WHICH TABLET IS BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

With so many tablets on the market it can be hard to choose one. We take a look at how to determine which one will help your business the most.

Everyone wants a tablet.

In 2013, according to the International Data Corporation, the tablet market is expected to grow to 165.9 million units, up from 117.1 million in 2012.

But how do you choose the right tablet for your business? It depends, says Ramon Ray, editor of SmallBusinessTechnology.com.

"Don’t just say, ‘let me get the iPad because it’s cool, or let me get the Windows [Microsoft Surface] because it’s cool, or Android because I like Google," he says. Instead, consider how you’ll use a tablet in your business, making a list of the features you want, and then compare that list with the features each tablet offers.

Before discussing the pros and cons of each tablet, take note: Consider what kind of platform your current technology already is running, and try to stick with compatible tablets, Ray says.

For example, if your employees have iPhones it could create a technological road bump to furnish them with tablets operating on Android.

1. The iPad with iOS: sleek tablet with a lot of apps

For now, the iPad dominates the tablet market, owned by 60% of tablet users in 2012. Its popularity is boosted by more than 700,000 apps that can help you do everything from navigate to your next business meeting to track your expense reports.

"It clearly has the most apps," Ray says. And it’s a sleek, well designed machine, too, he says. "Apple wins points with the design, the usability. Apple is known for being really simple to use."

Options for the iPad span from $329 to $829, depending on storage, features and whether your can add a data plan.

2. Android Tablets: economical tablet that works well with Google Apps and Android powered phones new product

When it comes to Android powered tablets, their biggest difference with the iPad is cost, Ray says. If you’re looking for an economical solution, an Android, which includes models made by brands ranging from Asus to Samsung, could be best for you. A Google Nexus 7 with 16 gigabytes of store, for example, starts at $199 whereas a 16 gigabyte iPad Mini will set you back $329.

Also, if you use applications such as Google Drive or Gmail an Android tablet could be a good decision. "Everything Google builds is going to work seamlessly on that tablet," he says.

And the platform is growing: Androids are expected to have about 30% of the tablet market in 2016, compared with Apple’s projected 11%, according to IDC.

3. Microsoft Surface/Windows Tablet: new product, trusted brand

Microsoft Surface is a brand new interface, and it’s aimed, in part, at attracting business owners who have trusted Microsoft applications, Powerpoint, Word, Excel, to run their businesses for years. And it boasts security, too: "For those companies that are looking to have enterprise, control of the device is where Microsoft shines," Ray says.

Drawbacks include a less expansive app ecosystem, Rays says. But according to IDC, Window tablets are expect to grow in market share from one percent in 2011 to 11% by 2016 meaning more apps could be around the corner.

Surface has models from $499 to $899.

4. Amazon Kindle Fire: solid multimedia, email and document capabilities

Amazon Kindles are known as great e-book readers, but the Kindle Fire models are the most advanced Kindle products offering features such as e-mail and calendar capabilities and support for several document formats for attachments. It’s ideal for businesses that need to review documents and check email, but those looking for more robust productivity tools may want to consider other tablets. Some users complain about the limited selection of apps available.

The Kindle Fire models range from $159 to $499.

3 WAYS TO CUT BUSINESS COSTS WITH THE IPAD

Tablets aren’t just for fun. We take a look at businesses that are cutting costs with these popular devices.

While many entrepreneurs see tablets as a toy, devices such as the iPad and Android tablets can save you time and money by streamlining your business processes, connecting you with customers and helping you stay organized.

With nearly 30 percent of small businesses using tablets, their popularity among entrepreneurs is increasing, according to The Small Business Authority.

We talked to three small businesses that are saving money by using tablets in their operations.

1. Savings and Records:

You can save costs on paper and printing by moving customers’ records to a tablet.

James Everman, general manager of Champion, a heating ventilation air conditioning company in San Antonio, Texas, says he dramatically decreased office expenses by moving the records for his business from paper to his iPad. “We’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars and cut office consumption of paper almost 90 percent,” Everman says.

The camera on the iPad also provides a detailed account of damage and repairs to customers’ equipment. Everman’s technicians take photos and attach them to a file that the customer can access online. When the next technician comes to the repair site they have all the customers’ history on their tablet.

2. Efficiency:

The iPad’s file sharing ability through programs such as Dropbox increase the efficiency of your business.

Cameron Keng, co-founder of TaxCast, an accounting firm in New York City, says when he’s dealing with numbers or complicated business structures the tablet is a major asset. Applications such as Dropbox allow you to share documents with multiple users which diminishes the cost and frustration of updating each file manually or printing out multiple copies.

“The iPad is nice because, if something changes, its unnecessary for us to constantly correspond with each other back and forth. We just change it once and the document syncs throughout the whole system,” Keng says.

3. Presentations:

If you can’t bring your work with you to sales calls or presentations, showing it on a tablet rather than on paper can help you save costs on printing and help you increase sales.

Leslie Hart-Davidson, who owns Hart-Davidson Designs, an interior design business in Williamston, Mich., says she saves about $50 to $100 a month using tablets in presentations to potential customers. “Instead of printing very glossy, expensive packets for clients, we instead put the entire presentation on the iPad,” she says. Hart-Davidson uses the Scribble app to import pictures of the room with detailed dimensions, and draw on top of them.

Clients can zoom and change the angle of the display so the tablet provides greater detail than a print brochure. “They love it. It makes it so much easier for them to remember the detail of a presentation when they can zoom and play with the product on the iPad,” Hart-Davidson says. Her company gained new customers as a result, she adds.

© 2013 TLC Magazine Online, Inc.