Whether you’re buying a tablet to more comfortably surf the web from your sofa, make a morning commute less monotonous or lighten your load as you zip to and from across-town meetings, the which-one-should-I-get decision is enough to make your head spin. We know exactly how you feel. That’s why we took it upon ourselves to test the most popular tablets on the market. Here are our top eight picks—and who we think these devices are best suited for.
If you’ve never owned a tablet before and you’re looking for a nicely priced device that you can use for reading, writing, and surfing the web, the ASUS MeMo Pad Smart ($299, amazon.com) is a great place to start. A 10.1-inch display and Android operating system make navigation easy, and though it’s a large tablet, the device weighs a mere 20.5 ounces. One more thing we love: the MeMo has a 170-degree viewing angle, so what’s on the screen is clear whether you’re sitting on the couch, lying down in bed, or sharing a hilarious YouTube video with a group of friends huddled around you.
If you’re always working on more than one project at once, go for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 ($400, bestbuy.com). The device lets you open multiple windows in side-by-side view, so you can check your email and surf the web simultaneously. Plus, the tablet’s eight to nine-hour battery life is reflective of a machine that’s equipped to run multiple programs at the same time.
Got a work project to complete after hours? The Note comes with Polaris Office, which allows users to open and edit Excel, PowerPoint, and Word files. And we can’t forget to mention the S Pen, a stylus used to handwrite notes, personalize emails, draw or simply navigate the tablet.
Got a long commute via public transportation? The Google Nexus 7 by ASUS ($199 for 16G, bestbuy.com) lets you buy mobile data so you can surf the web even when you’re away from WiFi (like when you’re on the bus). Built with gaming in mind, the 7-inch tablet is compatible with the 700,000 games and apps—plus millions of eBooks, songs, movies, and TV shows—available for download on Google Play. Want to watch something you downloaded on your PC last night? No problem—Google Play stores your downloads on a cloud system so you can access them from your tablet without plugging in a USB cable.
We know how frustrating it can be to turn on your tablet only to discover that the settings were changed by the last user, like your girlfriend who likes to update the browser’s homepage to a fashion website when you’d prefer it to be MensFitness.com. But the Nook HD ($229 for 16GB, nook.com) eliminates that issue. Each user can set up a Nook profile, where he or she can create and personalize all the content in it. But let’s not forget the basics: The device stays true to its roots as a reading tablet that allows users to personalize font type, font size, and background color on a 7-inch HD display.
If you’re purchasing a tablet for the sole purpose of watching movies and listening to music, the HTC Jetstream ($250; ATT.com) is your best bet. At 25 ounces, the tablet is heavier than expected, but its sound system can't be beat. The dual speakers and subwoofer pump out great audio, and even at maximum volume, they don’t deliver a scratchy or distorted sound. Plus, watching movies is always easier on a bigger screen. The 10.1-inch display has great viewing angles, so sharing the screen doesn’t mean your video-watching experience has to suffer. If you stumble upon any photo ops, don’t miss the camera’s multiple filter options.
Upgrade your reading experience with the Kindle Fire HD ($199, amazon.com). The 7.6-inch tablet’s Dolby Digital Plus audio platform is ideal for enabling the device’s “Immersion Reading” feature, which reads text aloud. In the middle of a book or movie and want to know more about a specific character? A simple tap on the screen enables X-Ray, an Amazon-only feature that lets you explore fictional characters, historical figures, photos, and biographies—all without leaving your current screen.
The Surface Pro ($899, microsoft.com), which runs on the new Windows 8 operating system, is an obvious choice for on-the-go professionals. Users are able to “pin” apps and webpages directly to their homepage, creating shortcuts to the programs they use most often. The device is compatible with Microsoft Office, so creating, editing, saving, and sharing documents while you travel is never an issue. The best part about the Surface Pro: It has both a touchscreen (great for web browsing) and an easy-to-attach keyboard (we’re sure you’ve seen the commercials, but they aren’t lying) that makes typing a heck of a lot easier.
If you already own a Mac and an iPhone and you’re not up for figuring out a new platform, add an iPad Mini ($329, store.apple.com) to your Apple lineup. At 7.9 inches, the device is small enough to fit in your pocket, but its shrunken-down size doesn’t mean you’ll be sacrificing any features. The iPad Mini is compatible with more than 300,000 apps and a powerful A5 chip makes switching between them seamless—with no wait time. Rear and front-facing cameras let you take 5-megapixel photos and video chat with family or friends.