Best tablets

By   |   February 18, 2013   |   12


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CNET Editor

Joe capitalises on a life-long love of blinking lights and upbeat MIDI soundtracks covering the latest developments in smartphones and tablet computers. When not ruining his eyesight staring at small screens, Joe ruins his eyesight playing video games and watching movies. Twitter: @Joseph_Hanlon

In only a few years, the tablet computer has become the most sought-after device category, with millions of people worldwide finding a place for an iPad or similar tablet in their tech lives.

In 2012, the tablet market ratcheted up a few gears as the industry started to offer a genuinely diverse set of options. There's now two flavours of the dominant iPad, there's a wealth of Android options, and Windows 8 in both straight tablet and hybrid laptop styles. In the latest update to our best tablets list we've included a mix from across the styles and price ranges to help you find the best tablet that suits how you want to operate.

For more information about some of the Windows 8 tablet/laptop options, check out our earlier coverage in the Windows 8 launch centre.


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EinoA Facebook
 

EinoA posted a comment   

I just bought the Nexus 7 a week ago due to great and I've thinking about selling it already after just a few days. Coming from Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, I've had the un-pleasure to feel it in my bones that the whole Android OS is a very hellishly laggy, cluttered, counterproductive, awkward, all over no-fun experience. Sure it's cheap but you can certainly feel that in every aspect of the device while using it. The plastic creaks but that's just the physical part. The OS part, lags so much that you'll be wondering if you're ever going to be able to do anything without stuttering and a loong wait. Pressing the home, back or multitasking button almost every time leaves you wondering if you really pressed it or not, or if anything will happen. "Maybe I should press it again?" is something that I keep asking myself everything I press almost anything using apps or using the OS. Coming from the absolute smoothness and snappyness of a Windows (Phone) 8 experience, the constant stuttering and random seconds of waiting for anything to happen is just unacceptable from a device as small as the Nexus 7. I've found myself having to stress over the apps running on background and making the device lag and stutter all the time. There's always tens of apps that I have only opened once and that I've never even opened when the device has been on since shutdown. Maybe this is some of the 'beauty of Android' but in my experience it simply clutteres the devices performance so badly that I often get the hot flashes of frustration that I haven't felt in years using an OS, wanting to throw the device aside and never use it again.I wouldn't recommend the Nexus 7 to anyone and after just a week of using it and it lagging this much, I plan on selling after another week of "mercy".I hope the experience gets better but I hightly doubt it. I already have almost no interest to actually pick up the device and try to use it, since I know it'll be an unpleasant experience of fighting with the OS and not getting much done. Also, really not convinced about the apps compared to the Windows Store counterparts on Windows Phone and Windows 8. Every single app on Android compared to Windows seems like a cluttered, uninspired hot mess of UI design from years back and chaotic usability. The Nexus 7 feels like a big phone and Android hasn't nearly enough tablet apps to make the tablet experience on Android enjoyable for me.

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EinoA Facebook
 

EinoA posted a reply   

No idea why all the spacing that I wrote is non-existent on that post.

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PaulM13 Facebook
 

PaulM13 posted a comment   

What about the Asus TF700T? From I have read it will be "the" tablet to beat.

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Andrew1953
 

Andrew1953 posted a comment   
Australia

Asus Infinity,forget the rest icluding the Asus Padfone which,for some moronic reason Asus are refusing to sell Australians with the proprietary keyboard? Think its too sophisticated for us Asus?

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MattC3 Facebook
 

MattC3 posted a comment   
Australia

Acer for sure..... business WAKE UP!!! A tablet with USB support. I use it not only to view from my USB for work presentations, but also for my Logitech wireless mouse AND keyboard I already have for my laptop (for when docked at work)

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nodepony
 

nodepony posted a comment   
Australia

Really Ty? The list is not static? Looks to be the same list as 4 months ago!

I totally agree with Josh. If you say the Panasonic was borderline, why bother including it? The article was for tablets, not notebooks.

Obviously, you lot are Apple fans, so enough said really.

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CreamingSoda
 

CreamingSoda posted a comment   
Australia

100% agree =D For statrters, the Toughbook isn't a tablet... Doesn't make it as a decent laptop let alone be in the same league as iPad 2 or Galaxy S Tab.

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idiotphone4lover
 

idiotphone4lover posted a comment   
Australia

If you want a PC tablet for work or play, get a Asus Eee Slate EP121 with windows 7 and 12" screen and get MS Office, you can use a printer, scaner or usb and SDXC drive on the Asus, it comes with 2 year warranty. Also look at new Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 (windows 7).

Ipad2 is NOT a PC, so stop this drool, and that's the end if it.

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ozoneocean Facebook
 

ozoneocean posted a comment   
Australia

Um... The ipad and the Android tablets aren't really Tablet PCs are they? More like tablet netbooks.
Apple and Google have done a great job optimising their OSs to run on these low power devices as well as take full advantage of the touch screen aspect, but they're STILL just low-power netbook/smartphone hardware.

Let's not get away from that. Tablet PCs a full, powerful computers in Tablet form, whereas things all arose out of Apple's late response to the netbook craze.

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