Tablet PC Comparison

We chose the top three best Windows tablets that run Microsoft Office based on reviews and ratings at Amazon

While the Samsung Series 7 has the least reviews, it has the highest rating. The ASUS Eee Slate has the most reviews, but it’s also the most expensive. The Acer Iconia Tab has the second highest number of reviews and is the cheapest tablet option. If price isn’t an issue, then you may be more concerned with the amount of RAM or the processor speed. The Samsung Series 7 would be the fastest, followed by the ASUS Eee Slate. All three have wireless, Bluetooth, USB, and webcams.

Name	Acer Iconia Tab	ASUS Eee Slate	Samsung Series 7
Reviews	162	188	16
Stars	4	4	4.5
Price at Amazon	$539.56	$1,099.00	$1,049.99
Screen	10.1 HD Multi-Touch LED-backlit TFT LCD Display, ATI Radeon HD 6250 Graphics	12.1″ WSVGA (1280×800) Capacitive LED Touchscreen; Pen or Finger Touch; Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) Operating System	11.6-Inch ScreenIntel® HD Graphics 3000
Office App	Microsoft Office Starter 2010	Microsoft Office Starter 2010
Processor	1 GHz AMD Dual-Core Processor C-50	1.3 GHz Intel Core i5-470UM CPU	1.6 GHz Intel Core i5
RAM	2GB DDR3 Dual-Channel Memory	4GB of DDR3 1333MHz SDRAM, 1x4GB; 1 slot, 4GB Max	4 GB SO-DIMM SDRAM
Hard Drive	32GB Solid State Drive (SSD) SATA	64GB Solid State Drive (SSD)	64 GB SSD (mSATA) rpm Hard Drive
OS	Windows® 7 Home Premium (32-bit)	Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)	Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
USB Ports	2 USB 2.0 ports	2 USB 2.0 ports	1 USB 2.0 port
HDMI Port	1	1 Mini HDMI Port	1 U-HDMI port
Wireless	802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™	Wireless 802.11bgn;	Wireless-N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth® 3.0+HS	Bluetooth 3.0	Bluetooth 3.0
Webcam	Dual 1.3MP Acer Crystal Eye Webcams (1280 x 1024) resolution	2.0MP	2-megapixel front webcam, 3-megapixel rear webcam
Speakers	Dolby® Advanced Audio® v2 Audio Enhancement	Internal Speaker	Built-in stereo speakers
Microphone	High-Definition Audio Support	Internal Microphone	Internal Microphone
Card Reader	2-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader	2-in-1 Card Reader (SD & MMC)	MicroSD memory card slot
Size (LWH)	7.48 inches, 10.83 inches, 0.63 inches	12.28 inches, 8.16 inches, 0.67 inches	11.66 inches, 7.24 inches, 0.51 inches
Weight	3.48 pounds	2.56 pounds	1.9 pounds
Rated Charge	6 Hours	4.5 hours	7 hours
Accessories	Optional Iconia Keyboard Dock for W500	Includes Digitizer Pen; Folio Case; Bluetooth Keyboard	Docking station connector

Here are 5 other Windows tablets with less ratings that you might want to compare or consider:

Tablet Arcade Suction Cup Joystick – Compatible with Samsung Galaxy Tab / iPad / Asus Transformer Prime / Amazon Kindle Fire and More Touchscreen Tablets. *Includes SD Card reader*

This Suction Cup Joystick gives increased control and allows Precise movement for any game that has directional pad controls. It safely mounts to the tablet screen without causing any damage. The Hassle free design can be applied or removed in seconds and doesn’t require any batteries. It works for all the latest tablets that use a capacitive touchscreen. Adding a physical joystick provides the arcade feel and countless hours of fun. This is a simple solution that makes your games user friendly and enjoyable.

Tablet PC Joystick Compatible With:

• Acer Iconia A100 / A500 / A501
• Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet / Kindle Touch
• Apple iPad / iPad2
• Archos G9 80 / G9 101 / 101 / 70 / 43 / 32 / 28 / 9 / 7 / 5
• ASUS Eee Pad Transformer / Prime / Slider / Slate / MeMO
• BlackBerry PlayBook
• Coby Kyros Tablets MID1024 / 1025 / 1026 / 7005 / 7015 / 7016 / 7022 / 7025 / 7026 / 8024 / 8025
• Dell Streak 7 / 10 Pro
• Fusion Garage JooJoo / Grid 10
• HP TouchPad Tablets
• HTC Jetstream / Flyer / Evo View 4G
• Huawei Ideos S7 / Media Pad
• Pandigital Nova / Star / Planet
• Lenovo Ideapad K1 / A1 / P1
• Motorola XOOM / XOOM 2 / XOOM 2 Media
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 / 7 Plus / 7.7 / 8.9 / 10.1
• Sony Tablet S / Tablet P
• Toshiba Thrive / Thrive 7
• ViewSonic gTablet , ViewPad
• Vizio VTAB1008

One reviewer said, “This thing is great for any NES or oldschool gaming emulator.I have it on my Galaxy Tab. Now I can play my favorite game MegaMan2 without missing the buttons and getting killed,” while another reviewer said, “This is a great joystick for retro games for MAME, nes, snes, and even certain new 3D games. It’s not good for games that required further distance movement. Compared to the Ten 1 Fling , the grip and feel is better. The fling knob is not rubberized so there’s no grip . Finger tends ti slip off on the fling.”

Velocity Tablets has a nice comparison chart comparing the different types of Velocity Micro Cruz Tablets and Readers. We looked into the Cruz T410, which people are complaining that the screen doesn’t get bright enough and that it is just a rebranded Samsung tablet. We looked into it more and couldn’t find any evidence of this, although it does look very similar to a Samsung P1000. You can see the direct comparison at VsChart.

Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tab is Samsung’s move onto the tablet warfield and luckily we are right here in the battle fray to give you first-hand scoop from the announcement event. Some might argue that it’s rather a step down from laptops but the Samsung Galaxy Tab smartphone DNA is obvious from the moment you touch it. The 7-inch Android tablet has full phone functionality and the only thing that separates it from being called an insanely oversized cell phone is the fact that you cannot make phone calls by holding it next to your ear. The rest of the specs sheet looks like it belongs to a cell phone if you don’t mind the oversized screen.

But as one reviewer said, “Putting this tablet in a challenge against an iPad 2 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab is pointless. The typically-top-rated tablets have better screen resolution, better cameras, more memory, and faster processors. But the better tablets also cost quite a bit more than this entry from Velocity. The latest tablet comparisons in PC World magazine put all of the top tablets around the $400-$500 range.”

Use Tablet Comparison to compare, review, and buy tablet PCs including Apple’s iPad, HP’s Slate, and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. Tablets aren’t new by any means, but with the onslaught of the Apple iPad, popularity and interest in these mobile devices has skyrocketed. With a full slate of Android tablets coming out this year, it’s getting harder than ever to keep track of all the tablet models.  That’s why we came up with Tablet Comparison to help you compare, review, and buy tablet PCs and slate computers. Browse the best tablets under $300, under $400, and under $600, but if price is no option, then check out the best tablet PCs.

Pandigital Tablets has created a neat Pandigital comparison chart (below) that outlines the different models and sizes for the Pandigital media tablets and Novel ereaders. This helps explain which models are which since a lot of the models are described by generic terms like “color touchscreen” or “multimedia device” or “android tablet”.

If price isn’t as much of an issue and you simply want the best tablet PC you can get, here are the top 5 tablet PCs over $300.

Apple iPad 2 – Apple’s newest generation of iPads, the iPad 2 features a 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology, 1 GHz dual-core Apple A5 custom-designed processor, Forward facing and rear facing cameras, Apple’s iOS, and access to Apple’s app store.

One reviewer said, “I believe the Xoom hardware may be slightly better than the iPad2 (apart from the screen aspect ratio and the speakers), but the software is terribly lacking. The Xoom was released FAR too early, it’s just not ready for primetime. If I had to pick just one, I’d pick the iPad2 – less hassle, apps for everything, better browsing experience, better support options. The Xoom needs less buggy software and more applications; it has potential but it’s not there yet. And by the time it gets there, there will be something better available.”

Motorola Xoom – This Android tablet PC features a 1 GHz Motorola ARM dual-core CORTEX A9 OMAP 4, 1 GB DRAM, weighing 1.6 pounds, 802.11 B/G/N WiFi, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, 2-megapixel front-facing web cam, and a 10.1-inch multi-touch HD display.

One reviewer said, “The Xoom is a lot like chess,” which they explained by saying that, “The Xoom and the iPad are like chess and checkers. When you first start playing chess (or trying to use the Xoom, in my amazing analogy) you feel overwhelmed and confused. You can’t really do things smoothly, you don’t understand the options, it just is not a great first impression. On the other hand, your first game of checkers (or using the iPad) is probably going to be pretty smooth. It isn’t complex, most all the options and concepts are obvious and easy to understand and your first game is going to be pretty similar to your hundredth.

However, as you start to understand the Xoom (or chess) it really starts to grow on you. You understand what you can do, how to do it, the amazing depth and possibility in the device. While the iPad (or checkers) players are still having roughly the same experience time after time, with the Xoom every day of experience with the device makes it more powerful and enjoyable to use. In the end, the Xoom becomes a much better device than any of the competition; it just takes some time for you to learn what it is capable of and how to make the most of it.”

Samsung Galaxy Tab – This Android tablet PC from Samsung is a real iPad comaprison. At 10.1 inches to the iPad’s 9.7, it features a Dual Core Tegra 2 processor, 1GB RAM, Wi-FiTM, 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4GHz, 5GHz, Memory Capacity: 16GB, and a Display: 10.1″ WXGA (1280×800).

One reviewer said, “A slightly better tablet than an iPad 2, but with a few drawbacks,” which the reviewer listed as, “the lack of an SD slot and slight plasticky feel.” Another reviewer called the Samsung Galaxy Tab, “A real business tool,” while still one other called it, “A great tablet.”

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer – This Android tablet features a 10.1 Inch WSVGA (1280×800) IPS Capacitive LED Touchscreen, 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM, 1 slot, 1GB Max, Stereo Speakers; Internal Microphone; Mic-In/Headphone-Out Combo Jack, and a 40-Pin Docking Port for Optional Keyboard/Docking Station (Model Name: TF101 DOCKING) Which Provides Up To 6.5 Additional Hours of Battery Life.

One reviewer called it the, “Best Honeycomb 3.2 tablet so far,” while another called it, “A great Android tablet at an affordable price.” Laptop Magazine said, “Of all of these new entrants, the Eee Pad Transformer impresses us most so far—and not just because of its low price tag. The 10-inch slate is lighter than competing Honeycomb tablets, features an IPS screen for wider viewing angles, and plugs into an optional keyboard dock that adds more battery life. It’s this kind of combo that could prove a hit with the back-to-school crowd, as well as mobile professionals who want to take notes in meetings. The dock adds a reasonable $149 to that rock-bottom $399 price.”

Sony Tablet – This Sony tablet features the Android Honeycomb Operating System, a NVIDIA Tegra2 Processor, front (0.3 Megapixel) and rear (5.0 Megapixel) cameras, a bluetooth Integrated Stereo, and a full-size SD Card slot (for media exchange only).

One reviewer summed it up for us, “Sony has still got it.”

Looking for tablet PCs under $300?

Previously Tablet Comparison wrote about the best tablet PCs under $300, but a lot of things have happened since that article was written. For example, the Kindle Fire ($199) and the Nook Tablet ($249) have both come out and Blackberry has slashed the PlayBook by $300 at the beginning of November.

Here’s a new list of the best tablet PCs under $300, sorted by Amazon Reviews:

Kindle Fire – 3,604 Reviews – Access to 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books. Can download thousands of Android apps and games, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and more. Get ultra-fast web browsing with the new Amazon Silk web browser. Free cloud storage for all your Amazon content comes standard with the Kindle Fire. A vibrant color touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle. Contains a fast, powerful dual-core processor. Display your favorite children’s books, graphic novels, and magazines in rich color.

HP TouchPad – 640 Reviews – With a brilliant 9.7-inch diagonal LED backlit multitouch display and seamless multitasking, the HP TouchPad with HP webOS 3.0 has essential productivity apps, exclusive Beats Audio for studio-quality sound, and blazing fast web browsing with a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2GHz processor.

ViewSonic gTablet – 524 Reviews – This Android tablet PC features a 1 GHz Dual ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 16GB internal memory (expandable up to 32GB via SD Card), 512MB DDR2 memory, a 10.1-inch TFT-LCD with LED driver system with a 1024 x 600-pixel resolution, built-in Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g/n, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. USB 2.0 (Slave), Mini USB 2.0 (Host), 3.5mm stereo headphone, and a dock for HDMI/Headphone/USB (optional).

Coby Kryos Tablet – 351 Reviews – This Android tablet from Coby features 4GB of internal memory, a microSDHC flash card Slot (max 32 GB), a display Resolution of 800 x 480 (WVGA – widescreen), A/V Connections: Mini HDMI out, Type C (max 1080p) 3.5mm headphone out, and an integrated microphone and an integrated speaker. One reviewer said this is a, “Really is a good unit,” while another said, “This one is not cheap, its a steal.” Ranging from $205 for the 10.1 inch to $157 for the 7 inch, this may be the best valued Android tablet PC on the market right now.

Velocity Micro Cruz Reader – 266 Reviews – This Android tablet PC has 256 MB of integrated memory, features a 7″ TFT 800 x 600 screen, includes WiFi 802.11b/g, weighs 16 oz, has access to over 2 million eBooks via included Borders eBook library portal application, as well as the Cruz Market. It’s built-in dictionary, notepad, calendar, alarm clock, contacts, games, and other useful apps make it ideal for viewing eBooks and eMagazines, Web pages, and movies. Also includes a USB and SD card slot for upgradable storage and includes a 4 GB SD card.

Pandigital Novel – 211 Reviews – This Android tablet and ebook reader is 7 inches and features a digital TFT LCD screen with a 600 x 800 pixel resolution, 1 GB of internal memory, a 2 in 1 card reader, Expandable Memory: SD/SDHC, MMC/MMC+ upto 32 GB. It has a WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) connection, USB Port: 1 mini-USB 2.0, Headphone jack: 1 stereo mini headphone jack.

Blackberry Playbook – 178 Reviews – This BlackBerry Tablet PC features a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 32 GB for storage, 7 inch multi-touch capacitive LCD screen, 1024 x 600-pixel resolution, Wireless-N Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), a 3 MP forward-facing camera, a 5 MP rear-facing camera, and is 0.9 pounds (15 ounces).

Archos Internet Tablet – 135 Reviews – Android Internet tablet with a 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8; 3D OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics accelerator, 8 GB storage, a 10.1-inch TFT LCD screen, 1024 x 600 pixels, Wireless-N (802.11b/g/n), and weighing 15.8 oz (450g).

Vizio Tablet – 98 Reviews – This Android tablet PC features a 1 GHz Processor, 512 MB Mmemory, 4 GB (2 GB user accessible), microSD memory cards up to 32 GB, an 8-inch LED-backlit LCD with multi-touch capabilities, Wireless-N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Front-facing VGA camera (30 fps), and weighs 1.2 pounds.

Le Pan – 96 Reviews – This Android tablet features a 1 GHz procesing speed, 512 MB of DDR2 RAM, High-Definition Display 9.7″ high definition touch screen, 1024X768 XVGA TFT LCD,supports 720P HD video playback, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Front-facing 2-megapixel camera, and weighs 1.6 pounds.

Sony Dash Personal Internet Viewer – 265 Reviews – 1,500+ apps available to deliver weather, traffic, social networking, movies, music, and more. 7-inch touchscreen with gesture support and WVGA (800×480) pixel resolution. 802.11b/g Wi-Fi to easily connect to your wireless home network. 500Mhz processor with 32kB I/D L2 cache; 256 MB, 667MHz DDR2 DRAM.

Acer Iconia Tab – 54 Reviews – The Acer Iconia Tab A100 is designed to enrich your mobile life with its compact 7″ size that easily fits in your pocket. With 1GB DDR2 Memory, the latest build of Android Honeycomb operating system provides enhanced audio. Enjoy face-to-face video chats and more with the 5MP rear-facing and 2MP front-facing camera and store images with it’s 8GB internal storage.

Nook Tablet – N/A – Watch Movies, TV shows and music from the top names—Netflix, Hulu Plus™, Pandora® & more. Claims to have the “World’s most advanced VividView™ 7″ Touchscreen”. It has access to over 2.5 million books, magazines, comics & kids’ books. It’s 1GHz TI OMAP4 (dual-core) processor with 1GB RAM makes for fast Email, Web & smooth streaming video. Can run thousands of Android apps like Angry Birds and Epicurious. It’s extra-long battery life, ultra-light weight, and thin profile make this Android tablet PC a great buy.

Here’s what you miss by keeping the price under $300: The 5 Best Tablet PCs over $300

We’ve written several times about the iPad 2 and by now you probably know a lot about it, have probably used it, or may even own one. I could tell you about how light it is, how many apps it has available for download, how powerful it is, or how it may even change your life. And all of those things would be true, but what we realized is that as a tablet comparison site, we’ve always focused on comparing the iPad 2 to other tablet PCs and never taken the time to talk just about the iPad (except for listing iPad 2 specs here).

We’ve listed the iPad 2 as one of the best tablet PCs under $600 and as one of the top 9 best tablet PCs on Amazon (even though it’s the top tablet PC in the world). We’ve compared the iPad 2 to Motorolla Xoom and battled the iPad 2 against the ASUS Eee Pads (where clearly Apple won out). It’s somewhat unfair for every new Nook, Fire, and Tablet to be compared to the iPad 2, but that’s what’s happened since it’s dominated the tablet PC market.

For those who are interested in why they might be interested in an iPad, here are the facts. There are over 140,000 apps available for the iPad. It comes with iCloud to store your files over the Interenet. It’s battery can last over 10 hours between charges. It has one of the most advanced operating systems which is unique among mobile devices in that it is a full-scale OS modified for this device. It’s “amazingly thin and light” and starts at $499. This are just some of the 200 features you can get your hands on this year.

If the iPad is the flagship of the post-PC era, then the Kindle Fire is the new IBM

Recently Nook Share wrote about the new Nook Tablet and compared it to the new Kindle Fire. Although the Nook Tablet arguably has a faster processor and more storage, it does cost more (by $50). But that’s not what people are necessarily buying a tablet PC for. With the recent mistakes Netflix has made, the debut of the Kindle Fire means Amazon’s Instant Video has a chance to be a real contender in the streaming video market.

The first and most important thing that should be said is that this is not an “iPad-killer.” It is not designed to be. If you are expecting an iPad, or even a tablet, you will be disappointed. The main purpose of this device is to deliver Amazon content – like Amazon Instant Video – to you more effectively. It is designed for consumption, not creation.

You can also use it to view your own movies and media, but will find that it is more limited in that way than a regular tablet. Personally, as someone who has ordered several rentals from Amazon Video, and had to contact customer support for every single one of them due to problems with Amazon’s Unbox player or purchases not appearing in my downloads, I can really appreciate this. But if you don’t plan on using Amazon at all to obtain your media, you may want to take this into consideration before purchasing the Fire.

Additionally, the reason this product is so hyped is due to the low price. Amazon reviews shouldn’t focus on price, but it is hard not to with this device. On price alone, this is a five star device. However when looked at the Fire overall, and when compared with other touch devices like the Nook Tablet, it is well worth the money.

Pandigital 7″ Tablet PC R70E200

The Pandigital with Wi-Fi 7″ Touchscreen Tablet PC will let you surf the web, listen to music, enjoy videos, share photos, download apps and more. Preloaded with a number of fun and convenient apps, the tablet is ready to enjoy right out of the box. By loading Android applications easily found on the web/marketplace, you can add even more features and functionality to suit your needs. Enjoy popular games like Angry Birds, Flash Video supported websites with Dolphin Browser and more.

Pandigital with Wi-Fi 7″ Color Touchscreen Tablet PC Featuring Android Operating System:

Technical Specifications:

• Samsung ARM 11 Mobile processor
• 256MB of system memory, 2GB on-board storage memory and SD Card slot for up to 32GB storage.
• 7″ Color resistive touchscreen, 600 x 800 resolution, virtual keyboard & Automatic screen orientation
• Built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi for connection online and internet. Connect to your wireless router signal at home or business and HotSpots in some public locations.

Additional Features:

• SD Card Slot of Memory Expansion
• Rechargeable Lith-Ion Battery for up to 5+ hours of usage.
• Mini-USB 2.0 port
• Video playback and flash video support online with Dolphin Browser (available in marketplace/app store)
• Weighs 19 oz; 5.5″ x 7.5″ x 0.5″ dimensions

Software and Applications:

• Android OS
• EPub/eReader, Web Browsing, Email, Dictionary, Accelerometer, alarm cloc, calendar and more pre-installed. And thousands of apps via marketplace/app store.
• Media Player supporting formats: MP3, WAV, AAC, JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, MPEG4, H.264 AVC, DOC, DOCX, TXT, XLS, XLSX, CSV, PPT, PPTX, PPSX, PPS, PDF, JPG, OGG