Google Nexus 7
Price: From $ 249.5
Others have had 18 months to make a tablet
success of Android, and they haven’t come close to Apple. So it’s time for The
Big G itself to have a go, with a little hardware help from Asus. For its
price, the Nexus 7 is unrivalled in specs and speed, but a 7in screen makes it
more of a Kindle Fire rival than an iPad-beater, good for Apple and Google; not
so good for Amazon.
Pros:
Ludicrously cheap; runs Android Jelly Bean; quad-core screen
Cons: Small
display; no 3G option; no SD expansion slot
Google
Nexus 7
Android Beam: there aren’t many tablets out there with NFC capabilities. On top
of contactless payments, you’ll also get contactless contacts (and more) thanks
to Android Beam, which will whip info between devices at a tap.
Apple iPad
Price: From $ 624
Try as they might, no-one’s managed to
assault Apple’s carefully defended position as the tablet maker of choice. A
combination of great price, near flawless performance, unbelievably crisp
screen and a critical mass of apps keeps the iPad ahead. Its rivals may beat it
in one area or another, but none has yet delivered the whole anti-Apple
package. Keep trying, lads.
Pros: Long
battery life; value for money; Retina screen; apps
Cons:
Heavy-handed software restrictions; expensive accessories
Apple
iPad
A5X Processor: On paper the iPad’s dual-core CPU is a laggard compared to the
Tegra 3 chip some Android tabs run, but it’s the A5x’s extra memory read-write
speed that keeps graphics smoother and performance feeling faster.
Microsoft surface
MS has never made its own computers before,
so Surface is a gamble. But it’s looking good – this 10.6in slate runs Windows
RT, a streamlined version of Win 8 designed for tablets (Surface Pro runs the
full thing, but is thicker and heavier), and initial reports suggest excellent
build quality with a 3mm-thick touch-sensitive keyboard cover. Your Win 7 apps
won’t work on it, mind you
Pros:
Keyboard Touch Cover; Nvidia Tegra processor; first-party Microsoft support
Cons: No UK
release info yet; Won’t run any legacy Windows apps
Microsoft
surface
Sensor Fusion: Without desktop apps it’s easy to write off Surface RT as a bit ‘me
too’. But it does some things well, such as ‘sensor fusion’ – which integrates
feedback from accelerometers and gyros for unrivalled spatial awareness.
