Tablet Q&A

I have received a couple of questions pertaining to tablets.  So I figured there has to be more than one or two people out there who are curious, so here we go.

1- Can you replace the hard drive in a tablet?
A- Currently and officially, no.  With that being said, I know there are sites out there that do offer some maintenance on tablets and similar devices (like iPod Touches and iPhones).  So chances are you MAY be able to find someone who could do the work, but be forewarned chances are good it will void any kind of waranty or coverage you may have on your device.  Most tablets offer a slot for a MicroSD Card to enhance the amount of storage on your device which is the method of "upgrading storage capacity" for most tablet devices.

2- Can you replace the battery in most tablets?
A- Currently, not in most of the tablets available on the market.  Toshiba recently released the Thrive Tablet line which does feature a User Replaceable battery.  Which in my opinion is an extremely nice feature.  But as far as I am aware, that is the first tablet to offer this feature.  In the past Apple has been known to be able to service iPod's and iPod Touches when it comes to battery replacements, so I am assuming they will offer a similar service for the iPad.  However, they usually charge a handsome sum for this service.

3- Can you print from a tablet?
A- Natively, nope.  However there are apps available both in Apple's App Store and the Android Market that allow printing through a wifi connection to either a printer with Wifi capabilities or through a computer with a shared printer.  One thing I like to do is use DropBox to sync important documents with my PC for printing later.  Or you can even use Google Docs and print from a PC when you get near one.

Now I know out of these three key questions the answer for all 3 happened to be NO.  So what is a tablet good for?  Tablets are designed for computing on the go.  Even more so than a laptop.  Surfing the web, media playback (movies and music), email access, communication, etc.  If you're looking for the ability to replace a failed hard drive, swap battery packs out on the fly, or the stipulation of having the option to print to a local USB based printer, than perhaps a laptop is better suited for your needs.

If you're looking to play games on the go, watch a tv show while sitting in an airport, read a book at lunch, and check your stocks all from the same device.  Than a tablet may be right down you're alley.