Your Guide to the ever-changing and complicated world of tablet PC's

The world of tablet PC’s is getting more and more complex. Everyday some new company is announcing a tablet PC and some Chinese company is making a copy. If you are looking to buy tablet PC there are so many options that it will make your head spin. Nowadays, the big brands are getting in on the act causing a lot more confusion because they are using their own proprietary, closed operating systems like RIM with their Blackberry Playbook.

Overall, it is not your fault that you don’t feel like going through tons of pages on the Internet to discover which tablet PC to buy. There are so many tablet PC’s that are made in China but do not have FCC approval so that even if you buy them online they will get seized by customs when entering the country. Add to that the fact that there are so many shady vendors trying to scam you out of your money online it is justified to feel a bit lost when you decide to buy a tablet PC.

Let’s say you get lucky and somehow end up picking a tablet that has FCC approval and a vendor that isn’t trying to scam you. You get your package in the mail, excited you open it up and start to play with your new gadget. A month in, you get some random screen. A quick search online shows nothing. You curse your fate for picking a tablet PC without a vibrant online community.

The fact is, that tablet PC’s are in their infancy, even if you buy big brand name tablet’s you may not get the kind of support normally found on other devices. This leads to a serious let-down. Instead of depending on the manufacturer it is best to depend on the online community built up of enthusiasts and fly-by-night programmers who know their stuff better than the tech support guys at the manufacturer.

Furthermore, if you pick a tablet with a good support community you will quickly realize the potential of having a open-sourced tablet which will be continually updated and new functionality will be released often. This will make the experience of owning a tablet a never-ending adventure and you will be always discovering new uses for your tablet.

Everything I've said above is from experience. It was early 2010, tablet PC's were not really well-known and there were just rumors of the iPad floating around. I was looking to find a tablet PC that had an open source operating system that I could tweak to make it work as a remote control for WiFi security cameras. Anyway, I had to go through hell to find a decent tablet and then it was nearly impossible to find a legit vendor. Finally, after about a week of research I managed to find both but then the tablet got seized by customs since it did not have FCC approval (how was I supposed to know about that?). Anyway, the market is better now because tablet PC's are more popular but don't think it is safe, it isn't.

What does all that mean? It means you need to pick a tablet that fits your budget, has the hardware capabilities that fit your needs and a tablet that has a strong online community. That is a lot of research and work. Don’t worry, I have found a couple of pages online that provide recommendations based on this criteria. Read on…

Nonetheless, after scouring the web I have come across a couple of sites that truly are exceptional when it comes to their knowledge and links to vendors. If you are looking to buy a tablet PC and are unsure about where to start or know how much you want to spend and want to get the best in your budget or have an idea about what do get but don't know where to buy it go to Buy Tablet PC.

Good luck and have fun with your new gadget.