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Updated: Two new entries in our list of the best Android tablets

By James Rivington

If you’re looking for a tablet and don’t fancy an iPad, then Android is currently the way to go. (Don’t know what an Android tablet is? Check out: what is an Android tablet?)

There are other options out there; Windows 7 tablets are available, the BlackBerry PlayBook is on sale now and the HP TouchPad has come and gone in a flurry of £99 panic-buying. But Android 3.2 is currently the main OS rival to the iPad, and the products are still creeping onto the shelves one by one.

We’ve recently seen the launch of Nvidia’s next-generation Tegra 3 chip which is destined to power 2012′s quad-core Android tablets to new heights. The likes of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime are already beckoning in the new era, and with next year’s full-on release of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the iPad might soon be feeling the heat.

Some tablets have ten-inch screens, others seven, and there are big differences in battery life, processing power and on-board RAM. So while we wait for the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Amazon Kindle Fire, let’s see what the current best tablets are…

1. Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

The first quad-core Tegra 3 tablet smashes its way to the top of our list

The original Asus Eee Pad Transformer is still one of the best Android tablets around, but the Prime is the best of them all.

It’s one step better than its predecessor in every respect, and is the first tablet to launch with Nvidia’s quad-core Tegra 3 CPU which adds super-powers and increased power efficiency.

Playing 1080p videos is no longer a problem, with high-res clips playing on the Prime’s albeit sub-1080p display smoothly and without issue. It’s also the thinnest tablet we’ve yet seen, and comes with a gorgeous keyboard dock which adds an additional 8-hours of battery life to tablet unit’s 9-hours.

It’s the best Android tablet yet launched, and it’ll be unleashed on the UK in January in one single 32GB flavour with keyboard dock and a £499 price tag.

2. Asus Eee Pad Slider

Best Android tablet for: doing things a little differently

The Apple iPad 2 is the daddy. It doesn’t matter what the arguments for Android are, the fact is that the iPad is still just about the best out-and-out tablet out there. And that’s why the Slider is such a compelling option – it’s not a straight iPad-competitor, it offers something different. The slide-out keyboard offers flexibility and functionality not on offer elsewhere.

It’s a different prospect to the Transformer Prime above in that it cannot be disconnected from its keyboard, nor does it pack the Tegra 3 innards.

But what it does do is make it easier to work on the train, type emails and documents with the convenience of not needing a dock or peripheral. What’s more, the screen is the best we’ve seen on a 10-inch Android tablet, and it’s also the most responsive. It’s not for everyone, but it’s currently one of the very best tablets for showing off everything that Android can do.

3. Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9

Best Android tablet for: portability and power

In at number three is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 – and it’s a funny little thing. It’s essentially the same as its older brother, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, but with an 8.9-inch screen. It’s slightly thinner and lighter, and consequently more convenient for anyone wanting to stuff it in a bag.

Apart from these physical attributes, the internal components are basically the same. So you get the same slick performance and overall tablet experience. We’ve put this above the 10.1 because of the increased convenience owed to its slightly smaller size, but that shouldn’t put you off going for the 10.1 if you’re after a bigger screen.

4. Asus Eee Pad Transformer

Best Android tablet PC for: replacing your netbook

We love the Asus Eee Pad Transformer. It’s been around for a while now, and in our opinion, it’s still one of the most compelling Android tablets available. Not only is it powerful and well featured, it’s designed to work with a keyboard dock which turns it into a fully-fledged Android-powered netbook.

The fact is that Android as an OS is still lagging behind iOS in terms of tablet usability, so products need a USP. And on that score, this is the tablet that changed the game.

So with the release of the Transformer Prime, you may well find this tablet at discounted prices. And thus could be had for a bargain if you search hard enough

5. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Best Android tablet for: the out-and-out tablet experience

While the Transformer and Slider offer something a little different at an unbeatable price, our number 5 -the Galaxy Tab 10.1 – offers a direct alternative to Apple’s iPad 2. Sporting the Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, it’s both marginally thinner and lighter than the iPad 2. This was some achievement, especially when you consider the fuss Apple made about how thin and light the iPad 2 was on launch.

But it has since been beaten on this front by its little 8.9-inch sibling and of course the Transformer Prime.

If you want an iPad-like tablet that’s not an iPad, this is the one. The prices are the same as the iPad 2, so it’s a straight shoot-out on features..

6. Motorola Xoom 2

Best Android tablet for: fast dual-core performance

In at a disappointing number 6, the Motorola Xoom 2′s most noticeable upgrade might be in the chassis, but it’s also had an upgrade to a 1.2GHz CPU, along with Android 3.2.This has produced a tablet that’s quite snappy overall, though it does still suffer from the odd moment where swipes take a moment to register.

In all honesty, we’re rather disappointed with the Xoom 2. It’s not the all-conquering tablet we were hoping it was going to be. It doesn’t quite match the best tablets above or the iPad for quality, and many good Android tablets have it beaten for value.

Ultimately, the Xoom 2 is an improvement over the original Xoom, but not over the competition

7. Sony Tablet S

Best Android tablet for: PlayStation gaming

As a veritable mega-giant in the consumer tech universe, Sony’s landing on Planet Tablet was always going to be interesting. Blasting off alongside the fold-in-half Tablet P, the Tablet S has a unique wedge-shaped design and top-end specs.

It’s a very decent and refined tablet, and has the unique feature of having access to original PlayStation games. The only issue is that it’s not as tidy as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and not as versatile as the Transformer. Apart from that, it’s one of the best Android tablets out there.

8. Motorola Xoom

Best Android tablet for: sleek good looks and solid performance

At number eight we have the original Motorola Xoom. The Xoom was the first Honeycomb tablet to hit the shelves, and is thus the grandfather of the Android stable.

Current prices are starting at about £300, which is great value for a 10-inch tablet of this calibre and it’s thus worthy of your attention. Solid build quality, decent battery life, good performance. Beware though, the Motorola Xoom 2 already here.

9. Toshiba AT100 / Thrive

Best Android tablet for: anyone who wants a full-size HDMI port

There’s a predicament with the Toshiba AT100: it has a certain appeal for advanced users who’ll appreciate the slick performance, but the bulky size is a major problem.

One brilliant move was to make the USB and HDMI ports full size. You can just unplug your Xbox and snap in the Toshiba AT100 when you want to watch on an HD TV. The tablet enables you to plug in a regular keyboard and mouse – this ease of adding peripherals is a win. Battery life is another bonus. Yet, the hefty size and weight (plus the passable screen quality) is the main reason we prefer other recent tablets.

10. LG Optimus Pad

Best Android tablet for: Playing around with 3D

The consumer electronics giants are throwing everything at 3D, and LG decided that its first Android tablet should play a role in its ’3D is the best’ hearts and minds mission. The tablet has dual-5MP cameras which work together to shoot 3D images and record 3D footage. Cool, huh? The problem is that there’s no 3D screen, so if you want to watch your 3D movies you’ll need to either plug the tablet into a 3D TV or watch in anaglyph 3D on the tablet’s screen. If you’re crazy about 3D, though, this is your next Android tablet

11. Acer Iconia Tab A500

Best Android tablet for: fans of brushed aluminium bodywork

Acer’s Android tablet is good looking and offers similar performance to the other Android 3.0 tablets on show here. We like it, but it’s missing a bit of sparkle and there’s not much here that we can cling on to. It’s not as stylish as the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and doesn’t offer anything different like the Transformer does with its keyboard.

12. Acer Iconia Tab A100

Best Android tablet for: budget 7-inch tablet performance

It’s hard to recommend the Acer Iconia Tab A100 in light of the 10-inch alternatives. Yet, for ebook fans and those who like smaller tabs, this is the best of the 7-inch lot.

In some ways, the BlackBerry PlayBook is better in a technical sense – at least it does real multitasking – but it has too few apps. We like the A100 for an express purpose: greater mobility and book reading. For most tasks, a 10-inch tablet is a wiser bet. But for well under £300, this is not a bad product.

13. HTC Flyer

Best Android tablet for: Portability and fans of Sense

HTC has decided to release this tablet running on Android Gingerbread, which will upset some purists that believe these tablets should run on Honeycomb. However, the HTC Sense overlay deals with that, offering a new range of widgets and content to mask the fact it’s running older versions of the OS (although a Honeycomb update is imminent).

The Update to Honeycomb has also just been announced, so don’t let that Android issue put you off.The Flyer has a 7-inch LCD screen, and comes with an aluminium unibody shell that feels very nice in the hand. However, with a price of nearly £600, can this tablet compete?

14. Archos 101 G9

Best Android tablet for: those on a budget

If you’re in the market for a capable tablet, but have a limited budget, then this is one of the best options outside of the price cuts that you can get.The potential problem is we’re about to be bombarded by cut-price tablets, and much better units can be had for this kind of cash – tablets with more memory, built from better materials and generally put together with more love.

15. Samsung Galaxy Tab

The original iPad rival – does the Galaxy Tab still have something to offer?

Samsung’s original 7-inch Galaxy Tab is looking a bit old and tired now, and we weren’t big fans of it when it was brand new anyway. However, with heavy discounts, this tablet is now available for under £300 and there are plenty of attractive 3G package deals available. There’s no Android 3.0 here though, which makes this Tab little more than a smartphone on steroids.

Amazon Kindle Fire

Best Android tablet for: the revolutionary ecosystem and discounted price

The Kindle Fire is a curious beast. While it’s not out in the UK yet, it’s making waves in the USA by virtue of its majorly modified Android 2.3 interface, its integrated iPad-like Amazon ecosystem and of course… a heavily subsidised price.

We’ve reviewed the Fire, and we think it’s a brilliant tablet for the price. But until a worldwide or even UK launch is confirmed, we can’t place it in our list. We don’t know how much it’s going to cost, and we don’t know if all the features available in the US will be included elsewhere.

So until then it’s a tantalising prospect. A star in the making.

see more http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets/15-best-android-tablets-in-the-world-905504

By Dean Evans

At one end of the scale, CES is about big, high-end product announcements – the world’s biggest TV, the smallest pico projector, hi-fi speakers that cost more than your car. Or are bigger than your car.

At the other end it’s about companies you’ve never (or barely) heard of trying to catch the tired eye of a wandering blogger with head-mounted displays, portable scanners and USB penknives.

Filter out the noise with our pick of the best gadgets and tech of CES 2012.

1. Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook

You know that it’s a low-key CES when laptops are the stars of the show. Of course, the Dell XPS 13 isn’t just any old laptop. It’s part of the first wave of Intel Ultrabooks, super skinny portables that hope to outdo the MacBook Air (for power, if not skinny styling).

The XPS 13 impresses with a super model waistline that thins from 18mm down to 6mm. But it still manages to incorporate a 13.3-inch (1366 x 768) Gorilla Glass display, Core i5 processor, 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM. This is the new shape of laptops for 2012. Whether it’s another fad remains to be seen.

2. LG 55-inch 3D OLED HD TV

You’ve gotta hate the TV industry. Whatever HD TV you eventually buy, there’s always a newer, smarter, brighter and sleeker model waiting to outdo it.

At least we can see where the technology train is heading. Next stop: LG’s 55-inch 3D OLED HD TV.

The 55EM9600 is the world’s largest OLED telly. Not only is it superbly bright and clear, but it’s almost ridiculously thin. Get a ruler out and you’ll see it’s a mere 4mm thick, with a 1mm bezel that gives the impression of an edge-to-edge picture.

3. Samsung ‘Smart Evolution’ kit

Want a future-proof TV? Samsung is claiming that its 2012 Smart TVs will be exactly that thanks to a modular upgrade feature. “Thanks to its proprietary system-on-chip technology, Samsung is the only company that can deliver an evolving TV,” says the company.

4. Fujifilm X-Pro1

Fujifilm’s first compact system is a triumph. The redesigned sensor on theFujifilm X-Pro1 uses a new colour filter array, inspired by traditional film cameras. The sensor is powered by a brand new EXR processor and Fujifilm has incorporated the combined electronic and optical viewfinder it first outed on the FinePix X100 model.

5. Acer Iconia Tab A700

If you want to beat the iPad 2 (or any iPad 3 or iPad 2S or iPad 2 HD), then you’ve got to be bold with your technology. Enter the Acer Iconia Tab A700, a Tegra 3-powered tablet of tomorrow running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

The A700 arguably sets the bar for tablets to come during 2012. It boasts a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 10.1-inch 1080p touch panel. HDMI, MicroSD and micro USB ports give it flexible connectivity that iPad owners can only dream of.

6. Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga

Why do you need an Ultrabook when you could have the flip-and-fold Windows 8 tablet/laptop that is the clever Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga?

It’s effectively four devices in one. You can use it as a standard 13.3-inch notebook or as a slate-style tablet. Flip the keyboard backwards and the screen stands up like a small monitor. Open it out in a triangle shape to use it in ‘tent’ mode.

As our Dan Grabham points out: “It’s like Microsoft’s vision for the Tablet PC from 2002. Only good.” This sort of flexible design could give Windows 8 devices a real edge over their iOS and Android rivals.

7. Razer ‘Project Fiona’ gaming tablet

This is how you do a gaming tablet! Razer’s eye-catching ‘Project Fiona’concept combines a chunky Windows 7 tablet with two fixed analogue game controllers that stick out on either side like jug-ears.

Powered by an Ivy Bridge Core i7 processor, it boasts a 10.1-inch touch display and has been spotted smoothly running Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and Skyrim.

We’d love a portable Xbox 360 like this. It would be ideal for couch potato gaming when the wife wants to watch the telly…

8. JVC GY-HMQ10 4K camcorder

Remember when 1080p full HD was the pinnacle of video capture? Not any more. JVC’s GY-HMQ10 is the world’s first 4K handheld camcorder capable of recording footage at a sky-high resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. This £5K gadget will go nicely with LG’s 84-inch Ultra Definition TV.

9. MakerBot Replicator

In the future, you won’t BUY a new toy, you’ll PRINT it. Last year, MakerBot showcased its single-colour 3D printer – the Thing-O-Matic. A year on and thenew Replicator model can print 3D objects in two colours.

It uses either acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), which is also used to make Lego bricks, or Polylactic acid, a biodegradable material made from corn. At $1,749 it can make the most expensive plastic whistle you’ve ever owned. Or replacement Lego bricks…

10. Voice/motion control

With Kinect heading to Windows and Siri presumably destined for an Apple TV, CE companies are keen to add gesture control and voice commands to their next-gen telly boxes. Samsung and LG have both demonstrated the technology at this year’s CES. The days of the old IR remote control could be numbered.

See more: http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets/the-10-best-gadgets-and-tech-at-ces-2012-1054305

Adobe Photoshop may be the world’s most famous image-editor, but it’s a complex, professional tool with a professional price tag. Photoshop Elements is the ‘amateur’ alternative. It’s much cheaper and it’s designed not just for experts, but novices and intermediate photographers too.

It’s designed around Adobe Photoshop, and in its Full Edit mode it has many similarities with Photoshop and the same techniques can often be used in both programs. Some of Photoshop’s more advanced features have been taken away in Elements, though, and a range of novice-friendly quick fix tools and effects have been added, with Quick and Guided Edit modes designed for less experienced users.

In Full Edit mode, Elements has much in common with Photoshop, but there are also Quick and Guided Edit modes.

Elements is also designed more as a complete end-to-end tool for all your photographic activities. It comes with an Organizer which you can use to catalog your whole photo collection, offers simple image enhancement tools and can be used to launch a whole series of ‘creations’ like photo books, greetings cards and more.

The Elements Organizer is an application in its own right, managing, sorting and searching your photo collection.

You can get Photoshop Elements on its own, but it’s also available as a bundle with Adobe Premiere Elements, Adobe’s amateur-orientated video editing program. This has the same relationship to Adobe Premiere as Elements does to Photoshop. The Organizer works with both programs, which is why you’ll see references to video, even if you just go for the Elements-only version.

New features for Elements 10

Elements 10 comes with a list of enhancements to both the Organizer and the Elements editor itself. The Organizer gets some interesting new visual search tools which use clever image-analysis techniques. Not everyone has the time or patience to apply keywords to their photos, so this offers an alternative way of finding matching images where the software does the work, not you.

There are enhancements for social networkers, too. You can now use your Facebook friends list to tag photos, and it’s possible to upload videos straight to YouTube. It’s never been that hard to do using YouTube’s own upload tools, but you might find it useful to be able to do it from within the Organizer.

Improvements to the Elements editor include 30 new Smart Brush effects and patterns which you can paint straight on to your photos. There are three new Guided Edit effects, too, for those who want to enhance their pictures and learn at the same time.

New overlays for the Crop tool help you compose your photos more effectively according to the Rule of Thirds and the Golden Mean, and it’s now possible to add text to a path (curved line), the outline of a shape or a selection. This won’t hold much interest if you use Elements mainly for photography, but it enables you to add more interesting text effects to greetings cards, calendars and other photo creations.

To see more of Adobe Photoshop Elements, click this link: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/software/graphics-and-media-software/image-editing-software/adobe-photoshop-elements-10-1027864/review?artc_pg=1

CES 2012: Stylus Photo 1500W offers 13×19 inch prints

By Amy Davies

Epson has introduced a new wide format photo printer, which is capable of offering gallery standard prints at up to 13 x 19 inches.

The Epson Stylus Photo 1500W is also capable of wireless networking and mobile printing.

Epson’s own exclusive Advanced MicroPiezo print head is combined with DX5 technology in the new printer, designed specially for accurate ink placement, smooth gradations and amazing skin tones.

Wireless networking means that anyone on the same network can use the printer, while the Epson iPrint app allows users to print and share from a smartphone or tablet.

Gallery quality prints can be printed on a range of borderless sizes, including 6×4 inch, 13×19 inch and 12 x 12 inch.

Long lasting

Additional features include the ability to create smudge, scratch and water resistant prints that last up to 200 years in storage and up to 98 years on display under glass.

A range of eco features and environmental qualities including Energy Star and RoHS compliance are also available.

Adobe Photoshop Elements is bundled with the printer, meaning other projects including brochures, posters, photo enlargements and personalised CDs and DVDs can also be created and printed via the printer.

The Epson Stylus Photo 1500W UK price is £249. It will be available to buy from March.

See More http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/epson-unveils-new-a3-printer-1053939

CES 2012: Dell debuts its Intel Ultrabook. And it’s rather fine

By Dan Grabham

Dell isn’t among the first manufacturers to put an Intel Ultrabook on the streets, but it isn’t exactly late to the party.

The company doesn’t have an official attendance at CES 2012unlike many other manufacturers such as HP, Acer and Asus, so it sent us an early unit for a hands on last week.

Unfortunately the unit we saw wasn’t a final shipping model so we weren’t able to benchmark and properly review it. This was a real shame, but we’re looking forward to getting our hands on a final unit soon for our full XPS 13 review.

The first thing that strikes you about the XPS 13 is how compact it is. Despite it being a 13-inch display, the 31.6 x 20.5 cm footprint is narrow and Dell makes no secret of its desire to be smaller than the 13-inch MacBook Air but with a similar screen size.

It’s thin, too, with a 6-18mm footprint and is a gorgeous-looking device. Our previous Ultrabook design best has to be the Asus Zenbook but the Dell XPS 13 really cuts it. It looks the part and feels it too at 1.4Kg.

Despite initial concerns over the keyboard, it proved very comfortable to type on and we’d happily recommend it. The keys may not be as stylish as the MacBook Air’s or Zenbook’s, but there is more of an accent on practicality. The keyboard is also backlit.

The mouse buttons are a little clicky for our liking but you do get used to them. Unlike with some other laptops where the trackpad can be a bit slippy, here it’s the opposite – things can get a bit sticky, especially if you have slightly sweaty fingers.

We were a little disappointed with the screen (which is devilishly thin, by the way) – the MacBook Air’s isn’t the finest but we still prefer it compared to this. It just isn’t as crisp as it could be, and looks quite grainy on a white background.

However, it should be pointed out once again that this is a pre-production unit and Dell says the final retail SKU will carry a more developed display. That should make it brighter, with better viewing angles – we’ll test this thoroughly when the finished product arrives.

The hinge is really nicely weighted and adds to the chassis’ feel of quality. As with other Ultrabooks, Dell has made a real effort not to plaster the base with stickers and ugly uneven surfaces. Indeed, the bottom of the unit is made from carbon fibre while the rest (aside from the keyboard and tray) is made from machined aluminium. The edge-to-edge screen is made from Gorilla Glass.

At high volumes the sound is distorted, which is a shame. The sound at lower volumes is good quality.

The XPS 13 takes the unusual step of incorporating DisplayPort as its display output. We can see this makes sense for some users and, of course, the MacBook Air has Thunderbolt, but we’d have thought a mini-HDMI would make more sense. You get two USB ports (one USB 3.0) and a headphone jack besides this.

Whether we’d recommend the XPS 13 depends on its price. We expect it to be competitive, but as we’ve seen with previous ultraportables, there’s only so cheap you can be with a thin and light chassis, Intel Core i5 or i7 under the hood, 4GB of memory and a 128/256GB SSD – expect it to start at around £899 for the Core i5 versin.

Dell has said that later in the year the XPS 13 will also come in a variant with Core i3, so that should be available at a more acceptable price point.

See more http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/hands-on-dell-xps-13-review-1053103

By Patrick Goss

The Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook has been officially unveiled, offering up a thin and light chassis and an Intel Core i5 processor.

Ultrabooks, using Intel’s chips, are already a major theme in CES 2012, and Samsung’s beautiful Series 9 flagship has been joined by a little brother in the Series 5.

Neil Sawyer, Head of IT Marketing for Samsung UK & Ireland, said, “Based on in-depth market research and consumer surveys, we propose a new type of Ultrabook which will change the perception of Ultrabooks among consumers.

Demand

“Our findings indicate that consumers demand much more than just a thin and light notebook; they want better performance and user storage on a daily basis, as digital files are becoming larger,” he added.

“The Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook will be the first to answer these needs. The heavily competitive and fast changing media environment demands for a device that will meet these requirements and that is why we present the Series 5 Ultrabook.”

What you get for your, as yet unspecified, buck, is a 2nd Gen Intel Core i5 and AMD Radeon HD graphics card.

The notebook is available in 13-inch or 14-inch flavours with up to 8GB of RAM and a boot time of 20 seconds.

You can also have up to 1TB of storage, and your mass of films will look lovely on the 300nit HD LED SuperBright screen.

See more http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/samsung-series-5-ultrabook-takes-a-bow-1053132