If you can afford just one portable gadget, is Apple’s tablet computer ideal? Depending on the tasks, you may want a netbook, laptop, or e-reader.
Consumer Reports recently compared the iPad, Apple’s tablet computer, with other portable devices. The specs and judgments shown here are for a typical model of each that’s closest in screen size to the iPad.
IPAD
Overview: The best combination of versatility and portability. Great navigation, thanks to its touchscreen. Video viewing is hampered because it’s not compatible with Flash, and there is no USB port or memory-card reader.Ratings: The iPad scored excellent for reading periodicals and Web surfing and very good for portability, e-mail, reading documents and e-books, and viewing photos and videos. Its weakest area was writing and editing documents, for which it was rated fair.
Price: $500 +
Specifications: Battery life of one or two days, 9.7-inch touchscreen, 16GB+ of storage, free Wi-Fi, 3G paid wireless.
NETBOOK
Overview: A less-powerful laptop with a smaller screen and keyboard and processing that can’t handle cutting-edge games. Battery life is often better than a laptop’s, though, and the price is much lower.Ratings: The netbook was rated excellent for reading documents and e-mail and very good for Web surfing, viewing photos and videos, writing and editing documents, and typing.
Price: $300
Weight: 2.9 pounds
Specifications: Battery life of one day, 10-inch screen, 160GB of storage, free Wi-Fi, 3G/4G paid wireless.
E-BOOK READER
Overview: Best for book reading. The Kindle DX rivals the iPad or a netbook in screen size, and its type is easier to read. But its monochrome screen and limited Web browser limit its versatility.Ratings: Consumer Reports rated e-book readers excellent for reading e-books but fair for reading documents and periodicals. E-mail, viewing videos, and writing and editing documents are not possible on ebook readers.
Price: $380
Weight: 1.2 pounds
Specifications: Battery life of one week, 9.7-inch screen, 4GB of storage, 3G free wireless.
LAPTOP
Overview: Most powerful but least portable. Full-size physical keyboard and huge storage are ideal for work-oriented tasks, such as e-mail and working with Office documents. It also handles powerful games.Ratings: Consumer Reports rated the laptop excellent in several areas: reading documents, e-mail, viewing videos, writing and editing documents, and typing. The laptop was rated fair in portability and reading e-books.
Price: $700
Weight: 4.5 pounds
Specifications: Battery life of one day, 13-inch screen, 500GB of storage, free Wi-Fi, 3G/4G paid wireless.