Understanding Tablets and Smart Phones
While Apple wanted to define the tablet as a separate device from the smart phone, other manufacturers have a different idea.
Take Samsung for example, the Korean phone maker has just announced the Samsung Galaxy Tape, which is packing a huge 7 inch super AMOLED capacitive touch screen and will enable users to make and receive phone calls. It has the best of both devices –a big screen and the ability to make phone calls.
On a side note, for this argument, having a big screen is a definitive factor for what defines a tablet –the Apple iPod Touch is basically a really small iPad, but nobody refers to the device as a tablet, which shows that the general consensus about what determines a tablet also factors in screen size.
With that said, many are wondering, what is the threshold for size?
The most common rule of thumb that people would be willing to accept is that any touch screen device that allows users to make and receive phone calls that fits into a regular pocket is enough to be ruled out of the tablet category. And in that same logic, if the Galaxy Tape is to be the new standard for tablets, then the iPad is lacking features as it fails to allow both voice calls and video chat.
There are however, two types of tablets. The upcoming Android Galaxy Tape tablet and the Apple iPad are basic tablets. There are however, devices that come out before these two which are to be considered as computer or computing tablets (which are basically computers shrunk down into a tablet form). The difference between the two kinds is the purpose; normal tablets are only meant for accessing media, games and the internet. Computer tablets are basically tricked out desktop computers which have very little practical use.
