A New Standard for Tablet PC Rentals: Android 3.0’s Honeycomb & NVIDIA’s Tegra 2

Hot on the trail of the first tablet PCs, the Apple iPadand the Samsung Galaxy Tab, legions of manufacturers are releasing their own products, eager to capitalize on the booming mobile trend.

And many tablet PCs in this newest wave, such as the Motorola Xoom, feature the winning combination of the much anticipated Google Android 3.0 OS, “Honeycomb” and NVIDIA’s dual-core processor chip, the Tegra 2.

The Xoom was the first tablet to offer both the Honeycomb and Tegra together, but other products are already slated to follow suit. Despite having its own proprietary chip in the works, Samsung has been snapping up the NVIDIA Tegra 2 for its next tablet incarnation, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

But all of this innovation has yielded something of a problem for tablet evolution -- manufacturers have developed “Get-Out-of-The-Gate-First” syndrome. Essentially, they are releasing products before they’re really ready.

The Apple iPad can be blamed for the rush for timely release, as it was the first tablet PC out of the gate (and it still dominates a lion’s share of this desirable market).

The Motorola Xoom is the first major casualty of this affliction, as a less-than-stellar review on PC Magazinerevealed. The tablet PC came under criticism for promising too many unfinished features. The Xoom was lacking “…support for Adobe Flash, which is promised to arrive shortly.” And also, the Xoom had a “microSD card slot that doesn't work yet.”

The other drawbacks that PC Magazine touched upon were the too-large charger; the lack of current hardware options; the confusing, non-intuitive layout; and the phones predilection for the “mobile” versions of many websites.

But one of the largest problems was the Xoom’s infrastructure when it comes to apps. Besides a lack of Flash compatibility, there simply aren’t a lot of tablet apps out on the market. And those apps that are available, apparently weren’t displaying properly on the Motorola Xoom.

The Xoom deserves some leniency for being the first tablet PC to combine the Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS and the NVIDIA Tegra 2; a stellar union that we can expect future devices to adapt.

But one bad egg shouldn’t ruin the carton. Other tablet devices are going to carry the same winning combination of the Android Honeycomb OS and the NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. And those that don’t will likely rely on Windows 7 and Intel’s Atom.

For those steering away from tablets that aren't iPads, do not worry -- the apps are coming, oh yes they are, thanks to Adobe’s Burrito Flash Builder, which has an emphasis on development for mobile apps.

And Vernon Computer Source is here, waiting, with open arms. We carry the latest tablet PCs for business rental usage – come visit us for a hassle-free FlexQuote.