Best Tablet Devices of 2011
With all the power of a netbook and the accessibility and convenience of a smartphone, the tablet represents the next step in the evolution of mobile devices, and with the quality of hardware available you'll be spoiled for choice when the time comes to choose your next device. As we know though, power is nothing unless it's utilised correctly, and with that motto in mind we've decided to sort the wheat from the chaff and bring a list of 2011's best tablets.
Motorola Xoom - Motorola's debut in the tablet market has made quite a splash and when you take a look at the spec sheet it's easy to see why. The Android 3.0-powered Xoom offers users the very best hardware available, including a 10.1-inch WXVGA display, nVidia Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with dual-LED flash and 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video calling.
BlackBerry PlayBook - RIM's take on the tablet was unveiled back in September and set tongues wagging almost immediately with its neat, well balanced form factor and newly developed QNX-based operating system. The PlayBook has everything a tablet needs, and manages to fit a 1GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM, 5300mAh battery, and dual HD cameras (5-megapixel rear-facing and 3-megapixel front-facing) beneath a vivid and responsive 7-inch LCD touchscreen and the whole package weighs in at less that 400g!
HP TouchPad - HP's touchpad is a stunning piece of equipment. Hardware-wise it's up with the best in the business and offers a 1.2GHz dual-core chip, 1GB RAM, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 6300mAh battery and, perhaps most importantly of all, version 3.0 of HP/Palm's groundbreaking WebOS, an operating system which is both stunning to behold and incredibly simple to use. The TouchPad's WXVGA screen is also something special, and at 9.7-inches it won't give you eye strain if you decide to use it to catch up your favourite TV shows or movies.
HTC Flyer - The tablet is small but perfectly formed and feels solid and well balanced in the hand. Specification-wise the device measures up with the biggest of tablets, offering users a 1.5GHz CPU, 1GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage, as well as 5-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3-megapixel front-facing cameras, and the whole kit and caboodle runs on a specially customised version of Android 2.3/2.4 with HTC's own Sense UI overlay, to make the already intuitive and attractive OS even more functional and appealing. Battery life on the Flyer isn't stellar, but with a 4000mAh cell you'll find it has more than enough legs to see it through a busy day.
iPad 2 - The newly announced iPad 2 is certainly something to behold and this, the successor to the device that re-ignited the tablet craze, looks set to push more boundaries. Featuring dual cameras for FaceTime, capable of 720P video capture, 1GHz Apple A5 dual-core processor which offers twice the performance of the original device and up to 9 times the graphical capability, mirrored HDMI-out and a newly re-designed, super-slim chassis you'll want to give this device some serious consideration when looking at a new tablet. As well as offering impressive hardware you're also looking at the benchmark when it comes to easy to use but powerful software in the form of iOS 4.3!
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