Apple's iPad 2 made a big debut when it was released, since then it has met a lot of competition in the tablet industry. With new tablets released from Motorola, Samsung, Telstra, though, there is finally variety in tablet selection.
It's worth comparing what a tablet can and can't do before you splurge all your hard-earned cash. They are a lighter and compact alternative to a notebook, with generally less power than the same notebook available for the same price. At the same time, the touch interface can make work fun and quick with its light weight accessible design, great for presentations and lugging around the house. See the list of 2011 best tablets available on the market below.
Tablet Android
Apple iPad 2 WINNER
Price: 9-9 (varies on memory and 3G capability)
Pros
Apple's newly released tablet leads the market with the most affordable high-end tablet available. If you're an iPhone owner, applications can be transferred to the iPad in one touch. Not only is the tablet lighter, the 9.7 inch screen is even thinner than an iPhone 4. The tablet sports a pair of cameras for video recording and Face Time capability. Multi-tasking is a breeze with its a5 processor and variety of memory options including: 16GB, 32GB and 64 GB.
Cons
The cameras are VGA poor quality and the screen resolution could be improved. Unlike the Telstra or Samsung tablets, there's no phone functionality.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Price: 9 outright (estimate)
Pros
Samsung's Galaxy Tab offers a larger 10.1 inch screen with 1280x800 which beat Apple's 9.7 inch screen with 1024x768 screen resolution. The tablet runs on Android 3.0 or Honeycomb juice which brings the benefits of multi-tasking and customizable widgets to the tablet. The tablet offers an 8MP camera and 2MP front facing camera, in comparison to the iPad's VGA camera. The Galaxy Tablet 10.1 certainly comes out as a worthy competitor to iPad 2 compared to most Android tablets out there.
Cons
The Galaxy tablet comes in the same size as the iPad 2, although the tablet is thicker than the iPad 2 measuring 0.43 inches. The Galaxy is only available in two options 16GB and 32GB.
Motorola Xoom
Price: 9 outright
Pros
The Xoom performs outstandingly with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the NVidia Tegra 2 dual core processor skims the iPad 2 giving it a graphical advantage over most tablets. The Xoom holds built-in apps such as Google Maps, Gmail and Google Calendar still trump anything built into the iPad 2. The Motorola Xoom tablet has customizable widgets and also has a sleek & sexy design.
Cons
Besides the price tag being very high, the Xoom battery life is shorter than the iPad 2 with a fewer apps available. In terms of specs; Motorola Xoom is one of the top Android tablets to date. But that comes with an expensive price. Is it worth it? You decide.
The iPad 2 will be setting the standard for tablet computing in 2011 but we're going to see a lot of good alternatives throughout the year. Waiting really won't hurt you.