Let the Tablet wars begin!

Every time I think of writing a post on tablets, there's some news of a new tablet launch. I have now realized that this is not going to end anytime soon and so here I am.

Where should I begin? Tablets have actually been around for a while, people just did not notice them much till the iPad. There were windows slates from companies like HP, Fujitsu, etc and also the infamous Apple Newton. Though the Newton was a disaster, it certainly led to the innovation behind Apple's latest tablet. The iPad is definitely an amazing product, while many would say it's just an over-sized iPod Touch, it's actually more than that. With a screen of that size, user experience is way better than a smartphone or a PMP. It does qualify for The Dark Apple act and has a few drawbacks though :-

• No flash support
• No hardware ports (USB, HDMI, etc)
• No user-replaceable  battery or expandable memory
• Slightly bulky 
• No cameras

Some of the above are expected to be integrated into iPad 2 along with a brilliant display.

The tablet wars have begun but the iPad has been the supreme dominance so far. Contenders like the Samsung Galaxy Tab are in the rat race but the experience is no where near the iPad. The form factor, build quality, hardware is perfect. It's just the UI which is what the Galaxy Tab is lagging in. It is the same Android OS 2.2 (Froyo) that is used for smartphones, just on a larger 7 inch screen.  

There are other Android tablets from companies like Velocity, Archos etc. Honestly, they are affordable or in fact cheap tablets but are such a waste. I am being a bit harsh here but they are still using resistive touch screens against the fluid capacitive touch screen that iPad uses! Which is why they are so cheap in the first place. Also, all these Android tablets have no standard for the Apps Marketplace, i.e. they do not have complete access to the Google Android App Marketplace, instead have a trimmed down app store. This is so unlike the iPad which has access to the iPhone app store too.

The much-awaited Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) seems to be specifically designed for the tablet PC and is impressive from it's first looks. Motorola has done a good job with the Motorola Xoom, which was launched at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011. It is a similarly sized tablet like the iPad running Android and is pretty functional. Now it is very important for Motorola to get the price-point and operator collaboration right. It is expected to be launched with Verizon.

CES 2011 was flooded by tablets from major manufacturers like Toshiba, Samsung, Archos, etc. It is surprising that HTC has not come up with any tablet yet. There were also a bunch of Tablet-Laptop hybrids, call them Sliding Tablets or Slider PCs, they are some cool concepts. Let's see whether these concepts see the light of day or not.

veriPhone!!!

Well, the three exclamation marks after the title of this blog post DO NOT signify any revolution in the mobile phone industry. It's just a sigh of relief.. Ah the iPhone's finally on Verizon! After four years of the first iPhone's launch.

Now, let us come to the details. So what is the Verizon's iPhone all about? It is exactly the same iPhone 4 but on a CDMA EV-DO network., no 4G, no international roaming.  When re-phrased, that means better call reception, faster data and lesser dropped calls. However, there is a drawback to this. Verizon's CDMA network does not allow simultaneous voice and data, i.e. you cannot browse while you are on a voice call, which is a big deal and AT&T actually allows you to do that ( Surprising, ain't it? ). Of course, there are the trivial design changes, the extra black seams on the metallic edge. Hope that after-all they aren't that trivial, and solve the antenna-gate issues.

Verizon's iPhone is being offered with a Personal Hotspot feature which can connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices, pricing of which is not known yet. It also comes with the choice of an unlimited monthly data plan which is now unavailable on AT&T.

Whether a customer should go for an iPhone with Verizon now is highly questionable. Apple launches product updates for the iPhone every year around September, which is around seven months after the launch of the veriPhone. Say you purchase it right now, your mobile phone will become obsolete in less than a year and you know how it is, Apple makes every predecessor look almost ancient.

So the moral of the story is:-

The Better

• America's most reliable network
• Better reception when compared to AT&T's network
• Personal Hotspot option
• Choice of unlimited data plan
• The differences in design might solve reception issues with iPhone 4

The Worse

• Lack of simultaneous voice and data connection
• No international roaming
• Cannot be unlocked and used with alternative operator *Wink*
• Product launch not simultaneous with actual product upgrade

So it is up to you guys to decide whether to upgrade to a veriPhone ( if already a Verizon customer ), or switch operators just to get one. Decide wisely!!