We're barely into 2011, yet one thing is already clear: tablet computers are this year's hottest mobile products and arguably the hottest technology products overall. When Apple released its now iconic iPad last April, skeptics wondered whether there was a market for a portable computer that lacked a physical keyboard, USB ports, the ability to run regular desktop applications, and a variety of other features that most notebook users take for granted. But when over three million iPads sold during the first 80 days of availability, the doubters quieted down and Apple's competitors dug in their heels and began developing tablets of their own.
According to financial services firm Deloitte, businesses will buy more than 10 million tablets this year. It also predicts that a surge in business adoption will push overall tablet sales to more than 50 million worldwide, thereby challenging the perception that the devices are media-consumption toys unsuitable for legal professionals.
At the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas during the first week of January, dozens of computer, mobile phone, and electronics manufacturers showed close to a 100 different tablet models. Yet few of these products were direct iPad imitators. Most manufacturers seemed intent on improving on the iPad in one way or another by offering features such as bigger (or smaller) screens, less weight, more memory, internal cameras, improved file sharing, and various other attributes that many iPad critics -- and more than a few users -- would like to see Apple embrace.
With so many tablets scheduled to hit the market this year, legal professionals will face an abundance -- perhaps an overabundance -- of choices as they search for the exact model that will help them work more productively at work, at home, or on the road. If you're thinking about taking the plunge and adding a tablet to your computing collection some time this year, here's an overview of the most promising contenders.
APPLE
With its spacious 9.7-inch touch-screen (featuring 1024 x 768 resolution), 1GHz proprietary processor, up to 64MB of RAM, and Wi-Fi and optional 3G wireless connectivity, the iPad is well-suited for use by busy lawyers and paralegals looking to read and send e-mail, view web content, review documents, take notes, and accomplish a wide array of other tasks. Sure, there's still no Flash content support, but then busy attorneys really aren't interested in wasting time watching Flash video or playing Flash games (ahem).
While Apple didn't show a next-generation iPad at CES, several of the company's business partners, including carrying case and other accessory makers dropped hints as to what the next model may look like. Reports indicate that the iPad 2.0 will include some or all of the following features: a speedier processor, more memory, a sharper display, front and rear-mounted cameras and enhanced system software. A case restyling also appears probable, with the update iPad featuring a new, flat rear panel.
Regardless of upcoming hardware changes, Apple is all but certain to maintain its lead in one key area: the strong and deep base of law-, business- and productivity-oriented iPad apps available via its App Store. Tablets based on other operating systems may one day rival Apple in terms of app scope and vitality, but right now they're not even close.
Apple is expected to formally present its new iPad some time within the next few weeks. Availability is likely to fall somewhere within a late spring and early summer time frame.
ACER
Acer is one of several manufacturers looking to carry their success from the notebook market into tablet sales. The company's Iconia Tab A500 is a thin tablet with a larger-than-iPad 10.1-inch screen. The system is based on Android, Google's increasingly popular smartphone operating system. Unlike most Android-based tablets, the Iconia Tab A500 features a custom interface, which helps Acer differentiate its tablet from other iPad competitors.
While Acer has opted for a streamlined look, a buttonless display bezel requires users to make multitouch finger gestures to invoke commands normally handled by a button. Sliding a finger from the right bezel edge toward the screen brings up software buttons for going back a screen or home, for example. (Incidentally, there are persistent rumors that Apple is also preparing to dump the button and to incorporate multitouch gesture support into its iOS software.)
The 13.3-millimeter-thick Iconia Tab A500 runs on an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor and will join Motorola's Xoom as an LTE-enabled tablet on Verizon's network later this year.
ASUS
Taiwan-based ASUS helped launch the netbook market several years ago. Now, with netbook sales in serious decline, ASUS is looking to regain some market momentum with the help of a pair of innovative devices that are designed to merge tablet convenience with notebook and netbook power.
The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer tablet features a 10.1-inch display and is based on Honeycomb, the next-generation Android platform that's been designed from the ground up for use with devices incorporating larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. Designed to run for up to 8 hours on a charge, the unit conveniently mates with a keyboard dock, which provides a notebook-style configuration while boosting battery life up to 16 hours, claims the company. The system runs on the dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and features two cameras.
ASUS's second tablet, the ASUS Eee Pad Slider, is similar to the Transformer, but features a permanently attached slide-out keyboard. The unit, which includes a 10.1-inch display, weighs 2.2 pounds. It features Android Honeycomb, a Tegra 2 processor, and two cameras.
LENOVO
The IdeaPad U1 Hybrid is perhaps the industry's only true tablet and laptop combination. Lenovo previewed the system to reporters last year, but has since retooled its underlying software. The former customized Linux tablet user interface has been replaced by Android technology, which promises a greater selection of applications. For attorneys who already use a laptop as their primary work computer, the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid promises what is perhaps the ultimate level of user convenience.
The IdeaPad U1 Hybrid's 10.1-inch screen detaches for tablet use and can be purchased alone as the LeTab with either 32 GB or 64 GB of onboard storage. When attached to a keyboard, the device becomes a laptop running Windows 7 with 320 GB of storage, 2 GB of RAM, and an Intel 1.2 GHz CPU. The total package is reportedly set to debut in China first and then arrive in the U.S. before midyear.
LG
LG's G-Slate, a 10-inch tablet, will offer Android Honeycomb and feature a dual-core processor. The tablet will run on T-Mobile's 4G/HSPA+ network and will be available later this year. The device was exclusively demonstrated to reporters at a T-Mobile press event, but no additional details were provided.
MOTOROLA
With its new Xoom tablet, Motorola is looking to regain some of its lost mobile phone market stature. The company is using its tablet introduction to take a direct shot at Apple as well as fellow smartphone industry competitors that are now looking to enhance their sales and scope by moving into the tablet field.
The Android Honeycomb-based tablet incorporates an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and features a 10.1-inch laptop-like 1280 x 800 resolution (a godsend for anyone who uses a tablet to pore through lengthy documents). The Xoom has two cameras: a 2-megapixel unit on the front for video calls via a Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G connection, and a 5-megapixel rear camera for stills and 720p video recording. The tablet will initially run on Verizon's 3G network but will be upgradable to 4G/LTE soon after launch. The Xoom is expected to become available some time in the first quarter (perhaps as soon as mid-Feburary); pricing information hasn't yet been released.
NOTION INK
Indian company Notion Ink began shipping its Adam tablet in late January. What distinguishes this device from the competition is its unique 10.1-inch, (1024 x 600 resolution) transreflective PixelQi display. The screen features a configuration designed to save battery life and make documents with small, dense text easier to read when outdoors or in other bright environments. Nvidia's dual-core 1 GHz processor will power the Android operating system and Notion Ink's custom user interface. Instead of separate front and rear cameras, Adam features a 3.2-inch swivel camera. The tablet provides a battery life of up to 16 hours (as many as 160 hours with the backlight switched off), depending on connectivity and screen configurations.
RESEARCH IN MOTION
After watching Apple's iPhone dig deeply into the highly profitable mobile business communications niche that it once dominated, RIM is itching to give some payback. The BlackBerry PlayBook is designed to bring the Canadian company into the tablet age by attracting the legions of attorneys and other professionals already hooked to its earlier generation communications devices.
RIM announced a 4G version of the 7-inch Playbook at CES that will run on Sprint's WiMAX network, joining a previously announced Wi-Fi version. Both models features 1 GHz dual-core processor running the QNX operating system. Other features include 1024 x 600 display resolution and a capacitive touch-screen, 1 GB of memory, as well as two cameras. While the company is still putting the finishing touches on the Playbook's operating system, a prototype model shown at CES indicates that the tablet will give the iPad a run for its money in terms of performance, style, and overall usability. Both Wi-Fi and 4G versions are expected to be available by summer.
SAMSUNG
South Korea-based Samsung is looking to appeal to users that need a mobile device that's more convenient to carry than a notebook yet more powerful than a typical tablet. The Samsung Sliding Series 7 PC is a 10.1-inch tablet and keyboard combination that's similar to the ASUS Eee Pad Slider, but it pairs Windows 7 with Intel's 1.66 GHz Oak Trail processor, much like a netbook. The device's display completely covers the keyboard; pushing the screen and sliding it up reveals a nearly full-size, netbook-like set of keys. The Series 7 features 1366 x 768 display resolution, 2 GB of RAM, and offers 32 and 64 GB solid state drive options. Samsung expects to release the system in March.
TOSHIBA
While Toshiba's upcoming tablet doesn't even yet have a name, the company is confident that its 10.1-inch device is destined to out-iPad the iPad (at least in screen size and resolution, if nothing else). Toshiba has equipped its tablet with Nvidia's Tegra 2 dual-core processor, a 1280 x 800-pixel touch-screen, a pair of cameras, and Android Honeycomb. Unique to the device is a convenient rubberized back, which is designed to make the tablet easier to pick up and hold. A removable battery is another notable Toshiba tablet feature. The device should be available in the second quarter with Honeycomb, although Toshiba demonstrated the unit at CES with plain, old Android.
Incidentally, Toshiba's website, greets visitors using a non-Flash compatible device (like, say, an iPad), with the following message: "Add this to the list of interesting places on the Internet you can't see on your device. Of course, if you had a Toshiba Tablet, you would enjoy the entire Internet. Yep, Flash sites too."
According to financial services firm Deloitte, businesses will buy more than 10 million tablets this year. It also predicts that a surge in business adoption will push overall tablet sales to more than 50 million worldwide, thereby challenging the perception that the devices are media-consumption toys unsuitable for legal professionals.
At the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas during the first week of January, dozens of computer, mobile phone, and electronics manufacturers showed close to a 100 different tablet models. Yet few of these products were direct iPad imitators. Most manufacturers seemed intent on improving on the iPad in one way or another by offering features such as bigger (or smaller) screens, less weight, more memory, internal cameras, improved file sharing, and various other attributes that many iPad critics -- and more than a few users -- would like to see Apple embrace.
With so many tablets scheduled to hit the market this year, legal professionals will face an abundance -- perhaps an overabundance -- of choices as they search for the exact model that will help them work more productively at work, at home, or on the road. If you're thinking about taking the plunge and adding a tablet to your computing collection some time this year, here's an overview of the most promising contenders.
APPLE
With its spacious 9.7-inch touch-screen (featuring 1024 x 768 resolution), 1GHz proprietary processor, up to 64MB of RAM, and Wi-Fi and optional 3G wireless connectivity, the iPad is well-suited for use by busy lawyers and paralegals looking to read and send e-mail, view web content, review documents, take notes, and accomplish a wide array of other tasks. Sure, there's still no Flash content support, but then busy attorneys really aren't interested in wasting time watching Flash video or playing Flash games (ahem).
While Apple didn't show a next-generation iPad at CES, several of the company's business partners, including carrying case and other accessory makers dropped hints as to what the next model may look like. Reports indicate that the iPad 2.0 will include some or all of the following features: a speedier processor, more memory, a sharper display, front and rear-mounted cameras and enhanced system software. A case restyling also appears probable, with the update iPad featuring a new, flat rear panel.
Regardless of upcoming hardware changes, Apple is all but certain to maintain its lead in one key area: the strong and deep base of law-, business- and productivity-oriented iPad apps available via its App Store. Tablets based on other operating systems may one day rival Apple in terms of app scope and vitality, but right now they're not even close.
Apple is expected to formally present its new iPad some time within the next few weeks. Availability is likely to fall somewhere within a late spring and early summer time frame.
ACER
Acer is one of several manufacturers looking to carry their success from the notebook market into tablet sales. The company's Iconia Tab A500 is a thin tablet with a larger-than-iPad 10.1-inch screen. The system is based on Android, Google's increasingly popular smartphone operating system. Unlike most Android-based tablets, the Iconia Tab A500 features a custom interface, which helps Acer differentiate its tablet from other iPad competitors.
While Acer has opted for a streamlined look, a buttonless display bezel requires users to make multitouch finger gestures to invoke commands normally handled by a button. Sliding a finger from the right bezel edge toward the screen brings up software buttons for going back a screen or home, for example. (Incidentally, there are persistent rumors that Apple is also preparing to dump the button and to incorporate multitouch gesture support into its iOS software.)
The 13.3-millimeter-thick Iconia Tab A500 runs on an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor and will join Motorola's Xoom as an LTE-enabled tablet on Verizon's network later this year.
ASUS
Taiwan-based ASUS helped launch the netbook market several years ago. Now, with netbook sales in serious decline, ASUS is looking to regain some market momentum with the help of a pair of innovative devices that are designed to merge tablet convenience with notebook and netbook power.
The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer tablet features a 10.1-inch display and is based on Honeycomb, the next-generation Android platform that's been designed from the ground up for use with devices incorporating larger screen sizes, particularly tablets. Designed to run for up to 8 hours on a charge, the unit conveniently mates with a keyboard dock, which provides a notebook-style configuration while boosting battery life up to 16 hours, claims the company. The system runs on the dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and features two cameras.
ASUS's second tablet, the ASUS Eee Pad Slider, is similar to the Transformer, but features a permanently attached slide-out keyboard. The unit, which includes a 10.1-inch display, weighs 2.2 pounds. It features Android Honeycomb, a Tegra 2 processor, and two cameras.
LENOVO
The IdeaPad U1 Hybrid is perhaps the industry's only true tablet and laptop combination. Lenovo previewed the system to reporters last year, but has since retooled its underlying software. The former customized Linux tablet user interface has been replaced by Android technology, which promises a greater selection of applications. For attorneys who already use a laptop as their primary work computer, the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid promises what is perhaps the ultimate level of user convenience.
The IdeaPad U1 Hybrid's 10.1-inch screen detaches for tablet use and can be purchased alone as the LeTab with either 32 GB or 64 GB of onboard storage. When attached to a keyboard, the device becomes a laptop running Windows 7 with 320 GB of storage, 2 GB of RAM, and an Intel 1.2 GHz CPU. The total package is reportedly set to debut in China first and then arrive in the U.S. before midyear.
LG
LG's G-Slate, a 10-inch tablet, will offer Android Honeycomb and feature a dual-core processor. The tablet will run on T-Mobile's 4G/HSPA+ network and will be available later this year. The device was exclusively demonstrated to reporters at a T-Mobile press event, but no additional details were provided.
MOTOROLA
With its new Xoom tablet, Motorola is looking to regain some of its lost mobile phone market stature. The company is using its tablet introduction to take a direct shot at Apple as well as fellow smartphone industry competitors that are now looking to enhance their sales and scope by moving into the tablet field.
The Android Honeycomb-based tablet incorporates an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and features a 10.1-inch laptop-like 1280 x 800 resolution (a godsend for anyone who uses a tablet to pore through lengthy documents). The Xoom has two cameras: a 2-megapixel unit on the front for video calls via a Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G connection, and a 5-megapixel rear camera for stills and 720p video recording. The tablet will initially run on Verizon's 3G network but will be upgradable to 4G/LTE soon after launch. The Xoom is expected to become available some time in the first quarter (perhaps as soon as mid-Feburary); pricing information hasn't yet been released.
NOTION INK
Indian company Notion Ink began shipping its Adam tablet in late January. What distinguishes this device from the competition is its unique 10.1-inch, (1024 x 600 resolution) transreflective PixelQi display. The screen features a configuration designed to save battery life and make documents with small, dense text easier to read when outdoors or in other bright environments. Nvidia's dual-core 1 GHz processor will power the Android operating system and Notion Ink's custom user interface. Instead of separate front and rear cameras, Adam features a 3.2-inch swivel camera. The tablet provides a battery life of up to 16 hours (as many as 160 hours with the backlight switched off), depending on connectivity and screen configurations.
RESEARCH IN MOTION
After watching Apple's iPhone dig deeply into the highly profitable mobile business communications niche that it once dominated, RIM is itching to give some payback. The BlackBerry PlayBook is designed to bring the Canadian company into the tablet age by attracting the legions of attorneys and other professionals already hooked to its earlier generation communications devices.
RIM announced a 4G version of the 7-inch Playbook at CES that will run on Sprint's WiMAX network, joining a previously announced Wi-Fi version. Both models features 1 GHz dual-core processor running the QNX operating system. Other features include 1024 x 600 display resolution and a capacitive touch-screen, 1 GB of memory, as well as two cameras. While the company is still putting the finishing touches on the Playbook's operating system, a prototype model shown at CES indicates that the tablet will give the iPad a run for its money in terms of performance, style, and overall usability. Both Wi-Fi and 4G versions are expected to be available by summer.
SAMSUNG
South Korea-based Samsung is looking to appeal to users that need a mobile device that's more convenient to carry than a notebook yet more powerful than a typical tablet. The Samsung Sliding Series 7 PC is a 10.1-inch tablet and keyboard combination that's similar to the ASUS Eee Pad Slider, but it pairs Windows 7 with Intel's 1.66 GHz Oak Trail processor, much like a netbook. The device's display completely covers the keyboard; pushing the screen and sliding it up reveals a nearly full-size, netbook-like set of keys. The Series 7 features 1366 x 768 display resolution, 2 GB of RAM, and offers 32 and 64 GB solid state drive options. Samsung expects to release the system in March.
TOSHIBA
While Toshiba's upcoming tablet doesn't even yet have a name, the company is confident that its 10.1-inch device is destined to out-iPad the iPad (at least in screen size and resolution, if nothing else). Toshiba has equipped its tablet with Nvidia's Tegra 2 dual-core processor, a 1280 x 800-pixel touch-screen, a pair of cameras, and Android Honeycomb. Unique to the device is a convenient rubberized back, which is designed to make the tablet easier to pick up and hold. A removable battery is another notable Toshiba tablet feature. The device should be available in the second quarter with Honeycomb, although Toshiba demonstrated the unit at CES with plain, old Android.
Incidentally, Toshiba's website, greets visitors using a non-Flash compatible device (like, say, an iPad), with the following message: "Add this to the list of interesting places on the Internet you can't see on your device. Of course, if you had a Toshiba Tablet, you would enjoy the entire Internet. Yep, Flash sites too."
