Last year promised to be the yr of the tablet, and at least for Apple, it was. The nearly ubiquitous iPad managed non merely to outsell every other tablet on the market past a wide margin, information technology also exceeded Mac sales in Q4 with a record seven.33 million units moved. Apple is non likely to lose its throne anytime presently, but competition is now making itself nowadays from every possible angle. If Android's smartphone gains serve any indication this should exist an interesting year for tablets.

We've compiled a comparative tabular array with what we consider are the hottest tablets either currently bachelor or appear so far. Nosotros'll update this guide as new tablets that take hold of our attention are announced and budgeted their release, just with more than a dozen already in the market, this will serve every bit a starting bespeak for narrowing down your purchase.

Click on the arrow to the correct to aggrandize and view the full comparing chart (eleven tablets)

Apple tree iPad ii Samsung Milky way Tab 10.1 Asus Eee Pad Transformer HP TouchPad B&N Nook Color Motorola Xoom HTC Flyer BlackBerry PlayBook LG G-Slate Toshiba Thrive Acer Iconia Tab A500
Price $500-$830 $500-$600 $400-$500 $500-$600 $250 $600-$800 $500-$890 $500-$700 $800 $430-$580 $450
Availability At present Now Now July 1 Now Now At present Now At present July At present
Review/Info Review Review Review More info More info Review Review Review Review More info Review
Processor 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra two one.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660 800MHz unmarried-core Ti OMAP 1GHz dual-cadre Nvidia Tegra 2 1.5GHz unmarried-core Qualcomm MSM8255 1GHz dual-cadre ARM Cortex A9 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra ii 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra two 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2
Display 9.7-inch 10.ane-inch 10.1-inch 9.7-inch 7-inch 10.1-inch 7-inch vii-inch 8.ix-inch (3D capable) 10.one-inch ten.1-inch
Resolution 1024 x 768 1280 ten 800 1280 x 800 1024 x 768 1024 X 600 1280 x 800 1024 X 600 1024 x 600 1280 ten 768 1280 x 800 1280 10 800
RAM 512MB 1GB 1GB 1GB 512MB 1GB 1GB 1GB 1GB 1GB 1GB
Front camera VGA 2MP 1.2MP 1.3MP none 2MP ane.3MP 3MP 2MP 2MP 2MP
Rear camera 720p 3MP 5MP None none 5MP 5MP 5MP 5MP (3D capable) 5MP 5MP
Storage 16GB, 32GB, 64GB 16GB, 32GB 16GB, 32GB 16GB, 32GB 8GB 32GB 16GB, 32GB 16GB, 32GB, 64GB 32GB 8GB, 16GB, 32GB 16GB
USB No Yeah (with $150 dock) Aye Yes Yes Yep Yep Yes Yeah Yes
HDMI (with $twoscore cable) (with $40 cable) Yes No No Yep No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Wireless Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G/4G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G/4G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G/4G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
GPS (on 3G models) Yes Yes (on 3G models) No Yes Aye Yes Yes Yep Yes
Operating System iOS 4.3 Android 3.1 Honeycomb Android 3.1 Honeycomb webOS 3.0 Android 2.two Froyo Android 3.ane Honeycomb Android ii.three Gingerbread BlackBerry Tablet OS Android 3.0 Honeycomb Android iii.1 Honeycomb Android 3.0 Honeycomb
Flash Support No Yes Yes Yes Yep Yep Yes Yep Yes Yes Aye
App Marketplace iTunes Android Marketplace Android Market webOS
App Store		 Nook Apps Android Marketplace Android Market App World Android Market Android Market Android Market
Weight 603-608g 595g 680g 740g 448g 730g 420g 400g 590g 770g 770g

Apple'south iPad remains one of the best options out in that location, largely due to its relatively mature ecosystem and overall polished operating system. The second-generation model hit store shelves in March, taking the same $500 starting price equally its predecessor while sporting a slimmer design, a faster dual-core A5 processor with up to 9 times faster graphics, and rear and front end facing cameras. Furthermore, iOS v is set to get in this autumn packing more than than 200 new features, including wireless sync, revamped notifications, a new BBM-like messaging awarding, and iCloud synchronization.

On the Android camp, Motorola made a splash earlier this year when it released the first tablet to run Google's tablet-optimized operating organization (aka Honeycomb). Simply initial enthusiasm for the device didn't translate into stellar sales, in part because of its loftier price but also due to its thick design and the fact that some features were missing at launch.

Somewhen more Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets made it to the market and at present nosotros have options like Acer'due south Iconia Tab, offer features on par with the Motorola Xoom at iPad-chirapsia prices (but weighing in amid the heftiest Android tablets), and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, which has a tempting $400 starting cost and an optional keyboard dock.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.i was launched recently amid positive reviews, taking the title for slimmest tablet on the planet, and nosotros're curious to run into how Toshiba's Thrive fares when it launches next calendar month for $430. Other noteworthy options include the 3D capable G-Slate (or Optimus Pad) from LG, though it's certainly priced at a premium, and the HTC Flyer that offers an optional stylus and has a 4G variant known as the EVO View ($400 with 2-year contract).

In our opinion Windows tablets just cannot provide the same level of feel every bit their iOS and Android counterparts, so we're non including whatsoever model in this update -- and most don't even brand it to retail anyhow.

Lastly, there's the BlackBerry PlayBook and HP TouchPad. The one-time hasn't been doing also well, but diehard BlackBerry users will stand behind the platform, while the latter is ready to face an uphill boxing when it debuts on July 1. At to the lowest degree on the surface webOS seems similar a very polished Bone but it hasn't had much luck on the adoption side and thus with third-party developers.

Changelog

June 2022
Added: Asus Eee Pad Transformer
Added: Barnes & Noble Nook Color
Added: HTC Flyer
Added: Toshiba Thrive
Added: Acer Iconia Tab A500
Removed: Apple iPad
Removed: Dell Streak 7
Removed: Notion Ink Adam
Removed: Asus Eee Slate EP121