Best & Upcoming Android Tablets of 2011

I am in the market for an Android tablet and started looking for the options in buying Android tablets. We have an Apple iPad 2 and it has set the bar very high. But, the Android tablet market is still attractive for many reasons.

I was just amazed at the variety I found in the marketplace with a varying selection of screensizes from 7 inches to 10.2 inches. The screens varied from resistive touchscreen to capacitive touchscreen. The processors were also varied from puny to ones that could power a desktop. They were running various versions of Android from Froyo 2.2 to the latest Honeycomb 3.1.

So here are a few pointers when comparing and deciding on an Android tablet.

• Screen size and resolution – varies from 7 inches to 10.2 inches (compare that to 9.6 inch screen of Apple iPad 2)
• Version of Android – varies from Froyo 2.2 to Honeycomb 3.1
• Processor speed
• Memory – internal and external
• Support for external media like microSD
• Support for HD video – 1080p/720p since a lot of video streaming services are starting to support HD
• Front/rear facing camera – for video conferencing and video chat
• Amazon rating – this is a good indicator of the quality of a product but shouldn’t be the only decision point

With so many varieties of tablets available, I have included pictures for those with over 3.5 star rating in all price ranges to highlight them.

Android Tablets – Sub $100

None at this time.

Android Tablets – $100 to $250

PanDigital 7-Inch Tablet Computer – White (Remanufactured) – $107

• 7 inch Tablet
• General Specifications: Screen Size: 7 inch, Panel: Digital TFT LCD, Resolution: 600 x 800 Pixel
• Storage: Internal Memory: 1 GB, Card Reader: 2 in 1, Expandable Memory: SD/SDHC, MMC/MMC+ upto 32 GB
• Connections: WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, USB Port: 1 mini-USB 2.0, Headphone jack: 1 stereo mini headphone jack
• Power: Built-in rechargeable Li-ion Battery (AC adaptor included)
• Amazon rating: 4 stars

Pandigital android tablet

Maylong M-150 7″ Android Tablet – $110

• 7 Inch Universe Tablet PC
• Powered By Android
• Amazon rating: none

Augen GENTOUCH 7-Inch Color Touch-Screen Tablet PC with Android 2.1 OS – Black – $135

• 800×480 color TFT touch panel screen
• CPU: 800 Mhz
• Ram: DDR2 256mb
• Internal Memory: 2GB
• Supports Media Formats: MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC
• Amazon rating: 2 stars

Coby Kyros MID7015 7-Inch Android Tablet – Black – $140

• Large 7-inch Android 2.1 Resistive Touchscreen
• microSD card slot(upgrade up to 16GB)
• Built-in 4GB internal memory
• Connect and enjoy Full 1080p on your HDTV via a HDMI cable
• Full-size USB connection enables keyboard of your tablet
• Amazon rating: 3 stars

Zenithink 10″ Touchscreen Android 2.1 Tablet – $174

• 10.2″ TFT digital display, 1024 x 600
• 2000mAH,3.7V Lithium-ion battery
• Built-in sterio speakers 0.5W x 2
• DC In Mic In 3.5mm Audio out RJ-45 SD/MMC 3 x USB2.0 (one standard, other mini port OTG and mini network port
• Amazon rating: 2.5 stars

Archos 7 7″ Android Home Tablet – $179

• The Android AppsLib makes available thousands of Android Apps, making your tablet the center of an ever-expanding free and pay app universe
• With an impressive 7″ TFT LCD resistive touch screen, the Archos 7c home tablet is sure to incite tablet envy from any comparable devices
• The high-resolution 800 x 480 resistive touch screen superlatively improves the user experience, especially when browsing the web or navigating between different screens
• The 7c home tablet has 8GB of internal memory for storing and sharing your videos, photos and music
• It’s easy to upload media files via USB from your computer or from your data storage devices, including micro SDHC cards
• Amazon rating: 3 stars

Superpad 10.2″ Android Tablet – $192

• Display: 10.2″ TFT Touch Screen (1024 x 600 resolution) w/single-point resistive touch; Processor: FlyTouch ARM11 1Ghz; OS: Android 2.1; RAM: 256MB DDR2; Graphics Model: Supports 720p / 1080P
• Internal Hard Drive: 2GB Flash with 2 TF slots for expansion (supports MicroSD 32GB Max); Ports: 2 x USB 2.0, 2 x MicroSD Slots, Mini HDMI, DC Jack, 3.5mm Headphone/Line-Out, RJ45 Ethernet; Audio: Built In Stereo Speakers and Mono Recorder
• Camera: 1.3 MP Built In Camera; Wireless Connection: WiFi supports 802.11 b/g/n; Battery Type: 3800mAh Li-ion Battery
• Power: AC Adapter – 100V – 240V; Dimensions: 10.5″ x 6.5″ x .50″
• Package includes: 10.2″ Android 2.1 Tablet, English User Manual, GPS Antenna, Earphones, AC Charger Adapter 110V-240V
• Amazon rating: 2.5 stars

Herotab C8 7″ Capacitive Multi-touch, Android 2.2 Tablet (SD Card Not Included) – $220

• Samsung 1Ghz processor S5PV210 – Supports 1080p with HDMI (SD Card Not Included)
• Android 2.2 Froyo
• 7″ Capacitive Multitouch Screen
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• Google Android Market
• Amazon rating: 4.5 stars

Herotab android tablet

Plexon – Superpad II – 10.2″ Andoid Tablet PC – $227

• Screen: 10.2″ TFT Touch Screen LCD 16:9 Aspect Ratio
• Ram: 512MB DDR2
• HDD: 4GB Built In Expandable to 32GB with Optional MicroSD Card
• Ports: RJ45, MicroSD Slot, USB
• Battery: 7.4V 3800 mAh
• Amazon rating: 2.5 stars
  

Archos 70 – 7″ 8 GB Internet Tablet (Black) – $245

• 8 GB capacity for about 4,000 songs, 80,000 photos, or seven full-length movies; microSD slot for memory expansion
• Enjoy about 36 hours of audio, 7 hours of video, or 10 hours Web browsing on a single charge
• Seven-inch, 16-million-color capacitive multitouch LCD with 800 x 480 WVGA pixel resolution
• Support for MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, and AC3 audio formats; MPEG-4, H.264, WMV9/VC1, Motion JPEG, and MPEG-2 video codecs
• One-year limited warranty
• Amazon rating: 4 stars

Archos Android Tablet

Android Tablets – $250 to $400

ViewSonic 10.2″ gTablet – $260

• CPU: Nvidia Tegra 2 T20 Dual cortex A9(1Ghz) OS: Android OS 2.2
• Browser: Android Browser Adobe Flash support
• Video Support: MPEG-4/H.264/VC-1,1080P Multitasking Multitouch
• Webcam No Phone support No I/O: 1 mini USB,1 mini HDMI Base Storage 16G
• Expandable memory: Micro SD card slot support up to 32 GB Sensors
• Amazon rating: 3.5 stars

Viewsonic Android Tablet

eLocity A7 Touchscreen 7-Inch Android 2.2 Tablet (Black) – $299

• 7-inch touchscreen tablet with Android 2.2 operating system
• 512 MB DDR2 RAM; NVIDIA Tegra II T‐20, 1GHz, 1MB L2 Cache
• 4GB high speed internal Flash memory; 1.3MP camera
• 802.11b/g wireless; Bluetooth; 1080p HDMI output; USB 2.0 port;
• 8.2 x 4.8 x 0.5; 1.02 lbs; 12-month warranty
• Amazon rating: 3.5 stars

Elocity Android Tablet

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7″ Android Tablet (Wi-Fi) – $350

• Android Froyo (2.2); CPU: 1GHz A8 Cortex Processor;
• Battery: Li-Polymer, 4000mAh
• Memory: 16GB Internal Memory; Up to 32GB Expandable Memory (microSD)
• WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n; USB 2.0; Bluetooth 2.1 Connectivity
• Audio: MP3, OGG, AAC, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, WMA, FLAC, WAV, MID, AC3, RTTTL/RTX, OTA, i-Melody, SP-MIDI
• Display: 7.0″ WSVGA Display; 600 x 1024 Pixel Display Resolution; 3.54″ x 6.05″ Display Size; 16M TFT Display Technology
• Video: Codec: Mpeg4, H.264, H.263, Divx/XviD Format: 3gp(mp4), wmv(asf), avi(divx), mkv, flv
• Amazon rating: 3.5 stars

Samsung Galaxy Tab Android Tablet

ASUS Eee 10.1″ Pad Transformer TF101-A1 – $398

• 10.1″ WSVGA (1280×800) IPS Capacitive LED Touchscreen; Android 3.0 Operating System
• NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU; 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM, 1 slot, 1GB Max; 16GB Internal Flash Memory; Wireless 802.11bgn; Bluetooth 2.1
• Mini HDMI Port; Micro SD Card Slot; 1.2MP (front) and 5.0MP (rear) Webcam
• GPS; Gravity Sensor; E-Compass; Light Sensor; Gyroscope; 24.4W/h Lithium Polymer Battery (Up to 9.5 Hours Battery Life)
• 40-Pin Docking Port for Optional Keyboard (Keyboard Not included)/Docking Station (Model Name: TF101 DOCKING)
• Amazon rating: 4 stars

ASUS EEE Pad Android Tablet

Android Tablets – $400 to $500

Toshiba Thrive 10.1-Inch 16 GB Android Tablet – $479

• 10.1-inch multi-touch widescreen display with Adaptive Display Technology, supporting 720p
• NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core mobile processor; Android 3.1 operating system
• 5.0 MP rear camera with autofocus and 2.0MP front-facing webcam; stereo speakers with Toshiba sound enhancements
• 16 GB internal memory; USB, mini-USB, and HDMI ports and full-sized SD card reader; Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity supporting Adobe Flash
• Easy Grip non-slip interchangeable rubber backplate, available in a variety of colors; user-replaceable prismatic lithium battery
• Amazon rating: 4 stars

Toshiba Thrive Android Tablet

MOTOROLA XOOM Android Tablet – $499

• Next-generation tablet with 10.1-inch HD display, Android 3.0 platform, and ultra-fast Wireless-N Wi-Fi connectivity
• Powered by NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core mobile processor; support for Adobe Flash for viewing web sites, movies, games, and more
• Front-facing 2-megapixel camera and microphone for video chats; rear 5-megapixel camera with LED flash for high-res stills and HD 720p video
• 32 GB internal memory; HDMI output; microSD expansion (with software upgrade)
• Up to 10 hours of video playback/Wi-Fi web browsing
• Amazon rating: 4 stars

Motorola Xoom Android Tablet

Samsung Galaxy Tab (10.1-Inch, 16GB, Wi-Fi) – $499

• Android Honeycomb 3.1
• Dual Core Tegra 2 processor, 1GB RAM
• Wi-FiTM, 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4GHz, 5GHz
• Memory Capacity: 16GB
• Display: 10.1″ WXGA (1280×800)
• Amazon rating: 4 stars

Samsung Galaxy Tab Android Tablet

Android Tablets over $500

All 3 tablets in the $400-$500 range are available in 32GB model for more than $500 and less than $600. Even though the Motorola Xoom debuted at $599 the price was eventually slashed to compete with Apple iPad 2.

Upcoming Android Tablets 2011

Apple iPad 2 Tablet (16GB, Wifi, Black) – $499

Of course, this has to be the most popular tablet ever. No introduction needed here. In fact, we cover a whole lot of news about the iPad in our iPhone/iPad blog.

Blackberry Playbook 7-Inch Tablet (16GB) – $445

• Delivers industry leading professional-grade performance with true multi tasking
• Consumer-friendly experience that redefine the possibilities of mobile computing.
• Ultra-portable tablet looks and feels great- less than half an inch in thickness and weigh less than a pound
• The 16 GB internal memory offers ample space for media storage.
• Out-of-the-box enterprise support and a robust development environment.

Blackberry Playbook Tablet

Amazon’s Android Tablet – Coming soon

Expected to come out this summer, I am keeping an eye on what Amazon has in store for us this summer.

Make sure you bookmark this article and check back as I will keep adding all the hot and upcoming tablets in this page. I hope to make this a ‘go to’ page when choosing a tablet as a gift or for yourself.