Powerful Music Player for Android This application unlocks Poweramp (Trial), powerful music player for Android. Please install Poweramp Music Player (Trial) application first. Unlocker removes the trial period limitation. Any version of Poweramp can be unlocked (v2.x and v1.x). Key Features
plays mp3, mp4/m4a (including alac), ogg, wma*, flac, wav, ape,
wv, tta, mpc, aiff (* some wma pro files may require NEON
support)
10 band optimized graphical equalizer for all supported formats, presets, custom presets
separate Bass and Treble adjustment
stereo eXpansion, mono mixing, balance
crossfade
gapless
replay gain
plays songs from folders and from own library
dynamic queue
embed and standalone .cue files support
support for m3u, m3u8, pls, wpl playlists
OpenGL based cover art animation
downloads missing album art
4 configurable widget types
configurable lock screen with optional Direct Unlock
headset support, automatic Resume on headset and/or BT connection (can be disabled in settings)
scrobbling
lyrics support, including lyrics search via musiXmatch plugin
tag editor
visual themes, including support for external/3rd party skins
fast library scan
high level of customization via settings
works on Android 2.1+, optimized for Android 2.3/Gingerbread, 3.0/Honeycomb, 4.0/ICS
localized into Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
One
of the things Blogger have been working on over the last few years is
making posting to your blog more Versatile.This was evident with the
introduction of Phone And Email Posting To Blogger
launched in 2009.That update allowed you to post from your phone via
SMS, MMS And Email.Today Blogger Launched it's very own app for your
android phone that will make it even easier to post to your blog
wherever you are.
I think the idea behind making it as easy as possible to post from your
Mobile Phone is more about what you can post in real time rather than
being an alternative to using your laptop.With The option to publish a
post with a text message, Email and now via an app you can take a
picture or short video and have it on your blog instantly.
There's An App For That
To get the new Blogger App you can find the Free Download Here - Blogger App Download
We've
finally got our hands on the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus, so we've taken
an in-depth look at Google's latest OS: Android 4.0, or Ice Cream
Sandwich to its friends. Google
has told us that this is one of the biggest overhauls of the operating
systems since it unleashed the Android project three years ago - and
there's certainly a lot to plough through. From enhanced contact
menus to improved keyboards and NFC capabilities, even the most ardent
Android users will have to spend some time getting used to the new OS -
so let's dive in.
Interface
The most
noticeable change with Ice Cream Sandwich is the interface - it might
follow the same principles as the Android of old, but the way it's used
is radically different in a number of ways. Firstly,
Android 4.0 is designed to work without buttons. That's not to say your
Galaxy S2's keys won't work when the update happens, but going forward,
it's going to be pristine bezels all the way. Now
to navigate around, you're offered three softkeys: Back, Home and
Multi-tasking (or Recent Apps). The latter is particularly new for
phones, and comes from the Honeycomb UI - basically a set of thumbnails
that show recently opened apps. Here's the new part: swipe
sideways to shut down an application, which will greatly help reduce the
battery consumption of your phone if there's something silently
updating in the background. The Home and Back buttons are the same
as they've always been, but no longer have a 'long press' function
attached... so you can't automatically call up the keyboard, for
instance. If you move into something media-ish, such as watching a
movie or browsing the web like a pro, these three buttons shrink down
to tiny dots, so you've got more of the screen to look at. However,
remember what each dot does, as pressing it will take you home/open the
recent apps etc and you might not want to. For
Android fans, this presents something of an issue: with the menu button
gone, you'll have to hunt around the screen for three vertical dots
which have taken its place. However, these can be anywhere, so sometimes
you'll get distracted trying to work out how on earth to alter
settings. The multi-tasking pane also seems an odd choice for one
of three buttons - it used to be you could access this functionality by
long-pressing the home key, and it makes more sense to keep this and
then have the multi-tasking slot taken up by a menu key. However,
despite the odd placement, the multi-tasking pane is cool - simply
swipe horizontally on any open app to shut it down, in a similar way to
the Cards system on webOS - it certainly helps keep open applications
under control. The home screens are once again limited to five,
but this time there's no option to get rid of those you don't want. It's
not a huge issue to some people, but with the expandable widgets and
loads of apps you'll be looking to download, we'd have expected more. However,
we wouldn't worry too much about that - the Nexus S only had a limited
number of homescreens, but as soon as the rest of the industry got its
hands on the OS there were millions of the things flying around. There's
a plethora of tiny tweaks and changes to the Android OS that we were
impressed with, ranging from the Tron-like blue theme that pervades
throughout the OS to the ability to unlock the phone simply by using
your face. The
latter security option is more novelty than anything else, with Google
outlining at the start that it's not meant to be 100% secure. We
also found a few issues with getting it to recognise our face in varying
light levels, or even working out which bit of the picture was a face -
not the most effective for unlocking your handset, but when it works
it's a great party trick. The notifications bar has been given a
functionality overhaul to now include larger information slots - if it's
a contact that's sending you a message or a missed call, their contact
photo will now appear too, which is a nice touch. And
sometimes you want to get rid of some notifications, but not others -
this has been taken care of by allowing you to swipe away the updates
about apps and messages you don't care about, making it easy to maintain
your info bar.Settings has also been given a spot in the
notifications pane, meaning no matter where you are in the OS you can
always duck out and tinker with the phone - this is excellent news for
some applications that need GPS or Wi-Fi enabled swiftly. However,
we would have though Google would have copied the likes of Samsung or
HTC here and offered one-tap switching to these elements - it works
really well on most phones, so we're surprised by its omission. The
other new addition is the dock at the bottom of the screen - this stays
on every home screen, and like iOS can be altered to contain the
applications you like to tap away at the most. Folders
are more iOS-like too, with users given the ability to drag and drop
icons on top of one another from the home screen to create bundles of
apps which you can simply rename. Given Apple's ire about Google
'stealing' certain elements of its UI, we can't help but think this will
create a little more angst down on Infinite Loop. Google
is clearly also thinking about giving users more ability to enjoy apps
than ever before by putting a link to the Market in the top right hand
corner of the menu screen, which we really liked as it meant we always
knew we could quickly update our app catalogue when needed. The
other big change is widgets have been brought to the fore: you can now
look at each one on the menu screen without having to actually select it
- this really helps when a new application you've downloaded has an
associated widget and you're wondering whether to waste time popping it
on the home screen. Overall,
we love what Google has done with the Ice Cream Sandwich UI. It's
nothing mind-blowing, but the little touches here and there will add to
user delight, and that's what's needed to chip away at those that are
dyed-in-the-wool iPhone users. People
The contacts system
has been much improved with Ice Cream Sandwich, with a completely
different font (called Roboto, and used throughout Android 4.0) and
pleasantly clean blue and white interface to roll through. The
contacts list is the same as it's ever been - insofar as it's a list of
people with contact pictures next to their name. But the differences are
quite large: for instance, social networking updates from the likes of
Google+ and Twitter are available by tapping to open a contact profile
then swiping to the left. There's no Facebook integration as yet,
but that's likely to be on the way soon as the social network updates
its API. We've reached out to both parties to find out, so we'll let you
know when we do. The
layout is lovely though, especially on the larger screen of the Galaxy
Nexus making it easy to scroll through all your buddies in one go. The
large tab to let you jump the correct letter of your contact's name has
gone, but now just sliding your finger along the right hand side of the
screen is enough. The downside to the OS, and one that the likes
of HTC will leap upon to improve, is the linking of the contacts
together. You have to open the person's profile, tap the menu to edit,
then tap the menu again to Join contacts together from other social
networks. It's
a really long-winded way of doing things, and one that should be almost
automatic - even the suggested contacts once we'd asked to join them
together weren't very accurate. We do like the Google+ integration, as while it's not the most widespread social network around there are some nice tweaks. For
instance, the Groups tab now has automatic links to your Google+
Circles making it easier to connect with the people you care with.
However, you've also got a favourites tab to play with, and as there's
no way to mass communicate with a Circle from the Contacts tab, it's a
little redundant. Messaging
Google promised to
keep updating the keyboard on its new versions of Android, and once
again it's come up with a new version of the software - and it's pretty
good. There's not a whole heap of visual changes, bar the
predictive suggestions: these have been dropped to just three per word,
making it easier to select the word you're after. Smaller, more
subtle vibrations have also been added to each keypress to make it
easier to register inputs... we tested this out and it doesn't seem that
different to normal haptic feedback, to be honest - but a lot of users
are loving it, so we'll give it a crowd-sourced thumbs up. The
accuracy is excellent too on the new keyboard, with even fudge-fingered
attempts at writing yielding almost perfect texting. Speech to text is
also enhanced, with real time feedback - no longer do you have to wait
until you've finished speaking to see what the phone thinks you said,
with the cloud-based prediction delivering results as you speak. It
worked well over Wi-Fi, but we'll be interested to note how well it
works when it comes to 3G network speeds, as Google hinted it had
integrated this functionality thanks to the proliferation of 4G signal
in the US. If, like many, you're looking to compare Google's voice
recognition to Siri, we'd say that the former is definitely inferior to
Apple's effort - but not by a huge amount. It seems to struggle
more with English accents over US, as our buddy Hank (NB - not his real
name but included to make it more authentically YooEssAy) was much more
accurate with his voicing than we were. There's no Universal Inbox
to speak of here, but we do love the updated Gmail app - sure, HTML
emails still don't render as well as they could, but the overall look
and feel is improved substantially. The options are all well laid out at
the bottom, and the ease of swiping left and right is highly
impressive. Messaging has always been a decent option on Android, and with Ice Cream Sandwich it's a real step forward. Internet Browser
As with most inbuilt features on Ice Cream Sandwich, there's a change to the internet browser too. One
of the big differences is the change to the tabbed browsing - now you
get to see your entire set of open internet pages simply by scrolling
vertically through live thumbnails. It's a nice touch - while it doesn't
add much when it comes to functionality, it's much easier to jump
between windows than before. Another
great notion is the ability to 'Request desktop sites'. This means that
while the Android browser might default to the mobile version of some
internet websites, some users will need the full content. Simply
tap the relevant option in the menu and you'll get the full flavour
instantly, which is very useful for the kind of sites that won't let you
jump to the main page easily (BBC iPlayer springs to mind). A
sad fact of UK life is that we a) either never have any 3G coverage
when we need it or b) are on such a restrictive data plan that we hate
having to spend our KBs unnecessarily. Google has thought of this
with the option to save pages for offline reading. This basically takes
a snapshot of the web page without including the hyperlinks, making it
easy to read but not navigate through. But then again, if you're offline
you can't link out anyway... so it's not a big deal. We
can't fully comment on the speed, as it's partly dependant on hardware
how fast things will load; but in tests with the Galaxy S2, which has
roughly comparable specs to the Nexus, we noticed some websites popped
up much faster. But
on the Galaxy Nexus we love the internet browser. While other devices
might not be as responsive, the browser is quick, slick and responds
well to the touch. We're annoyed there's no Flash video on board, but
let's face it: the death knell has sounded for that platform, and it
will still be coming next month. Camera
The camera on the
Android 4.0 system is much upgraded again, after some real leaps forward
from the likes of Éclair and Gingerbread. The settings are the
same as before, with the likes of white balance, exposure and Scenes all
inbuilt into the OS. The Scene modes are probably the least important
of the lot, as only Night Mode really offers up anything in the way of
discernible difference. However, we liked tinkering about with the exposure settings to capture our shots - this yielded some real differences. The
big talking point of the new camera app on the Galaxy Nexus is the zero
shutter lag, which is simply ace. It's up there with the iPhone 4S in
terms of speed (and probably just beats it, to be honest) and means you
can take some cracking shots in the blink of an eye.However, you do sacrifice auto focus to achieve this - but if it's a well-lit scene, you shouldn't have any issues. The
other new feature is the panorama mode, which does as you'd imagine:
helps you capture widescreen shots. The phone will help you by telling
you to go faster and slower to capture the picture, but the results can
be erratic. Android 4.0 now has a built in editing tool as well,
meaning you can alter the quality of your shots very easily - it might
not be a full editing suite, but does come up with some nifty ways to
tweak your snaps to improve them before never showing them to anyone
ever again. It
should be noted we're trying all this on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus,
which is a very powerful phone. Should the same options be offered on
single-core devices with a lot less RAM, we doubt the same shutter speed
could be achieved.
Video recorder
The
video recording has also been improved thanks to the Ice Cream Sandwich
update, with the ability to record in time lapse mode, set the white
balance and also add in silly video effects too. We're impressed
with the way the latter works, with the phone able to track your face
and keep things like a big nose on the screen at all times. Is it
useful? No - but it's very 'Google' in the frippery it brings to the
phone. It's
likely some of these features won't make it to the less powerful
phones, as they'll require a little more raw power - but we were
impressed with the 1080p footage captured on the Nexus camera.Media
The media
capabilities of Ice Cream Sandwich have been much improved in our eyes,
with all aspects of the media experience updated to make it that much
easier to manoeuvre through your phone. While some areas could
still do with tweaking, we're a world away from the super-basic music
app and complete lack of video player on the first Android release.
Music
The
music player on Ice Cream Sandwich has been completely overhauled to
make it more in keeping with the super-blue theme that pervades
throughout the OS. Once
opened, you're presented with a playlist of recent songs and albums
you've listened to, which instantly makes you feel like the music player
is more personalised. Swiping left and right will get you to
Albums, Artists and Songs - although we'd prefer the option to choose
the order of these, as many people prefer to jump straight to the songs
if they're hankering for a spot of Girls Al... erm, Michael Bub....
erm.... oh sod it. We have awful taste in music. Google has
chucked in a little search icon at the bottom of the app too, along with
the 'Now Playing' bar. This makes it simple to jump to a song or artist
you've got on your mind. The
actual music player itself isn't much to write home about, but that's
not necessarily a bad thing. We're talking big album art, and play/skip
buttons. Press the little up arrow and you can like/dislike the song or
shuffle and repeat songs. We're not sure what liking a song really does, but we hope it improves the Shuffle aspect.
Video
The
video portal has taken on a much larger significance from Google since
it unveiled its movie download service, and as such your personal
collection will be boosted too. The new red-themed offering sees
you taken to a dual-tabbed arena: one the left side, all the videos
you've rented from Android Market, and the right all your personal
videos. The
big boost here is the clear and easy to use thumbnails with description
of each vid; if you've ever used an HTC phone or read our reviews of
one, you'll know of our ire at the lack of any kind of signpost as to
which video is which. Whether this system on offer here will
continue when manufacturers get all skin-happy on the OS, we don't know -
but it at least bodes well. The
video player is still disappointingly basic though, with only a slider
bad and pause button to mess around with. We're still gobsmacked Google
hasn't bought one of the clever apps already on the market (for
instance, MVideoPlayer) and offered that as a free premium app to
download. We
get that simplicity is key for a lot of people, but we really would
love a bookmarking system, or the ability to change the screen
brightness in the app. If Google now does this - you heard it here
first, people.
Books
The Books app is pre-installed in the Galaxy Nexus, and is set to be a staple feature of the Android 4.0 OS too. It's
one of the better e-reading experiences on a mobile phone no matter
what the size of the screen - the page turning animations lend a very
book-esque experience that many will enjoy. It's
a lot like the Kindle app to be honest, although the scroller along the
bottom of the application will alert you to the different chapters
you're bouncing through, making it easier to find the page you're
looking for. There's also a neat 'view original pages' feature for
older books, where the original edition is scanned in to be viewed as
the first eyes would have done. It's a cool feature, but one we turned
off pretty quickly - we want to be able to read a book properly. The
interesting thing is these books are actually stored in the cloud, so
each will load the first time you start reading... although the option
to make them available offline makes a lot more sense. Given
books don't take up much space, we're more than happy to make sure
everything is cached... we don't want to be left hanging on the
Underground. Virdict We'll
jump right out and say it: Ice Cream Sandwich is the step forward
Android has been crying out for. It's slicker, faster and more intuitive
than ever before, and Google should be applauded for improving an
already decent system.Google has offered up data management too -
you'll be able to set a limit to how much data the phone uses, with
warnings and updates on which apps are the most byte-hungry. This is the
sort of thinking smartphone users will love.
We liked
The
overall look and feel of Android has been streamlined, and that's a
real plus in our eyes. Google's OS might be a world-conqueror right now,
but that doesn't mean people always know how to use it in the same way
they might an iPhone. Things like contact pictures in the
notifications bar, the lack of hardware buttons and moving settings to
always be accessible are the sort of things many will love, plopping
things where you intuitively expect them to be. The internet
browser's improvements to include desktop sites and offline reading are
welcome too - anything that gives the user extra control is a good thing
in our opinion.
We disliked
One of our
larger gripes with Ice Cream Sandwich is, at times, the over-simplicity.
Things like the video player being nothing more than a slider and play
button are fine, but we expect to be able to do more with the app as we
see fit. There's also the issue of how the OS will work on
less-powerful devices - will the fancy animations and services be as
palatable on something that costs less than £100? The other gripes
are truly minor: support for file types, no place for Google Wallet as
yet, too few home screens and no way to see them all at once. These are things that will be fixed with updates or manufacturers simply improving on the OS in the months to come.
Verdict
Google needed to make sure it kept its OS refreshed and current, and Ice Cream Sandwich ticks that box in so many ways. It's
worth remembering that this is the foundation for manufacturers to go
and build on - there's a lot more to come in the next 12 months. However,
if this is the platform Google will be using on all Motorola devices
when the acquisition is complete then it's a good enough OS in its own
right. In terms of how good you'll think Android 4.0: Ice Cream
Sandwich is, it all boils down to personal choice. We're excited to see
how manufacturers will customise it and extol the virtues to improve
media or the home networking options, but others will simply be huge
fans of the simplicity - our score is a mixture of the tools Google has
offered up and the base level of performance on show. But make no
mistake - Ice Cream Sandwich is the most accessible and easy-to-learn OS
from Google, and that's going to be key in the wars against Apple and
Microsoft.
There are plenty of apps like Norton Tablet Security - but do you really need them?Malware,
malware, viruses, attacks, phone numbers being stolen, lives put at
risk, solar flares wiping out the communications grids and so on. All of
those scenarios have been blamed on Android recently, as anti-virus
companies pitch Google's mobile OS as the next worst thing that'll ruin
your life. But is Android malware an actual real thing? Or is it
largely a myth, proven only in exploits performed under laboratory
conditions? Chet Wisniewski, from anti-virus firm Sophos, told
us: "It is not terribly widespread outside of China, but the number of
malicious apps is increasing dramatically."
"In
2010 we saw around 40 threats, in 2011 more than 400. Evidence for 2012
suggests that number will continue to increase. To date the majority of
threats are on unofficial/pirate markets, but we have seen several apps
make it onto the Google Play store, only to later be discovered and
deleted."
Why is Android vulnerable?
"The ability for users to load
software 'off market' opens the door for malicious applications to be
distributed without the need for a vulnerability," says Wisniewski,
meaning anyone can write an app and anyone can install anything on their
Android phone, granting it permission to go wild with their personal
data. Google's main defence is the Android Permissions notifier,
which tells you exactly which phone features an app will be able to
access once installed. The problem is, no one reads these permissions.
It's a boring list of things most of us don't understand. How is the
everyday man expected to know if it's right or wrong for a particular
app to require access to his contacts details? There's also the
problem of software updates, which has been the bane of Android over the
last year or two, as Google relentlessly releases new OS versions and
the networks struggle to keep up. Google Play: plenty of security apps are available through the store"The
other factor that increases the risk for Android users is the lack of
patches that fix the vulnerabilities that are discovered," says
Wisniewski. "Even if Google fixes the flaws in the core version of
Android, most carriers and phone makers lag far behind integrating the
fixes, if they bother at all." Which all sounds very worrying, but
then again it's common practise and advice throughout the tech world -
always update to the latest version of any software. If you've been
stranded with an unsupported Android model that's sitting on version 1.6
of the software, you may well be more vulnerable. The hackers have had
longer to work on exploits.
Do you need an Android security app?
Wisniewski
thinks so, explaining: "Not all security applications are the same,
some are more of a marketing effort than a true security application. As
the number of attacks increase it is likely we will need to provide
protection on the device as well as more carefully screening
applications submitted to the marketplaces." At the other end of the spectrum, a famous rant published on Google+
by Google man Chris DiBona, who's the Open Source Programs Manager at
Google, said: "Virus companies are playing on your fears to try to sell
you bs protection software for Android, RIM and IOS. They are charlatans
and scammers." Google's Chris DiBona: security companies Most
Android malware scare stories are based around one of two extreme
premises - theoretical breaches discovered by researchers in their
offices but not actually spotted in the real world, or apps that spawn
numerous pop-up adverts designed to pull in ad revenue for the few days
they're allowed to run riot on Google's Play Store. The latter is
by far the most common. In the run up to the Android launch of iPhone
smash Temple Run, numerous clones popped up on the Play Store. Some were
rather malicious, redirecting users' browsers to ad-covered web sites
and inserting bookmarks, but they didn't have the power to break your
phone beyond repair – nor were they technically malware, as they were
only doing what users had granted them permission to do so. No
security or anti-virus app will stop something you're specifically
handing permission to, so they are, in cases like this, entirely
useless. So while there's certainly a lot of boundary-pushing,
invasive software that can legitimately take its place on Google's Play
Store, actual reports of phone-breaking data-thievery are extremely rare
to come across.
Is my phone infected?
Sophos' most recent Android malware report
concerned a game called 'The Roar of the Pharoah' which, it claimed,
contained a trojan that could gather your phone number and IMEI code,
with the ability to send SMS messages to premium rate services.
Only
problem is, this app wasn't found on the Google Play Store. Sophos
found it on unnamed "unofficial download sites," so it's entirely
possible that no users whatsoever were infected by this apparent threat
that gained a lot of internet column inches over the past month. Another common Android malware fighter and evangelist is McAfee. Its 2011 threat update
[PDF] made for worrying reading, claiming that two new viruses -
Android/NickiSpy.A and Android/GoldenEagle.A - were found on Android
phones in the last quarter of 2011. Android/NickiSpy.A came to the fore late last yearSymantec
supplies some data on the number of infections, which show that the
Android.Nickispy trojan, which is claimed to have the ability to record
users' phone calls, has infected between 0-49 devices. Which is
statistically about zero when Google's selling 700,000 Android gadgets every day.
Will it get worse?
Anti-virus
firms say yes it will, while Google has recently introduced an
app-scanning tool it calls Bouncer, designed to detect common forms of
malicious code uploaded to its Android Market and delete them before
they can inflict pain on users.
With
over 200 million Android devices out there today, and a rather
patchwork approach to updating their software, it's inevitable that some
older models will be exploited and found more The rule of thumb
is to keep it official, only downloading apps through Google's Play
Store, as at least that way you have some form of safety net and the
backing of Android's own army of app-checking reporters. And check
those permissions when installing an app, as boring a task as it may be.
They're your first indication that something's trying to work its way a
little too deeply into your phone. And while anti-virus apps
from the big name PC software protection companies are on the rise on
Google's Play Store, they won't stop the adware spam apps and fakes, as
they rely on you granting them permission to run. As with most
things in life, the sad fact is you're going to have to start paying
more attention to the small print if you want to stay exploit free.
Our list of the best Android tablets in the world - regularly updated If
you're looking for a tablet and don't fancy an iPad, then Android is
currently the way to go. (Don't know what an Android tablet is? Check
out: what is an Android tablet?) There are other options out there; Windows 7 tablets are available, the BlackBerry PlayBook is on sale now and the HP TouchPad has come and gone in a flurry of £99 ($150) panic-buying. But Android 4.0 (soon to be Android 4.1) is currently the main OS rival to the iPad, and the products are still making their way onto the shelves.
We've saw the launch of Nvidia's next-generation Tegra 3
chip which has taken 2012's quad-core Android tablets to new heights.
The likes of the Asus Transformer Prime are beckoning in the new era,
and the iPad is starting to feel the heat. Some tablets have
10-inch screens, others seven, and there are big differences in
battery life, processing power and on-board RAM. So while we wait for
the likes of the Amazon Kindle Fire 2, let's see what the current best tablets are...
1. Google Nexus 7
Best Android tablet for: quad-core power on a shoe-string Manufactured by Asus to Google's specifications, the Nexus 7 ushers in a new era of affordable, quality Android tablets. Packing
a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 12 core GPU, 8GB and 16GB internal
storage and 7-inch 1280x800 screen, the Nexus 7 certainly has the skills
to pay the bills, but at a highly attractive price point. Laughing in the face of its closest rival, the Amazon Kindle Fire, it looks like Google has got the budget end of the tablet market all wrapped up, that is until the Kindle Fire 2 and iPad Mini come to the fore. Quick verdict A
quad-core processor, beefy GPU and the first device to run Android
Jelly Bean, the Nexus 7 certainly packs a punch. It may not tread a
lot of new ground, but the Nexus 7 is a solid performer and easily the
best tablet a couple of hundred bucks/pounds can buy.
2. Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
Best Android tablet for: tablet come netbook usability
Some alternatives...
Asus wowed us when it launched its Eee Pad Transformer TF101 and with the Transformer Prime it has managed to go one better. The
Transformer Prime packs a mighty 1.3GHz quad-core processor into a
super-slim 8.6mm chassis and although it shipped with Android 3.2, the
Prime was the first Android tab to receive the upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich. That
huge processor means using the Transformer Prime is a breeze, with it
able to process full HD movies and multiple apps with ease. You
also get a super-crisp 10.1-inch IPS display (1280 x800), a surprisingly
good 8MP camera capable of recording 1080p video and 32GB of internal
storage, with a microSD card slot available if you need more space. Quick verdict It's
a close run battle for the top Android tablet accolade, but the
Transformer Prime just pips the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with its super
fast Tegra 3 quad-core processor, slender style and additional keyboard
dock.
3. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Best Android tablet for: the out-and-out tablet experience While
the Asus Transformer and Slider offer something a little different at
an unbeatable price, our number 3 - the Galaxy Tab 10.1 - offers a
direct alternative to Apple's iPad 2 - although it's found lacking when put up against the new iPad. Sporting
the Tegra 2 dual-core CPU, it's both marginally thinner and lighter
than the iPad 2. This was some achievement, especially when you
consider the fuss Apple made about how thin and light the iPad 2 was on
launch. Quick verdict As an out-and-out
tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is brilliant. It matches the performance of
other Tegra 2-based tablets while beating the pants off them in the
portability stakes. This tablet is lighter and thinner than the iPad 2.
So unless that keyboard dock of Asus' Transformers is a serious draw for
you, this is one to consider.
4. Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9
Best Android tablet for: portability and power In
at number four is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 - and it's a funny little
thing. It's essentially the same as its older brother, the Samsung
Galaxy Tab 10.1, but with an 8.9-inch screen. It's slightly thinner and
lighter, and consequently more convenient for anyone wanting to stuff it
in a bag. Apart from these physical attributes, the internal
components are basically the same. So you get the same slick performance
and overall tablet experience. We've put this above the 10.1 because of
the increased convenience owed to its slightly smaller size, but that
shouldn't put you off going for the 10.1 if you're after a bigger
screen. Quick Verdict It's ideal for anyone
who thinks 10.1 inches is just slightly too big for a tablet, but also
finds 7-inch options a tad too small. A great screen, and premium
features across the board make it a superb option.
5. Asus Eee Pad Slider
Best Android tablet for: doing things a little differently The
Apple iPad is the daddy. It doesn't matter what the arguments for
Android are, the fact is that the iPad is still just about the best
out-and-out tablet out there. And that's why the Slider is such a
compelling option - it's not a straight iPad-competitor, it offers
something different. The slide-out keyboard offers flexibility and
functionality not on offer elsewhere. It's a different prospect
to the Transformer Prime above in that it cannot be disconnected from
its keyboard, nor does it pack the Tegra 3 innards. But what it
does do is make it easier to work on the train, type emails and
documents with the convenience of not needing a dock or peripheral.
What's more, the screen is the best we've seen on a 10-inch Android
tablet, and it's also the most responsive. It's not for everyone, but
it's one of the best tablet for showing off everything that Android can
do.
6. Asus Eee Pad Transformer
Best Android tablet PC for: replacing your netbook
Stock up on apps
We
love the Asus Transformer. It's been around for a while now, and in our
opinion, it's still one of the most compelling Android tablets
available. Not only is it powerful and well featured, it's designed to
work with a keyboard dock which turns it into a fully-fledged
Android-powered netbook. The fact is that Android as an OS is
still lagging behind iOS in terms of tablet usability, so products need a
USP. And on that score, this is the tablet that changed the game. With
the release of the Transformer Prime and Transformer Pad 300, you may
well find this tablet at discounted prices. And thus could be had for a
bargain if you search hard enough.
7. Asus Transformer Pad 300
Best Android tablet for: Transformer Prime power on a budget The
Transformer Pad 300 offers up the power of a quad-core Tegra 3
processor, a 10.1-inch display and 12 hour battery life into a device
which is £100 cheaper than the Transformer Prime. A big plus point
for the 300 is the fact that it comes running Ice Cream Sandwich out of
the box – keeping it bang up to date with the Android OS – even if Android 4.1 has just popped up. However
the price difference is noticeable when it comes to the materials used
to build the 300, with its plastic body not feeling as premium or solid
as the more expensive Prime – that said, the Transformer Pad 300 is
still a great tablet. Quick verdict Individual
needs and budget will determine if the Asus Transformer Pad TF300 is
right for you, but we applaud Asus for marrying value and performance,
and the TF300 comes highly recommended.
8. Sony Tablet S
Best Android tablet for: PlayStation gaming As
a veritable mega-giant in the consumer tech universe, Sony's landing on
Planet Tablet was always going to be interesting. Blasting off
alongside the fold-in-half Tablet P, the Tablet S has a unique
wedge-shaped design and top-end specs. It's a very decent and
refined tablet, and has the unique feature of having access to original
PlayStation games. The only issue is that it's not as tidy as the Galaxy
Tab 10.1 and not as versatile as the Transformer. Apart from that, it's
one of the best Android tablets out there.
9. Toshiba AT200
Best Android tablet for: 10-inch Portability The
AT200 is the world's thinnest clocking in at a super slender 7.7mm
thin, which means you can slide it into your bag without issue and at
535g, you probably won't notice it's in there. You get a 10.1-inch
1280 x 800 TFT display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 5MP
rear camera, 2MP front camera and a decent array of ports including
micro SD, USB and HDMI. Toshiba has also dropped the price of the
AT200 just a few months after launch to keep it competitive in the
market, but it's exclusively at Carphone Warehouse in the UK for the
time being. Quick verdict The Toshiba
AT200 is a good, solid and portable device, delivering everything you'd
expect from an unfussy Android slate. If you're looking for a standard
tablet experience, the AT200 is certainly worth a look.
10. Acer Iconia Tab A510
Best Android tablet for: cheap ICS and quad-core action For
your financial outlay, the Acer Iconia Tab A510 represents a shrewd
investment, especially for people willing to accept a few minor flaws. There
are cheaper tablets out there running Ice Cream Sandwich, but these
budget offerings do not offer the sheer power of the Tegra 3 platform,
and the lightning-fast Android 4.0 experience.
11. Huawei MediaPad 7
Best Android tablet for: keeping in your jacket pocket Seven-inch
tablets are a much better fit for the human hand. Huawei's new MediaPad
7, unlike the iPad, is so small that you can comfortably stick it in
your inside jacket pocket, making it a fully portable no-brainer. Huawei
made much of this being the first Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet, but
that's not much of a big deal now that Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream
Sandwich (ICS) has landed. In fact there's nothing about the MediaPad 7
that's a big deal. And that, for us, is the big deal.
12. Motorola Xoom
Best Android tablet for: sleek good looks and solid performance The Motorola Xoom was the first Honeycomb tablet to hit the shelves, and is thus the grandfather of the Android stable. Current
prices are starting at about £300 ($470), which is great value for a
10-inch tablet of this calibre and it's thus worthy of your attention.
Solid build quality, decent battery life, good performance. Beware
though, the Motorola Xoom 2 already here.
13. Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
Best Android tablet for: budget 7-inch tablet performance If
the idea of a capable, portable, fun and comparatively low cost tablet
appeals enough to you to make you part with £200 ($300), then this is
your tablet. However, those who strive for the best experience,
the sharpest screen and the most slender, curvaceous build will see that
Samsung has cut corners with the Tab 2 7.0.
14. Acer Iconia Tab A200
Best Android tablet for: basic tablet usage Although
the market for budget tablets is getting increasingly crowded, the Acer
Iconia Tab A200 offers a lot for its relatively low price. It's
replicating some of the policies that have made its laptops increasingly
popular. That is, an unremarkable chassis with a brief smattering of
necessary ports and a concentration on offering decent power at a very
attractive price.
15. Orange Tahiti
Best Android tablet for: new users already on Orange The
Orange Tahiti is a great own-branded tablet form a retailer that is
looking to push the device much in the same way as it would a handset,
with a small one-off payment plus monthly contractual fees. But there are certainly better devices on the market that, in the long run, would prove better value for money.
