It's difficult to remember a time before tablets, but it's been four short years since the original Apple iPad hit the scene, and the current tablet market was born. Since then, we've seen scores of manufacturers trying to snag a slice of the tablet pie. And the game is finally getting interesting: For the first time in 2013, Android tablet sales overtook the iPad. Growth is so rapid in the segment that some analysts claim tablets will make up half the PC market in 2014. There's no denying the tablet is here to stay.
But which tablet is right for you? Whether you're eyeing an iPad, one of the many Android tablets available, or a Windows model, here are the key factors you need to consider when shopping for a tablet:
Generally speaking, the greatest strength of Apple's iOS, the operating system on the iPad and iPad miniA$268.03 at CrazySales, is twofold: It's very clean and intuitive, and the wide selection of iPad apps that you can buy right on your tablet—more than 500,000 iPad-specific titles at the time of this writing—work uniformly well with very few exceptions. (For more, check out our full iOS 7 Review.)
Google's Android mobile OS is a more complicated story. Besides having your choice of hardware from several manufacturers, at any given time, there are a few iterations of Android floating around on various devices. The latest version, 4.4 KitKat, is the best yet, with maximum configurability, a top-notch notification system, fast and smooth Web browsing, and seamless integration with Google applications like Gmail, Google Maps, and Hangouts for video chat. Android also includes support for multiple user logins so you can share your tablet with a friend or family member, a useful feature that's missing in Apple tablets. Right now, though, you can only find KitKat on a few models including Google's own Nexus-branded tablets, some Samsung Galaxy Tabs, and the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition.
Windows 8 comes the closest to offering a traditional computing experience with full x86 support for all of your Windows software. And you can run the full version of Microsoft Office when you buy a Win 8 tablet. Connectivity options and hardware add-ons for Windows models are also typically more plentiful than with other tablet types.
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But which tablet is right for you? Whether you're eyeing an iPad, one of the many Android tablets available, or a Windows model, here are the key factors you need to consider when shopping for a tablet:
What do You Want to Do With Your Tablet?
Despite four years of refinements, tablets still can't truly replace computers or smartphones. You can tackle productivity tasks on a tablet, but there are inherent ergonomic benefits to desktops and laptops. Plus, since we're talking about slates here, we're mostly talking about on-screen keyboards. There are plenty of worthy add-on hardware keyboards, especially for the iPad, but few will provide the same comfort you'll experience with a laptop or a desktop. The main focus of the tablets we'll discuss here is media consumption, rather than productivity. We'll touch on lower-cost Windows tablets here as well, but if you want a convertible tablet with a laptop-grade processor for serious work, take a look at the top-rated Windows 8 tablets we've tested—but be prepared to pay laptop prices, as many run around the $1k mark.
Choose Your Operating System
Just like with a full-fledged computer, if you're getting a tablet, you need to pick a camp. And just like with a computer, your decision will likely come down to your gut feeling. Right now, the top contenders are Apple with its iPads and Android with its many hardware choices from the likes of Acer, Amazon, Asus, Google, Samsung, and others. And we're finally seeing affordable Windows 8 tablets built around Intel's Atom (formerly codenamed Bay Trail) processor from various manufacturers like Asus, with its excellent, under-$500 Transformer Book T100TA. Meanwhile, Windows RT, a slimmed-down version of Windows 8, continues to chug along, but doesn't support all Win 8 apps. Microsoft released the second version of its RT-based Surface tablet$444.99 at Amazon this year, but the company seems to be hinting that it might roll RT into its Windows Phone OS in the future. If you want a Windows tablet, Win 8 is the way to go.Generally speaking, the greatest strength of Apple's iOS, the operating system on the iPad and iPad miniA$268.03 at CrazySales, is twofold: It's very clean and intuitive, and the wide selection of iPad apps that you can buy right on your tablet—more than 500,000 iPad-specific titles at the time of this writing—work uniformly well with very few exceptions. (For more, check out our full iOS 7 Review.)
Google's Android mobile OS is a more complicated story. Besides having your choice of hardware from several manufacturers, at any given time, there are a few iterations of Android floating around on various devices. The latest version, 4.4 KitKat, is the best yet, with maximum configurability, a top-notch notification system, fast and smooth Web browsing, and seamless integration with Google applications like Gmail, Google Maps, and Hangouts for video chat. Android also includes support for multiple user logins so you can share your tablet with a friend or family member, a useful feature that's missing in Apple tablets. Right now, though, you can only find KitKat on a few models including Google's own Nexus-branded tablets, some Samsung Galaxy Tabs, and the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition.
Windows 8 comes the closest to offering a traditional computing experience with full x86 support for all of your Windows software. And you can run the full version of Microsoft Office when you buy a Win 8 tablet. Connectivity options and hardware add-ons for Windows models are also typically more plentiful than with other tablet types.
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