Thrifty tablets on test
WE COMPARE SIX ANDROID, IOS AND WINDOWS TABLETS STARTING FROM JUST .
BENNETT RING
DESPITE INCREDIBLE GROWTH in recent years, it seems that the Tablet market is nally slowing down. According to IDC’s Worldwide Tablet Tracker, as of July this year sales had dropped 7% compared to the previous year. is is big news for a product category that once experienced 30% annual growth. Whatever the reasons are for this slump, one thing is for sure – consumers have many more options to choose from when buying a tablet than just a few short years ago. Budget tablets now make up almost half of all tablet sales, up from a quarter a year ago, which is great news for your wallet. However, guring out which tablet to buy gets exponentially more di cult as the number of viable options appear on shelves. We’ve taken a look at six of the most affordable tablets on the market to see which one is deserving of your attention.
THE APPLE FELL
While many associate Apple’s iPad as being the rst tablet on the market, it was actually a Microso product that took the honour a full decade earlier. Microso pushed four versions of the tablet computer in the early 2000s, but the one that looked most like today’s models was known as the Slate. Ditching the keyboard in favour of a touch-screen, it relied heavily upon a stylus. Rather than make these machines itself, Microso came up with the basic Tablet PC specification, which were then made by the usual hardware vendors. However, a combination of issues meant the tablet standard failed. One of the biggest issues was the size and weight of the early tablets, each weighing several kilograms. Microso also positioned them as PC replacements, and they had the price tags to match, costing upwards of several thousand dollars. Finally, battery life wasn’t ready for all-day performance; even today some tablets struggle to last a full day.
A decade later Apple’s iPad solved all of these issues, and the company has held the top spot ever since. However, its dominance is under serious threat thanks to the huge range of competitors now flooding the marketplace with affordable models. According to IDC, Apple sold 10.9 million iPads in the second quarter of this year and 24.5% of the market. However, Samsung is nipping its heels, with 7.6 million sales in the same quarter and a total market share of 17%. It’ll be interesting to see how this race plays out over the coming year, but the days of Apple’s dominance are surely endangered.