Top 5 Budget Tablets for your Business

by Startacus Admin

4. Microsoft Surface - The newest of the tablets on our list, it’s a bit of a gamble, but based on information gathered about this tablet, it’s going to be one to watch. Firstly, the main reason this is in the Top 5, is the price. According to Mr Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, he has said it’ll be in and around the $300 to $800 mark... quite a margin there, but there’ll be a few factors dictating the price. The version that will (hopefully) be $300 will be loaded with Windows RT, Microsoft’s newest version of Windows 8 made specifically for tablets. It’s also going to include Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote. Microsoft have struggled in the past to break the tablet scene (even though they were the first in 2001 with the ill-fated ‘Tablet PC’...) however based on specifications, capabilities and the applications that are going to be available, this one is going to make new ground. But whatever you do, do NOT watch the Steven Sinofsky live demo of the new Microsoft Surface which is widely available to watch on YouTube. (You totally should...). It’s nothing like the 1995 demonstration of Windows 98, which is also widely available on YouTube. (It totally is). On a side note, Windows 98 went on to be one of Microsoft’s biggest selling operating systems, so you never know with their Surface tablet...

5. Nexus 7 - Ah, the long awaited Google Tablet. Has it disappointed? It certainly has not! This littlun is fast becoming one of the most popular tablets of choice next to the iPad, which is bizarre given the Nexus’ petite 7” screen in comparison to the iPads 9.7”. But it has a huge amount crammed into it. The Asus built Nexus 7 has the most powerful processor, a 1.3GHz quad core processor and has 1GB of RAM, which is a phenomenal achievement considering the cost of the device. It doesn’t have expandable memory, but there are 8GB and 16GB models available. Also, this is the only tablet on our list that doesn’t sport a rear facing camera, thankfully. However it has a 1.2MP front facing camera, the highest quality front facing camera of all the tablets in this list, allowing high quality video calls. As the Nexus 7 is Google’s own device, it ships with the latest version of Android, Android 4.1, and will have updates down the line available to it more or less straight away. My favourite thing about the Nexus 7? Well, it’s the best part of all... The price. The 8GB variation starts at £159, and the 8GB on is £40 more, at £199. For any manufacturer to cram as much technology into this tablet and retain a cost of under £200 is an achievement in itself. If you’re looking for a low cost, powerful tablet that doesn’t take up all the room in your bag/case/pocket, this is it.

So how does all of this relate to you, the business user? Well, hardware software in these devices have become so far advanced, that they’re capable of doing almost everything a laptop or a standard desktop computer can do. With the likes of Microsoft having the main players from its’ Office package built in, and Google documents available on the others, & some of the most popular business applications available from their respective stores, these powerful pieces of tech can help space when travelling, give a seamless presentation and, hopefully based on this list, save you some money.

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By the way...did we tell you that you're looking rather splendid today?

 

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Published on: 19th September 2012