year in tech?! It’s going to be insane. But it’s not just going to be in stores this year – it’s going to be online. No need to get trampled, just point and click.

Select from the 9 tablets below:

Compare the top 9 best tablet PCs from Motorola, Samsung, Apple, Acer, ViewSonic, Coby, and ASUS including the XOOM, Galaxy, iPad, Iconia, gTablet, Kyros, and Eee Slate.

Click any of the links above to buy now from Amazon.com.

Chrome netbooks from Samsung and Acer will soon hit the shelves as Google has staked a lot on these mobile devices. But, amidst the sea of other netbooks, laptops, and tablet PCs, what do these new “Chromebooks” offer? Whether they will generate the interest among businesses or consumers is still unknown, but we’ll soon find out as the netbooks are scheduled to be available in June 2011.

Industry insiders have speculated that these Chromebooks are full of hype and offer nothing new to brag about. In fact, they may be just like any other laptop, but with less flexibility – but that may be exactly what will make them a hit with corporate IT departments and Information Security departments. Information can’t be stored on the device so if they are broken or stolen, you just go get a new one. That’s the beauty of cloud computing.

Users can access Google Docs, Webmail, or any apps available in the Google Chrome store. Because of the limited functionality, the Chromebook offers longer battery life but for $350 to $500 it may not be worth it to some as compared to other standard netbooks which are available between $230 and $530. Though final verdict will come after the release, lets just hope this isn’t another Nexus One-type of hardware experiment for Google.

1005HA-MU17-WT 10.1-Inch Intel Atom ASUS Eee PC Netbook

ASUS has nearly perfected the netbook PC. Great for browsing the Internet and doing other minor tasks like listening to music, creating small documents, and watching  movies. The battery life is phenomenal – up to 8 hours. The size and ergonomics of this keyboard are bar none the best among netbooks today. The wide touchpad has the right level of sensitivity as well. And Windows 7, even with the entry level Starter edition, offers much faster processing & bootup times than Windows XP does on the Intel Atom N270 processor. The screen is a matte display, not glossy, which helps alot when you have the brightness turned down since matte doesn’t look like a giant mirror. Overall this is a great netbook, especially for students or people looking to surf the web and write from the classroom to the bedroom.

Product Features

• Intel Atom N270 (1.60GHz, 512KB L2 Cache, FSB 533MHz)
• 1 GB SODIMM memory
• 10.1″ WSVGA (1024×600) Wide Screen LCD
• Integrated Graphics Controller; Shared w/ system memory
• 250 GB HDD

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

• Hardware Platform: PC
• Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270
• RAM: 1 GB
• RAM Type: SDRAM

Hard Drive

• Size: 250 GB
• Manufacturer: Portable

Cases and Expandability

• Size (LWH): 10.31 inches, 7.01 inches, 1.44 inches
• Weight: 2.81 pounds

Power

• Rated Charge (normal use): 8.5 hours

In an effort to make this site more user friendly and easier to navigate, we’ve updated the Tablet PC Comparison Chart and added a Compare Tablet PCs chart for easy navigation. We’ve also added more manufacturers and operating systems on the left and moved the Twitter stream to the right as well as added a tag cloud to the right while viewing posts to further help with navigation.

Tablet PC Comparison is meant to help you sort out the maze of new and existing tablet PCs and slate computers and making the web site easier to navigate is part of that process. We just wanted to share this information and thank you for reading. We appreciate your time and your comments!