- Tuesday, October 23 - Rumored Apple iPad mini 7" tablet
- Friday, October 26 - Microsoft Surface RT tablet
- Monday, October 29 - Rumored Google Nexus 7 32GB tablet
So if you were thinking of purchasing a tablet like I currently am, you might want to wait and see what each of these companies are bringing to the table. Here are the three things I am considering as I weight my purchase options.
1) What do I plan on using this tablet for?
I've seen online the debate between consuming media and productivity when it comes to tablets. It seems to me, and I am by no means an expert, that the Apple iOS and the new Andorid Jellybean OS are geared towards the consumption of media (books, music, games and videos). While the Microsoft Surface, with its available keyboard, is able to do both making it a better, and possibly more comfortable choice. Although I don't see enterprise companies adopting the Surface in the beginning as the new Windows 8 OS is very different from what everyone is used to.
I've seen online the debate between consuming media and productivity when it comes to tablets. It seems to me, and I am by no means an expert, that the Apple iOS and the new Andorid Jellybean OS are geared towards the consumption of media (books, music, games and videos). While the Microsoft Surface, with its available keyboard, is able to do both making it a better, and possibly more comfortable choice. Although I don't see enterprise companies adopting the Surface in the beginning as the new Windows 8 OS is very different from what everyone is used to.
2) How much do I want to spend?
At this moment I don't think we know what all the prices are for these tablets so it is hard to do a direct comparison. However based on what we do know and how their previous products have been priced, we can make a few assumptions. The Google Nexus 7 made headlines for its low cost entry point into the market and that appealed to a lot of people including myself. Some features had to be sacrificed like a rear camera and 3G connectivity, but I don't think those belong on a tablet anyways. Apple and Microsoft are priced higher and they know they can get away with it. They are being offered as a more premium product and depending on their additional features the price difference could very well be justified.
At this moment I don't think we know what all the prices are for these tablets so it is hard to do a direct comparison. However based on what we do know and how their previous products have been priced, we can make a few assumptions. The Google Nexus 7 made headlines for its low cost entry point into the market and that appealed to a lot of people including myself. Some features had to be sacrificed like a rear camera and 3G connectivity, but I don't think those belong on a tablet anyways. Apple and Microsoft are priced higher and they know they can get away with it. They are being offered as a more premium product and depending on their additional features the price difference could very well be justified.
3) Ease of transition
My main reason for buying a tablet is to phase out my super-slow eight year old PC computer. I'm willing to bet that a tablet can replace 90% of what I use a computer for (email, browsing the web, and the occasional Blog post). I have been using iTunes for years and have purchased quite a few songs and videos in that time. I'd still be able to play back that content on the iPad mini while anything with DRM is useless on the other devices. Likewise I have Microsoft Word and Excel documents that I have made that would work best for the Surface RT or Pro edition, plus I am very familiar with those products. Google does have similar products and they could be stored online in the cloud or specifically the Google Drive storage space, thus not taking up hard drive space.
My main reason for buying a tablet is to phase out my super-slow eight year old PC computer. I'm willing to bet that a tablet can replace 90% of what I use a computer for (email, browsing the web, and the occasional Blog post). I have been using iTunes for years and have purchased quite a few songs and videos in that time. I'd still be able to play back that content on the iPad mini while anything with DRM is useless on the other devices. Likewise I have Microsoft Word and Excel documents that I have made that would work best for the Surface RT or Pro edition, plus I am very familiar with those products. Google does have similar products and they could be stored online in the cloud or specifically the Google Drive storage space, thus not taking up hard drive space.
So, what's it going to be...
Like yourself I'll be paying very close attention to each of these announcements and the news coverage they'll receive to figure out which product is right for me. I currently feel drawn to the Google Nexus 7 and a 32GB version would be very welcome over the current 16GB version. It should prove very interesting week for the tablet market.
What tablet would you choose?? How often would you use your tablet versus a desktop/laptop?
Like yourself I'll be paying very close attention to each of these announcements and the news coverage they'll receive to figure out which product is right for me. I currently feel drawn to the Google Nexus 7 and a 32GB version would be very welcome over the current 16GB version. It should prove very interesting week for the tablet market.
What tablet would you choose?? How often would you use your tablet versus a desktop/laptop?
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