There's no need to look at the past tablets as the latest ones do promise a lot this year.
One can surely call 2011 as the year of tablets.
It’s not really news that the tablet segment is going to hit it big time this year. There’s a lot we can expect from the industry now. From what we’ve seen at CES2011 the competition is just about getting started. We’ll see quite a few devices make it out but here’s a short list of the ones I’d like to see hit India as soon as possible. Take a closer look.
NOTION INK'S ADAM
.The Adam comes off as a very well thought of and put together device. While the Pixel Qi display may be the most sought after, I’m ok with even the basic LCD. The overall functionality that the device claims to bring to the table could make this a serious threat to Apple and some of the others. With HDMI out, a 3MP rotating camera/webcam and USB plug and play features amongst quite a bit more, the Adam’s going to be a tough nut to crack. The addition of NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor will also make this quite an interesting device for all purposes.
NOTION INK'S ADAM
.The Adam comes off as a very well thought of and put together device. While the Pixel Qi display may be the most sought after, I’m ok with even the basic LCD. The overall functionality that the device claims to bring to the table could make this a serious threat to Apple and some of the others. With HDMI out, a 3MP rotating camera/webcam and USB plug and play features amongst quite a bit more, the Adam’s going to be a tough nut to crack. The addition of NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor will also make this quite an interesting device for all purposes.
India's main contribution to the tablet race
Motorola Xoom
This could be another win for the Motorola camp. Their newly announced super thin Xoom is the first to have a dual core processor which means processing time is seriously boosted. It’ll also feature HDMI out (1080p) or 720p video playback and capture from the built-in 5MP camera. The Gorilla Glass display will also ensure that the Xoom’s 10.1-inch touchscreen handles all the hard knocks you can throw at it. The Xoom will also be loaded up with Android 3.0 aka Honeycomb with full Adobe Flash support. Motorola is also calling it Next-Gen ready as it’s upgradable to 4G. The Adam were to have anything to be afraid of, this could be it, even if it does look a little generic.
RIM's BlackBerry Playbook
BlackBerry has seen an unprecedented level of popularity recently in the Indian market. Aside from that, their announcement to enter into the tablet segment has also aroused the interest of any and all avid techies. Will it be totally for enterprise usage? Or can we expect the same kind of multimedia experience as well that we get from new BB devices? The customized OS and UI running on another 1GHz Dual Core processor should make multitasking a fluid process. Unlike the handset’s browser, the Playbook’s will support Flash and has support for HTML 5. The only down side is that the device might not come preloaded with BBM initially and you’ll have to use your handset as a modem for real-time access to data but an alternative is Wi-Fi of course. The device will also sport a 5MP camera at the rear and a 3MP camera in front for video calls, and yes, it will support all popular video codecs meaning 720p video playback and 1080p via HDMI out.
Lenovo Le Pad U1
If you were ever in doubt about whether or not to invest in a netbook or tablet, Lenovo decided why not just have both. Their Ideapad U1 aka LePad is that perfect blend of a netbook device running on Intel’s next-gen Core processors that are based on the Sandy Bridge architecture and an Android Froyo tablet. For those looking to for netbook simple leave the tablet docked to use it with a Windows 7 OS and if that’s too cumbersome for you, just pop it out and use its 10.1-inch touchscreen display to get around. This ‘Hybrid’ uses a Snapdragon 1GHz processor when you’re running Android so speed should no be an issue even when you’re mobile. The Tablet itself can be sold separately but the U1 dock will be part of a set. I say save up and just buy the set for the best of both worlds.
Apple's Ipad2
Last but definitely not the least on my list is Apple’s forthcoming iPad that brings with it the promise of doing so much more than the current device can. Although specs are still quite sketchy, but the word is that the iPad 2 will feature dual cameras, one for pictures the other for FaceTime or other such video calling apps. It’s very unlikely we’ll see a retina display on this device but we can hope for other goodies like USB ports. But that too could be wishful thinking knowing Apple’s aversion to conformity. The new iPad would also support a pair of 1Ghz Cortex A9 core processors that could make it the fastest tablet in the west, or east so on and so forth.
So there’s a lot that the tablet industry in general has in store for the consumer. Choices just got harder and the wait for what you want can get just as annoying as waiting on a new smartphone. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to putting these devices through their paces when or if they get here.
