It's no secret that tablet makers are having a hard fourth dimension competing with Apple tree in this notwithstanding nascent market. In fact, the iPad is selling so well that information technology surpassed the number of PCs shipped by any individual PC manufacturer over the concluding quarter of 2022 -- a telling statistic that gives some weight to all that post-PC talk.

Granted, Android tablets have managed to cut into Apple's marketplace share, only there hasn't withal been a single device that could match the iPad on sales or popularity, or even come up close. Nosotros were counting on 'Ice Cream Sandwich' to bulldoze Android tablet sales, but almost five months into the Bone' launch and very few tablets have received the update.

Amazon'due south Kindle Fire, which costs one-half of Apple tree's iPad 2, is the closest Android-based contender with an estimated 6 million units shipped in Q4. Meanwhile, other alternative platforms have crashed and burned.

In spite of this grim flick, there are good options out there that for 1 reason or another oasis't received as much attention from buyers. Nosotros've compiled a comparative table with what we consider are the best tablets either currently available or appear so far. We've also included metascores from our Product Finder engine and review links to help you dig deeper and narrow down your side by side purchase.

Click on the arrow to the right to expand and view the full comparison chart (xi tablets)
Apple iPad
(3rd gen)		 Asus Transformer Prime number Toshiba Excite ten LE Amazon Kindle Burn Samsung Galaxy x.1 Sony Tablet S Samsung Galaxy Tab eight.9 Apple iPad 2 Samsung Milky way Note ten.1 Asus Transformer
Infinity 700		 Asus PadFone
Price $500-$830 $500-$700 $529-$600 $200 $400-$700 $370-$500 $400-$500 $400-$529 -- -- --
Availability March sixteen Now Now Now At present Now Now At present Q2 Q2 April
Metascore 88 72 84 77 81 86
Review/Info More info More info More info Review Review Review Review Review More info More info More info

Processor 1GHz dual-core Apple A5X 1.3GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra three 1.2GHz dual-cadre TI OMAP 4430 1GHz dual-cadre TI OMAP 4430 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra two 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 1.4GHz dual-core (unspecified) 1.6GHz quad-cadre NVIDIA Tegra iii (WiFi model) OR

i.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 8260A (3G / 4G model)

1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 8260A
Display 9.7-inch 10.1-inch ten.1-inch 7-inch x.one-inch 9.4-inch 8.9-inch nine.7-inch 10.1-inch 10.1-inch ten.1-inch (4.3-inch phone)
Resolution 2048 x 1536 1280 10 800 1280 x 800 1024 x 600 1280 x 800 1280 ten 800 1280 x 800 1024 x 768 1280 10 800 1920 x 1200 1280 x 800
RAM 1GB 1GB 1GB 512MB 1GB 1GB 1GB 512MB 1GB 1GB --
Front photographic camera VGA 1.2MP 2MP none 2MP 0.3MP 2MP VGA 2MP 2MP 0.3MP
Rear camera 5MP 8MP 5MP none 3MP 5MP 3.2MP 720p 3MP 8MP 8MP
Storage 16GB, 32GB, 64GB 32GB, 64GB 16GB, 32GB 8GB 16GB, 32GB 16GB, 32GB 16GB, 32GB 16GB 16GB, 32GB, 64GB 16GB, 32GB, 64GB 16GB, 32GB, 64GB

microSD No Yep Aye No ($20 adapter) Yes ($xx adapter) No Aye Yes Yes
USB No ($150 dock) Yes No ($20 adapter) Yeah ($twenty adapter) No (via adapter) (via dock) Yes
HDMI ($40 adapter) Yep Yes No ($twoscore adapter) No ($forty adapter) ($twoscore adapter) (via adapter) Yes Yes
Wireless connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G/4G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth two.1 Wi-Fi, Bluetotth 2.ane Wi-Fi Wi-Fi, Bluetooth ii.1, 3G/4G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.i Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, 3G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth three.0, 3G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G/4G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G
GPS (on 3G/4G models) Yes Yep No Yeah Yes Yes (on 3G model) Yes Yes Yeah

Operating Arrangement iOS 5.ane Android 4.0 Android iii.2 Custom Android fork Android 3.one Android 3.2 Android iii.ii iOS v.one Android 4.0 Android 4.0 Android 4.0
App Market place iTunes Google Play Google Play Amazon Appstore for Android Google Play Google Play Google Play iTunes Google Play Google Play Google Play
Weight 652-662g 585g 508g 414g 567-570g 590g 453g 603g 585g 586g 853g

At $400, the iPad 2 remains one of the all-time tablet options out there and its soon-to-be released successor will assistance Apple secure its reign for a while longer. The third-generation, "new" iPad hits shop shelves on March 16 at the usual $500 starting price, packing a faster dual-core A5X SoC and a groundbreaking 9.7-inch display boasting of a ii,048 x 1,536 resolution.

The new iPad also gets upgraded cameras, optional 4G LTE radios compatible with Verizon or AT&T in the U.South., while maintaining the 10 hours of bombardment life promise. A solid upgrade overall.

Competing in the same price range from the Android camp is the Excite 10 LE, which is probably the sleekest looking tablet we've seen. Toshiba did away with the full-sized ports and a removable battery to achieve a 7.7mm thickness, but it still offers microUSB, microHDMI and a microSD card slot. The ten.1-inch slate has a 1.2-GHz TI OMAP 4430 processor running Android 3.two, with an update to ICS planned for this Spring.

Samsung'due south Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 are holding the fort at the $400 price point, reduced from effectually $500 to compete with the flood of Android tablets out at that place. Both models are scheduled to receive an update to ICS sometime during Q2 2022, when the new Galaxy Note is likewise supposed to arrive. Otherwise the Sony Tablet S, which has received loftier marks for its unconventional all the same ergonomic pattern, is also available for ~$400.

Asus' Transformer Prime is just available in 32GB and 64GB varieties starting at effectually $500 (used to be a hundred more bucks only a calendar week ago). The Taiwanese firm is pitching this as a premium tablet, with enough of power courtesy of Nvidia's Tegra three chip and some neat add-ons like a keyboard dock -- if you're willing to role with another $150. The Transformer Prime has received plenty of praise but that enthusiasm hasn't been backed upwards past huge sales volume.

Regardless of that, Asus plans to continue pushing out powerful tablets in the coming months. The upcoming Transformer Infinity will upwards the dues with a high-resolution 1920 10 1200 pixel 10.1-inch Full HD display and optional 4G, while the Padfone will substantially combine a smartphone and tablet in ane package.

Lastly, we have the Kindle Burn down. Amazon is one of the few players that bet on a depression-cost tablet coupled with a host of tightly integrated services. It's far from the nearly powerful device out there, but equally we've learned already, tablets are about the whole experience and specs are simply part of the film. This strategy -- together with Amazon'southward sales platform and expertise -- has resulted in the best-selling non-iPad tablet. No doubt, Amazon volition follow with a 2nd generation Kindle Burn down sometime this year, but naught concrete has been revealed thus far.