iPad Mini
It’s been a busy year for tablet makers. To help you navigate through all of the choices that are available for sale this holiday season, we’ve put together a list of the top 5 tablets that are available this year. Each entry includes the name of the device, the price and some details that summarize the tablet’s features.
1. iPad 4/iPad Mini, $499 16GB/$329 16GB: Apple is back this year with two new choices in iPad — the iPad 4 and the iPad Mini. The iPad 4 has a 9.7-inch LED backlit screen with a resolution of 2048 x 1536. It has two high-def cameras for shooting images and videos (720/1080) and for using Facetime. It runs a dual core A6X chip. The iPad Mini is Apple’s 7.9-inch tablet that runs Apple’s dual-core A5 chip. It comes with a 1024-by-768 resolution screen, two cameras and comes with a lightning to USB cable. Both sell apps through the App Store.
2. Kindle Fire HD (7-inch 16GB $199/8.9-inch 32GB $499): The latest 7-inch Kindle tablet comes with a 1280×800 HD display with an anti-glare filter, a 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor, as well as Dolby speakers, and a camera for shooting photos, videos and using Skype. The 8.9-inch version has a 1920×1200 HD display and a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor. These Android devices can access apps through Amazon’s App Store.
3. Google’s Nexus 7 (16GB $199) & Nexus 10 (16GB $399): The Nexus 7 has a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and runs a NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The Nexus 10 has a 2560 x 1600 resolution 10-inch display and comes with a dual-core ARM Cortex A15 processor, which was created in partnership with Samsung. Both devices have a front-facing camera and were designed for multi-users, so different members of the family can have their own login. These Android devices can access apps from Google Play.
4. Nook HD (7-inch 8GB $199): Barnes & Noble’s latest 7-inch device is designed to be shared by families, as you can create different profiles with different logins (one profile must be designated to pay for all purchases). It has a 1440 x 900 pixel resolution screen. It does not have a camera. A 16GB version is available for $229. Apps on this device are available through the Nook Store.
5. Microsoft Surface, $499 32GB: Micorsoft’s latest tablet comes with a 10.6-inch HD display that has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It runs on a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor. It comes with two cameras that can shoot photos, video (720p), and for using Skype. Apps on this device are available through the Windows Store.