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How to Choose a Tablet

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Most tablet users treat their device as a big cellphone, using it to take pictures, play games and to watch TV. You could argue that a tablet's can be more useful than a PC now. Unless you need to create things like Word documents or a PowerPoint presentation, you may find that a tablet will be used more often than your PC.

Tablet

A tablet is more personal than a laptop or any other PC or Mac. A PC can be used for many things. Some are used to play DVDs for example. You can't do that with a tablet. The general nature of a PC, which let's not forget are made for business use, mean that whichever PC you buy, you'll get something that'll do the jobs a tablet can do but without the convenience. When buying a tablet you need to get one that suits your individual needs.

Price Points

The price is always a major consideration when buying a tablet. It's not always true that the more money you spend the better the tablet but if you're buying at the top end of the market, you'll be getting the best hardware on offer. Software with tablets isn't affected by the spec of the machine as you can get iOS, Android and Windows tablets at all price points. Decide how much you need the device and what you're willing to spend on it as you could spend anything from $50 to $500.

Size Matters

The screen size is important for a couple of reasons. First of all, the bigger the screen, the more you'll do with the machine. Would you watch a movie on a six-inch screen? You'll have a better experience if you're watching the same movie on a 13-inch display. The second reason a large display is better is that it makes using the device easier. You won't be scrolling in to see web pages so much if you have a bigger screen.

Convertible or Conventional

Tablets have loads of advantages over laptops but the one advantage laptops have over them comes when you want to create any form of work, whether Word, Excel or PowerPoint files, but that advantage disappears if you buy a convertible tablet. These machines typically cost more than laptops but if you need a tablet and a laptop, a convertible is the way to go. The detachable keyboard found on devices like the iPad Pro and Microsoft's Surface Book, make these devices into laptops with touch screens.

Apps

Apps and content can also be used to decide which machine's best for you. When you compare the number of apps on Google Play with the App Store and Windows Store, you find that Android users have more choice as they can access 3.8 million through the Google app. Apple's App Store offers two million apps, while the Windows Store falls behind as its users can only access 669,000 apps at this time. The best-known apps are available on all three so unless you're into something specific, apps shouldn't be used to decide which machine's best for you. Think about your needs, check the prices and specs and weigh up which device will do the jobs you need a tablet to do.