Top Tablets 2013-The best tablets available to buy today
The tablet market is still growing fast and it’s being driven by Android. According to IDC shipments were up 36.7% last quarter compared to the same period last year. We are starting to see a much wider range of Android tablets, and the overall experience for Android tablet owners is improving fast, thanks to developments like the Play Store highlighting tablet optimized apps.
We can divided the tablet line up neatly into two sections: big and small.
Best small Android tablet
We’ll start with the small tablets, ideal for people seeking a portable solution when they’re out and about.
1. XOLO Play Tegra Note Tab
In the Tegra Note Tab’s case it is the Nvidia Tegra 4 chipset that includes a quad-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz and a GeForce GPU. The hardware promises excellent performance and it does deliver on that promise. But I’ll get to that in a bit. Other noteworthy hardware features include a 7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels, 1GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage (along with support for microSD cards up to 32GB), stereo speakers, a 5MP rear camera and a VGA front-facing one.
The Xolo Play Tegra Note Tab comes with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and XOLO has promised that it will be prompt with OTA OS updates.Perfomance wise the XOLO Play Tegra Note score very good in front of other tablet in this price range.
Battery life is very good and the tablet lasted for ten hours in our continuous video playback test where we ran a 720p video with the brightness set to max and the Wi-Fi on. This would translate to about 15-20 hours of normal use which includes a little gaming, browsing and running apps. Since the Tegra Note is supposed to be a gaming tablet, it’s only appropriate (and quite impressive) that it will give you about 4 hours of continuous gaming on a single charge.
Price : 17999 INR (WiFi)
2. Nexus 7 (2013)
When Google partnered with Asus to create the original Nexus 7 it was a smash hit. Consumers and critics alike loved the tablet, and it offered unbeatable value for money. It was perhaps inevitable that a sequel would follow and sure enough we got one in the summer. Google stuck with Asus to produce another understated, but solid design that’s slimmer and lighter than its predecessor, with several important improvements.
The first thing that strikes you about the Nexus 7 is that stunning 1920 x 1200 pixel display. With 323 pixels per inch, books and movies look fantastic on it. Throw genuine stereo speakers into the mix and it’s the ideal portable package for content consumption. Inside, the 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, with 2GB of RAM, proves itself capable of running the latest games. Stock Android is super slick, Jelly Bean brought another raft of subtle improvements, and the Nexus 7 was quick to get KitKat, as it will be to get future updates.
Google had to increase the price slightly, to 21000 INR for the 16GB version, but this is still the best value small tablet on the market.
Price : 21,000 INR
3. LG G Pad 8.3
LG decided that 7 inches wasn’t enough and so its best small Android tablet offering is the G Pad, which has an 8.3-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. That’s the same resolution as the Nexus 7, but because the screen is bigger the ppi is 273. The specs are very good with a 1.7GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage backed up by a microSD card slot.
The G Pad has a pretty premium feel and you’ll find LG’s suite of features, from QSlide apps to Slide Aside, are actually quite useful, even if the interface doesn’t look great. The downside here is the much higher price tag (30000 INR) and the average battery life. Even with a 4600mAh battery, this tablet will need charged every night, and it dies fast if you watch movies or play games.
We think this is an underrated option and if you want something a little bigger than 7 inches it’s a good choice.
Price : 30,000 INR
The Bottomline
The XOLO Play Tegra Note tablet is available from today for Rs. 17,999, which frankly is a killer price for a tablet that does so many things well. At this price, the only real competition the Tegra Note gets is from the Nexus 7 (2013) that’s now being sold in India directly by Google for Rs. 20,999 (16GB). If the display and overall design and feel is paramount, then we’d recommend the new Nexus 7. However, where the XOLO tab scores is its performance, some neat additional features (such as the stylus and the Tegra Zone access) and the ability to accept microSD cards. Which of the two sound more attractive is a decision I will leave to you. Just know that buying either of the two will be a great decision.
Best big Android tablet
If you want to kick back on the couch, or surf the web in bed, then you want a nice big tablet to do it on. These are our top picks in the 10-inch space for 2013.
1. Apple iPad Air
The iPad Air is sort of the iPad 5. And this latest tablet walks all over the iPad 4 – it’s lighter and thinner, but retains the same 9.7-inch screen panel. It’s also faster than before, to the point it’s future-proof for the time being and won’t feel out of date in six months.
For die-hard Apple fans we can see how you would be disappointed in terms of wow factor, as there is no standout feature here – the Air feels like an iPad mini Retina upscaled. And it lacks the Slow-Mo movie and Touch ID fingerprint scanner of the iPhone 5S.
That’s not to say the iPad Air is lacking. It’s not. It is seamless experience that just works. If anything the Air is a problem for Apple – and this is a good thing for us all – because by creating something so desirable, fast and functional, we suspect you won’t need or want to upgrade for a long, long time. Even iPad 4 owners will likely want one, especially if you’re fed up of resting the weightier, larger slab on your leg all the time.
Apple has created a tablet experience that surpasses all others. It’s the best tablet on the market in terms of performance, apps, and desirability.checkout our full review. What more can we say than that?…..
Price : (starting @) 35,900 INR
2. Nexus 10
It really says something about the larger tablet category on Android that a device released in 2012 is still the best big Android tablet in 2013. The Samsung manufactured Nexus 10 wowed everyone with its 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution, providing an amazing 300ppi on a 10-inch display. Google understands that people primarily want tablets for content consumption and so, despite fighting to keep costs down, it never scrimps on the display.
The rest of the hardware is aging. We all expected an update before the end of the year, but it looks like the Nexus 10 refresh won’t land until 2014. As a stock Android device the Nexus 10 has already got the KitKat update and that 1.7 GHz dual-core A15 processor still performs really well. It’s also backed by 2GB of RAM, so it can handle multitasking. The lack of a microSD card slot is a downside, but the Nexus 10 is almost as good value as its smaller brother.
At this tablet is still a pretty attractive proposition, but with a refresh around the corner, patience is a virtue.
Price : 32,900 INR
3. Sony Xperia Tablet Z
If Sony had done a refresh, like it did with the Z1 then this tablet could have claimed the top spot, but there are a couple of weaknesses that we can’t overlook. The 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro is dated, even if it is backed by the Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. The display is also 1920 x 1200 pixels with a 224 ppi. It still looks great, and Sony’s Bravia technology is not to be sniffed at, but it’s not at the same level as the Nexus 10.
In terms of build quality the Xperia Tablet Z is a real winner. It looks and feels beautiful, it’s impossibly svelte, and you can take it into the shower or bath with you, so you never need to be parted. Seriously, the waterproof feature is more than just a gimmick and it’s awesome to be able to watch a movie in the bath without fear. The battery life is also excellent and there’s a microSD card slot for expanding that storage.
Sony also has a nice UI and some decent apps, and the tablet works well as a universal remote, thanks to an IR blaster.
Price : 42,900 INR.
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