I wanted to share my experiences in selecting a tablet with the myriad options available in the market today...One new tablet seems to roll out in the market every day!

Well, first of all, I had some specific requirements on my tablet purchase.

• Only Android - no iOS/Apple for me, though I am a big fan of (the late) Steve Jobs

• I obviously wanted to buy a tablet at the cheapest price (who wouldn't ?)

  • Prices in US are much much cheaper than in India. My budget was Rs 15000 or whereabouts

  • Tablet options available in the US are often not even available in India

  • I wanted to use the tablet in India...not in the US - International warranty would be much desired

• Before I go any further, the MOST important criteria for narrowing down on a tablet is the USAGE MODEL

  • What do you want to use a tablet for ? Serious business use, gaming, reading books, casual browsing, social networking etc

  • Whether a tablet is the best choice, depends a whole lot on the purpose

  • In my case, I was clear that I wanted a tablet primarily for reading books, music, videos and browsing...and for all my typical personal activities such as expense tracking, finance management etc

• Here are other requirements I had for my Tablet

  • WIFI mandatory, 3G optional (unlocked)

  • Min 16GB internal storage, Extendable by MicroSD card

  • Min 7" display

  • Stock Android preferred...Customized Android prevents access to the whole wide world of Android apps...

  • Apps choices - eBook readers must

  • Processor - Min 1GHz (Needed for decent videos)

  • RAM - Min 1GB

  • Flash Support - Yes

  • Front/Rear Camera + Video chat - Yes

  • GPS - Yes

  • Music/Audio - Yes (Good quality)

  • Video - Yes (HD quality)

  • USB ports for plugging in external storage - Yes

  • HDMI out - Yes

  • Bluetooth - Yes

  • Android Honeycomb preferred...Gingerbread also ok if all other specs meet my requirement

  • Lightweight preferred but not a mandatory criteria...I could live with anything lighter than my heavy laptop weighing over 1.5 kgs!

Evaluation Methodology:

1. Obviously, a lot of web research on product reviews

• Amazon.com, CNET reviews, Engadget, Gizmodo, Technoholik, PCWorld

1. Where available, trying out the tablets at a local store in Bangalore

2. Company websites for detailed specs

3. Compare prices

After extensive research, I excluded some well-known tablets for the following reasons (Apple iPad excluded because of non-Android!)

• Samsung Galaxy Tab versions - No extensible storage through SD cards, no USB ports, expensive

• Amazon Kindle Fire - Too little local storage, too much dependent on the Cloud (doesn't work as well in India), no ports

• Barnes and Noble Nook tablet and Nook Color - This nearly won my money but for the following - Very limited apps, Nook reader app doesn't work in India

• Cheaper tablets rolling out in India (HCL, Reliance, Beetel etc) - Didn't find them sturdy, poor audio/video quality

• Motorola Xoom - Too expensive

I now narrowed down to the following 3 tablets:

1. Asus Eepad Transformer

2. Toshiba Thrive

3. Lenovo Ideapad A1

Around ThanksGiving, I started searching for best deals on the internet...Now it was time to exclude and narrow down to the Winner...

1. Asus Eepad Transformer - Though it was touted as one of the best innovative tablets, I found that adding the cost of the docking station increases the price by $150. I also found from multiple online product reviews that the audio quality is about average and video playback is quite poor. And I didn't need the keyboard with docking station for the kind of usage I expect of a tablet - Ruled out

2. Lenovo Ideapad A1 - Looked pretty good for the price point of $250. However, it had only 512MB RAM, single core processor, poor cameras and most importantly was on Android Gingerbread...no plans to support Honeycomb - Ruled out

3. Leaving the winner as TOSHIBA THRIVE - I am yet to try my hands on the Toshiba (still at my friend's place in the US). Toshiba seems to be the best value for my money...excellent cameras, robust build albeit heavier than the entire lot of tablets by a few grams, very good audio quality, HD video quality, dual core processors, FULL SIZE USB/HDMI ports, 16GB internal memory expandable by SD card, 10.1" screen, replaceable battery AND Android Honeycomb. Check out the Toshiba Thrive specs at http://us.toshiba.com/tablets/thrive/10-inch

I got a very good deal at http://www.buydig.com/ for $309 with shipping. That was well within my budget...My friend tells me this tablet rocks...Hope I have a lot of fun when I lay my hands on my Toshiba Thrive...

Update: April 2012

After I've played with my Toshiba Thrive for a few months now, I'm really impressed with this tablet. The speed and display of this tablet really rocks...It has impressed quite a few friends and relatives who have seen this now. Android is of course great...lots of free apps and lots of worthy apps for a very small price...I also got myself a Toshiba Thrive leather portfolio case by SHEATH from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LTOLC8/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00)

The only thing I complain about this tablet is that sound from the speakers are quite feeble. The headphone volume is great but it would've been nice if the speaker volume was louder.

I've also rooted my Thrive, have my backups running with MyBackup Pro, got a lot of root apps installed and have even tried unsuccessfully to use my Tata Photon Plus USB dongle to connect to the internet. But I found a way to get to the internet without WIFI. All I do is to get my Samsung Galaxy phone subscribed to any 3G plan, activate my WIFI tethering and now my Thrive is able to see my mobile 3G connection as a WIFI tether. Yohooo...

As I speak, I have already seen three new low cost Android tablets being launched in India...Waiting to play with those myself before deciding to buy one of them for my parents. There's Fun Book by Micromax, Daksha by Telmoco and Ubislate 7+ by DataWind. Times are a changing!!!

Jagan