Sizing Up Tablets

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[<p>This month, Samsung launched enough products to make your head spin. Did someone say sixty three?<br><br>From its stunning Smart TVs to air conditioners that are said to kill off the H1N1 virus if it's anywhere in the room, to an army of note- and netbooks, one of them as thin as the MacBook Air. You'd have seen blatant electronic-greed in my eyes if you'd been at the Samsung mega-launch.<br><br>Although I wouldn't say no to most of the products I saw there, what interested me most were the smartphones and tablets - particularly the tablets.<br><br>So now Samsung is daring its competition to do what it will because it's ready with a tablet in practically every size. There's a "multimedia device" called the Galaxy S 5 which is positioned against the iPod Touch, at 5 inches. It's slim and slick and has what you'd expect from a multimedia player or tablet, except full connectivity and calling. It works on wifi. Then there's the original 7 inch Galaxy Tab. But then, there's also the brand new 8.9 and the 10.1 inch versions. So the 5 inch competes with the Dell Streak, the 7 inch with the Blackberry Playbook and possibly a new one from Motorola, the 10 inch with the iPads and the 8 inch is for good luck. Depending on just which 8 inch steps into the battlefield.<br><br></p> <table style="width: 150px;" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="10"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img src="/businessworld/sites/default/files/BlackBerry_Playbook_150x134.jpg" width="150" height="134"></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>In a market still very much in its puppyhood, tablets are fighting it out over bells and whistles. The Playbook, which has been received with thoroughly mixed reviews, is the multi-tasker of the lot. The iPad still has the most finesse. Many of the others have the new Honeycomb operating system for tablets. When the market begins to settle though, I really think size will be an important consideration. A step up from 7 inches to 10 may not sound like much, but this has dramatically different implications for portability and experience. And I think early adopters should keep this in mind.<br><br>For instance, if you want a tablet because you think you can use it at work to input data while you're on the go throughout your work area - a 7 or 8 inch would probably be more convenient. If you want to bring home a versatile device with something for the whole family, you need the screen real estate for there to be a riveting experience. A very personal e-book reader or something you can play Scrabble on, read the news etc would mean you could drop the size to make the tablet easier to hold.<br><br>If you're one of those who can't wait for the scene to settle, don't let specs overshadow size when you choose your tablet.<br><br>Mala Bhargava is a personal technology writer and media professional. Contact her at mala@pobox.com and @malabhargava on Twitter</p>