In the short seven years since the initial release of Apple's i-Pad tablet in the US, the computer tablet is now challenging the PC as the highest selling computing device. Although technically, the PC lost its place on the winner's podium to the smartphone as the world's most popular computing device back in the fourth quarter of 2010, comparing a computer laptop to a tablet PC seems fairer given their screen size and capability.
Advantages of Each
Tablets are smaller, lighter and cheaper than a laptop, but if you're creating a lot of information or running a business you will generally still need a computer laptop or desktop PC due to their greater grunt and efficiency.
Laptops and desktop PC's also offer better ergonomics. The separate keyboard on a laptop makes typing easier, whereas you type on the screen of a tablet. Hours spent in front of a computer screen are also easier on your eyes if you have a bigger screen. Research from the Harvard Business School found tablet PCs have been linked to more shoulder and neck injuries than laptops because people tend to slump when using them.
Smaller tablets are now coming into vogue, and with the squeeze on the economy, sales figures show that more people are buying tablet PCs instead of a second laptop or desktop computer.
So if you are looking to buy a tablet PC, what is the most important thing to assess? Answer: its operating system in terms of what you want to use it for. Right now, computer desktops and laptops win hands down in the computing power stakes, but tablet operating systems are improving very rapidly.
IDC predicts Android tablets will outstrip Apple tablets this year for the first time. Right now though, Apple tops the Tablet Sales figures with Samsung coming in at second place and ASUS taking third.
The Top 3 best-selling tablets are: Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Note, and Asus with its Google Nexus.
For more reading on this topic, visit:
– Go Laptop or Tablet
– Tablets Challenge PC Sales
– 10 Best Tablet PCs
– Worldwide Tablet Market Surges Ahead