Under USD 200

Honestly, we’re not kidding. Here’s a bunch of tablets (yes, real tablets), under 200 USD.

1. Coby 4 GB Internet Tablet

At USD 149.99, this Android 2.1 tablet is a real bargain. It offers 4 GB of internal storage (you can upgrade it to 32 GB), 1080p HD TV output and a USB port, full sized. Just don’t expect it to load videos fast or watch HD movies and stuff like that. Available at Best Buy.

2. CherryPad

This 7 incher Android tablet comes to you from CherryPal, and costs around USD 190. The price is a real bargain for the 256 MB RAM, 800MHz processor, 2GB inbuilt flash storage, 800 by 480 resolution screen. There’s also an SD card slot which you can use for 16GB of extra storage. You can’t tell it by the resolution, but you can play 1080p HD video comfortably on this tablet.

3. Velocity Micro Cruz T301

This Android 2.2 Froyo tablet, at USD 199.99 is even more affordable. You still get a full 7-inch display though. There’s no camera, however, and storage capacity is only 1 GB. If you can overlook these aspects, you still get to enjoy all the benefits of a tablet. A fabulous video player, web browser, music device and of course, email.

4. Samsung Galaxy Tab

The pricing for this 7 inch tablet (Verizon) running Android 2.2 starts at USD 199.99. For this price, you get full access to the Android Market application store as well. It’s USD 349.99 for the Wi-Fi only version, and if you take up a two year contract with T-Mobile, you pay USD 249.99. The best deal is if you buy a two year contract from Verizon or Sprint – then you get the tablet at USD 199.99.

Under USD 300

Here are tablets that cost less than USD 300. Check out for bargains on Amazon.com or with different carriers to save more money.

5. Nook Color

At USD 249, this fully functional Android tablet is great if you are a casual tablet user. If you love eBooks and watching pictures, this tablet is the best alternative to an expensive iPad. Look up good deals on Amazon and you can save a bit more.

6. Archos 5 Internet Tablet

Priced at USD 249.99, this tablet has only 16 GB of internal storage. That’s why the price tag is down by more than 100 dollars from the Archos 48 Internet Tablet.

7. Huawei Ideos S7 Tablet

This tablet, priced at USD 299.99 runs Android 2.2 Froyo, has Wi-Fi connectivity, a 2 MegaPixel camera and is only 15.5 millimeter in thickness.

8. Archos 70 Internet Tablet

The 7 inch version of the Archos 101 is priced at USD 299.99, which, you’ll agree, is very reasonable for this size. This tablet also gives you a front-facing camera, runs Android 2.2, has 8 GB internal storage and plays HD videos. Here’s a surprise; if you’re willing to pay another 100 dollars more, you get a huge 250 GB drive! No kidding, really. Want to pack a bunch of movies in this tablet and go on that trip?

Under USD 400

If you have a little more dough, try these tablets out for under USD 400

9. Archos 48 Internet Tablet

This is a tiny, 4 inch tablet that runs an Archos-optimized version of Android. It costs USD 329.99; for this price you get a 500 GB internal storage drive (that’s true value for money).

10. Archos 101 Internet Tablet 16 GB

This tablet is more reasonably priced, at USD 349.99. This is the biggest among all the Archos tablets, though, which means you can get cheaper ones if you buy lower configurations. This Android tablet is one of the first Android tablets on the market. It has a 10.1-inch screen, plays HD video (a definite plus!), a front-facing camera, and 16 GB of internal storage.

11. Dell Streak 7

Though we include this one in our ‘cheap alternatives to iPad list’, this tablet that costs USD 399.99 is still a fabulous buy at that price. Apart from the 7-inch screen, you get a 1.3 MegaPixel front-facing camera and a 5 MegaPixel rear-facing camera for video chat. There’s a fantastic storage of 16 GB, T-Mobile’s 4G, GPS and Android Froyo OS. You can get this tablet for less than 200 USD if you pick up a 2 year contract from T-Mobile.

12. Asus Eee pad Transformer

This 10.1 inch tablet runs Android Honeycomb on a Tegra 2 processor. For these credentials, USD 399.99 seems more than a reasonable price to pay. For this price, you get 16 GB storage, rear and front facing cameras, a microSD card reader and two USB 2.0 ports. Available at Best Buy.

Numerous attempts have been made but none of them manage to challenge the authority of Apple except one – yes, the latest Samsung Galaxy Tab.

At the very first look, you may be deceived by its harmless and sleek appearance but as we all know appearance can be deceptive and this is quite true with Samsung.

Take your time and you will come to term with the fact that Samsung Galaxy is basically or as it appears to be another stretched-out version of its successful predecessor – Galaxy S Android phone but it minus the calling facilities.

However, notwithstanding this shortcoming, which is really short, it has made people at Apple take notice and they have already sprung into actions. Now, before we start fiddling with data, let us explore the similarities and dissimilarities between these two wonder gadgets.

iPad vs Samsung Galaxy Tab

Ask yourself what make iPad so popular among masses. The answer is that it is meant to be popular. It has got bigger and brighter screen, intuitive interface and a large surface area which is best for having great time watching movie or playing games.

Samsung Galaxy tab on the other hand has a smaller screen. But it still scores high in other fronts. Since it is small, it is easier to carry and it weighs less and that means, you can have fun while on the move.

It is more compact and tighter than iPad. So double benefits at your disposal. Galaxy looks sharp and its picture quality is a tad bit better than its arch rival, courtesy its high resolution.

If you are in the habit of looking at the battery level while working or listening your favorite tracks, Samsung galaxy tab is not your thing. Though the company flaunts of offering 13 hours battery backups, independent studies say just the opposite. However, when it comes to battery backup, iPad is not good either but at least; it does not have such pathetic record. So, both the devices need to work hard to show improvement in the battery backup front.

Apple with its 4:3 aspect ratio is definitely not the ideal option to watch widescreen movie. Apple has been lambasted for this for long but it seems it is in no mood to change its stance or aspect ratio any time soon.

However, Samsung is making the most of its small screen. Unlike Apple, which is finding hard to utilize its large screen, Samsung tablet has made a smart move by reducing dead screen to a minimum.

Video conferencing is an area where Samsung tab beats iPad hands down. It has got two different cameras facing you and there is the Qik app to let you explore the amazing world of video communication.

However, iPad has got FaceTime to rival Qik app but the quality is not that impressive.

As like any other Apple products, iPad does not offer any support for flash. Galaxy Tab does not have any such issue but its browsing features are not that smooth.

You get struck while scrolling and the fun of browsing is somewhere goes missing in it. With Apple, you will have not to face these problems.

Pages loads fast in it and there is some kind of smoothness in the overall appearance. So, both the devices have their shares of shortcomings and advantages.

It is really a close call and difficult when it comes to Sumsung galaxy tab vs. ipad and now up to you whom you embrace and accept as your tech partner.

Hope, you will find the perfect match. Keep up posted, we will be more than happy to get your response.

Instructions

1. Amount of Storage

The first parameter to decide upon is the amount of storage space which you will need. What are your usage plans for iPad? Do you want to use it as a digital picture frame and keep a lot of pics of friends and family? Or do you want to keep a lot of games and apps? Or are you a writer and want lots of your articles stuff? All these depend on the type of work you do and thus according to it, you can decide the space.

2. Where will you use it?

The next important thing to think about is where will you use the iPad? If you will be using it at your home or near a Wi-Fi connectivity area, you can go for the basic model that features the built in Wi-Fi connection.

But if you plan to use it in such areas where you do not get the Wi-Fi connectivity, you must go for iPad with built in 3G capabilities. You just pay some small amount and have access to internet with the 3G capability. If you go for an upgraded iPad with additional 3G, you just need to pay about $130 extra to the other model.

3. Price

The price of  iPad is kind of predetermined as per the features you have chosen.

Wi-Fi only 16GB = $499
Wi-Fi only 32GB = $599
Wi-Fi only 64GB = $699
Wi-Fi and 3G 16GB = $629
Wi-Fi and 3G 32GB = $729
Wi-Fi and 3G 64GB = $829

When you move from Wi-Fi only iPad to Wi-Fi with 3G, there is a increase in price of about $129.

So pay attention to all these important factors when you are planning for an iPad!

Gmail on ipad

Gmail being the most popular mail client, is all ready for its debut on Apple iPad. Now checking your gmail in a jiffy on 9.7 inch ipad is now easy. This launch of gmail – ipad version can make you think whether these two giants are still on the cold war!

Basically, gmail’s new interface which is of course two pane is quite attractive. On the left side, the emails are listed and has conversations. And on the right pane the messages are displayed. May be this reminds you of the old version of Microsoft outlook. All the main features of Gmail Web application have been incorporated in this ipad version too.

This is not the final version of gmail for ipad, as google will keep on updating the feature list in future too. This will be done as and when more and more tablets make their way in the market.

The new interface of gamil is available now in US English only. The gmail can always be accessed through native mail application using IMAP also.

On Thursday, iPad released a list of such sites. Instead of linking to these sites Apple decided to put on screen shots using the Safari browser.

Some of the sites that are listed on Apple’s site include:

CNN
Reuters
New York Times
Vimeo
Time
Major League Baseball
The White House
Virgin America
Sports Illustrated
Flickr

Not all the sites are fully complying to standards but Virgin America’s site was the closest and can be viewed best on an iPad.

If you have a site that is complying with standards and want it to be listed there you have a chance. Click here to visit Apple’s list and submit your site by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page to get it listed. Although if you are expecting a link from apple I am afraid you might not actually get it but even a name on apple is good enough.

Apple also provides a list of guidelines and a complete guide of how you can make your sites iPad ready. Click here to visit these guidelines.

iPad all set to be launched on April 3rd. It seems to be great except for a few features which we discussed in our previous posts. One stealth way of using it as a photo frame sounds interesting.

Reading ibooks through iPad looks awesome to me. It comes equipped with a powerful and thankfully, it also supports Google and Wikipedia. The ibook application is free but not preloaded and you have to download it first before using it.

The maps app is again very useful and you can monitor even the traffic conditions through it.

Rest of the things are pretty well said and illustrative in the video.

How consumers are going to take this new device is for us to see in future.

According to CNET, here are the top 5 reasons why you shouldn’t buy an iPad:

1. You cannot capture images and videos as the iPad does not have a camera

2. There is no support for multi-tasking and you can just run one application at a time. So, if you thought you can listen to music while working, it’s not possible.

3. You do not have a replaceable battery.

4. iTunes is must if you want to do anything with your iPad

5. There is no compelling use of it.

Apart from these 5 reasons, what i found apple should include in its next upgrade is the ability to run flash files. It currently doesn’t have a flash player. If you are planning to get one, wait for some time and let the better version come into the market.