Are you considering taking a step forward in your mobility and buying a tablet computer? If so, you are probably deciding which one to choose. There are two main options to choose from: Apple iPad and Android tablet. While everything is pretty straightforward with the iPad (one manufacturer – Apple, one OS – iOS, difference only in the amount of memory and 3G availability) with the Android based tablets the story is completely different.

How to compare Android tablets

In comparison to iPad, Android tablets are a much more diverse group of products. The main options that you can choose from with the Android tablets are:

• Manufacturer of the tablet
• Version of the Android OS installed
• Quality and size of the screen
• Hardware characteristics of the tablet (processor, memory, connectivity options etc.)

We’ll take a look at each of these options in more detail.

Manufacturers of tablets running on Android OS

Many companies are already producing tablet computers that run on Android OS at the moment and there will be more in the future. Tablets are taking over and Android OS with the mighty Google backing it up is without a doubt the most attractive option. One of the most important factors about the usability of the Android tablets is Android Market which recently got renamed to Google Play, an online store with hundreds of thousands of apps, many of them free and many available for a few dollars. These applications, most of them are made by the third party developers, are what makes your tablet really useful as you can download an app for almost anything you need or want.

Some of the major manufacturers of the tablets with Android OS at the moment are Samsung, HTC, Toshiba, Asus, Acer, Motorola, Huawei, LG, Lenovo etc. But the list hardly ends there. And this is good for the reason of further development, competition and prices.

Version of the Android OS installed

This is probably the most important factor considering the usability of the tablet. If we do the comparison of Android tablets based on the installed version of the OS, we can generally divide them in four groups: tablets with Android 1.5 and 1.6 (not available any more), tablets with Android 2.1 (Eclair), 2.2 (Froyo) and 2.3 (Gingerbread), tablets with Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and tablets with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

Version 2.x

The majority of new Android tablets available on the market today have installed either version 2.2 (Froyo) or 2.3 (Gingerbread). Froyo and Gingerbread are solid versions of Android and serve nicely on a tablet (although they are primarily intended for Android phones). They give you the opportunity to use your tablet quite effectively as a substitute for your laptop or netbook while on the road. Their greatest advantage in comparison to Android based mobile phones is the size of the screen because it enables you to surf the internet, read mail and write much more easily on a larger screen. Also the good news is that your OS gets upgrades to newer versions as they roll out thus giving you new features (although you probably won’t be able to upgrade from 2.x to 3.x).

Version 3.x – Honeycomb

Honeycomb is the first real Android OS for tablets. It is made specifically for the tablets and offers features that version 2.x don’t. We’ll go further into details about the Honeycomb in some of the future posts, let’s just say that if you are buying a tablet for serious use, you should aim for the ones that have Honeycomb installed.

Version 4.x – Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice Cream Sandwich is the new version of the Android OS that is being developed by Google and it was first presented on October 19^th 2011. It is supposed to bring all the benefits of the Honeycomb to the Android Phone users and it will be one version of OS running on all Android devices. We’ll keep an eye on possible release date of the OS and the first tablets that will run on it.

Quality and size of the screen

Capacitive touchscreen is the main feature of any tablet but there can be quite a difference in quality of the touch screen between the cheaper and more expensive models. As this directly effects your user experience (virtual keyboard, responsiveness in applications and games etc.) you should really pay close mind to it. A bad touch screen will make any fantastic technology built into your tablet only partly usable.

The size of the screen depends on the size of the tablet – the bigger the tablet, the bigger the screen (most commonly tablets are sized from 7 to 10 inches). The same is not always true for screen resolution. You have to check the number of pixels on the screen – the more pixels the clearer picture and more space for your apps on the screen.

Hardware characteristics of the tablet

The part of the tablet that is hidden are its hardware specifications. It’s quite simple really when doing the comparison of Android tablets based on hardware specs – generally it means the better the components, the better the experience.

Faster processor means smoother operation without lagging and the ability to run more things at once. However, faster processor usually uses more battery power so the autonomy of the device is shorter. More storage means more space for you to save your files (data, music, movies, programs, games etc.). Then there are cameras – usually one on the back and with some models one on the front for video chatting. The connectivity options – all of Android tablets have USB connector but some of them offer also HDMI, FireWire, SD card reader etc. With all these options available it really comes down to what you need.

Wireless connectivity is one of the most important features of tablet computers. All Android tablets feature a Wi-Fi receiver, but only some of them have the option to insert a SIM card and use mobile networks like 3G, 4G etc. Again it’s a matter of your needs and wishes.

New Android tablets get released frequently

The number of Android tablet devices on the market is growing at a staggering rate. New tablets are released each month, new manufacturers are entering the market and new versions of the Android OS are being deployed regularly. There is even a Wikipedia page dedicated to comparison of Android tablets, but because changes are so frequent it is actually out of date at the moment.

We will monitor new releases of Android tablets, compare them and make suggestions which ones are the best for each type of user to help you with your decision.