Which is the best tablet of 2014?

[ninja_butler]

I used to have a Galaxy Tab2 10" but I had to sell it, I bought it on a special discount (£50 cashback + £20 Tesco discount) so I got it very cheap and sold it a year later for about £15 less than I paid for it.

But being the only tablet I've ever owned I can't say how it compared to other tablets, and trying to find useful "best tablet" guides on the internet is difficult. Most of the "official" guides by magazines and newspapers to me seem a little slanted, and half of them don't even mention Samsung in their top 25 which surprised me.

So, then I look at forums like DigitalSpy to read reviews from real people. If anything it's even more confusing because there will be one guy who's a tech expert slating a tablet for it's poor resolution and build quality and then another tech expert pointing out that the other guy's tablet is laggy. Then someone else chips in and says X tablet blows both of them out of the water and then another guy says he doesn't know what he's talking about, and then another guy says they are all equally good/bad in their own way, and round and round and round they go until I get dizzy and give up.

Does anyone really know which is the best tablet? The one tablet I will definitely not buy is an iPad because I despise Apple and their rip-off ways, and I'm not too keen on Sony either, they've gotten a bit too greedy too. But whatever, the big question is, £ for £ which is THE best tablet?

[Tarmacsurfer]

There is no definitive "best" because as you have just pointed out, every user has different needs and experiences every tablet differently.

Personally I did a fair bit of research and opted for a Pipo M6 Pro, google it for the specs. Paid around £180 for it and I'm very happy indeed.
____________________
I'm immortal. Well, so far.

[johnnyarctic]

nexus 7? its what i used to procrastinate at work.
____________________
Current Ride: VFR750

[el_oso]

iPad or Sony Xperia Z. In my honest opinion the iPad is the better tablet, I just don't like the iOS experience. It's too much of a toy for me so I don't find it that useful. It is however amazingly light and mobile.

I'm an android fanboi. However it's not quite there app wise for tablets. Most of the big stuff is there, but some big stuff is missing as well. There is no messaging centre like whatsapp. At least with iOS you have iMessage.

On the smaller side is the nexus 7. That is by far the best of the smaller screen tab. It doesn't feel premium, but feels more useable, maybe ergonomic is the word. It's also a stock android which I like but still suffers with lack of messaging + not all apps are compatible with tablets.
____________________
Duke 390
Previous: '05 XR125L | '96 XJ600S Diversion |'05 Suzuki GSXR1000 | '05 Honda CBR125-R | '97 YZF 600R Thundercat | '11 Honda CBR250
Car: Jeep Wrangler 4.0L

[GetawayDj]

I'd probably say the LG G PAD 8.3 if can get them on offer. Picked one up for my mum about a month ago in tesco for £120. Done everything she wanted it to do. Speakers are on one side when held in portrait so sound somes out lobsided which I dont like, but in landscape when watching something it balances out.
I just use it occasionaly to play Snes & Playstation roms which handles with ease with a PS3 controller. Just doesnt seem to be any lag when doing anything on it.
____________________
CBF 125 (sold), XJ 600 Diversion (sold), RF900
Renault Kangoo x2 (sold), Ford Transit x 2

[blahheed]

i have wanting one also,

i have seen some that get linked through your phone to get online,
what about using wifi ?
do some have sim card slots? (how does that work?)

what is best?
____________________
Big

[t121anf]

£ for £

Tesco Hudl

[Phil.]

[Knacker]

Iv had a few Tablets and couldn't understand the hype about iPads...Then I bought 1.

Can't see why people bother with anything else. Everything about it just says quality.
____________________
Current: Gsxr 600 Srad - GS125 - DT125
Previous: K1 GSXR 1000

[panrider_uk]

Just bought a Sony Xperia Z2 10".

It's a superb tablet although a bit pricey.
____________________
Current bikes: Honda ST1100 Pan European. Moto Guzzi V85 TT Travel

[Rowey]

If I was to get one now if would be a Nexus 7.

The new Galaxy Tab S range looks pretty good. Nice screens, design and top specs, if you can get along with the rubbish skin and non-removable bloat ware.

However the rumours flying about say there is a Nexus 8 coming out soon. These same people say it is coming with a Nvidia Tegra K1 processor. If the specs/hype is to be believed, this CPU should beast games better than anything else. I has a fully fledged Kepler graphics core from their laptop/desktop GPUs. It already runs the Unreal Engine 4, and look how pretty it does it.
____________________
ZX6R C6F.
Never argue with an idiot. They'll only bring you down to their level, and beat you with experience.

[Hetzer]

Our two Nexus-7s are still going strong 18 months in.
____________________
"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[dodsi]

I have a nexus 10, going strong after a year of having it.

the Nexus 7 is by far better value £ for £ as the 10 is about double the cost.

The new nexus 7 has a great spec and no bloatware!

[bladerunner]

I'm also an android fan....but my old ipad2 is still flawless after 3 years hard use. Nexus7 is still like new 18months of service later and as much as I hate to say it even the Tesco hudle is up to the job of streaming xbmc media on the fly. Just about every budget tablet before these has died within 6-12months and proved false economy.
____________________
Current bikes...cbr929, KDX200's, Rd125lc mk2, RGV250's

[Nexus Icon]

I can't fault my iPad 2. It still works flawlessly, since launch month, and I can't imagine being stuck with the wife's Xoom for more than a cursory moment.

Android's UI sucks compared to IOS, regardless of what you (or I) might think of Apple, the company.
____________________
Greetings from Shitsville!

[Ol]

i've got a 3 year old Ipad, and a 3 month old 256Gb Windows Surface Pro 2 that cost me just short of £800.... i can hand on heart say i still use the Ipad just about every day and have barely touched the Windows Tablet.

The Ipad feels quality, even for 3 year old technology, and it works as well as the day i bought it.

i've had a few cheap tablets over the past few years, mostly for the kids to mess about with, Arnova etc, and they've all been flimsy and haven't lasted... Ipad still going strong, even with the kids throwing it about playing angry birds etc!
____________________
Previous: Cub50, NRG50, TS50, YB100, CB125, NSR125, ZZR600, CBF1000, SV650s, ZX6R B1H, XT250, Mito Powered Crosser, WRF450, , FZ600, VN800, GSXR600 - Currently CB1000R

[CBFcarl]

I have got a 3rd Gen iPad wifi and my lad has a Samsung Galaxy 3 tablet. I have used both and I love the iPad (and in no way shape or form an Apple fanboi). The Samsung just feels like a fat android phone. The screen suffers in comparison, and the performance just isnt the same. I only got the iPad through a staff offer (there was no way I would have paid what they ask for, and definately not in one go).

Find a second hand iPad, mine is two years old this month but I have never had an issue with it and it still runs as well as when I first got it. Should I ever need to replace it, I will look for an affordable like for like replacement, or look to something like the Google Nexus.

[rideslikean00...]

Meh. I personally think tablets are still a bit gimmicky. It's a bit more than the old "oversized smartphone / laptop without keyboard" argument, but I still think it's an uncomfortable in-between point to both. It has the weaknesses of both (touchscreen of smartphone / size & weight of lightish laptop) with few of the strengths. Could go on and on about this cos I'm a tech head, well more I was now I can't be arsed cos I'd rather ride or write songs or whatever, but I'll spare everyone.

I bought and modified a Kindle Fire HD 7 (old kind before they face lifted it and removed the mini HDMI which was the best feature cos I used to take it round to friends houses to play HD movies easily, plug into TV and go) and I loved it for about 6 months, now it doesn't get used, and this was for months before I bought the MacBook Air I'm currently writing this on. It's sat on the bedside chest of drawers gathering dust.

But to play devil's advocate, if I were to pick one it would be a Google Nexus, probably the 7. I've never really liked iOS, too limited and lots of apps you need to pay for from third party developers to get anything close to a decent device, and iOS 7 made the whole thing flatter and uglier from a UI perspective, I'm very disappointed the new version of OS X on Macs is going to look the same because it's hideous, very sad to see Apple going from trailblazing innovation and turning the world's perceptions of tech on it's head to playing follow the leader to Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows 8, and that's from someone who doesn't really like Apple in the first place but is giving credit where it is due (outside of the MacBook Air I could take or leave every other thing they do, iPhones/iPads/iMacs don't interest me and I still hate iTunes).

I've briefly used a Microsoft Surface Pro 2 and thought it was even worse than an Android tablet or iPad, again the "laptop without keyboard" argument - no, the snap-on keyboard doesn't count for me, if it's not part of the basic device it can never be a proper laptop. Either get a laptop or don't, avoid the Surface Pro, Metro is ugly, the touch interface is woefully unintuitive and Windows 8 is still an ugly puppy nipping at the heels of Windows 7, which some problems aside is the best OS Microsoft have ever made, it still powers most of my devices including my media centre PC.

I was a little shocked when one of my co-workers bought 2 iPad Airs, the top model with the 3G SIM card thing etc, and paid around £900 for each one, when only two months later I picked up a brand new MacBook Air 11.6" model with 120GB SSD which has a full keyboard and can run both OS X and Windows 7 etc flawlessly for £749. That to me says the iPad is not good value, and if I ever won one or whatever it'd go straight on eBay.

TL;DR - I don't like tablets cos they're not flexible enough, but when pushed would choose a Nexus 7, not an iPad cos they're too expensive for something so limited.

[slowlydoesit]

[Tarmacsurfer]

[rideslikean00...]

[DoohanFan]

Tramadol.
On them at the moment for back issues , and as a tablet they are epic.
____________________
Bike history: GP100, NS125R ( wrote off ) , RG125 FUN, VFR400 NC30 ( nicked ). VFR400NC30 (race tuned), R6 (parts robbed ), CBR929 RRY, CBR1000 RR-4

[rideslikean00...]

[rideslikean00...]

[ninja_butler]

I settled on a Galaxy Tab 3 8" a couple of weeks ago, I bought mine for £130 as an "as new, returned item" but Argos are selling them for just £140 now so I should have gone to Argos. It wasn't the cheapest option but from what I've read, Samsung Tabs get a thumbs-up for consistent quality and reliability, so I went with the safe option.

Big downside for me I didn't take account of: The speaker (that's singular not plural) is piss-poor. I assumed it would have dual speakers like my old Galaxy Tab 2 10", but it's really designed to be used only with earphones. Why hasn't speaker technology improved? The speakers on my old PSP are better than the Galaxy Tab.