These are simply the best 10-inch tablets that were launched in 2013. The Zero1 awards recognizes the best products purely on the basis of their performance.
The 10-inch tablet market has been dominated by the iPad ever since its inception in 2010. There have been a slew of 10-inch tablets launches in India over the past year and few have been able to garner the kind of attention that the iPad has.
We have seen some interesting devices such as the HP Slatebook X2, Huawei MediaPad 10 Link, Asus Transformer Pad, Samsung Galaxy Note 800, Karbonn Smart Tab 10, Spice Stellar Pad, Videocon VT 10 and many more. Each of these devices tries to bring something new to the table, be it a keyboard dock that gives it a netbook like utility, HDMI output to connect to the TV, IR blaster to work as a universal remote and more.
We have also seen devices such as the Huawei MediaPad 10 link bring Huawei’s own hardware and skin to the tablet in an attempt to freshen up the UI and OS experience. We have seen devices such as the Galaxy Note 800 which brings calling features to a 10-inch device. Sure, the experience of making calls is quite awkward if you use the device as a phone but 3G connectivity on the go is great. Add to that the S-Pen capabilities and you have an Android tablet that offers you a lot of features. We have also seen 10-inch tablets devices such as the PadFone 2, which is a smartphone, that can be housed in a 10-inch display making it a tablet and that 10-inch unit can be docked in a keyboard giving it netbook like utility. Technically, this is a hybrid device.
Zero1 Winner
iPad 4/iPad Air
The Apple iPad 4th gen dominated the 10-inch tablet performance charts for majority of 2013, only to be replaced by the iPad Air as the best performing 10-inch tablet to buy in India. Even though there are a bunch of interesting 10-inch tablets available in the market, none of them come close to what the iPad has to offer. To start with the device is available in a variety of storage options from 16, 32, 64 and 128GB with the option of Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi Cellular. Its slim, light and has the Retina display. Its clean and interacting with the display is a lot of fun, be it for playing games, typing or browsing. The iPad has a simple design and that’s where it wins.iOS has an app ecosystem which has more tablet optimized apps when compared to the competition. The power under the hood is great making the tablet very responsive. Graphically heavy games look great on the device and the battery life of the tablet is great too.
Read our review of the latest Apple iPad Air and the previous gen iPad 4.
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Noteworthy mentions
Sony Xperia Tablet Z
The Xperia Tablet Z has taken the spot as the ‘best Android tablet money can buy in India’. It brings to the table a slew of features such as India specific content (you can watch Sony TV shows on it), a good skin on the Android OS, slim and sexy form factor, and some brilliant power under the hood. It is the slimmest tablet available in the market, measuring in at 6.9mm. The tablet boasts of weatherproof capabilities so you can use it in the bathtub without any worries. The tablet also has an IR blaster, which can be used as a universal remote. The display is great for consuming multimedia content as well as playing games. Then there’s the ability to play multiple videos simultaneously showcasing its multitasking capabilities. The audio output from the speakers too is great. There is no other tablet that could steal the crown of the best android tablet from the Tablet Z.
Read our review of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z
iPad 2
Launched in 2011, the iPad 2 is still selling and growing strong. Why should you consider this device? Well, to start with, the tablet supports iOS7. Sure you don’t get all the features, but the latest OS is still supported. The tablet can run all the apps available on the App store with ease and its battery life is the best any tablet has to offer. If you don’t want to invest too much and want a holistic iOS tablet experience.
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