Introducing the Three Musketeers

The Tablets are here!

The Digitisation office has some tablets in its possession and would like to announce that Library personnel can borrow them to see how they work and have fun on them. All you have to do is come to the office, sign it out and sign it back in upon return. We only have three so it’s first come first serve. We have the iPad2, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" and BlackBerry Playbook.

From left to right: iPad2, BlackBerry Playbook and Samsung Galaxy Tab 

                

What is a tablet?

•          For a gadget to be classified as a tablet, it must make use of the screen as the primary input device
•      The OS must allow for touch operation
•       It needs to be able to utilise other media applications such as browsing, playing videos and music

(Tablet Buyer's Guide no.1,2011)

How can tablets improve your life?

•          Music

Tablets have large storage space and allow you to load much more music than an iPod

•          Videos

The screen size, usually 7-10” makes viewing videos more pleasurable

•          Gaming

Tablets are operated through the screen so this makes gaming brilliant. It allows you to directly interact with the game using your fingers

•          Internet

Tablets allow you to be constantly connected to the internet because they make use of Wi-Fi and 3G.

•         Photography

Most tablets have multiple cameras with large megapixels allowing you to chat via Skype with people and take photos.

(Tablet Buyer's Guide no.1,2011)

Tablet Operating System (OS) comparison:

ATTRIBUTE	Android 3.0 Honeycomb	iOS	webOS	Blackberry TabletOS
User interface	5 home screens, extensive customization with limitless active widgets, folders & apps, various skins & drop-down connectivity screen	Simple yet attractive design, apps displayed as icons but not active, fast transmission between apps & home screens, you can add folders	Based on cards- there are mini versions of apps or pages which you can navigate by flicks & swipes, easy & faster than Android but not as customizable	Open app displayed as a miniature page, navigate through apps by swiping & open by tapping, swipe apps off the screen to close them, re-order apps, open home screen with task menu by swiping from bottom of bezel, swiping down makes task bar appear
Multi-tasking	Allows you to operate & view open & recent apps	Apps in the background pause while another is active instead of continuing to run	Allows for multiple apps/ cards to run simultaneously	Much better multitasking than iOS, background apps remain active
Apps & development	Allows for any apps but this can result in malware attacks, more than 100000 apps in Android app market,  apps don’t have to be approved by Google, only by Android users	The most advanced app store, more than 300000 for iPhone & 65000 for iPad, has strict policy for developers, apps approved by Apple	In September 2010 only 4000 apps were available for the OS	Grants access to the BlackBerry App World

(Ultimate Guide to BlackBerry PlayBook, 2011)

10 things to look for when buying a Tablet

1.    What operating system does it run on?

2.    How big is the screen?

3.    What processor does it run?

4.    Do you need a 3G Tablet?

5.    Does it have cameras?

6.    How many applications are compatible with it?

7.    How much storage space does it have?

8.    Can it connect to your TV set?

9.    How thick is it and how much does it weigh?

10. Do you actually want a laptop?

(Tablet Buyer's Guide no.1,2011)

Kindle                                                vs.                               iPad2

Weighs 247g	Weighs 613g
One charge can last up to 4weeks	One charge can last up to 10hours
Designed to be the best eBook reader	Designed to be the best entertainment gadget
Lower screen resolution and size	Higher screen resolution and size

    

iPad2                                                 vs.                    BlackBerry Playbook

9.2” LED-backlit IPS TFT screen	7” TFT screen
Dual cameras, rear-facing is 0.7 megapixel	Dual cameras, rear-facing is 5 megapixel
iOS 4.3	BlackBerry Tablet OS based on recently acquired QNX software
A5 1Ghz dual-core chip	1Ghz Cortex A9 dual-core processor

Our verdict:

The staff in the Digitisation office has already had the opportunity to play with the Tablets and all have personal favourites for various reasons.

Maritz Visser and Lidia Swart

• "we are iPad2 people"
• it's easy to use compared to the BlackBerry Playbook
• aesthetically pleasing
• it has a great big screen
• the camera is not the best though

Ria Groenewald

• I think the Galaxy Tab is the best
• it runs on Android Honeycomb OS which is open source
• has ample applications
• easy to use
• it's better than the BlackBerry Playbook because it has more applications and does not require that you have a Samsung phone

Phyllis Chueu

• I think the BlackBerry Playbook is the best
• it's very portable
• aesthetically pleasing
• gives you the feel that your reading through an actual book when you use it as an eBook reader
• it has the best HD camera with high pixels
• once you understand how is works it's easy to use

Cindy du Plessis

• I've only tried the Galaxy tab but I prefer the Playbook
• it’s easy on the eyes 
• has a lot of applications

We encourage the use of Tablets. They can be used for recording purposes in conferences and meetings.They are not a replacement for laptops but they are great supporting gadgets. We are still in the early stages of testing the Tablets but watch this space.