Tablet Computer Test 2014

With Christmas coming up, the big buying season is on its way. On that occasion we have tested 14 new tablet computers. They were all put up to the test.
It is doubtful that today you could find gadgets that are being sold faster than tablets. There are more of them being sold that laptops and netbooks nowadays. This is beneficial for the users as with more units being sold, the price goes down. Even though “Apple Ipad” and “iPad Mini” are still the most popular tablets, “Android” is catching up fast. The cheapest tablets cost no more than £70, while the high – end ones cost above £200.

How it began
When “Apple” first announced their “iPad”, it looked like a revolution. It isn’t a surprise that small and light tablets with “Android” followed up. They all included Google Play which has over 800 000 apps, which means the tablets could be used to: Surf the Internet, buying, reading eBooks, playing games and many other tasks. But can they replace laptops? Continue reading to find out.

Small or Big?
When buying a tablet computer we must first find out what size we want the model to be:
Size and weight:
If you plan to carry the tablet around with you it is best to get the 7-8 inch model. Most of them weigh a little more than 300 grams and fit in a large pocket. On the other hand, the 10 inch tablets are about twice as heave and a lot larger, so they have more uses at home.
Battery Life:
Despite the difference in size, the 7 and the 10 inch tablets last on the battery for almost the same amount of time. From our test, the 7 inch “Lenovo IdeaTab A3000H” had the shortest battery life of 10.5 hours, while the 10 inch “Lenovo IdeaTab Yoga Tablet 10″ stood strong for 21 hour.
Screen:
If you plan on playing games and watching movies, it is more worthy for you to get the 10 inch model as even the text on it is easier to read. The 10 inch tablet is bigger and more likely to replace a laptop.

Everyday use:
Size is very important, however, so is easy controls. Was it manufactured correctly? Are all it’s buttons easy reachable and working? Does it have any sharp edges? All of these questions are important for everyday use with tablets.
This is what one of”Sony Xperia Z” users wrote: “This quality tablet is the perfect 10 inch tablet to use on my sofa”. For example, “Lenovo IdeaTab Yoga” is made from metal and has a strong holder which can hold it upwards on the table safely.
Trying out different tablets gave us 2 different opinions. For example the 10 inch “Bullman” tablet was good overall, but the buttons were loose and really annoying. On the other hand, “Hannspree”, “Odys” amd “Xoro” have very unreliable charging sockets, the cable just falls out.

Touchscreen Controls
Not only finger bumping buttons can be annoying, but also an unresponsive screen. We must pay attention to the touchscreen, because it is the only way to control a tablet pc as there is no mouse and keyboard on them. In this area “Lenovo A 3000”, “Bullman” and “Hannspree” fall behind as the screens are slow and inaccurate. To open an app you sometimes have to press one or more times for it to work. The other tablets have no problems.

Movie Lovers
Do you like to watch movies? If yes, then pay attention not to the size, but to the Resolution of the tablet. That means if the resolution is low, the quality of the video will be distorted. For movies, the screen of the tablet must have at least 1280×800 pixels, 1920×1200 is even better -one of the guys from the test had the “Sony Xperia Z” (1920×1200) which is why visuals on it were so beautiful and accurate. On a 7 inch tablet, 1280×800 is enough in most cases.

Fast Browsing
Most tablets are used to surf the Internet and most of them use Wi-Fi. However not all of them are equally good at doing so. For example, “Asus Nexus 7” gets Wi-Fi even when the source is 220m away and gets 25MB/s over two walls. “Acer Iconia tab A1-810” Wi-Fi signal distance is twice as small and download speeds in the same place reach only 8MB/s. Most manufacturers don’t advertise this information, but most of the time you can’t go wrong with 2.5 or 5 GHz WI-Fi module.
If you need more mobility, you can choose the tablet which has a 3G connection: the tablets we tasted which also have 3G are: “Samsing Galaxy Tab 10.1”, “LenovoIdeaTab A3000-H” and “Huawei Mediapad 7 Vogue”. There is also “Sony Xperia Tablet Z” which has LTE connection with speeds up to 100MB/s.

Additional Functions
Most of the tested tablets have only 3-4 Megapixel cameras which are bad compared to today’s standards. The best camera came out to be on “Sony Xperia Z” tablet with 8 Megapixels. “Odys Prime” and “Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0” are not far away. The tested “Sony” and “Samsung” tablets had pretty decent front facing cameras.

Enough Memory?
Is you’re planning on watching movies or playing games on your tablet, then you should get a MicroSD card. Most of the tablet computers we tested had around 11GB with “Bullman” and “Huawei” less than 5GB. “Asus Memo Pad FHD10” had 25GB of storage. Be careful when buying your tablet – make sure it can support MicroSD or another form of extra storage.

Processor Speed
Will you be able to play the newest games on your tablet? Is it fast enough? That depends on the processor. Unfortunately for us specifications don’t say much about the speed of the gadget. Quad Core 1.6 GHz doesn’t mean it’s the fastest. For example, “Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0” has a Duo Core Exynos 4212 which works faster than Quad Core “Hannspree”. The difference is really felt when playing games, using navigation apps or watching movies.

Newest Android System
The speed of you tablet computer depends not only on the processor, but on the operating systems and their versions too. The tablets that work slower compared to the others are 10inch “Hanspree Hanspad SN1AT71” and 7inch “Huawei Mediapad 7 Vogue”. Most of the tested tablets have Android 4.2.2 operating system, with “Asus Nexus 7” having Android 4.3. The newest version of Android, 4.4 Kitkat was recently announced.

Danger! Caution!
Unfortunately, not all of the tabled comply with elementary safety standards (CE). After some measurents we found out that “Hannspree” electromagnetic field was too strong, which can disrupt how other electronic gadgets work (eg. Mobile Phones).
Even greater faults were found when testing “Bullmann” and “Odys” tablets. Their chargers were so unsafe you could get an electric shock from them. They are unsafe to use, therefore they are not recommended to buy.

Which is the best tablet?
Between 7 and 10 inch models there were two noteworthy “Samsung” models: “Galaxy Tab 3 10.1” and “Galaxy Tab 3 8.0” (cheaper). Both are very fast and work on 1280×800 resolution.
The best quality / cost winners were the 9.7 inch “Xoro Pad PAD9719QR” and the cheaper 7 inch “Asus Memo Pad HD7”.

Tablets we have tested (in winner – looser order)
9-10 inches
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3
Asus Memo Pad FHD10
Lenovo Ideapad Yoga Tablet 10 (wi-fi)
Xoro Pad 9719QR
Hannspree Hannspad SN1AT71
Bullman Tab 9 AQQR
Odys Prime
7-8 Inch
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0
Asus Nexus 7
Lenovo Ideatab A3000-H
Acer Iconia Tab A1-810
Asus Memo Pad HD7
Huawei Mediapad 7 Vogue

2014-tablet-test-bullman-tab
Bullman Tab 9 AQQR

acer-iconia-tablet-tested
Acer Iconia Tab A1-810

asus-memo-pad-hd7-which-is-the-best-tablet-2014
Asus Memo Pad HD7

asus-nexus-7
Asus Nexus 7

samsung-galaxy-3-test
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0

hannspree-hanspad-tablet-test
Hannspree Hannspad SN1AT71

huawey-mediapad-7-vogue-testing
Huawei Mediapad 7 Vogue

odys-prime-tablet-testing
Odys Prime

xoro-pad-9719QR-review
Xoro Pad 9719QR

lenovo-ideapad-tablet-tested
Lenovo Ideapad Yoga Tablet 10 (wi-fi)

asus-memo-pad-hd7-which-is-the-best-tablet-2014
Asus Memo Pad HD7