Tablet Reviews
Critics Weigh in on various tablets currently on the market
PC World (April 23, 2011)
Critic Melissa Peterson: “If you’re set on buying an Android tablet today, the Iconia Tab is one of the best bets at this writing–it tops the Xoom in functionality, and its $450 price is significantly cheaper than the $750 no-contract price of the G-Slate. The Iconia Tab is no iPad-killer, but it does give hints of the power of Android’s more open and flexible platform.”
Endgadget (April 26, 2011)
Critic Sean Hollister: “All in all, the Acer Iconia Tab A500 is a solid piece of hardware, if you have to have an Android tablet right now, but we don’t know if we could recommend it in good conscience over some of the competitors on offer. Honestly, we’re still slightly iffy about Honeycomb itself, and the longevity of the Tegra 2 processor, given the lack of Android 3.0 apps and speed at which OEMs are adopting faster and more efficient silicon respectively.”
AMAZON KINDLE FIRE
Wired (November 15, 2011)
Critic Jon Phillips: “The Fire isn’t a dud, but its real-world performance and utility match neither the benchmarks of public expectation, nor the standards set by the world’s best tablets…Is it tablet that people will grab again and again for web browsing, book and magazine reading, casual gaming, and more? No. It’s not that kind of tablet.”
APPLE NEW IPAD
Endgadget (March 16, 2012)
Critic Tim Stevens: “(The Retina display is) the best display ever featured on a tablet, probably the best display ever on a mobile device, but is that enough to keep this tablet ahead of the pack? Believe it or not, the answer is yes.”
Wired (March 19, 2012)
Critic Jon Phillips: “Breathtaking, stunning display — the best in all of mobile computing. Super-fast Verizon LTE allows hot-spot tethering. All key components have been prudently upgraded to their effective limits. Tablet hooks into the world’s best app store.”
APPLE IPAD 2
The Wall Street Journal (March 9, 2011)
Critic Walt Mossberg: “I’ve been testing an iPad 2 for about a week and I like it a lot. While it’s evolutionary rather than revolutionary like the first model, the changes Apple has made are generally pleasing and positive, and the device worked very well for me.”
The New York Times (March 9, 2011)
Critic David Pogue: “On paper, Apple didn’t do much. It just made the iPad one-third thinner, 15 percent lighter and twice as fast. There are no new features except two cameras and a gyroscope. I mean, yawn, right? And then you start playing with it. My friends, I’m telling you: just that much improvement in thinness, weight and speed transforms the experience.”
Gizmodo (March 17, 2011)
Critic Matt Buchanan: “Here’s the simple truth about the iPad 2: There is nothing else like it. Maybe it won’t make you feel the way it makes me feel. Maybe it won’t replace your laptop. Maybe it could be even thinner and lighter and faster. But there is nothing else like it.
ASUS EEE TRANSFORMER PRIME
CNET (December 2, 2011)
The Asus Transformer Prime is the best full-featured Android tablet yet, with a sexy design, thoughtful features, and an impressive camera.
ASUS TRANSFORMER PAD TF300
CNET (April 22, 2012)
The Asus Transformer Pad TF300′s Tegra 3-induced performance more or less matches the Transformer Prime’s and goes a step further with a better rear camera, faster Wi-Fi performance, a more responsive screen, and an actual (and official) GPS feature. Micro-HDMI and microSD return, as does the keyboard option. The $380 entry price makes the TF300 the best full-Android tablet value currently on the market.
BARNES & NOBLE NOOK TABLET
PCWorld (November 7, 2011)
Critic Melissa Perenson: “The $249 Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet announced Monday may look like its predecessor, the Nook Color, but that’s where the comparisons stop. When I picked up the Nook Tablet, it was clear that this tablet leaps ahead of B&N’s first-gen effort–because it behaved more like a tablet….The Nook Tablet’s low price will make it appealing to both e-reader and tablet shoppers. In fact, it is priced low enough to potentially sway consumers who might have been considering an iPad 2, which has a larger display, but also costs twice the price. With its competitive price and beefy specs, other so-called “value” tablet makers (that includes Amazon and its Kindle Fire tablet) should be running for the hills right about now.”
MSNBC (November 17, 2011)
Critic Wilson Rothman: “(The NOOK and the Fire are) first and foremost e-book devices, the best choice is still the one that aligns with your preferred shopping experience. If you spend a lot of time in Barnes & Noble, the Nook is right for you. If you are an Amazon Prime customer, then Kindle Fire is a no-brainer. And if you are undecided on these matters, write down your five favorite contemporary authors, and see how much of their material turns up in either store. You need to land wherever you find the most content that suits your own personal taste, otherwise the rest of the drama matters for naught.”
COBY KYROS
CNET (October 10, 2011)
The Coby Kyros tablet offers a large screen for about $100, but it’s a bad proposition at any price. The screen quality and touch responsiveness are awful; battery life is poor; the design is bulky; there’s no Adobe Flash support; and Google’s suite of mobile apps isn’t included.
DELL STREAK 7
TechCrunch (January 31, 2011)
Critic John Biggs: “On the aggregate, I’d say that this is a strong showing for Dell and does just enough to stand out from the current tablet crowd.”
SlashGear (January 31, 2011)
Critic Ben Bajarin: “The Streak 7 will perform and in some cases outperform other tablets in the 7′ inch range with its capabilities as a rich multimedia device largely thanks to NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 super chip.”
GOOGLE NEXUS 10
MOTOROLA XOOM
CNET (February 23, 2011)
Critic Donald Bell: “The Xoom’s spec sheet is enough to make any tablet tremble, but the price is high and Google still has some work to do before its tablet software experience is as fleshed out and intuitive as Apple’s.”
Android Guys (April 1, 2011)
Critic Scott Webster: “With its high sticker price it’s not for everyone. Drop a 16GB version on us and shave a hundred or so off the cost and it would be terribly difficult to resist. As it stands though, my XOOM gets better every day.”
RIM PLAYBOOK
Wired (April 13, 2011)
Critic Mike Isaac: “It’s a well-constructed device with great media-viewing capabilities, solid hardware specs and a price on par with the current tablet market. But with serious gaps in key areas like app selection and Flash stability, you may want to think twice before picking one up.”
TechCrunch (April 13, 2011)
Critic MJ Siegler: “(I)t’s a total mixed bag. There’s a lot of room for improvement, but there are plenty of signs that point to such improvements — and they could happen relatively fast.”
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE
USA Today (February 16, 2012)
Critic Edward Baig: “Samsung’s new Galaxy Note is hard to pigeonhole. It resembles an oversize smartphone or an undersized tablet. Now throw in the fact that a key feature is a stylus-like pen —Palm Pilot redux? — and you’re left wondering what gives….Despite the odds against Galaxy Note, much of what you find in the device is quite sweet. Its 5.3-inch display (measured diagonally) is gargantuan in comparison with most smartphones, yet the device is thin, good-looking and well-proportioned.”
SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 2 7.0
PCWorld (April 23, 2012)
Even though the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 has some nifty features like the infrared port and Wi-Fi Direct, it is neither a premium tablet nor a pure budget tablet. The big question is whether full Android compatibility and those extras are worth paying $50–or 25 percent–more than what you’d pay for an Amazon Kindle Fire or a Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet.
TabTime (April 20, 2012)
At $250, the new Samsung tablet is strong competition for Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire but – given Apple’s market domination – it’s far from an iPad killer. Still, its price, light weight and small footprint could dissuade at least some people from spending $499 for a third generation iPad or even $399 for an iPad 2.
SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 8.9
The Daily Tribune (March 22, 2012)
Critic Matt Myftiu: “Based on my experience with the Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet, I can say that it had impressive specs and performance and is a worthy competitor to its tablet rivals and a strong addition to the Galaxy Tab lineup. But with so many tablet choices right now, Samsung’s best hope for success is that people will want to slightly smaller size tablet and venture toward this or one of their other tablet offerings.”
SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 10.1
Endgadget (June 8, 2011)
Critic Darren Murph: “This is the best Honeycomb tablet to date…Only time will tell if the Android Market will prove to be as well-stocked as the App Store, and if you’re willing to wait, this here slate provides a world-class Gmail experience, better handling than the iPad 2 (in our humble opinion, anyway) and a higher resolution display.”
ZDNet (June 17, 2011)
Critic James Kendrick: “Those trying to decide between the iPad 2 and a Honeycomb tablet would do well to give the Tab 10.1 a hard look. I have not run across anything I wanted to do on a tablet that I cannot do with the Tab, so it is a viable alternative to the iPad 2. My advice to those on the fence is simple: if you are predisposed to get an iPad, that’s what you should get. If not, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a great alternative at a decent price.”
SONY TABLET S
CNET (September 16, 2011)
Critic Donald Bell: “Sony’s track record in industrial design, hardware engineering, gaming, and media makes it the best possible candidate to challenge Apple’s iPad. A year and a half after Apple’s tablet debut, Sony is striking back with an Android 3.2 slate that is bound to turn heads and win some fans. “
SlashGear (August 31, 2011)
Critic Vincent Sguyen: “Where Sony first pulls away from the pack is in the physical design; this is no basic slab. Sony call it ‘folding design’ calls it and says the tapering form-factor is based on a folded-back magazine.”