Tablets are the technology’s industry’s latest gold rush. With Apple selling 15 million iPads in 2010 and projected to sell as many as 45 million in 2011, everyone wants a piece of the public’s sudden infatuation with these multitouch slabs of silicon. From the world’s biggest computer companies to obscure little parts makers, there have been an obscene number of companies releasing tablets this year and the number will only increase in 2012.
Now that the holiday buying season has arrived, here is the latest assessment of the top tablets of 2011.
10. HTC Flyer
Over half of the tablets on this list are powered by Android and HTC is one of the powerhouses of the Android ecosystem. Unlike rivals Motorola, Samsung, and LG, who all unveiled high-end tablets at CES 2011 in January, HTC was remarkably silent on the tablet question. However, this spring, HTC announced the Flyer, a 7-incher with a 1.5 GHz CPU, 1.0 GB RAM, 32GB of Flash storage, and a special version of the HTC Sense UI designed for tablets. The Sense UI is by far the best Android skin on the market and it doesn’t disappoint on the Flyer, even though it’s running on top of Android 2.2 and not Android 3.0. Also, unlike most of the other Android tablets, the Flyer includes digital ink technology and a stylus — and it’s an excellent implementation. Unfortunately, the Flyer hardware leaves a lot to be desired. It is thick, awkward to hold, and feels like an oversized smartphone9. HP TouchPad
For business professionals intent on productivity, there’s a lot to like about the HP TouchPad. The email and multitasking capabilities alone are enough to give it an edge over the iPad. And, we haven’t even talked about the TouchPad’s ability to print (especially to HP printers) — another important asset for some professionals. The expanded Web browsing capabilities are huge, too. It allows the TouchPad to access a lot of sites (Flash and others) that aren’t accessible from the iPad. This can open the door to Web-based business apps and other important sites.8. BlackBerry PlayBook
The BlackBerry PlayBook is the perfect choice for two types of tablet buyers — 1.) BlackBerry loyalists who want the perfect compliment to their smartphone and 2.) people who want a tablet primarily for mobile Web browsing from the conference room, couch, bedroom, and other places where you don’t have a full PC and don’t want to whip out a laptop.
For high security enterprises and government organizations that are already committed to the BlackBerry platform and have employees clamoring for iPads, the BlackBerry PlayBook is potentially an excellent tablet solution to run private apps and intranet services.7. Motorola Xoom
In the technology industry, we don’t give products an “A” for effort. Things iterate too quickly. That’s why it’s tough to recommend the Motorola Xoom. There’s just too much unfinished business on this tablet, plus it’s roughly $100 more expensive than a comparable iPad 2 model.
Unless you’re an Android developer, a devout Android fan, or a bleeding edge IT professional who wants to get an early jump on Android 3.0 Honeycomb, then I’d steer clear of the Xoom — at least until everything gets cleaned up, LTE 4G is shipping as part of the standard package, and the price drops by at least $100.Even then, Android is going to need a lot more really good tablet apps in order to compete effectively against the iPad, which has quickly become a favorite among business professionals for its approachability and plethora of software. Once it gets finished and gets more apps, the Xoom could be in the same league with the iPad. Most buyers should avoid it until then.
6. B&N Nook Color
When the Barnes & Noble Nook Color e-reader got an update to Android 2.2 and its own app store earlier this year, it turned into a viable low-cost tablet. Some will argue against it, since it has a heavy-handed UI forced on top of Android and doesn’t run the full Android Market app store. But, I couldn’t leave this little 7-inch tablet off the list. It has a great form factor — thin and easy in the hands — and you can’t beat the price at $249. Plus, if you’re highly technical, you can hack it into a full Android tablet. The Nook Color tablet will get a hardware upgrade in November.
5. Toshiba Thrive
This is the Swiss Army Knife of tablets, and I’m talking about the big Swiss Army Knife that has a zillion tools including scissors and a plastic toothpick. The Thrive is all about the specs and ports. It’s a 10-inch tablet running Android Honeycomb 3.1 and it features a removable battery, a full HDMI port, full USB port, Mini USB port, and full SD card slot. This tablet is a bit of a tank. It’s bulky and a little heavy, but also feels very sturdy, similar to the Motorola Xoom. With all of these features and a price starting at $400, the Thrive is winning over plenty of technophiles and Windows enthusiasts.4. ASUS Eee Pad Transformer
ASUS believes that the iPad has two weaknesses — lack of choice and limited content creation ability — so that’s where the company has focused its attention in tablets. The Eee Pad Transformer is a 10-inch tablet with a dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU that runs Android 3.0. The most innovative thing about this one is that it has an optional keyboard dock that also functions as an extended battery, giving the device up to 16 hours of life. With the Transformer’s dock mode, ASUS has pulled off an Android tablet that also doubles as a laptop. Plus, the price is right. At $399, this tablet is one of the best values on the market, so it’s no surprise that it it sold out in the US on its first day of online sales.3. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
The original Samsung Galaxy Tab was a 7-inch tablet that jumped the gun on Android tablets before Google was ready, but it offered the first legitimate challenge to the original iPad. If it wasn’t so expensive ($600), it might have faired even better than the respectable sales numbers it posted. Samsung’s second try at the tablet market is a lot more potent. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a gorgeous piece of hardware. I usually don’t like Samsung’s plastic mobile hardware (it always feels cheap to me), but the Galaxy Tab 10.1 looks and feels great. It is razor-thin, light, and still feels sturdy. It has all the specs you’d expect for a high-end tablet — great screen, dual cameras, solid battery life, and a dual-core NVIDIA processor. The only drawback is the software. It runs Android Honeycomb with the Samsung Touchwiz UX, which adds very little, doesn’t have a very appealing UI, and doesn’t have all of the experimental features (like browser thumb controls) as stock Android. But, Samsung is making these tablets very friendly for enterprise buyers and it can run on Verizon’s 4G LTE network.2. Amazon Kindle Fire
I’ve had the Amazon tablet on this list for most of the year, and I’ve taken a lot of heat for it since the product wasn’t officially announced until September 28. I’ve maintained throughout the year that the Amazon tablet is destined to be No. 2 in the market by the end of 2011, and I still believe that now that Amazon has unveiled the Kindle Fire. The fact is that Amazon is better positioned to compete with Apple than any of the other tablet makers because of its strengths in content and cloud computing. Amazon already had the Kindle e-book library and Web-based music and video stores, but in 2011 it has added the Amazon Appstore for Androidand Amazon Cloud Drive. The Kindle Fire has one other huge asset going for it — a $199 price tag.1. Apple iPad 2
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