Be Curious. Look Inside™

Not All Tablets Are Created Equal

By Naveed Siraj

I was told as a child that it’s what’s on the inside that counts and makes us who we are. This has resonated with me ever since, which is why I’m passionate about my work at Intel and helping people to understand this when they’re choosing a tablet device for the first time.

So what makes up the inside? We all know that atoms are the basic building blocks of life that make up everything we know. They are the food we nourish ourselves with, the water that keeps us hydrated, the bed we sleep in and the technology we use each day. 

Increasingly however, we are asking important questions about what makes up the things we consume. From fair trade or ‘green’ products, to the amount of hidden sugar in supposedly healthy foods, technology devices are no different as they become central to our lives.  So central in fact that tablet ownership has risen across countries in Asia over the past year.Research from Intel supports this, projecting a compound annual growth rate of 38 per cent (2013 – 2017) in the tablet market.As our demands in life increase and preferences change, we want to know that what is inside our devices can help us to keep pace with these needs. 

Variety is the spice of life – The many uses for tablets

Often thought of as simply an entertainment device, tablets are being used in a multitude of ways. For example, a study found that Asia-Pacific consumers are using tablets to search for deals and make price comparisons. In a typical three-month period, nearly 80 per cent of the Asian shoppers surveyed, used a tablet to make a purchase. Not only this but, according to Forrester, a fifth of the world’s tablets will be owned by businesses by 2017, especially as the bring-your-own-device trend prevails. 

As the uses for tablets evolve, so too does the demand for varying levels of tablet performance, making it important to understand that different components inside a tablet will deliver different performance. Not all tablets perform equally, so look at the ‘ingredients’ of a device and choose one that best suits your needs.

What’s inside – The tablet ‘ingredients’

The processor is the ‘brains’ that powers the devices we use in our lives. It provides the performance you need to run multiple applications at once and deliver great experiences – be it surfing the Internet, looking at pictures of friends and family or when watching videos or playing games. It is the very heart of the device; it’s the ‘atom’ that makes up its very being. 

When you’re choosing a device for the first time, while you consider what’s on the outside, pay just as much attention to what is on the inside to meet your everyday needs.

But how do you work out what you need your device to do? At Intel we believe there are five ingredients you should consider:

• A powerful processor, which demands less power, enabling the device to be thinner, sleeker and last longer.

• Outstanding battery life that can provide you with more than 10 hours active battery life and three weeks of standby. You don’t have to worry if you accidentally leave your charger at home for the day.

• If you’re an avid gamer or simply appreciate good graphics, you’ll want superior graphics performance to give you a smooth and immersive gaming or vivid movie-watching experience.

• If you shop online or use Facebook you’ll want a digital life protection feature that keeps your online identity private, protects you from phishing attacks and keeps your data secure.

We understand that everyone’s palate is different, which is why there are so many devices that cater to these differing tastes, and that come in different shapes and sizes, speeds and weights. Some are super thin and sleek, while others are more robust for playful students. However, no matter what they look like on the outside, they all are made up of the same powerful ‘atom’ on the inside– it is the processor that counts. 

I put this challenge to you. Next time you’re looking to buy a new tablet device -ask the question, ‘What’s inside?’

The author Naveed Siraj is Country Manager, Intel Pakistan