What kind of tablet PC should I buy?

The best tablet depends on your needs...

You do not have to buy 3G if you do not want it. WiFi works fine as long as your near a WiFi hotspot, including your home wireless network of course. No, unlike a laptop/desktop, tablets do not come with wired network connectors.

At the low end, $250 can get you a Nook Color, which has an ereader orientation but is really a budget 7-inch tablet running Android 2.2.

If Windows OS compatibility or a digitizer pen is important to you, go for the ASUS Eee Slate or HP Slate 500. The biggest differences between those are that the ASUS has a better display (12.1 inch AFFS 1280x800) than the HP (8.9 inch TFT 1024x600) but is larger, heavier and more expensive.

If high-end video recording is important to you, consider the LG G-Slate or BlackBerry Playbook, both of which can record at 1080p.

For overall value, the ASUS Eee Transformer (TF101) has surprisingly good specs for under $400: Android 3.1, 10.1 inch 1280x800 IPS (like iPad, but bigger and higher resolution) display, up to 9 hours of battery life (16 hourass if optional dock added), optional ability to dock with keyboard, 1 GHz Tegra 250 ARM CPU with 1 GB RAM, good array of ports (mini HDMI, SD, micro SD), preloaded Polaris Office 3.0 for editing documents (.doc), spreadsheets (.xls) and presentation (.ppt) files. Note, though, no 3G (however people report success in tethering it to smart phones).

The iPad (0.34 inches) and Galaxy Tab 10.1 (0.336 inches) are the thinnest. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 (1.25 lbs) is the lightest of the big-screen (greater than 9 inch) tablets.

iPad 2 Advantages:

IPads have a higher degree of fit-and-finish than the competition. Like iPhones vs other smart phones, iPods vs other MP3 players, or Macs vs PC's, iPads are widely regarded as being more refined and polished than the competition. iPad also has a large and refined App Store (although Android Market is closing the gap).

iPad 2 Disadvantages:

1. No Flash.

2. No SD expansion; no HDMI port; no USB port.

3. ASUS Eee Transformer has a better display (10.1 inch, 1280x800, IPS vs 9.7 inch, 1024x768, IPS) for less money.

4. PlayBook and G-Slate have better rear camera video recording (1080p vs 720p).

5. PlayBook has much better front camera video recording (1080p vs VGA).

6. Almost all tablets have better camera resolution than iPad's lousy 0.7 MP.

Motorola Xoom is heavier and thicker than the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1. The Xoom's advantage is that it has HDMI out and micro USB ports. It also has a 5MP rear camera compared to Tab's 3MP. The Xoom has a front webcam and a 720p rear video camera; the Tab has only the 720p rear video camera.

Hi Erika!

The Tablet with the best quality to price at the moment is probably the Motorola ZOOM. It’s completely future proof and is blisteringly quick! You can watch films, surf the web and listen to your music for days with this thing as the battery is awesome! I only ever charge mine 1-2 times a week and i use it most days.

If printing documents is something you are looking for then the Ipd 2 or the samsung galaxy s would be an option. Both these tablets support wireless printing and the onboard software make the process very easy.

If you are purely looking for the cheapest working tablet you can get i suggest the Tabtech M009S.

Hope this helps!

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101-A1 10.1-Inch Tablet Computer is the perfect tablet for anyone who want to enjoy multimedia on the move, but still wish to have easy access to the web, email, and other productivity applications.

Blackberry

Android is the best