Back to school promotions can rush you into buying new technology you may not actually need.
In today’s GlobalTV Sunday Morning News Tech Talk segment I talked about the newest smallest 7-inch Tablets. Are they good enough for back to school?
Here some points to consider.
Although these newest tablets running on Android have a cool factour rivalling iPads and iPad minis, neither are considered “work” devices. Unless your class is one of those few that will run on specific class environments designed for Apple’s iPads with convenient school eBooks or Samsung’s fledging Samsung School featuring onscreen teacher supervised class with the Galaxy 10” Note or 10” Tab3, these devices are better suited for support, not for everyday school workloads.
Be realistic. K12 School, especially later grades, is no different than a real time job.
It’s best to check with the school on what devices are required for class. Schools for example, that run Google Apps for Education, require any classroom device that has Internet connectivity.
Tablets are awkward for real work and have added costs for optional quality wireless keyboards and have impractical multitasking abilities compared to laptops.
Still, new inexpensive smaller easy-to-carry Android tablets for less than $200 won’t take a big bite out of your budget and are fun to have around wherever you are.
Here are some new 7” models that have crossed my workbench recently that could be used as a supplemental tool in the classroom. They are small and easy to hold with one hand and will find more pockets to fit in.
-ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7, $160 (Best Buy, Future Shop, Staples) is snappy with a Quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM and comes with a 1280 x 800 screen looks plenty sharp wide angle view IPS 7” screen. It has descent stereo speakers, 1.2-megapixel front-facing HD camera & rear 5-megapixel camera and enough battery power for 10 hours of 720p video playback for…after school homework. The internal 16GB of storage can be supplemented by an external MicroSD card slot for additional memory. I personally like the slightly rear racing sleep-on-off and volume buttons that don’t get pressed accidentally as often. The MeMo has the best quality hardware in this group and latest Android 4.2.1.
-HP Slate 7, $149.99 has the best sound quality from this bunch, but is heaviest with solid construction and a slightly older Android 4.1 OS. But it is pre-loaded with additional HP apps, especially the ePrint that let’s you access your HP ePrint printer from anywhere. It has the nicest matte rear finish for holding and features and external MicroSD slot. The screen is one notch less sharp at 1024 x 600 and only 8GB internal memory but the micro USB connectivity is a plus.
-Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 3 7” $199, has the richest quality feel and craftsmanship. Like the Slate 7 it has the lower 1024 x 600 screen resolution, Android 4.1, lower rear 3 MP and 1.3 MP front cameras. The most expensive of the lot, but it is the thinnest and lightest design and offers the best “outside Play Store” Samsung app collection.
For the biggest bang for your dollar, I would go with the ASUS MeMO, for the sharper screen, more memory and better quality rear cameras.
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