What's The Best Tablet PC... And Why Should You Care?

Let me start off by stating the obvious: There is no such thing as the best tablet PC. There's only the best tablet PC for a certain person.

That's something I try to point out to everyone who comes into my store. (I sell computers for a living.) They come in, and ask: What's the best deal? That's not an easy question to answer. It really depends on their needs.

So you should try to figure out your needs. Here are some questions to get you started: Who's going to be using the tablet? Just you or others as well?

What are you going to be doing with it? Will you require a computer with a lot of power? Are you going to be pushing around a lot of data? Maybe editing pictures or something? Or are you going to be filling in forms?

Why are you looking at a tablet? Tablets are nice, but do you really need the tablet functionality? Would you be better off buying a regular laptop? They are cheaper.

I'm sure there are many other questions you can ask yourself. Just dig deep, and really figure out what you want to be able to accomplish with the tablet.

After you've done this, you will have to start making some choices. Start by deciding between a slate tablet and a convertible tablet.

A slate tablet doesn't have a keyboard or pointing device. You only use the pen to interact with the computer. If this is more of a secondary computer, you might want to consider a slate tablet. Ditto if you need something easy to carry around.

A convertible tablet has a keyboard and pointing device. It looks similar to a standard laptop. The screen, though, swivels around and lays flat on the keyboard, so you can cradle it in your arms to use the pen as well.

Go with a convertible if you are looking for something that functions as both a tablet and a regular laptop. This way you get the best of both worlds.

Don't worry about drowning in a sea of jargon when you read the ads. If you don't know what RAM, Core 2 Duo, etc. means, it's not that big of a deal.

Here's a trick I use all the time: Find some programs that will do the tasks you want to do with the tablet. Then go to each program's website and look for the recommended system requirements. They will tell you the recommended bits and bytes that you should have.

Just make sure you buy a little more than you need to run the programs. That way you can multitask.

If you're still confused, there's lots of help on the Internet. Just ask questions on some forums. If you look like you've done your homework, there's always somebody who will help you.

Just make sure to do this homework, or you will buy too much computer or too little. Neither is a good idea.