Top 3 Tablets

Here’s the complete description of the Top 3 Tablets. Currently, iPad Air 2 is ruling the roost as the best tablet in the world, but with prices starting at £399 and rising to £659, it’s clearly priced in a bracket way above many people’s budget.

Apple’s sky-high prices mean those wanting a more affordable tablet experience will have to look elsewhere, although the iPad mini 2 has seen a price cut since the new and only slightly improved iPad mini 3 and now features on this list.

Google’s Android operating system now adorns a multitude of tablets, from those priced at the same lofty heights of Apple’s offerings to those that can be picked up for less than £100 at your local supermarket – although we’d advise against purchasing most of these.

We’re also seeing Windows 8.1 tablets dropping in price, although for the most part they’re still not at the level of the Android slates.

If you can’t quite hack the lower offerings, and you’ve managed to scrape together enough money to indulge in a pricier tablet experience, then take a gander at the following:

1. Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C

Weight: 269g | Dimensions: 200 x 114.4 x 8.3mm | OS: Android 4.4.2 | Screen size: 7-inch |Resolution: 1200 x 1920 | CPU: Quad-core 1.83GHz | RAM: 2GB | Storage: 16/32GB | Battery:3950mAh | Rear camera: 5MP | Front camera: 2MP

It may not have a catchy name, but with the company behind the Nexus 7 making it the Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C was always likely to be good.

A full HD display, stereo speakers and 2GB of RAM are a good start. A slim, attractive design and solid battery life don’t hurt either and it even one-ups the Nexus 7 with the inclusion of a microSD card slot.

With the Nexus 7 now off sale the 7-inch MeMoPad 7 is perhaps the closest alternative and it’s one of the best options for fans of small-screen Android slates.

2. Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4

Weight: 331g | Dimensions: 219 x 128.5 x 7.2mm | OS: Android 4.4 | Screen size: 8.4-inch |Resolution: 1600 x 2560 | CPU: Quad-core 2.3GHz | RAM: 2GB | Storage: 16/32GB | Battery:4800mAh | Rear camera: 8MP | Front camera: 2MP

This is a bit of a surprise – a fairly high-end Samsung slate making it into the “best cheap tablets” roundup – but the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 does just that.

It’s obviously towards the upper end of the £225 boundary, but you get a lot for your money, including an 8.4-inch 1600 x 2560 Super AMOLED display, 2.3GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, Android KitKat and a microSD slot, plus front and rear cameras.

The plastic construction isn’t the best we’ve seen on the tablet, and the speaker placement could be better, but if you want a supremely powerful tablet with an impressive screen the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is a decent shout.

3. Amazon Fire HD 6

Weight: 290g | Dimensions: 169 x 103 x 10.7mm | OS: Android (Fire OS) | Screen size: 6-inch | Resolution: 800 x 1280 | CPU: quad-core | RAM: 1GB | Storage: 8GB/16GB | Rear camera: 2MP | Front camera: VGA

The Amazon Fire HD 6 is one of the most enticing tablets to come from Amazon, mixing efficient integration with the Prime services and a compact footprint that makes it easy to drop in your bag.

It’s no tablet king, but it does what it sets out to well. Its crazy low price tag means its perfect to hand off to the kids without the fear that they’re wielding an expensive bit of kit around.

It may be too small for some, and the cameras aren’t up to much, but the Fire HD 6 gives you the core tablet experience for not very much outlay.