Apple iPad 3
With its Retina Display, 1080p video and quad-core graphics, the new iPad – or iPad 3, whatever you want to call it – is without a doubt the best tablet you can buy. Apple's new iPad is set to take your tablet experience to a whole new level. Coupled with a 5MP camera, 1080p video and 4G connectivity, but with the very same price as the iPad 2, is the so-called Retina Display enough to keep Apple ahead of the baying Android pack?
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
The Prime is a truly gorgeous piece of kit. In pure tablet form it’s thinner and better built than any other Android out there, with a smart metal back adding to the premium feel. The crowning glory, though, is the stunning 1280x800 screen: clear, bright and entirely free from viewing-angle black spots.
Unlike its predecessor, the Prime is only available in a bundle with the keyboard dock. In our book, that’s a good thing: its second battery will give you an extra 6hrs of juice, its USB port will welcome input from mice and Xbox or PS3 controllers and with the two sections hinged neatly together you’ve got a netbook killer.
Considering how gorgeous and next-gen the Prime is, it’s a shame it doesn’t come withAndroid 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich pre-installed. Still, an upgrade is promised on a yet-to-be-decided date, and Asus has avoided clogging the OS with unneccesary bloatware of its own.
With its Retina Display, 1080p video and quad-core graphics, the new iPad – or iPad 3, whatever you want to call it – is without a doubt the best tablet you can buy. Apple's new iPad is set to take your tablet experience to a whole new level. Coupled with a 5MP camera, 1080p video and 4G connectivity, but with the very same price as the iPad 2, is the so-called Retina Display enough to keep Apple ahead of the baying Android pack?
Apple calls the 2048x1536 IPS LCD a 'Retina Display', because it claims you can’t make out individual pixels (packed in at 264ppi) when viewing it at a normal usage distance. Even when you hold the iPad up to your nose, you’ll only see the merest hint of pixellation on the edges of graphics.
Shock, horror: the new iPad looks the same as the iPad 2! But it’s worse than that – it’s bigger and heavier, like an iPad 2 with a hint of middle-age spread. The aluminium and glass finishing, down to the hair’s-breadth holes drilled for its (actually pretty good) internal speaker, is faultless. All in all, hardly a catastrophe.
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3G: Yes Battery life: 10 hrs Bluetooth: 4.0 Camera: 5MP front, VGA rear Dimensions: 7.31in x 9.5in Operating system: iOS 5.1 Processor: A5X dual-core RAM: 1GB Screen resolution: 2048x1536 (264ppi) Screen size: 9.7in Storage: 64GB Weight: 652g Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n |
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
The Prime is a truly gorgeous piece of kit. In pure tablet form it’s thinner and better built than any other Android out there, with a smart metal back adding to the premium feel. The crowning glory, though, is the stunning 1280x800 screen: clear, bright and entirely free from viewing-angle black spots.
Unlike its predecessor, the Prime is only available in a bundle with the keyboard dock. In our book, that’s a good thing: its second battery will give you an extra 6hrs of juice, its USB port will welcome input from mice and Xbox or PS3 controllers and with the two sections hinged neatly together you’ve got a netbook killer.
Considering how gorgeous and next-gen the Prime is, it’s a shame it doesn’t come withAndroid 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich pre-installed. Still, an upgrade is promised on a yet-to-be-decided date, and Asus has avoided clogging the OS with unneccesary bloatware of its own.
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Battery life: 18hrs Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1+EDR Camera: 1.2MP front, 8MP rear Dimensions: 263x18x181mm HDMI: microHDMI Memory card slots: SD, microSD Operating system: Android 3.2 Honeycomb Processor: Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad Core 1.3GHz Screen resolution: 1280x800 Screen size: 10.1in Storage: 32GB (64GB option) USB 2.0: 1 x USB 2.0 Weight: 1.1kg Wi-Fi: b/g/n |
Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition
Motorola’s 8.2in tablet is up with the best when it comes to design. It’s wafer thin, has a sturdy aluminium back and it’s hard not to like those cut-off corners. The excellent screen benefits from IPS tech for wider viewing angles and the tablet feels snappy and responsive.
The Xoom 2 Media Edition's OMAP 4 processor is one of the fastest around, but many 3D games are optimised for Nvidia's rival Tegra 2 chip instead. So even though most Tegra tablets clock in slower, some games (such as GTA III) won't even install while others (such as Shadowgun) run fine.
The Xoom 2 Media Edition’s 8.2in screen makes it the perfect compromise between the desktop space of a 10in tablet and the convenience of a smaller tab.
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Bluetooth: Yes Dimensions: 216x140x9mm Operating system: Android 3.2 Honeycomb Screen resolution: 1280x800 Screen size: 8.2in Storage: 16GB Weight: 388g Wi-Fi: Yes |
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
The Tab 10.1 is 2% thinner than an iPad 2, 8% lighter and yet squeezes 25% more pixels on its luscious widescreen display. However, our tests show that it’s also 11% more juddery when scrolling graphics and has a sluggish on-screen keyboard that is 92% more annoying than Apple’s.
Honeycomb 3.1 adds USB support for MP3 players and digital cameras, so it’s a shame that Samsung opted for only an Apple-esque, minimalist headphone jack and custom 30-pin docking connector – no USB, no HDMI. Sound quality from the stereo speakers isn’t too bad and the 3MP/720p camera shoots fine (when it’s not crashing).
Sony Tablet S
The Tab 10.1 is 2% thinner than an iPad 2, 8% lighter and yet squeezes 25% more pixels on its luscious widescreen display. However, our tests show that it’s also 11% more juddery when scrolling graphics and has a sluggish on-screen keyboard that is 92% more annoying than Apple’s.
Honeycomb 3.1 adds USB support for MP3 players and digital cameras, so it’s a shame that Samsung opted for only an Apple-esque, minimalist headphone jack and custom 30-pin docking connector – no USB, no HDMI. Sound quality from the stereo speakers isn’t too bad and the 3MP/720p camera shoots fine (when it’s not crashing).
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Bluetooth: 3.0 Dimensions: 257x175x8.6mm Main camera resolution: 3MP Operating system: Android Honeycomb 3.1 Screen resolution: 1280x800 Screen size: 10.1in capacitive touchscreen Storage: 16/32/64GB Weight: 565g Wi-Fi: a/b/g/n |
With a 9.4-inch screen it's smaller and less instantly noticeable than the likes of the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 or Acer A500, for example, but thanks to its unusual design and original PlayStation compatibility, it's the one that promises to be both different and fun.
Despite measuring just 9.4inches in diagonal, the Tablet S' screen still packs in 1280x800 pixels which gives it a sharp, high def look. Colours are more natural on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 or Eee Pad Transformer, but it does have excellent viewing angles and is bright too.
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Battery life: 5 hours (video loop), 5.5hrs standard use Bluetooth: Yes Camera: x2 Camera resolution: Rear 5Mp, front 0.3Mp Dimensions: 174x241x10mm Memory card slots: SD card RAM: 1GB Storage: 16GB (10GB + 6GB) USB: MiniUSB Weight: 598g |