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The iPad has dominated the market, but its competitors are coming on strong. It means more choice than ever for demanding professionals who know what they need.
They’ve been commercially available for a decade, but tablets really only captured the public’s imagination when Apple Inc. introduced the iPad in 2010. Since then, Apple has sold millions of iPads to consumers and, increasingly, businesses. But Apple is hardly alone. The competition has taken note of its success and is ready to take a bite out of the lucrative — and growing — tablet market.
Here are some issues to keep in mind if you’re thinking of buying.
Third-party applications
Despite the buzz about the iPad and the capable software it ships with, tablets are mainly blank slates where third-party software developers can work their magic. Before you shop for a tablet, look for applications (such as document readers, annotation and research tools) that you’re thinking of using.
Multitasking
Keeping several applications open at the same time has been standard practice for decades in the computer market. Today’s tablets must do the same without overtaxing batteries or sacrificing performance.
Ease of use
Pinch. Swipe. Tap. Tilt. Instant-on. These actions, meaningless on a computer yet almost self-explanatory on a tablet, are what make current tablets all the rage. Ted Tjaden, national director of knowledge management for Mc- Millan LLP in Toronto, “pinches” his iPad’s screen to zoom in and out of documents and web pages, such as LexisNexis and WestLaw. “It’s great for my aging eyes,” he says.
Internet connectivity
Tablet users expect to connect to the Internet using WiFi. Phone carriers might subsidize tablets that feature cellular connectivity, much like mobile handsets.
Battery power
The iPad runs 10 hours (a full day for most people) on a single charge. “I always struggled with power cords and battery life [using laptops in court],” says Dan Michaluk, a Toronto-based partner with employment and labour law firm Hicks Morley LLP. “Moving a laptop from hearing room to hallway for conversations, to caucus with clients, was always a problem. With an iPad, I don’t have to apologize for a power cord.”
Portability (weight and thickness)
Expect tablets to weigh less than one kilogram. Motorola’s Xoom is even thinner than the iPad at a svelte 12.9 mm thick. “If you can put whatever material you read on your tablet, it enables you to use otherwise idle time doing something you need to do,” says David Canton, business lawyer and trademark agent with London, Ont., firm Harrison Pensa LLP.
Screen size
A tablet’s screen makes many applications (such as document and book readers, web browsers and e-mail) much easier to use than on a smartphone. Most tablet screens measure seven inches and up to deliver that usability.
Price
Expect tablet prices to stay below four figures.
Luigi Benetton is a freelance writer based in Toronto