Tablet computer-Options and uses

My partner Christy and I briefly went through the pros and cons of the tablet options, we both agree that iPad is the best choice for the school, because of its large screen, iOS operating system and other factors. The iPads have nice size, small than the laptops, but bigger than the iPods, and Apple stores offer a lot of different types of apps.  My partner mentioned that a lot of schools already have Apple computers, so it will be easy for students to get adjusted to the iPads.

Before you choose a tablet computer, you need to consider about the size of the tablet. Most small tablets can easily fit in pockets, yet the limited screens really limit their uses. For instance, it is hard for you to use an iPod to watch movies or videos. Medium size is larger than iPod, iPhone but still able to easily hold in with one hand for a period of time. Over dimensions were smaller than an iPad, but it still address for personal reading and movies and it is easier to carry in a large pocket or smaller purse. Large size tablets can be cradled in one arm but it is heavy to hold for long period of time just one hand. The larger screen tablets, such as iPad with a 10” screen are smaller than most of the smallest laptop and can address the need for the use of reading, movies and personal assistance activities. While the small size of the tablet like iPods cramp the style of these uses.

            Another aspect needs to be considered is the operating system. The following is the table I made which gives you a basic idea of the pros and cons of the different operating systems.

Operating Systems Pros &Cons	iOS Apple	Android Google	Windows Microsoft
Pros	Graphic user interface systems and multi-touch are easy to use and attractive to educational applications. iPad with built-in camera interface well with the interactive Web 2.0 applications	Open and customizable nature. Google sell Android to different companies Amazon kindles & Nooks are two examples	Has strong position in computer software with the Window operating system and the Office suit of Productivity
Pros	With tight control of its hardware and software, it is easy to maintain its system	Google initiated the digital books. Amazon kindle offers the widest rang of books with low price	The Xbox has been a leader in game systems.
Pros	Offers a broader feature set for higher price A large number of tablet-specific iOS apps and have a special niche in educational apps	Google Nexus 7 seems to be the most promising with a technology that is price competitive and breadth of functionality	Microsoft tried to hold control to ensure the tablet that would work and could be maintained.
Pros	Good support with hundreds stores to provide face-to-face customer service	Barnes & Noble has 1400 stores to provide face-to face service Least expensive but narrow feature
Cons	Use Flash. Even with a partial solution to the flash issue, but this solution cannot work with interactive flash games and educational programs	Lack of high quality tablet apps	The surface Windows RT is still being developed and does not yet appear to have a strong base
Cons	Price can be higher than other tablets	Difficult to serve many manufacturers with an open Android system thus the system updates have been slow	The tablet computers are almost as big as laptops

                 Internet connectivity also needs to be considered when purchasing tablet computers. One option is Wi-Fi, which requires a wireless Wi-Fi network that either is open or for which one can obtain a password to operate on the Internet. Wi-Fi typically is available as the base connectivity option on all tablets.  However, Cellular requires a tablet with cellular capability, antenna and firmware necessary to negotiate and maintain connectivity to a cellular phone tower. And this feature is just an add-on to the Wi-Fi connectivity on the tablets, it cannot be added on to a tablet that does not have the capacity built-in. In addition, cellular connectivity requires some kind of cellular contract. Even though the cellular has quite wide coverage in most parts of the United States, in more sparsely populated areas may not have good signal.  Cellular connectivity might be good choice if users do not have easy access into Wi-Fi. Cellular connectivity adds to the cost of using a tablet in several ways, including Initial cost of the device, cost of the service and more. There are different ways to pay, such as prepaid and postpaid.

School purchase tablets for education purpose, so they will be used in school.  Plus, most schools have Wi-Fi networks, which means usually there would be good coverage, so it would be more convenient and less cost to use Wi-Fi, instead of Cellular connections. As stated above, not all the tablets have the cellular capacity built-in and it might cost more to sign an ongoing contract.

One more thing needs to be considered is the purpose or the use of the tablet computer. If the main use is focused on different educational apps, then iPads are the best choice, as you can see in the table above, Apple stores offer a large amount of different apps, and it also has special niche in educational apps. If the main use is focused on books, then the Kindle or the Nook might be better choice. If you just want to access to the Internet, the small size tablet like iPhone might be good enough, but if you want the tablet able to watch movies, videos, listen to music and use different kind of apps, and more, then the bigger screen might be better choice.  As the school is going to purchase the tablet computers for education purpose, which might involve different kinds of educational apps, books, videos and other uses, the large screen and an system that can offer a lot of apps options might be good choice. Combined all the factors that need to be considered when purchasing tablet, the iPad will be the best choice out of all the offered choices.