It will be no surprise to discover record
numbers of tablet sales over the Christmas period as the lowering cost and increasing power of these devices continues to disrupt PC sales. At the low price end (£100-£150) the better devices are either single use, such as the Kindle ebook reader, or are heavily discounted because of the services offered through the device (such as the
Tesco Hudl). Unfortunately many of these devices are very poor, with manufacturers cutting costs by using cheap plastic casings, unresponsive touch screens or inefficient batteries.
There are many mid range tablets running Google’s operating system, with the Nexus 10 or Sony Xperia standing out in most comparative reviews. These tend to run well out of the box, but could lack the depth and breadth of polished apps that are available on Apple devices. For those prepared to sacrifice a degree of functionality for cost, these devices are ideal.
