1/13/2012

5 Great Tablets at CES 2012

Smartphones, smart TVs, and ultrabooks are all well and good, but for my money, the most interesting product releases at this year's CES are the tablets. Much like last year, with Google's first tablet-oriented Android version 3.0 Honeycomb, one of the biggest factors surrounding many tablet releases will be the advent of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. 

Alternatively, Microsoft is hard at work on its next OS, Windows 8, which will include many tablet-focused enhancements, like the Metro UI. 


Software isn't the only factor, though. Tablets are becoming thinner, lighter, more powerful, and more affordable than ever. Whether it's a new dual-screen form factor, transforming dock, or sub-$200 price tag, tablets are poised to make significant strides in 2012. However, the question remains: Will these new Android and Windows contenders be enough to topple Apple's iPad 2? 


This year's show features everything from 10-inch tablets aimed at the iPad to 7-inchers aimed at Amazon's Kindle Fire. This fresh crop of tablets will feature innovative designs using the most advanced materials and components available today. Perhaps more importantly, these new tablets will also be among the first to benefit from the unified ecosystem offered by Google's latest OS—Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. 

Hopefully the massive influx of new tablets coming in 2012, many running ICS right out of the box, will help propel Android tablets to near-equal footing as the iPad. 


While many manufacturers have been scrambling to match the quality and features of Apple's offerings, Amazon bucked the trend and instead released an affordable and easy-to-use tablet for the masses. The Kindle Fire was the first sub-$200 tablet to hit the market, but it certainly won't be the last. At upwards of $500, many tablets, up until now, have been a niche product for well-heeled tech junkies. Expect that to change with a host of affordable and accessible tablets coming later this year. 


Another interesting development for 2012 and beyond will be convertible and hybrid devices. Not just docking accessories, but full-fledged laptops that either incorporate touch interfaces and Android software, or simply double as tablet devices. 

Asus eee Pad Transformer Prime TF700

 


The Asus eee Pad Transformer Prime is currently the best Android tablet on the market, with its sleek body, Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, and ability to turn into a laptop. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich now, too. What could make it better? How about a 1920-by-1080 screen? At CES, Asus announced a new version of the Prime that will have an incredibly sharp 1080p panel. The TF700 appears to beat the Acer Iconia Tab A700, which has similar specs in a slightly clunkier body.

ZTE T98


Asus also announced a $249, quad-core, 7-inch Ice Cream Sandwich tablet—so why is the ZTE T98 on this list? We suspect ZTE's model will bring very similar specs at an even lower price. With a basically nondescript body, the ZTE T98 brings along quad-core, Android 4.0 power with a sharp 1280-by-800 screen. Knowing ZTE, we're guessing this Android tablet is going to be very, very affordable, and it might even pop up at a U.S. wireless carrier.

Pantech Element (AT&T)


Even though the Element tablet is running the now-obsolete Android Honeycomb OS, Pantech gets points here for making its product waterproof. The Element is a good-looking Android tablet that will hopefully find some use outdoors, where more paranoid tech fans are afraid to take their gadgets for fear someone will splash something on them.



Samsung Galaxy Note (AT&T)


Where to put the "phablet?" We decided to stick it under tablets to make a point, even though the Samsung Galaxy Note also works as a phone. Samsung wants you to write on this 5.3-inch phone/tablet, and they're right that the idea of taking electronic notes and making e-drawings is really compelling. Will the form factor—a tiny tablet, a giant phone—take off, though?




Ainovo Novo 7 Basic


How low can Ice Cream Sandwich go? How about $99? The cheapest Android 4.0 tablet I saw at the show is on sale right now—right now!—for under $100, and the shocker is that it doesn't suck. This miracle of low-cost tabletry comes because the Novo 7 is using a Chinese-made processor with the MIPS instruction set, an alternative to the ARM chips that currently dominate the market.


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