Magazine : 
Tablet War: The winner is still undecided
Bangalore: Tablets or mobile computing devices are the newest and perhaps the toughest battleground in the current consumer devices market. And India can be said as one of the key battlefronts. Gartner estimates that 19.5 million tablets will be sold worldwide by this year-end and the number could jump 2.5 times to as high as 55 million by the end of next year.
Another research firm, In-Stat, estimates that between 2010 and 2014, tablets will grow at a compounded annual rate of 124 percent, the fastest among the four categories of desktops, netbooks, notebooks and tablets. The Asia Pacific region will grow the fastest in these four years.
1. Apple iPAD: Currently, the iPad dominates the global market with an estimated 90 percent market share. When anyone says 'tablet'; the iPad has managed to capture the minds of gadget lovers. Delayed entry of competitors can be said as the reason for this. It has a 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology and has around 3, 00,000-applications in its App Store. You can grab an ipad from a price range of $499-829. But as far as India is concerned, Apple is last to market with an official launch still 'on the cards'.
If you look at the other side, the iPad claimed it is the new generation of notebooks. Honestly speaking, there is not much of a difference between ipad and an iPod Touch besides the height and it weights. In rough lines, both products follow the same pattern: a multimedia device that will satisfy a limited range of needs, such as a music player, high speed Internet browser, a browser for videos and movies watched in high quality and so on.
2. Dell Streak: The debate is still on - is the Dell Streak a tablet that can double up as a smartphone or a smartphone that has some tablet-like qualities? It features an impressive 5-inch touchscreen display, 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, 5-megapixel digital camera and up to 32GB of memory with a microSD card, as well as built-in Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. If you are looking for a smarter smartphone and not another device to carry or want to have a tab that fits your pocket go ahead with it. It is available at 
34,990.
If you look at the other side, although the version of Android running on it is old, the 1 Ghz processor ensures that performance is not an issue. When it comes to screen it is not in the league of the iPad and Galaxy Tab.
3.Olive Pad: Barring the processor and a relatively low resolution screen (800 x 400), you can't fault it much. Olive Pad features a 7inch Widescreen Capacitive touch display and it supports multi-touch and some touch sensitive buttons are also available for easier navigation. Olive Pad is quite sleek just 11.5mm thick but it is not so light weight as holding it in one hand feels awkward. It runs on Android 2.2 and is not too heavy at 410 grams. If you do not want to splurge as much on a tablet as on a notebook & still want the complete tablet experience the upgraded device is priced at 25,990.
If you look at the other side, it doesn't have a have the snazzy looks of the competition and might even seem a bit bulky in comparison to the sleek Galaxy Tab and iPad but accepted as a solid value-for-money performer.
4. Samsung Galaxy Tab: It is considered as the first real challenger to the iPad; not just because of the higher screen resolution and not just because it runs Android. Drag and drop HD videos onto it - they just work. Copy-paste all your Word, Excel, PowerPoint files onto it - even the .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files, and you can view and edit them. Take it on the road and use it as a GPS device with built in maps. And available at 38,000. If you want the ultimate all-in-one mobile device go for it. Unlike the iPad, the Galaxy also doubles up as a 3G phone. It also has dual cameras, pre-loaded all-India maps from MapmyIndia and amazing media playback capabilities.
If you look at the other side, there is a proprietary port for data transfer and video out. A mini USB and HDMI out on the device itself would have been much appreciated.
From all these we understand that Dell is trying to streak its way into this category. Samsung is trying offer a Galaxy of features to make up for its somewhat late entry. Apple, of course, is sitting pretty with consumers drooling over its Pad in hordes. Now it is up to you to decide who is the winner.
34,990.
If you look at the other side, although the version of Android running on it is old, the 1 Ghz processor ensures that performance is not an issue. When it comes to screen it is not in the league of the iPad and Galaxy Tab.
3.Olive Pad: Barring the processor and a relatively low resolution screen (800 x 400), you can't fault it much. Olive Pad features a 7inch Widescreen Capacitive touch display and it supports multi-touch and some touch sensitive buttons are also available for easier navigation. Olive Pad is quite sleek just 11.5mm thick but it is not so light weight as holding it in one hand feels awkward. It runs on Android 2.2 and is not too heavy at 410 grams. If you do not want to splurge as much on a tablet as on a notebook & still want the complete tablet experience the upgraded device is priced at 25,990.
If you look at the other side, it doesn't have a have the snazzy looks of the competition and might even seem a bit bulky in comparison to the sleek Galaxy Tab and iPad but accepted as a solid value-for-money performer.
4. Samsung Galaxy Tab: It is considered as the first real challenger to the iPad; not just because of the higher screen resolution and not just because it runs Android. Drag and drop HD videos onto it - they just work. Copy-paste all your Word, Excel, PowerPoint files onto it - even the .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files, and you can view and edit them. Take it on the road and use it as a GPS device with built in maps. And available at 38,000. If you want the ultimate all-in-one mobile device go for it. Unlike the iPad, the Galaxy also doubles up as a 3G phone. It also has dual cameras, pre-loaded all-India maps from MapmyIndia and amazing media playback capabilities.
If you look at the other side, there is a proprietary port for data transfer and video out. A mini USB and HDMI out on the device itself would have been much appreciated.
From all these we understand that Dell is trying to streak its way into this category. Samsung is trying offer a Galaxy of features to make up for its somewhat late entry. Apple, of course, is sitting pretty with consumers drooling over its Pad in hordes. Now it is up to you to decide who is the winner.
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