Apple Vs. Everyone Else: The Top 4 iPad Alternatives
Apple's iPad appears to be winning the tablet war for 2010 or 2011, but we want to keep you up to date on the stiffest competitors coming down the pipeline.
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The iPad Killers?
Similar to its iPod and iPhone product lines, Apple has found itself ahead of the curve when it comes to the iPad. Say what you want about the iPad hardware and software, but there isn’t much room for debate when it comes to the sales figures. Jobs & Co. sold 300,000 iPads on the first day of release back in April, over three million in the first 80 days, and analysts put 2010 sales close to eight million total units.
For all the Apple haters in the audience, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you’ve been following Tom’s Tablet Chart, you already know that a slew of other tablets are either already available or in the pipeline for a 2010 or early 2011 release. So which tablets have the best chance of standing up to Apple in the coming months? We’ve picked our four favorite tablets, all of which have one or more striking qualities that will certainly give the iPad a run for its money.
For a rundown of all the tablets we know about that are worth mentioning, check out our comprehensive tablet chart.
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Current page: Apple Vs. Everyone Else: The Top 4 iPad Alternatives
Next Page BlackBerry PlayBook (Research In Motion)Devin Connors currently works as a community manager for Rocket League at Psyonix Studios, but he was previously a senior editor at Tom's Guide, writing about gaming, phones, and pretty much every other tech category. His work has also appeared in publications including Shacknews, GameZone, The Escapist, Machinima, and more.
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dconnors sliemWhat about the (estimated) prices?How about Archos tablets?Reply
Pricing for a few of these tablets is still not available...but honestly, the price range is going to be the same range as the iPad.
ARCHOS is making some great tablets, but the company and their products lack the clout that Microsoft, HP, and Samsung bring to the table.
-Devin -
Luscious HP will have a hard time marketing an already-obsolete Atom platform to the educated consumer and enthusiast. I'm hoping they actually go with an N550 or better, but that Broadcom solution has already been proven to be too driver dependent for reliable playback across multiple HD codecs. AMD's Nile platform is much more elegant and works far better, but it would be a tough job squeezing Nile into a sub-10" form-factor. I like Windows 7, especially when it comes to media streaming and remote connect, but not on a puny Z530.Reply -
Archos has been around doing these types of devices for a while now. And though i've never owned one, their current lineup looks pretty decent. Maybe it's time you guys started giving them a little respect and included them in these types of lineups.Reply
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I own an iPad and the one thing that makes the device much more useful than 99% of the devices I have ever owned is its battery life. All the bells and whistles are worthless on a mobile device if you lose power. None of these reviews mention anything about battery life.Reply
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What about the Blackberry PlayBook's battery life? Huh?Reply
It uses a faster CPU with more RAM and a faster GPU. It is sure to eat up battery life.
If it doesn't last 12 hours a charge like the iPad does, then it is going to fail. -
cknobman I hate apple and will never own one of their products.Reply
That being said I think its stupid to have an "iPad alternatives" article covering a bunch of products that technically don't exist (at least to the consumer). All that is covered here is a bunch of pre release and prototypes which means little to nothing for someone actually looking for an iPad alternative today. -
back_by_demand How about just bringing them to the market, letting us buy them, use them and then write our own reviews on them.Reply -
These four can not be seen as alternatives, since not a single one of them is for sale. The title is misleading at best. Should have been "Future iPad Alternatives". It is not even guaranteed that any of these devices will survive long enough to hit the market at all.Reply
So what are the "The Top iPad Alternatives AVAILABLE TODAY"? -
farrow099 I waited months hoping SOMEONE would actually bring a legit android tablet to market. They have all been vaporware.Reply
The only android tablet expected to actually hit the market this year is the samsung galaxy tab. And I don't think that is an accident as samsung seems to produce most of the ipad components as well.
If anyone is wondering; I own an EVO 4G phone, an iPad, and a win7 x64 desktop.