As Android handsets push past the 5.5 - inch mark — for many, eliminating the need for
tablets in smaller form factors — tablets themselves are becoming ever larger.
I want a lighter
tablet in that smaller form factor, or perhaps should just concede it is easier to maneuver a larger tablet that will admittedly be heavier and more costly.
Not exact matches
The analyst believes
tablets are likely to expand their usefulness beyond the living room / bedroom
in the near future, with usage patterns being shaken up by a variety of
factors including enterprise / workplace adoption of
tablets; the diversification of
form factors (such as
smaller tablets and phablets, touchscreen laptops and «netvertibles», hybrid devices and other new
forms); as well as the roll out of 4G cellular services and more cellular data bundles.
Turning to
tablets proper,
smaller and cheaper is the order of the day — with consumers» preference for the 7 - inch
form factor causing continued price decline
in premium
tablets.
But the reason I won't buy the galaxy tab is the
form factor; it's too
small to be called a
tablet, and just big enough to fit
in any jacket pocket.
Lenovo has launched a new Windows 8.1
tablet at CES
in Las Vegas for those who want something akin to the Surface, but
in a
smaller 8.3 - inch
form factor.
There is no doubt that Apple has dominated the
tablet game and with competition creeping
in it seem inevitable that they would turn their attention to the
smaller form factor tablet.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 8.0 has gone on sale
in the UK at the company's own Experience Store
in Westfield Stratford City.The
tablet, which sits between
small form factor devices like the Nexus 7 and larger iPad sized slates, also includes the S Pen found... Read more
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Taiwanese company will release
small Windows 8
tablets this year, keeping
in line with Microsoft's 2013 plans to reduce both the
form factor and price of its devices.
The
tablet, which sits between
small form factor devices like the Nexus 7 and larger iPad sized slates, also includes the S Pen found
in Samsung's Note 10.1 device.
The Xperia Z3
Tablet Compact might utilize a
smaller 8 - inch
form factor than it's 10.1 - inch cousin the Xperia Z2
Tablet, but its no less qualified
in the hardware department.
Samsung now has two
small form factor tablets in its lineup, both packing dual - core processors.
In fact, I am starting this article on my ThinkPad
Tablet, hooked up to a CP Technologies 4 - port USB 2.0 hub, and a
small form -
factor keyboard and Gigaware USB mouse.
Strong sales of 7 - inch slates like Barnes & Noble's NOOK
Tablet, along with waning Apple orders of 9.7 - inch iPad displays, has seen the
smaller form -
factor pull into the lead
in Q4 2011 according to supply chain sources.
It'll be a relatively simple matter of adding layouts — apps will switch to a larger, «optimized» layout when the foldable phones are
in a
tablet form factor, and shrink to fit the phones»
smaller views.
Talking about the
smaller 8 - inch
tablets, the Tab 4 8 Plus offers same high - end specifications of the Tab 4 10 Plus
in a
smaller form factor.
But from an Android perspective, what's most interesting is the stage time given to Google's $ 199 Nexus 7, which has already seen success
in the
small form factor tablet space.
The
smaller sibling to Apple's
tablet hasn't been updated
in two years, and people seemed to like that
form factor — so we won't be entirely surprised to see a new iPad Mini with refreshed hardware.