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What is a tablet PC?
A tablet is a totally capable personal computer which utilizes a touch screen for input and commonly has a form factor smaller than a regular laptop.
Up till 2010 tablet pc's were utilized commercially by sales agents and other individuals in the "field" who needed a portable device with a rich user encounter.
What is not a tablet PC?
In the past there have been devices which have been marketed as graphic tablets. These connect to a PC and permit the user to use a pen to draw on the tablet. Wacom is a leader in these varieties of devices and it is typical to see them on the desks of graphic artists and other users who function in the creative space.
What various types of tablet's are readily available?
At the moment there are 3 flavors of tablet's.
Slate/Pad - These are flat and do not incorporate a built-in keyboard. Due to the fact these devices do not consist of a keyboard they are much additional streamline than a Hybrid device. Some examples of these devices are the Apple iPad and the HP Slate.
A convertible or hybrid style
Hybrid or Convertible - These are essentially notebooks with a touch screen. Most of these devices can open like a normal notebook but the screen can also swivel and close so that it resembles a slate when the keyboard is not needed. HP/Compaq and Lenovo have been leaders in these types of tablet PC's with devices such as the Lenovo Ideapad U1 and the HP 2710P.
Book - Book tablet PC's tend to be alot more directed towards users who just want to be able to read publications electronically. They tend to be less capable and oftentimes have two "pages" to imitate a conventional physical book or newspaper. As Tablet PC's acquire significantly more popularity it would not be a tremendous surprise if many people started to not give some thought to these tablets PCs. An example of a book style tablet PC is the Sony's PRS-700BC.
Why would I want a tablet PC?
Tablets are at present being marketed towards people who want a device which fills the gap in between a smart telephone and a laptop. See Tablet vs. Wise Phone and Tablet vs. Laptop section of FAQ.
A Deloitte study note reported by CNET indicates that they are forecasting that in 2010 tens of millions of people will by Tablet PC's. This means that there will be significantly more and a lot more applications and OS features built to make the most out of the special Tablet PC hardware and usability opportunities.
Tablet vs. Wise Telephone
Benefits of a Tablet
- Bigger screen for much easier browsing and superior user expertise
- Familiar operating system (i.e Windows, MacOS, iPhone OS, Linux, and so on)
- Much better efficiency (i.e quicker CPU, more memory, etc)
- Big Touch Screen
- Less difficult input of diagrams and other additional visual material
Advantages of a Wise Phone
- Smaller form factor (pocket sized)
- Lower price for device
- Information via mobile carrier with no additional hardware
Tablet vs. Regular Notebook
Advantages of a Tablet
- Substantial Touch Screen
- A lot easier input of diagrams and other even more visual material
- Smaller and Lighter
Positive aspects of a Standard Notebook
- Lower expense for device
- Commonly hardware is much more effective in regular notebooks
- Wider wide variety of configurations
- Data through mobile carrier with out further hardware
- Full keyboard for quicker input of text with no additional hardware (most tablets can use external keyboards)
- Far more extensible than Tablet's
