You want a
tablet, so what's a good choice? Whether you want to spend a lot or a little,
we have some ideas that can help you choose
It should
be clear to you by now that tablet computing was never the fad that some people
believed it was. Not only are they fast becoming a must-have accessory for
people in all walks of life, they're even shaping the next generation of
operating systems. While they aren't a magic bullet computing solution, you can
argue that they're particularly useful for students. They're cheap, wireless
and powerful. More versatile than a smartphone, more portable than a laptop.
And, of course, you can play games on them (between lectures and lessons, naturally).
There's a
huge variety of tablets on the market right now, each of which has their own
advantages, disadvantages, quirks and extras. Deciding which one is right for
you is a choice that takes in multiple factors: how good is the tablet's
support? What is its lifespan like? How well does it perform? Of course, like
anything, the real practical limitations all boil down to one question: how
much are you really willing to pay for what you want?
In this
guide, we've separated out the most popular tablets into three categories:
budget, mid-range and high-end, and we'll guide you around the available
options at each of those price levels in the hope that it'll aid your decision
making before term starts.
Budget Tablets
It wasn't
so long ago that tablets were too expensive for all but the most dedicated
early adopter. Now you can pick one up for prices you'd describe as almost
reasonable. Budget tablets rarely have a full set of perks, but some of them
are surprisingly capable, and there's a logic to keeping portable, easily
stolen devices towards the cheaper end of the spectrum...
Google Nexus 7 - $254.4 - $318.4
The only
tablet device in this feature that runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), the recently
released Nexus 7 runs on a 1,2GHz Tegra 3, has 1 GB of RAM and a fairly modest
amount of storage (either 8GB of 16GB). The 7" screen has a resolution of
1280x800, and there's a single front-facing camera. All things considered, it's
quite clearly one of the best cheap tablets available at any price.
Apart from
the pleasingly low cost, one benefit is the likelihood that it'll enjoy a
fairly long lifespan. Although the hardware isn't fantastic, in software terms
it's as cutting-edge as tablets get, so you should be able to comfortably
squeeze a year or two's use out of it before the time to upgrade rolls around.
Google has ensured the price remains low by dispensing with unnecessary tablet
features, such as rear cameras and extra storage, rather than by cutting
corners on the essentials. We can't recommend the 8GB, because that really
isn't enough capacity to use comfortably, but the 16GB dutifully meets minimum
tablet requirements. Presumably, Google hopes that you'll augment the device by
using its cloud services instead. Even so, an SD slot would have really made
this a must-buy, though. As it is, it's good enough to make almost any other
choice of seven-incher seem pointless.
Motorola Xoom 2 - $448
The
original Xoom was a big hit for Android and was the first device to run
Honeycomb. Its successor, the Xoom 2, courts far less fanfare. It was supposed
to get Ice Cream Sandwich early on in the OS's lifes, but the latest news
suggests that the update won't actually arrive until Q3 this year. Although the
Xoom 2 is still in the running technically speaking (1,2GHz Tegra, 1 GB RAM,
1200x800 resolution), it's hard to recommend an Android 3.2 tablet when devices
are starting to move onto Android 4.1. Still, if you're primarily after a cheap
10" tablet, you should be able to pick it up even cheaper than the price
we've listed here if you shop around. Although 16GB of storage is adequate,
it's still a point of contention that Motorola removed the SD card slot found
on the earlier model Xooms. Of course, it shouldn't be long before there's a
new Xoom tablet due, so buy with caution - the price could drop even further
before long.
Acer Iconia Tab A200 - $479.98
One of the
cheapest 10" devices available, the Acer Iconia Tab A200 has a 1280x800
pixel display, which is the same resolution as the Nexus 7, but because it's a
bigger device, the screen actually looks a little worse. The device's internals
are fairly modest, and not that different to the much older A100 - a 1 GHz
Tegra 2 with 8GB of storage and a 2MP front camera.
Acer tends
to modify Android installations extensively, so don't expect a bare-bones
version of the OS. The lack of storage is a problem and the battery life is
also poor, so even though the inclusion of micro-USB, micro-HDMI and micro-SD
ports mitigates some of the device's shortcomings, it doesn't quite do enough
to convince you it's worth dropping £300 on - especially in a world where the
Nexus 7 exists. Ultimately, its only real place in the market is for those who
want a 10" device but don't want to spend more than £300, but then isn't
that what the Xoom 2 is for?
