tablet reviews

With all the hoopla about the relative graphics performance of the fourth-generation iPad and the Nexus 10, it's easy to forget another important performance metric: battery life.

Battery life dictates how long you can actually use the unit before it requires a recharge, so I'd say it's pretty darn important. So important in fact that it gets its own blog post. Here I pit the last two generations of iPad, the iPad Mini, the Nexus 7, and the Nexus 10 against each other in a take-no-prisoners battery blood bath! Or acid bath I guess.

The results The results speak for themselves, but if you need further explanation, continue reading after the chart. … Read more

The importance of a tablet's screen quality cannot be understated. The vast majority of your interactions with a given tablet takes place on its screen.

This year we've continued to see tablet screen quality jump by leaps and bounds, especially from the perspective of clarity. Expect tablet screens to at least maintain the current level of quality for the next year.… Read more

The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 is the Transformer Prime as it should have been. A Gandalf the White to the Prime's Saruman. Asus has clearly listened to the grievances -- most notably, GPS issues -- of some Prime owners and in most cases, addresses said grievances and then some.

The TF700 is more than just an upgrade to the Prime. It's also a chance to represent the full potential of the Transformer line. Check out the full review to see if Asus succeeds (despite the Android market's relatively paltry support for high-resolution screens and the Tegra … Read more

Not two months after its release of the "thinnest and lightest" tablet, the Toshiba 10 LE, Toshiba is back with a new 10-inch tablet: the Toshiba Excite 10.

It's not thinner or lighter than the LE, but the Excite 10 does bring Android 4.0, a Tegra 3 CPU, and 128GB expandable storage option to the table.

That may be enough to outclass the LE, but what about tablets that offer more than just a thin profile? My full review of the Toshiba Excite 10 attempts to find answers.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was one of the premier Android tablets when it launched in 2011, with specs that, at the very least, matched top tier Android tablets of the time.

Unfortunately, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 feels almost like a disappointing prequel, rather than a full-fledged "we've improved on every feature!" sequel.

I mean, when a premium tablet gets a follow-up, it's not a crazy thing to expect a lot from said follow-up; however, Samsung went the "budget" route with the Tab 2 10.1, limiting its advances. The problem … Read more

The first quad-core tablet, the Asus Transformer Prime, launched in December 2011, but the adoption rate of quad-core on tablets since then has been disappointingly slow.

The new Acer Iconia Tab A510 marks only the third tablet to use a full quad-core CPU and is actually the first made by a company other than Asus.

But with the Transformer Pad TF300 also using Tegra 3 and currently priced $50 cheaper than the Acer, is there any reason to even consider the A510?

It's an intriguing question -- one that I attempt to answer in the full review of the Acer Iconia Tab A510.… Read more

The Asus Transformer Prime was the great silver hope for Android fans -- and by "silver" I mean "champagne gold" or "amethyst gray" or whatever awkward-sounding color combo Asus assigns to its tablet.

Arguably, the Prime marked the first time Android fans could hold up a tablet to their iPad-owning frenemies and say, "Now I own the most powerful -- on paper at least -- tablet in the universe!" Or something like that.

Aside from some GPS and Wi-Fi issues, the Prime was a robust and powerful tablet, but was probably too expensive for most wallets. Enter: the Transformer Pad TF300.… Read more

The greatest thing about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is its price. The Tab 2 7.0 strikes a balance between features and performance that allows the tablet to be sold for as low as $250.

If the tablet's price had been higher -- say, $350 -- it wouldn't be worth the money. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good tablet, but at the end of the day, it's a depowered version of Samsung's own $350-$400 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.

Getting its price down to $250 puts it right smack-dab in front of the Kindle Fire, its gauntlet tossed between the two. The Tab 2 7.0 is a full Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) tablet with dual cameras and expandable memory. The Fire was designed to deliver to users Amazon's books, video, and music services in the simplest and most straightforward way possible.

Given that, can the Tab 2 7.0 hope to match the Fire as an Amazon consumption device? Let's be honest, the chances are slim, but it doesn't mean it won't be fun finding out just how close it can get.

Quick note, though: this is not a prizefight or a dual review. I won't be comparing these tablets based on everything they can do (see the conclusion of the Tab 2 7.0 review for that). I will however focus on each tablet's strengths as Amazon media consumption devices with an emphasis on books, video, and music. End over-explained disclaimer.… Read more