Computers
We test 119 laptops, desktops, and netbooks—plus the Apple iPad
This article appeared in 
Photo by Robert Mescavage
The Apple iPad heralds the start of a new era in computers. After years of fits and starts, computer makers are finally poised to deliver highly portable tablet computers that are almost as simple and fun to use as consumer electronics devices such as TVs, portable music players, eBook readers, and video game consoles.
Dell, HP, Samsung, and Sony have responded to the iPad by indicating that they are interested in the tablet market. More brands should follow, with many expected to use Android, an operating system from Google that has as simple a user interface as the iPad's.
The iPad itself isn't the kind of computer you're used to. It won't replace the one on your desk or the one you tote on trips (unless you use your current computer mainly for recreation). Nor will it displace your mobile phone, smart or otherwise, or your portable music player. The iPad and most other tablets we've seen so far are simply too large to take everywhere, and they're not designed for private phone conversations.
What new tablets will do is deliver all manner of media, e-mail, and the Web. The fact that a type of computer so versatile is making its debut now isn't surprising. Portability and wireless Internet have driven computer design for years. First, Wi-Fi-equipped laptops replaced desktops as the dominant type. Then netbooks—smaller, lighter laptops sometimes featuring wireless 3G Internet connectivity—cut into the market for traditional laptops.
Recently, the same trend has transformed mobile phones into miniature computers with touch screen user interfaces that run brand-name software.
A different experience
What's unique about the iPad isn't that it shaves a few ounces or inches from a conventional laptop or that it's shaped somewhat like a thick pad of paper. Other computers have had similar attributes.
What sets the iPad apart is that it delivers a different kind of experience than previous computers. It does that by pairing a user interface that's simpler and more intuitive than that of a conventional personal computer with a multitouch display that can interpret gestures conveyed by fingers.
When we tried the iPad (see First look: The Apple iPad), the greater convenience and enjoyment that such a combination afforded reminded us of how we felt in the 1980s, when computers first moved from a DOS-style command-line-and-keyboard interface to a graphical one that used a mouse.
Assuming that Android-based tablets will closely resemble their smart-phone cousins, such as the Droid and Nexus One, they should deliver a similar experience.
Although the iPad is designed primarily to deliver words, images, and sounds, it does allow routine tasks, such as sending e-mail messages or typing a letter, by featuring computer-like inputs such as an onscreen keyboard. Apple offers a trio of low cost, light-duty iPad software applications for word processing and such.
It's not yet clear whether competing tablets will also be able to run smart-phone-style apps downloaded from a store, such as the Android Market used by Android-based smart phones. But that capability should come soon enough.
Not all new tablets that you'll see later this year will be as simple to operate as an iPad or Android-based tablet. For example, the HP TouchSmart tm2t (a convertible tablet in the laptop Ratings—available to subscribers) runs Windows 7, so using it is more like using a conventional laptop than an iPad.
Tablets won't be for everyone. To access e-mail and the Web anywhere, day or night, nothing beats a smart phone. If you read electronic books but don't need much other content, a dedicated eBook reader may suffice. And for intensive work or complex tasks, a conventional laptop or desktop is still your best choice.
If you're looking for a standard computer, the Ratings (available to subscribers) can help you find the best values. When choosing among the record 119 computers we've tested, you'll find that even as tablets change our notion of what a computer is, other types aren't standing still.
For example, most Windows-based PCs include Windows 7. Among netbooks, a few of which still use Windows XP, we found little performance difference between the two Windows flavors.
Most full-sized laptops feature a multitouch touchpad that can interpret gestures. But we don't think that capability is nearly as compelling on a touchpad as it is on a tablet's touch screen.
Our tests also show that you get less of a performance boost from Intel's new Core i5 processor compared with its sibling, the Core i3, than you get by stepping up to the Core i3 from the older Core 2 Duo. The upshot: Choose a model based on our test results and Recommendations, not just on specs. Here are some ways to narrow the choices.
