Tablets Review, Essay Example

Just as Apple revolutionized the portable digital music and smartphone industries, the company has also become the golden standard in the tablet devices market. Thus, it should not come as a surprise if a credible publication such as Consumer Reports puts iPad at the center of its reviews on tablet devices. Consumer Reports did a detailed review of iPad 2 and its competition last year and now again focuses on iPad 3 in its recent guide to tablet devices.

Consumer Reports reported in its fall 2011 issue that iPad 2 was clearly ahead of the competition. iPad 2 scored the highest marks (excellent) in every category except versatility where it was beaten by Motorola’s Xoom tablet. iPad 2 with 3G option rated as very good in versatility while the iPad 2 version without 3G option was rated good. iPad 2 was the winner in battery life category with 11.6 hours while Motorola’s Xoom came at second with 10.5 hours. IPad 2’s display was the only one that retained its quality when viewed from different angles. The magazine also noted that iPad has an edge over the competitors in terms of apps market size and this also increases iPad 2’s commercial appeal (Consumer Reports).

If Consumer Reports’ latest review is any indication, iPad 3 has successfully assumed the benchmark position vacated by iPad 2. It doesn’t take long to recognize the theme common between the latest and last year’s report that Apple’s latest offering sets a new benchmark in image quality in terms of detail and colors and again beats the competition in almost every category. This is impressive given the number of competitors in the market and the fact that they have had at least two years to mount a serious challenge to Apple.

iPad 3’s dominance is even more impressive because many of the improvements could have affected iPad 3’s performance in certain areas. The improved display and graphic capabilities could have negatively affected battery power yet iPad 3 still managed to beat every competitor in terms of battery life. But the improved graphics capabilities do have an undesirable consequence especially in case of graphically-demanding applications. In addition to Consumer Reports’ own experiences, some customers have also reported that iPad 3 gets hotter in its hottest spots than iPad 2 though the temperature is still manageable (Consumer Reports).

Consumer Reports also mentions some revolutionary features introduced by the competition over the last year. Among them is Toshiba Excite 10LE which is the lightest 10.1-inch tablet ever tested by the magazine as well as Pantech’s Element, an 8-inch tablet which the company also claims to be ‘waterproof’. Pantech Element also impresses in the battery department with 10-hours life though the screen is a little difficult to read in the sun. Similarly, Sony has introduced a book-shaped, dual-screen tablet device called Tablet P which offers close-to-book reading experience (Consumer Reports).

Apple continues to be the leader but it is a positive sign that the competition is introducing innovative features instead of plainly copying Apple. Even though prices continue to be at the same levels as last year, consumers have better quality products so they are getting better values than last year.

References

Consumer Reports. New Apple iPad tops our tablet Ratings. 2 April 2012. 19 April 2012 <http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2012/04/new-apple-ipad-tops-our-tablet-ratings.html>.

“Ratings.” Consumer Reports Fall 2011: 151.