Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
2014 has been a great year for tech fans and has seen the release of some of the most interesting, wacky and innovative devices in recent memory.
This has been particularly true in the tablet space which, thanks to developments in the PC and smartphone markets, has seen products launch that challenge our understanding of technology device categories.
Over the past 12 months we've seen everything from indestructible ruggedised devices to tablet-come-laptop hybrids from manufacturers around the globe.
While the army of tablets hitting the market is on the one hand good and has sparked competition within the industry, it has also left some buyers flummoxed as to which device they want as a stocking-filler this Christmas.
So in the true festive spirit, we've picked the 10 best tablets to arrive this year to help you decide.
10. The Hudl 2
While Tesco has had a tough time of late - what with falling profits and scandalous accounting errors - its entry into the tablet market has proved rather successful.
The first version of the Hudl sold 750,000 units according to the company, and its second effort has already proved popular, no doubt helped by improved specs including an upgraded 8.3in Full HD display, a quad-core Intel Atom processor and Google's Android 4.4 Kitkat mobile operating system.
The tablet also features dual 5MP and 1.2MP cameras, 16GB of internal storage expandable up to an additional 32GB, an eight-hour battery life and Dolby-optimised audio technology.
Undoubtedly the key selling point, though, is the price, which is a wallet-friendly £129 on the Tesco website, or even as little as £65 using Tesco's Clubcard Boost rewards scheme. Every little helps.
Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
9. Kindle Fire HD
Featuring a quad-core processor, front and rear-facing cameras and an HD display, the Kindle Fire HD has plenty to recommend it. It's also available in two sizes: a £79 6in model and a £99 7in version.
Coming in a choice of five colours - black, white, cobalt, magenta and citron - both versions boast displays that deliver brighter, more vivid colours than the previous generation Kindle Fire HD, as well as "whiter whites".
Running at 1.5GHz, the Kindle Fire HD tablets are capable of running more graphically intensive games, while their battery will last up to eight hours for general use, such as reading, listening to music, watching video and browsing the web.
Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
8. iPad Mini 3
The iPad Mini 3 was unveiled alongside the iPad Air 2, and while it doesn't offer as much of an upgrade as Apple's flagship tablet, it will no doubt be on the Christmas lists of those looking for a handbag- or pocket-friendly tablet.
Key upgrades include Apple's Touch ID fingerprint scanner, adding an extra layer of security to the pint-sized tablet, and a new gold colour option.
Besides this, those eyeing up the iPad Mini 3 this Christmas can expect to see the same 7.9in Retina display as last year's model, an A7 64-bit processor and 16GB, 64GB and 128GB storage versions.
Seemingly looking to lure buyers away from rival tablets such as the Nexus 9 and Hudl 2, Apple has made the 64GB model more affordable than last year's 32GB offering.
The iPad Mini 3 is available from the Apple website or shops for £319.
Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
7. Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
The maxim ‘bigger is better' may not always be true, but Samsung has been keen to prove otherwise with the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. As the name would suggest, the tablet features a 12.2in display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 to ensure that everything from text to app icons is razor sharp.
Powering all that screen real-estate is an Exynos 5 Octa processor, which is made up of two quad-core processors running at 1.9GHz and 1.3GHz respectively, with 3GB of RAM supporting the processors to ensure that the tablet can handle any task thrown at it.
For people who like to tap away at a tablet without using their fingers, the Note Pro 12.2 comes with Samsung's take on a stylus - the S Pen. Keen writers can use the S Pen to practice their digital penmanship, while the large screen offers a canvas for artists to sketch upon.
The original retail price put the 32GB version of the tablet at £649, but prices have since dropped, with the cheapest version V3 found starting at £351 from ValueBasket.com.
Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
6. Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
Sony's waterproof Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is the ideal gift for those who like nothing more than to browse the web while taking a bath. Alternatively, it could be used to read emails in the shower or to play Angry Birds outdoors in the middle of a tropical rain storm.
The tablet sports an 8in screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200, and with Triluminous technology borrowed from Sony's TVs, it provides high levels of contrast and colour saturation.
Powering the compact tablet is a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, complemented by 3GB of RAM. Storage starts at 16GB and can be expanded with microSD cards up to 128GB, giving users plenty of space to store a bevy of apps, photographs and other content.
Recommended retail prices start at £330, though a bit of internet searching revealed prices as low as £299 from online retailer eglobalcentral.co.uk.
Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
5. Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2
Lenovo has traditionally been a big player in the PC market, but to date has only had a modest presence in the tablet space. This year the company worked hard to change this, releasing what in our view is its finest Android tablet to date, the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2.
Featuring a unique metallic design, attached stand and optional keyboard, the Lenovo Yoga 10 has a distinct look that separates it from the sea of mundane iPad Air-like rip-offs hitting the market.
Even better, the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 features some pretty impressive internal components when you consider its reasonable £250 price tag. Key selling points include a sizable 10.1in 1920x1200 IPS display, Intel Atom 1.86GHz Z3745 processor and up to 18 hours of battery life.
We'd recommend any holiday shopper on the lookout for a affordable Android tablet to check out the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2.
Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
4. Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5
When Samsung's Galaxy Tab S 10.5 was introduced earlier this year, it was praised by our reviewer as "the best 10in Android tablet currently available", and with good reason.
Despite its super-slim casing and relatively low weight of 467g, the Tab S 10.5 packs a decent punch, thanks to its Exynos processor with four high-performance cores, plus a further four that switch in when power saving is required.
The Tab S 10.5 also has an excellent screen boasting 2560x1600 pixels, and a decent battery life of about 10 hours, despite its slimness. While Samsung has added its Touchwiz user interface to Android, this is not too intrusive on the Tab S 10.5.
For those looking to use the tablet for productivity or text-heavy applications, Samsung has teamed with Logitech to produce a Bluetooth qwerty keyboard that also serves as a protective case for the device, making for a neat well-integrated solution.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 is available from the Samsung website for £399.
Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
3. Google Nexus 9
Google’s latest flagship tablet, the Nexus 9, has been built by HTC and has plenty to recommend it.
It’s the first tablet to come running the business-friendly Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system out of the box, and features a powerful 64-bit processor as well as impressive battery life. It also boasts a 8MP rear camera and a 1.6MP front-facing camera.
The Nexus has a nice premium feel thanks to metal sides that connect to a matte finish polycarbonate back. It’s not quite up there with the iPad Air 2, but it does exude an aura of quality that some previous Nexus tablets have lacked.
Argos is selling the device for £320, as is the Google Play Store.
Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
2. iPad Air 2
The iPad Air 2 no doubt will be on the Christmas lists of many this year, with the tablet proving Apple's most interesting and highly-specced yet.
Improving on last year's original iPad Air, the second-generation model is 18 percent thinner, measuring in at a meagre 240x170.6.1mm. It's also the first Apple tablet to come with a Touch ID fingerprint scanner, a feature that debuted on the iPhone 5S in order to add an extra layer of security to Apple devices, and it is the first to be made available in a very festive gold casing.
While it comes just 12 months after Apple's debut iPad Air, the tablet also boasts an upgraded A8X processor, 8MP rear-facing camera and a glare-resistant display coating, which sees Apple looking to challenge Amazon's Kindle line-up during the holiday period.
Apple has also rejigged its tablet storage offering with the iPad Air 2, making it available in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB models.
The iPad Air 2 is available from the Apple website or in stores from £399.
Top tablets for Christmas: iPads, Surface Pro and Nexus 9
Ten tablets to wow and delight your loved ones this Christmas
1. Microsoft Surface Pro 3
Niggling flaws in the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2's design prevented the devices from making much of an impact in the consumer market. However, these have been rectified with the release of the Surface Pro 3, which our readers voted as the V3 2014 Technology Award's tablet and device of the year.
Running the latest version of Microsoft's Windows 8.1 software, the Surface Pro 3 features a redesigned digital stylus, a larger 12in, 3:2 aspect ratio 2160x1440 ClearType display and a wealth of Intel Haswell chip options.
As we noted in our review, the Surface Pro 3 is capable of replacing a dedicated laptop and is, in short, the finest business tablet to arrive this year. It would be a welcome sight beneath any tech fan's Christmas tree.
The Surface Pro 3 begins from £749 on the Microsoft Store although other retailers have other deals, such as John Lewis offering it for £639.