Archos 97 Titanium
If you want an Android iPad then this is what you buy. With a 9.7-inch, 2048 x 1536 IPS LCD screen, the 97 Titanium matches the iPad 4 pixel for pixel, inch for inch. And thanks to the 1.6GHz dual-core CPU with Mali 400 graphics and 1GB of Ram, it doesn’t perform all that differently either. There’s only 8GB of storage but there is a MicroSD slot to fix that particular failing, and the OS is reasonably up to date: Jelly Bean 4.1 in near enough stock form. The 5Mp main camera is a bit weak but the 2Mp webcam is well up to snuff.
If music and video are your thing, the Archos’ media players will play just about everything out of the box, from Flac to 1080p MKV. Naturally for £230 certain sacrifices have been made. The screen, though sharp and colourful, lacks the iPad’s oleophobic coating so fingerprints show up badly. The entire device has a rather built-to-a-price feel to it. But of course it has been built to a price, so what do you expect? Credit where it’s due, it’s thinner than Apple’s baby but only 18g heavier. All in all, not a bad effort.
More Info Archos
Asus Transformer Infinity
Age has not withered Asus’ HD Android tablet one iota. Nearly a year on and it’s still the best dockable ‘droid tablet on the market, though it’s not cheap. The 64GB version with the dock will punch a man-sized hole in £600. Still, at least for your money you are getting something that looks and feels like a genuinely high-end device. And the GPS works properly, which was something you couldn’t always say of Asus’s Transformer Prime tablet. If fondleslab snappery is your wont, the 8Mp camera is a cracker =- one of the best fitted to any current tablet, in fact.
Not only does the IPS LCD screen boast a resolution of 1920 x 1200 so you get the full 1080p banana even when the menu bar is showing along the bottom, but when wound up to 11 it radiates 600cd/m² of brightness which is enough to make the fluid in your eyeballs boil. The 1.6GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 at the heart of the beast provides a perfectly fluid user experience, and Asus has been reasonably prompt with updates from the launch Ice Cream Sandwich to Jelly Bean 4.1. I’d bet 4.2 isn’t far around the corner.
More Info Asus
Next page: Asus VivoTab Smart
COMMENTS
Re: Conclusion?
I think you're being unfair. How can there be a conclusion? He's gone through 3 different operating systems, and 2 of those also have a stylus option (which allows even more possibilities). So, for example, at the end of the Samsung Galaxy Note he says, this is great if you want a stylus, otherwise go for the Nexus 7.
There is no right answer here. The Android tabs are now pretty good. Assuming the Windows 8 ones are as well, it's all now a matter of horses for course (Mmmm lasagne...).
I bought the iPad 3, at the time I got that, I would have said it was by far the best tablet going - with an honourable mention to the Asus Transformer - although as I recall that was going through one of its periods of stock non-availability at that precise moment, or maybe the radio problems on the previous version.
If I was buying a tablet now, it would be a far harder choice. There's Nexus to save cash, Windows or Samsung for stylus-lovers (of which I'm one). The iPad is still excellent (if locked down) and still has the best designed-for-tablet apps, unless there's something specific you need that Apple won't let you have. Although full-fat Windows has the whole lot of programs that run on that, so it's the only plausible option for a laptop replacement - if the Lenovo keyboard is really that good. The Asus Transformer is good for getting some typing done, but from everything I've read it's not quite up to being the only laptop (unless you only have very limited use for one).
In conclusion they're mostly very good, so pick on the features that are most important to you. Choice is good.
10 inch Ainol Hero (snigger)
I've got a 7" Ainol Fire (snigger) and it's the perfect size. Fits in the inside pocket and bridges the gap between my Huawei G300 and 13" laptop. It's cheap and Chinese but actually solid build, decent battery life and reliability. Great screen res as well. It was this or a Nexus 7 but the Nexus 7 didn't have an SD slot.
There's also the 10" Ainol Hero (snigger) which you might want to check out.
Someone in Ainol's marketing department is either a genius or an idiot (slogan, top right)... http://www.ainol.com/
Re: Life's too short for indecision and dithering
Actually l would never use cheap stuff like an iPad. That's a mere china made toy for those who can not afford a proper tablet pc or convertible made in Japan
Re: 10 inch Ainol Hero (snigger)
"enjoy life, enjoy ainol" lol
Re: @Spartacus
Another big selling point for the Nexus range is the regular updates from Google.
