In 2010, sales of Apple’s iPad skyrocketed accounting for 93% of tablet sales. But is the iPad really worth its popularity? Are other tablet brands just as powerful or effective for getting the job done? In this article, we break down the iPad 2 against four other competing brands so that you can make an informed choice before heading out to Best Buy or the Apple Store.
iPad2, $499-$829
The iPad2 measures 9.31” by 7.31” by .34” and weighs in at 1.3 pounds. It has storage capacity of 16, 32, and 64 GB and 256 mb of RAM. It’s powered by the 1Ghz Apple A5 and has a dual core. Its operating system is iOS 4 and it is not flash-drive compatible. It can multitask and offers two cameras as well as GPS technology. The battery life, on average, is about 10 hours.
Dell Streak 7, $199-$450
The Dell Streak 7 measures 7.87” by 5” by .49” and weighs in at 1 pound. It has storage capacity of 16 GB using micro-SD. The RAM is 512 mb. The processor is Nvidia Tegra 2 and has a dual core. The operating system is Android 2.1 and it is flash compatible. It can multitask and has two cameras: the front camera is 1.3mp and the rear camera is 5mp. It offers GPS technology. Battery life for this tablet clocks in at seven and a half hours.
Samsung Galaxy, $399-$599
The Samsung Galaxy measures 7.48” by 4.74” by .47” and weighs .8 pound. It has storage capacity of 16 GB or 32 GB using micro-SD. The RAM is 512 mb. The processor is 1Ghz CortexA8 and it does not have a dual core. The operating system is Android 2.1 and it is flash compatible. It can multitask and has two cameras: the front camera is 1.3mp and the rear camera is 3mp. The Galaxy offers GPS technology with an average battery life at about seven hours.
Blackberry Playbook, price varies
The Blackberry Playbook measures 7.6” by 5” by .4” and weighs in at .9 pound. It has storage capacity of 16, 32 and 64GB and the RAM is 1GB. The processor is 1 Ghz ARM Cortex A9 and has a dual core. The operating system is Blackberry Tablet OS and it is flash compatible. It can multitask and has two cameras: the front camera is 3mp and the rear camera is 5mp. It does not offer GPS technology and the battery life is undetermined.
HP Slate, $799
The HP Slate measures 9.21” by 5.91” by .58” and is the heaviest at 1.5 pounds. It has storage capacity of 64GB. The RAM is 2 GB. The processor is 1.86 GHz Intel Atom Z540 and does not have a dual core. The operating system is Windows 7 Pro and it is flash compatible. It can multitask and has two cameras: the front camera is 1.3mp and the rear camera is 3mp. The Slate does not offer GPS technology. The battery life of this tablet is weakest at five hours.
