Tablets

Tablets for Home and Office

There is no better personal media consumption device than a tablet. All screen, it puts everything you want right at your fingertips. Touch based screens give you an intuitive interface, letting you interact directly with all your favourite apps. Tablets are more than just consumption devices; the best of them combine powerful processors and wireless connectivity to give you the perfect portable workspace.

One of the most important numbers for any tablet is its storage capacity. For most tablets, 16 GB is the absolute minimum, and 32 GB is usually better. People who use tablets professionally may want a minimum of 64 GB or even more. The more storage you have, the more data you can keep locally rather than storing things in the cloud. It gives you faster access, and more importantly it gives you access even when you don't have connectivity.

Tablet screen size is all about the trade-offs. If it's too big it's not readily portable; if it's too small you may as well be using a phone. In most cases a seven-inch class tablet is the smallest that's really useful, while the larger iPad class and 10.1 inch Samsung tablets are better for people who are less concerned about portability than functionality.

Consuming media requires getting media, and that means connectivity. Almost all tablets support Wi-Fi connectivity at a minimum, while others offer Bluetooth and 4G LTE. In most cases, Wi-Fi is all you really need for your tablet; you can find it almost everywhere and it's often faster than cellular data. Where LTE really comes into its own is for business users who want access to all their data on the job site no matter where it might be.

Many beginning users are going to be fine with a 16 GB Wi-Fi tablet. You get enough storage to run a fair number of apps and the high-speed connectivity to enjoy your favourite media in the comfort of your own home. People who will be out of service more often might want a 64 GB Wi-Fi tablet so they can use the extra storage for movies and other media when they don't have a connection.