I am a big fan of Android devices, although for most casual users of mobile devices, I actually recommend an iPad.
This seems oddly strange for someone like me, who’s really into Linux and Android in general. I only recommend the iPad because it is Apples best product by a long way. I am sorry if you disagree with that statement, that is an opinion of mine which I am quite strongly set on.
I didn’t want an Apple device though, for my own geeky reasons. I wanted my own Android tablet. I wanted one because I like to do my articles on the go, I like to learn to program and as such, my 45 minute bus-rides to and from work leaves me with a unique opportunity to work on developing my skills, studying and even catching up with e-mails. So naturally you might be assuming that I have something along the lines of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Unfortunately, that’d make you very wrong.
Do your research
Research is the key in choosing a tablet that’s right for you.
First of all what do you want your tablet for? Do you even want a tablet? How do you know if you want a tablet or not? Before tablets became a mainstream thing, people would walk around with netbooks. They are small, lightweight laptops that can do anything a laptop can do: Only smaller and less powerful. They were built primarily with the intention of being super portable, able to do some work in an office environment. Basically, you had a computer wherever you went. Historically, this was the smart choice.
Then of course for people who want to do gaming on the go, they had proper laptops. Full sized laptops are bulky, a pain to carry around but were pretty powerful in general. Some didn’t have the greatest battery life (which is another point of contention for users of tablets).
But now-a-days, people want something that can play games and do these office tasks. Clearly then you might as well go for a full sized laptop, unless you wanted portability.
Pros to a tablet
It should be fairly obvious to state that the main reasons to get a tablet are:
- Small
- Lightweight
- Powerful (depending on tablet)
- Large variety of apps (depending on tablet)
- Data plans are plentiful
- High support of Android and iOS these days
You’ve decided you do want a tablet, how do you choose the one that’s right for you?
First of all you need to decide the size of the tablet you want. Is it going to be a larger tablet giving you more space to work with or are you looking for something really compact?
With size out of the way, just decide the applications you’re going to use and go on a Google binge for tablets the size you’re looking for. Set yourself a budget (in my case, I set £90/$150) and find as many reviews as you can, preferably through trusted reviewers.
That’s all well and good, but why wouldn’t I choose something such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab? Purely it was price and I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to like having a tablet. I mostly wanted to trial one. But I’ve not looked back at my purchase unfavourably.
Why did I choose the PiPo S1?
Check out the PiPo S1 on Amazon.
The PiPo S1 is a relatively unheard of tablet. Nay scratch that, it is absolutely unheard of but it’s specifications for its size and price were impressive to say the least.
Of course, I was sceptical. This unknown brand selling a tablet that’s not exactly established any kind of market territory, was boasting good specs and for a low price. You know the phrase “it sounds too good to be true”? Well, normally it is, but in this ones case I was quite happy.
Benchmark tests on the PiPo S1 shows this performs as powerfully as something of this size ever could hope to. At least for now. There’s a more full review of the tablet itself on Android Tablets. The low cost was the main driving point as I didn’t want to do much with a tablet except check a few e-mails around the house over Wi-Fi, be able to do a few other things over WiFi and even some low-spec games. It does them all flawlessly and as such, for the low as heck price (I paid below £60), this might as well be the tablet of choice for anyone who’s looking to just try a tablet out.
Do you own a tablet? Which is it? Let us know what you think of this or even if you think I was foolish for buying a PiPo S1!
I can tell you, the tablet has kept me amused and it does power through any little problem it faces. I’m happy with the purchase, but the question is: Will you be happy with your tablet purchase? Just remember, if you don’t like it – use your returns policy. The PiPo S1 was shipped in from China, so this is another point to be weary of. You might find the tablet you get isn’t quite the same everyone else has.
In my case, I was looking for a cheap netbook and this tablet was cheaper than that and it does what I wanted it to do. The money I saved I used towards a case for my tablet, with a built in keyboard. This has seriously upped my productivity when I’m on my long dreary bus rides in the mornings.
