2013 Back To School Guide: Tablets

We are approaching that time of the year again. The time where kids grumble as they prep to go back to school. Sorry kids, the vacation is over. But for the parents looking to provide them w/ better tools for learning, we’re here to help. We have compiled a product guide to make your choice for mobile computing a lot easier with great specs and pricing to fit your needs.

To kick everything off, we are starting w/ everyone’s favorite form of mobile computing: the tablet.

Nexus 7

ASUS & Google’s highly recommended, 7inch Android tablet just got a nice refresh. Now sporting a full HD display, 1.5GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 5MP camera, and Wi-Fi or LTE models. Following up to last year’s paramount for what an Android tablet should look and perform like.

Pricing starts at $229 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and goes up from there. You can pick one up from various retailers (Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and more) along w/ the Google Play Store.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

This is easily Samsung’s greatest productivity tablet to date. The 8inch slate is essentially a smaller version of the Note 10.1 but performs better and at a more fitting size. Sporting an 8inch Super Clear HD display it is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos CPU, 2GB of RAM, dual cameras, microSD card slot, the S-Pen (built-in stylus) and many of Samsung’s native features like Pop-Up Play, Air View, & Multi-Window multitasking.

Pricing starts at $399 and can be purchased at a wide variety of retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Radio Shack & many more.

Surface RT

Earlier this year, Microsoft officially entered the tablet market w/ their Surface tablet. The Windows tablet is made w/ complete productivity in mind. Equipped w/ a 10.6inch 720p HD display, powered by a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU, 2GB of RAM, dual HD cameras, 32GB or 64GB of storage, stereo speakers, USB + microSDXC expandability, and running Windows RT + student suite of Office RT.Pricing starts at $349 and is sold online and in stores at Best Buy, Microsoft Store, and more.

iPad / iPad mini

Still the creme de la creme of tablets at the moment. More so of its app ecosystem that core features. The iPad (standard or mini) is a simple to use tablet that is ideal for media consumption, document creation, drawing, and more thanks to the over 375,000 iPad app that exists for iOS. The standard has a 9.7inch Retina display w/ 2048 x 1536 resolution (double that of your 1080p HDTV), powered by a dual-core A6X processor, and an all-day battery life. The mini is more like a smaller iPad 2 w/ a 7.9inch display, dual-core A5 processor, 10-hour battery life and a slim + lightweight body.

The iPad mini starts at $329 and the standard iPad starts at $499, both for the 16GB Wi-Fi model. Grab yours from Apple or Best Buy.

…and something crafted specifically for the future:

XO Tablet

From One Laptop Per Child, the Android tablet is crafted by Vivitar and geared towards children ages 3-12. This tablet was created to help kids find aspirations for their dreams as parents can see. It offers content in various fields in beginner, intermediate, & advanced skill sets. Armed w/ a 7inch display, powered by a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, dual cameras, 8GB of storage w/ microSD card slot, running Android 4.1, micro USB + HDMI connectivity, and parental controls.The XO Tablet is priced at $150 and can be purchased at Amazon, Target, and Walmart.

More Coverage:
BACK TO SCHOOL GUIDE: LAPTOPS
BACK TO SCHOOL GUIDE: SMARTPHONES
BACK TO SCHOOL GUIDE: CAMERAS

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Categories: Features

Author: Roderick Scott