Following on from the tablet test in last night's show, Ian delves deeper into the fast-growing world of tablets.
For many people, last night's tablet review was pretty timely. A lot of people I speak to are thinking about getting one, and selecting the right tablet for your needs can be a bit of a nightmare. So, if it helps, I'll tell you where I am.
The iPad might be the class leader, but it does nothing for me. But there are plenty of people for whom it is exactly the right choice. Emma was right in the show when she said "even a baby can use one". They are very simple, and my nephews both love their parents' iPad. Plus, you get the added bonus of iTunes - which, as was mentioned in the show - I despise. But if you have a lot of purchased music and video, it's probably sensible to carry on using it.
That iTunes lock-in is a subject for another day. And while music is open, and can be moved to other devices, video is a lot more problematic. And, of course, if you've spent hundreds of pounds on apps, then you'll probably want to stay in the iOS universe too!
But it's wrong in every way for me. Which is why I'd take the EeePad Slider, out of all the devices we tested on the show. For me, that keyboard adds a lot of functionality, and it makes the tablet a lot more flexible for it. It's a pretty useful device too, but it's a bit of a monster to carry around. The keyboard makes it at least twice as thick as the iPad and over twice as heavy.
And that leads me to an interesting conclusion, namely, that I'd probably opt for an Asus EeePad Transformer Prime - seriously WHO comes up with these names. This is the best of both worlds. You get a tablet that's thin and stylish and a detachable keyboard dock, which also contains a battery pack to extend the life of the tablet. The Transformer Prime wasn't out when we shot this item, so we couldn't feature it then, but it is available now, if you're interested.
There was also some talk on Twitter about the absence of Samsung from the round-up. This is a big issue with Samsung's tablets over the last year, and when we recorded the tablets section, it wasn't available to buy because of some tricky patent-based legal issues. You can, however, get it now, and it's well worth considering.
And if you're interested, I have a 3G Samsung Galaxy Tab 7-inch and a Sony Tablet S in my life at the moment. I'm really turning in to a tablet nut, aren't I?
