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Definitions
3G
Often referred to as third generation mobility, 3G offers internet voice/data download speeds of about 1.4 Mbps and upload speeds of about 300-700 Kbps (Kilo bits per second). Theoretically, 3G speeds can reach up to 3 Megabits per second (Mbps), with average speeds tending to be closer to 1Mbps or lower. This means 1 million bits, or 125,000 bytes, of data are being transferred per second in equivalent speeds to most standard home DSL internet connections. At this download speed, it takes roughly 1 to 2 minutes to download a 4-minute MP3 music file. 3G coverage is available in most of the continental US. Almost every metro area has very good 3G coverage.
This is the most common cellular wireless voice/data connection.
4G
4G refers to fourth generation mobility. 4G offers a substantial upgrade in data connectivity speed, but is limited in availability in North America. True 4G connectivity is still very limited in North America. 4G average speeds are supposed to be in the 100Mbps to 1Gbps range. This is about 10 to 100 times (dependent on location and provide) faster than 3G networks. At this rate, a four minute MP3 would take just a mere few seconds to download.
Are you into tech? Then check out this video.
4G LTE
This is Verizon's 4G network. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution. The 4G LTE network was deployed in late 2010 and now has reached 186 million in the US. It uses 4G technology.
Android
Android is the most successful mobile operating system for mobile devices designed by Google. The most current version is 4.0, referred to as "Ice cream sandwich". Earlier versions include 2.0 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.0 (Honeycomb), 3.1 and 3.2. The operating system is built on an open standard under the Open Handset Alliance, supported by mobile industry giants like Samsung, HTC, Qualcomm and Intel.
To learn more, check out Wikipedia.
Apps
"Apps" is shortened slang for "applications." Applications are downloadable software from App stores, such as iTunes.
App Store
App stores are where one goes to download for your tablet or smart phone. Most app stores are launched via a button on the operating system of the tablet. The tablet connects wirelessly and the user uses a username and password to download and manage applications for their tablet, including updates. Most app stores work similarly, but can vary in the amount of applications that can be purchased, depending upon which operating system your tablet operates on. The most popular app store is Apples App Store. To find out what apps are available for each operating system you can visit these sites:
Android: Google
iOS: Apple
QNX: Blackberry
WebOS: HP
Windows: Microsoft
Capacity
This is the amount of flash memory storage on your tablet. This is given in GBs. Apps, music, video and documents etc. all take up memory. If you have a large library of music, video and will be downloading lots of apps or using the tablet for documents such as PDFs and other documents, capacity can be very important, particularly if you intend to use your tablet for business or as your primary mobile computing device.
iCloud
This cloud service is a web based storage and synchronization service by Apple. Its primary benefits are that it is affordable, offers significant storage, synchronizes all Apple devices. It offers great peace of mind as it remotely backs up your devices. This innovative service is available on the new iOS5.
To learn more, go here.
iOS
This is Apple's mobile operating system found on the iTouch, iPhone and iPad devices. It has been a major hit with consumers as it is very intuitive, stable (it doesn't crash), fast and has super features built in such as Apple Mail, Safari web browser, App Store, iTunes and more.
Multi touch
A multi-touch tablet operates certain features, like scrolling, pinching or expanding the display. Multi touch features make tablets more user-friendly. Be cautious here, and test your prospective tablet vs. other options, as not all multi touch tablets work the same. Some are quite intuitive, while others require effort for this feature and are less intuitive.
OS
This acronym refers to an operating system. An operating system is the software which makes hardware come to life. The design and usability of an operating system is responsible for ease of operation, speed and performance of the tablet, along with the processor, display and storage capacity.
QNX
This tablet operating system is unique to Blackberry. Blackberry is best known for its business class fan base of smart phone users and has significant deployment in the corporate business mobile phone. It remains to be seen if QNX and the Blackberry tablets will gain mass appeal, including in corporate America.
USB 2.0 - USB
(Universal Serial Bus) is a flat rectangular male/female connection used to transfer data from one computing device to another. USB 2.0 is the second generation of this connection. It transfers data at a speed of 480 Mbps (Mega bits per second.
USB 3.0 - USB
A third-generation USB. It transfers data roughly 10X times faster than USB 2.0 at speeds of around 5 Gbps (Giga bits per second).
WebOS
HP purchased this operating system with the purchase of Palm a little over a year ago. There is limited support for this operating system, including HP's announcement to leave the tablet market earlier this year. It remains to be seen whether or not, this OS will gain support outside HP and as a consequence have long term tech and app support. Buyer should beware.
WiFi
Wireless Fidelity, or WiFi, is a common wireless technology that allows a tablet to surf the net, check email, stream video and accomplish other features like printing wirelessly. Every tablet we have discovered has this feature. Keep in mind, however, range of WiFi can vary. This is the physical distance your tablet can be away from a wireless router or access point. Quality and distance of WiFi connectivity and persistent connection of your tablet could vary, depending on the quality of your tablet's WiFi circuitry.
Windows OS
Microsoft has been in the smart phone market quite some time. Windows OS is Microsoft's mobile operating system. Microsoft is currently in the launch of Windows 8 which is a combination of Windows 7 + a Metro UI (User Interface) designed specifically for tablet and mobile devices.
Here is an article about Windows 8.
Often referred to as third generation mobility, 3G offers internet voice/data download speeds of about 1.4 Mbps and upload speeds of about 300-700 Kbps (Kilo bits per second). Theoretically, 3G speeds can reach up to 3 Megabits per second (Mbps), with average speeds tending to be closer to 1Mbps or lower. This means 1 million bits, or 125,000 bytes, of data are being transferred per second in equivalent speeds to most standard home DSL internet connections. At this download speed, it takes roughly 1 to 2 minutes to download a 4-minute MP3 music file. 3G coverage is available in most of the continental US. Almost every metro area has very good 3G coverage.
This is the most common cellular wireless voice/data connection.
4G
4G refers to fourth generation mobility. 4G offers a substantial upgrade in data connectivity speed, but is limited in availability in North America. True 4G connectivity is still very limited in North America. 4G average speeds are supposed to be in the 100Mbps to 1Gbps range. This is about 10 to 100 times (dependent on location and provide) faster than 3G networks. At this rate, a four minute MP3 would take just a mere few seconds to download.
Are you into tech? Then check out this video.
4G LTE
This is Verizon's 4G network. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution. The 4G LTE network was deployed in late 2010 and now has reached 186 million in the US. It uses 4G technology.
Android
Android is the most successful mobile operating system for mobile devices designed by Google. The most current version is 4.0, referred to as "Ice cream sandwich". Earlier versions include 2.0 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.0 (Honeycomb), 3.1 and 3.2. The operating system is built on an open standard under the Open Handset Alliance, supported by mobile industry giants like Samsung, HTC, Qualcomm and Intel.
To learn more, check out Wikipedia.
Apps
"Apps" is shortened slang for "applications." Applications are downloadable software from App stores, such as iTunes.
App Store
App stores are where one goes to download for your tablet or smart phone. Most app stores are launched via a button on the operating system of the tablet. The tablet connects wirelessly and the user uses a username and password to download and manage applications for their tablet, including updates. Most app stores work similarly, but can vary in the amount of applications that can be purchased, depending upon which operating system your tablet operates on. The most popular app store is Apples App Store. To find out what apps are available for each operating system you can visit these sites:
Android: Google
iOS: Apple
QNX: Blackberry
WebOS: HP
Windows: Microsoft
Capacity
This is the amount of flash memory storage on your tablet. This is given in GBs. Apps, music, video and documents etc. all take up memory. If you have a large library of music, video and will be downloading lots of apps or using the tablet for documents such as PDFs and other documents, capacity can be very important, particularly if you intend to use your tablet for business or as your primary mobile computing device.
iCloud
This cloud service is a web based storage and synchronization service by Apple. Its primary benefits are that it is affordable, offers significant storage, synchronizes all Apple devices. It offers great peace of mind as it remotely backs up your devices. This innovative service is available on the new iOS5.
To learn more, go here.
iOS
This is Apple's mobile operating system found on the iTouch, iPhone and iPad devices. It has been a major hit with consumers as it is very intuitive, stable (it doesn't crash), fast and has super features built in such as Apple Mail, Safari web browser, App Store, iTunes and more.
Multi touch
A multi-touch tablet operates certain features, like scrolling, pinching or expanding the display. Multi touch features make tablets more user-friendly. Be cautious here, and test your prospective tablet vs. other options, as not all multi touch tablets work the same. Some are quite intuitive, while others require effort for this feature and are less intuitive.
OS
This acronym refers to an operating system. An operating system is the software which makes hardware come to life. The design and usability of an operating system is responsible for ease of operation, speed and performance of the tablet, along with the processor, display and storage capacity.
QNX
This tablet operating system is unique to Blackberry. Blackberry is best known for its business class fan base of smart phone users and has significant deployment in the corporate business mobile phone. It remains to be seen if QNX and the Blackberry tablets will gain mass appeal, including in corporate America.
USB 2.0 - USB
(Universal Serial Bus) is a flat rectangular male/female connection used to transfer data from one computing device to another. USB 2.0 is the second generation of this connection. It transfers data at a speed of 480 Mbps (Mega bits per second.
USB 3.0 - USB
A third-generation USB. It transfers data roughly 10X times faster than USB 2.0 at speeds of around 5 Gbps (Giga bits per second).
WebOS
HP purchased this operating system with the purchase of Palm a little over a year ago. There is limited support for this operating system, including HP's announcement to leave the tablet market earlier this year. It remains to be seen whether or not, this OS will gain support outside HP and as a consequence have long term tech and app support. Buyer should beware.
WiFi
Wireless Fidelity, or WiFi, is a common wireless technology that allows a tablet to surf the net, check email, stream video and accomplish other features like printing wirelessly. Every tablet we have discovered has this feature. Keep in mind, however, range of WiFi can vary. This is the physical distance your tablet can be away from a wireless router or access point. Quality and distance of WiFi connectivity and persistent connection of your tablet could vary, depending on the quality of your tablet's WiFi circuitry.
Windows OS
Microsoft has been in the smart phone market quite some time. Windows OS is Microsoft's mobile operating system. Microsoft is currently in the launch of Windows 8 which is a combination of Windows 7 + a Metro UI (User Interface) designed specifically for tablet and mobile devices.
Here is an article about Windows 8.
