Tablet Comparison for Businesses

New data from Harris Interactive suggests that 15 percent of Americans now own a tablet device (keep in mind that this is up from roughly 8 percent one year ago). As tablets continue to surge in popularity, many businesses are looking to the market as a means to equip mobile workers with the same functionality of a typical laptop, yet at a reduced cost.

Unfortunately, as the market grows, so have options. Business owners now find themselves overwhelmed with with tablet statistics that are closer to Greek than English for many. To demonstrate this, you can find a chart at the bottom of this page (full chart) which compares features of over 45 major tablets. While this may be useful for some IT professionals, we figured it made more sense to pull out a few select picks that business owners should look closely at.

In the graph immediately below, I've pulled two tablets aside that would be worth considering for your business environment. Below this you will find a brief review of each phone as well.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

First off: The Galaxy Operating System (Honeycomb) is arguably the best option on the market for business users:

- Robust notifications system designed for ease of management and navigation

- Effective support for Exchange integration and email management

- Support for Video Calls and meetings

- Ability to apply encryption of the entire tablet (don't forget your password if you do this)

- Wide range of connectivity options: USB tethering, hotspot, Bluetooth tethering, etc.

- Unlike iPad's screen doubling, Android apps run full-screen natively in Honeycomb.

I could continue listing features, but the core message is that the overall OS experience leaves you with a device that runs extremely smoothly. For business owners who might be running several email accounts while flipping between data intensive applications and their conference call, smooth is very important.

While part of this is a function of the OS, the hardware of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is also a major component of its performance. A review test done by Engadget clocked the "in-use" battery life at 10 hours, making it a great fit all-day for trade shows and conventions. Additionally the tablet sports the same specs as the more expensive limited edition release 4G LTE version from Verizon(1GHz Tegra 2, 1280 x 800 resolution display, front- and rear-facing cameras).

Lastly, Google's app store for Honeycomb is the only option to rival Apple's volume of options available. Providing end business users a wide array of custom developed business productivity apps.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet

The Lenovo ThinkPad is a tablet aimed squarely at business users. It looks a bit clunky and won't win you points with Apple groupies, but it supplies unique business targeted software along with the business friendly Honeycomb OS.

The design itself is targeted towards professions. Sporting larger buttons which are easier to press and a pen to write with for users over the age of 20 (the non-finger-tap-typing-at-inhuman-speeds generation).

The ThinkPad carries the same great Operating System as previous example, while also coming preloaded with business focused software of its own.

All and all its a bit cheaper, heavier, and less lightning fast that the Samsung Galaxy mentioned above, but for some businesses it makes for a great affordable option for their on-the-move sales staff.

Full Tablet Comparison Chart

Source of original chart data