What about that New iPad? Cheaper Tablets

I am typically not an apple fan. In fact, I could be considered someone who dislikes apple. This new iPad that Apple has recently been talking about is one attractive beast though. It's probably the best tablet out right now by a decent margin, not necessarily by hardware, but due to the combination of hardware and software. The one problem, which really is a problem for all comparable tablets, is the price. At a minimum of $500, it's not a choice to be made lightly. The specifications of this new device are below in a comparison image, courtesy of PCWORLD.

The significant changes over the previous ipad 2, which is now going for as low as $399, are the new processor and graphics processor along with a new higher resolution display. We have an A5X processor which is a dual core processor and a quad core graphics processor. The new resolution is 2048 by 1536 pixels with 264 pixels per inch. It is definitely an attractive option if you are willing to buy a device in this price range. Apple currently has the most games on their iOS devices so those interested in some mobile gaming on their iPad have a clear choice. They also have some unique app choices not present on the android app store. I can imagine a lot of people who own an iPad 2 will not care for this device, or will hold it in contempt for making their device less than what it was when they bought it so recently. Such is technology however. 

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That is all well and good, but for those not willing to spend the funds on a glorified e-Book reader (bitter?), I have some options. These exclude a whole range of cheap tablets that are considered knockoffs of the iPad, from China. Only known manufacturers are included.

Tablets after the break (click "Read More")

Kindle Fire Specifications

CPU Texas Instruments Cortex A9 OMAP4

Processor Speed 1 GHz Dual-Core

Operating System Google Android 2.3 or earlier

Screen Resolution 1024 x 600 pixels (169 ppi) 16 million colors

Screen Size 7 inches

Battery Life 4 hours 55 minutes

Battery Type Supported Rechargeable

Storage Capacity (as Tested) 8 GB

Dimensions 4.7 x 7.5 x 0.45 inches

Weight 14.6 oz

Networking Options 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n

Email Access Dedicated email app

Web Browser Yes

Flash support Yes

Camera(s) None

Video Chat No

Music Playback Formats AAC, MP3, OGG, WAV

Photo Formats JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF

Video Formats MPEG4, H.264

Kindle Fire Storage Expansion

The Kindle Fire is, in some ways, an excellent piece of hardware. Relatively cheap with a brilliant screen, wifi and a decent version of the android OS. Below you can find detailed specifications for the Amazon Kindle Fire:

Take a good look at those specifications. Notice something? Capitalism rears its ugly head. Amazon only included 8GB of storage with the device. In terms of books, and maybe even music, that is decent. Unfortunately this device has the capability for much more than just those functions. For those looking to watch movies and TV shows, you would have to take amazon up on their offer of Cloud storage and streaming. So they hope at least. There are options that would allow you to bypass Amazon and the need for internet access to use more storage.

These options detailed after the break