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Overall size of device- how portable is the device? Internal memory size Does it offer 3G or phone capability, or Wi-Fi only? Operating system (availability of apps)


Tablets come in a few sizes, ranging from 7-inch diagonal screen up to a full 12-inch model. Portability does become a factor with some people, so make that one of your considerations. Screen resolution should not be a factor for the most part, with all the devices offering a high-resolution display that will be impressive for multimedia viewing. Tablets also come in different formats, but the devices we are considering are called slate; meaning they are a classical tablet pc form of pad with one touch screen and no keyboard.


Internal memory size


Internal memory could perhaps be a factor for people who store massive amounts of files or multimedia formats like video, but for the average user, 32 GB models should be adequate. Given that these devices are geared toward cloud computing, most of the content we access will be on the Internet, not on the device.


Does it offer 3G or phone capability, or Wi-Fi only?


While all tablet devices support Wi-Fi for Internet connectivity within a hot spot, wireless providers offer data plans for models that offer 3G support. It’s the same type of Internet access as your smartphone. Like your phone, it works anywhere you can get a good signal. There are a few models that even allow phone calls.


Operating system (availability of apps)


Choosing the right OS that your tablet runs could be one of the biggest decisions to consider, from the availability of applications down to that with which you may already be familiar. Except for the Blackberry, don’t be overly concerned if your smartphone is of one OS and your tablet is another. For example, Android phones and iPads do work together.


Apple and Android-based devices are the leaders in available applications, and because their smartphone platforms lead the phone markets, they will in a hotly contested battle for tablet supremacy. While iPad currently dominates the market with its innovative design, 100 thousand applications and slick features, many Android devices offer their own set of attractive features, from USB connections, SD memory card slots and HDMI out to HDTV.


One major consideration, and what could actually be a deal-breaker is the issue of a technology called Adobe Flash. Video and animation content displayed over the Internet is typically provided by this technology, and it is the primary application used for this purpose. In real estate, some of the MLS sites, such as the MLXchange use Adobe flash to provide the listing data on both the desktop and mobile Internet browsers. Apple products like the iPhone and iPad do not support Flash. Agents in these markets, to their dismay, have had to resort to other methods to get MLS data. If the iPad2 is your choice of tablet, it would be wise to investigate beforehand whether or not the sites you rely upon and visit frequently use Flash to provide content. If they do, then perhaps you should reconsider the iPad and look at a viable alternative that supports Flash. There is a similar technology called HTML5 which provides the same benefits of Flash and is supported by iPhone and iPad, but is not as widely used as Flash. The word is that HTML5 is beginning to be used to develop video and animation for more Internet sites, starting with mobile phone apps, and eventually will be used more frequently for larger devices.


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So if you decide that buying a tablet is worthwhile, keep in mind there are a number of choices out there, and without a bit of homework, things can get confusing. It is important that you know what you would like your device to provide for you before you reach for the credit card. Some important first things to consider would be:


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