Understanding Tablets

The increased need for flexibility in the business environment continues to grow and new development in mobile technology reflects this need with the new tools that enter the market year after year. In previous years, devices such as laptops and smartphones were getting attention for their business use.

A new device that is getting attention in the business world is the tablet computer because of its ability to function in a similar fashion to both a computer and a mobile phone.

Tablets

Commonly referred to as the tablet, it is a mobile device that is a smaller version of a complete computer. Physically, in terms of size, it is larger than a smartphone, however, it is small than a laptop and it is mainly comprised of a touch screen. It is operated through a virtual keyboard and digital pen rather than connecting a physical keyboard or mouse.

The tablet is equipped with a number features that are commonly found on smartphones and laptops in addition to features that are new to mobile devices, especially when it comes to business specific usage.

These features include:

• A touch interface: Through a virtual keyboard that exists on the screen, the touch interface is a common featured of most tablet computers. In this sense, the operating system reacts to screen touches rather than clicks. This touch interface has definitely become made some waves within the industry as people are now starting to turn to the tablet rather than laptops as in previous years.
• Hardware features: There are two main types of touch screen hardware that is used by tablet developers. They are:
• Resistive: These screens are passive in nature and respond to any type of pressure on the screen. This allows for precious touch capabilities
• Capacitive: These screens, while more responsive, are less accurate then the resistive touch screen. These are more commonly used on small touch screens.
• Handwriting recognition: This is unique feature that is increasingly used by companies that have mobile workforce and require signatures from their clients. However, its technology is still in development.
• Palm recognition: This prevents screen touches other than the pen to impact information input
• Multi-touch: This allows for additional touch capabilities as users perform multiple simultaneous touches with their fingers.

• Wireless connection: Being a mobile device, tablets connect to the internet through wireless connections such as WI-FI and Bluetooth. This makes the tablet ideal for professionals that work remotely on a regular basis.
• Storage: Some tablets have fairly large storage drives that allow them to store data and information in a similar fashion to other mobile devices. Additional, the inclusion of removable port drives allows users to store data outside of the tablet.
• Accelerometer: this helps detect the movement of the tablet allowing it to act as a control interface of the tablet's internal software applications.

Tablets are diverse because they can be equipped with all of the main operating systems that are available on the market. They include:

• Linux
• Mac OS X
• Microsoft Windows
• Web OS
• Android
• Chrome

Tablet technology is only going to continue to evolve and develop greater flexibility in terms of both compatibility and functionality, which will only make it more attractive for both individual users and for business use.