Time for dads to pad up
IT’S Father’s Day this Sunday, and for the modern dad there’s really only one present this year that’s essential – a tablet, paticularly for modern dads who commute.
While the iPad, aided by its improved second edition, continues to storm all quarters, Android pads developed by Apple’s rivals are now seriously competing with it.
The big development for them has been the launching earlier this year of Android 3.0 (and now 3.1 – as ever, things move on very fast in the tech world), also known as Honeycomb, developed by Google specifically for larger-screened tablet devices rather than phones. That means accelerated graphics processing, support of multicore processors and a whole slew of new interface features to streamline the user experience – and, of course, there’s the perennial fact that Android devices support Flash websites, something Apple’s devices still fail to do.
MOTOROLA XOOM
Arguably the iPad’s strongest competitor, the Xoom was one of the first out of the blocks with Android 3.0. It’s both 3G and Wi-Fi capable, and can be upgraded to 4G. £448.75 www.motorola.com
APPLE IPAD 2
There’s no getting around the fact that the iPad remains way out in front of the competition, and Morning Wire’s own iPad app will be appearing soon – watch this space.
From £399 www.apple.com
ASUS EEE PAD TRANSFORMER
For dads who need to be eased through the transition from laptop to tablet, this smart gizmo comes with a detachable keyboard, turning it into a nifty notepad. Running up-to-date Android 3.0 Honeycomb technology, as a touchscreen pad it’s one of the best out there.
£429 uk.asus.com
SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB
Samsung’s Wi-Fi capable, flash-compatible, two-camera pad is a great piece of kit.
A new version, running Honeycomb, is coming later this summer.
£299, www.samsung.co.uk
DELL STREAK 7
Slightly held back by running Android 2.2 rather than the latest Android 3.0 Honeycomb technology, this is a smart, tactile tablet from ever-reliable Dell nevertheless. £299 www.dell.com/uk
ARCHOS 101 INTERNET TABLET
Slimline and affordable, Archos’s 10.1-inch widescreen tablet comes with Wi-Fi and bluetooth as standard but not 3G – you’ll need to tether your mobile phone for internet on the move. £199.99 www.archos.com