Their use, however, does require some consideration by HTML authors. The principal issue is backward compatibility with browsers that do not have the capability of rendering tables. For many, this is not possible. Their hardware may restrict them to using an earlier version of a browser that is less resource hungry. Alternatively, they may be using a text only browser, such as Lynx, that does not yet have support for tables.
Tables can appear incomprehensible when rendered by a browser without table support.
Yes Apple Orange Banana Grape will appear as follows when rendered by a browser without table capabilities. The structure of the data, which helps to supply the meaning, disappears. One solution, if you wish to use tables, may be to provide a hypertext link to a version of the table using preformatted text. Those people using a browser that cannot display tables can follow the link to see a version of the information that is comprehensible. The main problem with this solution is that it increases the maintenance requirements of the document containing the table.