You’ve held out for months, waiting and watching the market for some sign of a tablet that you think you’d like. But maybe you’re asking the wrong question. Instead of “Which tablet should I buy?” maybe you should be asking why you need a tablet in the first place?
We’ve written out a brief guide to deciding whether you need a tablet at all. As for a recommendation, the two devices we can unequivocally recommend right now are the iPad and, if you’re into Android, the Galaxy Tab (although there is some talk of an upgrade coming soon). However, don’t buy right now. The iPad 2 is on its way and the Xoom, Playbook, and TouchPad, are coming soon as well.
So before you break out the credit card, let’s talk about a few reasons to buy best tablets for kids.
1. Tablets make great e-readers. Although many would complain that the reading experience isn’t nearly as focused as single-purpose e-ink devices, and the text isn’t as legible, these drawbacks haven’t stopped users from cracking open PDFs, comics, long web articles, and so on tablets. Plus kids books are fun in full color, something Kindle can’t yet beat.
2. Tablets are portable productivity stations. There’s nothing like a calendar and an email window on a big screen. Although many of our phones now run PIM applications, the real estate afforded by a tablet makes for a far superior experience.
3. Tablets are better than older laptops. If you don’t need to type a lot, tablets will handle more content than a two-year-old laptop, and there are more modern apps and games.
4. Tablets are great for meetings. While you should probably paying attention during meetings, tablets are a great way to take notes unobtrusively and, when things get boring, play Angry Birds on mute.
5. Tablets are great for sharing photos and 1-on-1 presentations. Tablets are excellent for a communal photo sharing experience and are a boon for insurance adjusters, real estate folks, and salespeople. Having everything in front of you in cool little device sure beats firing up a laptop and running a presentation.
6. Tablets are great for movies and music. There’s nothing better in the car for kids than a copy of Cars or Dora on an iPad. Our kids love it and a tablet costs a bit less than installing soon-to-be-obsolete DVD-powered LCDs in the headrest. I also enjoy taking the iPad on a plane for movies, a job that used to go to the iPod Touch.
7. Tablets are cheaper than a new laptop. Your old coffee table laptop died and you’re thinking about a new netbook. Don’t bother. Tablets, as we said before, are on par or more powerful than a standard ~$500 laptop.
8. Tablets don’t crash. Or at least when they do crash it’s not a big deal. A quick restart is is all it takes to get them back on track.
9. Tablets are good for travel. Tablets usually work with Wi-Fi and 3G networks and the large screen and storage space is great for maps, guides, and dictionaries. Think of your tablet as a Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.
10. Tablets are just cool. They make you feel like you’re from the future.
