Tablets are slowly becoming the mainstream computing device, and are quickly replacing laptops and even desktops for a large number of people. 2011 was a great year for tablet manufacturers, but 2012 will be even better. Here are just a few of the best Android tablets that hit the market in 2012 so far:
Asus Transformer Prime TF700
The Transformer Prime is probably one of the most well-known tablets in the world, and the TF700 is its slightly updated successor. In addition to the quad core processor, the new model got a Full HD display with a resolution of 1920×1200 pixels, which is quite a marvel to look at. The other specs remain the same, making the TF700 one of the top 5 tablets specs-wise.
Acer Iconia Tab A700
The A700 was introduced by Acer at CES 2012, and it was immediately pegged as the Prime competitor. It’s not hard to see why: the tablet has pretty much the same features as Asus’ top of the line TF700 – a quad core Tegra 3 processor, Full HD display with 1920×1200 resolution, Android Ice Cream Sandwich inside, HDMI out, a 5 megapixels camera on the back, and more. It definitely is the best competitor to the Transformer Prime to date.
Pantech Element
The Pantech Element is a very interesting Android Tablet. It has an 8 inch display with a resolution of 1024×768 pixels, a dual core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor, two cameras and a big 6400 mAh battery. Seems normal, right? Well, it’s also fully water and dust proof – it can even stay submerged under water for 5 minutes! Counting the Gorilla glass on the front and the slim profile, this makes the Element the most rugged everyday tablet you can get – and it’s only going to cost $300 with a contract (a bit more without one).
ZTE T98
The ZTE T98 may look simple and unappealing, but underneath its shell hides the all-powerful Tegra 3 quad core processor and that makes it a tablet worthy of attention. ZTE is marketing it as a high enough budget tablet, and aside from the fast processor, the tablet also offers a 7 inch, 1280×800 display, Ice Cream Sandwich, two cameras, Wifi N, HDMI out and all the sensors a tablet needs – not bad for a sub $300 device.
image source: Engadget
Asus EEE Pad MeMO 171
The MeMO 171 from Asus aims to bring the stylus back – it has a separate tube in its body to hold the chrome stylus, and that makes it the perfect tablet for any note takers out there. Well, actually, there’s some software involved, but you have to see it to truly appreciate it. The specs are pretty decent, although not the best in class, but if you just take a lot of notes and drawings, you won’t care anyway.
Toshiba Excite X10
Toshiba’s second attempt at entering the tablet market may be more successful than the first one – the Excite X10 tablet is much better than its predecessor (the 10 inch Thrive). It’s got a unique and attractive design, beautiful 10.1 inch IPS screen, a dual core processor and 1GB of RAM, 16 or 32 GB of internal memory, HDMI out and all the other specs that you’re used to seeing on the newest tablets – it’s also the thinnest tablet on the market, if that interests you.
Samsung Galaxy Note
The Galaxy Note is neither a tablet, nor a smartphone, but a very interesting hybrid. Its 5 inch display is big enough for taking notes, and yet the whole device is small enough to be used as a phone (although it won’t fit in most pockets). The hardware specs can rival any tablet or smartphone out there – there’s a dual core Exynos chipset inside, a big battery with a 10+ hours lifespan, a beautiful Super AMOLED display with HD resolution, two cameras, plenty of storage space, HDMI out, NFC and more.
There’s a lot more Android tablets coming out in the following months, but so far, the above seven are the best in their class. Stay tuned for more in the near future!
