Why buy a tablet computer like an iPad? 

• Read eBooks. 
• Read Word Documents and PDFs.
• Read/create emails.
• Listen to music.
• Show photos.
• Stay connected to Social Media such as Facebook and Twitter.
• Surf the web.
• Watch Netflix Movies.
• Maintain your address book.
• Maintain a calendar.
• Maintain a to do list.

What features are you looking for in a tablet?

• Can I buy and replace the battery myself?
• Fast processor. High amount of built-in ram for operating system to use.
• Connect an external keyboard via Blue Tooth or USB port.
• Move data back and forth using a USB Drive or a SD Card.
• Ability to download applications to extend functionality.
• Print to a printer.
• Sync data between tablet and laptop.
• Connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi.
• Large amount of user storage available.
• Middle cost in price.

Notes on tablet use.

eBooks:

You will find that eBooks cost about the same as printed books. There are books that I could read over and over again. I would download those books to my tablet so that if I was stuck somewhere and did not want to do some work, I would re-read those pre-loaded books. Storing thousands of books on my tablet for summer beach reading is not a goal of mine.

There are many formats for eBooks. Are you locked into a particular format because that is the preferred format of your tablet? Many eBook readers will work on different platforms. For example, the Kindle reader which is the pre-loaded eReader on Amazon's tablet. It is also available as an application for other non-Amazon tablets, Windows PCs, Apple PCs, iPhones, Android Smartphones, Blackberrys, etc.

Read Word Documents and PDF's:

Instead of carrying around a USB drive pre-loaded with reference documents, it would be nice to be able to store and display those reference documents on the tablet. More than likely, an application would need to be purchased to add this functionality to the tablet.

Listen to Music:

There is iTunes and everything else for music formats. iTunes is restricted to Apple products. Non Apple tablets usually have a music player that will play .wav, .mp3 or another music file standard.Music from your iTunes library would need to be converted to the format your tablet supports.Music you paid for from iTunes may require an additional payment of .30 per song for you to be able to convert it to a playable format.There are other iTunes-like music sources that may be supported on your tablet. For example, Amazon's extensive media library of music and movies would be available for Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet.

Netflix:

Netflix plays on many tablets. 

Check the Netflix website for support for the tablets you are considering.

Browsing the Internet:

Make sure the browser speed is acceptable to you. The screen size needs to be big enough for you to see the web page.

If you cannot try the tablet first hand to test the browsing experience, look at reviews of the tablet for feedback.

Productivity Applications:

Go through your list of applications you must have to consider a particular tablet. If the application is not preloaded, can it be downloaded from an application library that supports your tablet?

Notes on tablet features:

Hardware Issues:

• Cheaper tablets will have performance limitations. These limitations may make them useless to use. Reviews should point out performance issues.
• Most tablets will not have a USB port.
• Most tablets will not have a way of increasing the amount of storage capacity. Make sure you understand how much storage you need. If the tablet you are looking at does not hold that much, I would eliminate it from consideration.
• Being able to plug in an SD Card to move files back and forth is very convenient.The SD Card can also back up your tablet.
• Most tablets will not have Blue Tooth capability, meaning that an external keyboard will  not be an option. If the touch pad on the tablet is hard to use or too small for your fingers, that tablet needs to be eliminated from consideration.
• Most tablets will have an application that allows you to print to a printer. Usually that printer will need to be a wireless printer. The printer application for iPad's is very awkward to use and I would expect that all tablets will share this same limitation. Printer manufacturers recognize this niche need and are starting to address it. HP and Canon have some printers with something called AirPrint built in. An AirPrint enabled printer can be printed to easily from an iPad from the tap menu without loading anything on the iPad. There are alternatives to printing directly to a printer from a tablet. You can send the file as an attachment via email to a computer that can print or you can copy the file to an SD Card and read the SD Card on a computer that can print.

Links for reviews of tablets:

Android Cell Phone is Not For Me

Three disturbing things have happened in the past month that have me wanting to get rid of my Android cell phone:

1. My staff have two different models from HTC that stopped charging. The mini-USB port where the charger fits into the cell phone is defective. Over time it appears that the port shrinks in size enough that any charger you use will no longer fit tight enough for the  cell phone to charge. The fix is to gently apply pressure on the top and bottom of the charger end that goes into the cell phone to slightly flatten the charger end. This tightens the connection between the charger and the cell phone, fixing the problem until the next time you need to re-adjust the charger end. This problem seems to be limited to HTC Android models. The two Blackberry cell phones my staff have that use the same mini-USB port design do not have this problem.
2. A recent upgrade to the Android cell phone operating system took away a feature that I am having trouble living without. Before the upgrade, I was able to have a distinct notification for a new voicemail, email, text, etc... With the upgrade I am limited to a distinct notification for your voicemail and one for everything else. A Google search uncovers procedures for Android users to un-install the last upgrade to recover the lost functionality.
3. Two weeks ago, one of my staff members reported that they could send texts, but not receive them. The Verizon store indicated that there was a problem with the Verizon text messaging system and that model Android cell phone. The remedy was a replacement cell phone. Another Google search uncovers that other Android cell phones have had similar problems receiving texts and the fix was a new cell phone.

When my contract is up and I'm eligible for a cell phone upgrade, I do not think Android will be one of my choices.