Tablet PC purchasing can be very confusing and frustrating, so here are a few important things to look for. One of the most important features when purchasing a tablet is the battery life. The goal is to get a battery that will last close to 10 hours when watching videos. Always take into consideration the advertised battery life by the manufacturer is slightly more than what you will get in actual personal use, similar to miles per gallon when you purchase an automobile, the conditions for testing are perfect and in a controlled environment, not like at your home or office. Figure on 10 to 15% less than advertised.
The weight of the tablet plays an important part of your buying decision, because of portability, you do not want a tablet that's to heavy to carry around, fortunately the weight of most 10.1" inch screen models are right around a pound and a half, 7" inch screens are right at about half a pound.
Most of the Tablets other than Apple use the Android operating system version 3.1, soon they will be using the Honeycomb 4.0. The Android operating system has been very reliable so far and very popular. Windows is available but they will unveil their new Windows 8 operating system on a few tablets in 2012, which is supposed to be very good from early reports.
Next the processing speed or CPU, I would recommend a dual core or faster processing system, this way you can take advantage of true multitasking or gaming. While you stream or download a movie you can also answer email, work on a spreadsheet, read an ebook or whatever you like without your tablet lagging or slowing to a crawl, that is probably the most frustrating part of computing, when you're trying to finish something and that little icon is just spinning and spinning and you're going nowhere. Trying to play the complex and advanced games that are available today on a normal CPU is fruitless and will not be enjoyable.
Video resolution is next, you want a 1080p type resolution which is at least 1024x760, this will give you HD viewing and excellent clarity. Some tablets allow viewing from extreme angles like some of the top hi-def televisions. This is also important if you are into gaming. Screen size in a tablet should be at least 10.1" unless you need a small size for some reason.
Most tablets have Wi-Fi, which allow you access to the internet as long as there is a Wi-Fi signal available, like at your home or office, some tablets through various provides offer a wireless high speed internet service subscription by the month like 3G or 4G, which enables you to have access to the internet wherever you are. As long as it has built Wi-Fi that is the most important.
If you're into taking pictures make sure your tablet has at least 3 mega-pixels for taking pictures, and that it can record videos in HD. Some tablets have 5 mega-pixels but take poor quality pictures due to cheap technology in the camera, so do your due diligence if photography is important. Data storage is extremely important and the ability to use micro storage cards is a must to load photos or videos easily.
On board storage of 16 to 32GB is good and should be your target. If the price of an upgrade from a 16GB to a 32GB is minimal always go for the 32GB or higher, you won't be sorry. Ports and connections are also important, having a USB connection is a must and having a HDMI connector or a way to hook it up to your television would be nice. Some units have full size USB and HDMI ports and some have what they call mini ports. Of course audio in and out connections are a must.
Some tablets have killer audio systems, if that is important to you pay close attention to this. With the right headphones it can sound as if your at a movie theater or a concert.
If there are limited number of Apps available, then your tablet will just be another doorstop, make sure there are plenty of apps to choose from that will work with your tablet, obviously Apple has a great selection, Android Apps are growing daily but due to licensing issues, might not be available for all tablets so check the selection for your make and model tablet before you purchase.
Warranty of one year should be your minimum, if an extra year or two is available for a little more money, purchase the added protection.
Those are the most important things to look for when buying a Tablet PC, obviously price will be a determining factor in your purchase, so as they say shop around.
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