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The New Apple iPad Review
By Ed Hardy, TabletPCReview Editor | 3/20/2012

Apple is the 500 lb gorilla of the tablet market, so the release of this company's third-generation model generated a tremendous amount of hype, much of which is well deserved. The new iPad offers a number of enhancements over its predecessors, all of which will be covered in this review.

Build & Design

Apple hasn't tinkered much with the design of the iPad since the first model. The current version is slightly thicker and heavier than the second-generation one. This makes room for the larger battery needed to power some of the new features. The differences are minor, and most people would have a hard time noticing them without a careful examination.

Overall, the device is 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.4-inches and 1.4 lbs. That makes it smaller and lighter than virtually every laptop, about the size of a magazine, and roughly the weight of a hardback book. There are some who are hoping Apple will introduce a tablet that's smaller than the current one, but I find this one has hit the "sweet spot": large enough to handle everything it is asked to do, small enough to be very portable.

Full Review

Ars reviews the iPad 2: big performance gains in a slimmer package
By Jacqui Cheng - Mar 15 2011, 12:30pm MPST

Apple's original iPad has taken off to levels none of us anticipated when it was launched one year ago. Though it has very recently gotten some competition in the tablet space, the iPad still dominates the market and mindshare of new tablet buyers. After having sold 15 million units in nine months last year, Apple has now refined its design with the introduction of the iPad 2.

What, exactly, is new about the iPad 2 that differentiates it from the previous model? That's what we're here to tell you. We reviewed the 16GB WiFi-only iPad—same as the model we used for our original iPad review last year—and for aesthetic purposes, we chose black over white. (What can we say? We like a good visual screen pop.) So, on with the show.

Physical differences

The iPad 2, like its predecessor, has a 9.7" backlit multitouch display with a resolution of 1024 x 768 at 132 pixels per inch. There were earlier rumors that suggested the iPad 2 might get a higher-resolution, "retina" class display, but that got shot down numerous times before the iPad 2's launch. In the end, we ended up with the same resolution after all, which was not unexpected, but a little disappointing to some who had hoped for at least some kind of bridge between the old display and the iPhone 4's incredibly sharp graphics. It's more likely that Apple will increase the iPad's display resolution as part of the next major revision, which some believe will come later in 2011 (though a more conservative bet would be spring of 2012).

Full Review

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
Reviewed May 7, 2012 by Lisa Gade, Editor in Chief

Think there are a lot of Android tablets to choose from? Heck, just deciding between Samsung's many Galaxy Tab tablets is enough to drive the average shopper bonkers. Among Samsung's 3 current 7 inch Android tablets, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 stands out as the most affordable. It sells for $249 for the 8 gig model, and it competes directly with the Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet. While the Kindle and Nook are absolutely awesome if your primary use for a tablet is the consumption of those companies' media (particularly the Kindle since you get books, Amazon Prime videos and their large app store), the Samsung is a great 7 inch starter tablet for those who want Android to be all that it can.

This is a full Android 4.0.3 Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet with access to the Google Play Store for apps, and it has dual cameras and a GPS with GLONASS. It looks much like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus that came out last November, but it loses the faux brushed metal back in favor of smooth gray plastic. It's light at 0.76 lbs. and slim with comfortably curved sides. Controls and ports are easy to use and the tablet has a microSD card slot to expand storage (you'll need it with only 4.6 gigs of available internal storage).

Like the $399 Galaxy Tab 7 Plus, the tablet has a 1024 x 600 PLS display with good brightness and plenty of color saturation. It's not a step up from the original Galaxy Tab's display, unlike the more expensive Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 with its 1280 x 800 Super AMOLED display. The display has good contrast for eBook reading and viewing angles are good (certainly much better than the budget oriented Acer Iconia Tab A100). The accelerometer on our tablet is overzealous and changes orientation with the slightest twist of the wrist. Annoying.

Full Review

Acer Iconia Tab A200
Reviewed January 26, 2012 by Lisa Gade, Editor in Chief

The Acer Iconia Tab A200 is Acer's latest 10.1" Android tablet, and it's very affordable at $349 for the 16 gig model and $329 for the 8 gig version. In fact, we're pretty impressed at what you get for the price: a sharp and colorful 1280 x 800 capacitive touch screen, a dual core 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 CPU, a gig of RAM and 16 gigs of storage (in the more commonly available 16 version that we recommend). Basically, you get a 2011 Android 10" tablet with a full set of features at a low price for 2012. The tablet ships with Android OS 3.2 Honeycomb but in mid-February 2012 Acer offered a free upgrade to OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (you can download using the tablet's update function).

Since 80% of Americans are still tablet-less, there's definitely a place for the Iconia Tab A200. Many of you are new to tablets and aren't sure that you want to spend $500 or more, or maybe you've got a tight budget. If that's you, do check out the A200 since it offers a lot of bang for the buck. This is a full-featured WiFi only tablet with single band WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and a GPS (that works). It has the full suite of Google apps including the Android Market, Maps, Navigation, YouTube and Google Talk. It compares well against lesser or no-name brands that cut corners by using grainy resistive displays, run old versions of Android meant for phones or lack access to the Android Market.

Full Review

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Reviews of the Challengers

Tablet PCs

Operating System

iOS

Chip

Dual-core Apple A5X custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip with quad-core graphics

Multitasking

Yes

Screen

9.7" LED-Backlit IPS Display

Screen Resolution

2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 ppi

Camera

5-megapixel iSight camera and FaceTime camera with VGA

Ports

30-pin dock connector port, 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack

Navigation

Wi-Fi: Digital compass; Wi-Fi + 4G: Digital compass, Assisted GPS, Cellular

Storage