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The iPad started the craze and now everyone else is scrambling to catch up. The hottest new hardware in computing are the electronic tablets. They are fast becoming a requirement for students at schools across the country. Now, the question is which one to buy.
The latest tablets unveiled at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas combine some of the best features of the iPad with a notebook computer. The Eee Pad Slider made by Asus features a 10-inch touch screen as well as a slide out keyboard. This machine also features a pair of digital cameras, one on the front for internet chatting and one on the back for digital photography.
One of the top selling points for the Eee Pad Slider is that it is operated by the same system which powers many of today’s most popular mobile devices, Android. It can come loaded with up to 1 gigabyte of memory and sells for about $800.
For those who think the Eee Pad Slider is too expensive, Asus is coming out with less expensive models that have a similar design but not as many features. Later this year, the Eee Pad Transformer and Eee Pad Memo will be put on sale in the U.S. The Transformer has the Android operating system, while the Memo is run by Windows 7. These units will be priced starting at $399.
The Memo is the smallest of the new electronic pads and can be carried in a shirt pocket. It is perfect for taking down hand written notes and offers much more flexibility than the Slider or Transformer. The top selling point of the Transformer is the slide out keyboard which turns the pad into a notebook computer. It is also sold with an optional docking station that can transform the pad into a desktop computer perfect for word processing applications or writing emails.
