Hardware manufacturers are finally taking large Android tablets seriously, just in time for the software to complete the picture.

Android tablets have a long and storied history of not being very good. Despite dozens of options available to consumers, the overall experience — by which I mean third-party software, battery life, and hardware quality — has struggled. The combination of race to the bottom pricing and lacking software made the 7-inch tablet significantly more popular, and as a result the larger tablet market slowed for a while.

This year, things are on a noticeable upswing for Android tablets. Several manufacturers have released promising options, software has improved noticeably, and there's a roadmap for the future that makes owning a larger tablet something that makes sense.

Somehow, I had worked my way back around to the netbook and managed to convince myself I was happy with this experience.

In a former life, I was a server admin with a desire for the smallest form factor I could access a Linux terminal from. It's what turned me to Android in the first place, the G1 let me handle problems no matter where I was and that meant I could leave my netbook at home. When Samsung announced the first Galaxy Tab, I jumped on the idea but was quickly disappointed in the overall experience. I wanted something bigger so I could work and play, and I thought Motorola answered that prayer with the Xoom. Finally I had a nice big screen, a decent keyboard, and it was all exactly as portable as I wanted it to be. Somehow, I had worked my way back around to the netbook and managed to convince myself I was happy with this experience. I was even asked to write a book about it.

Source: www.androidcentral.com