Top 7 best budget Tablets

The iPad Air is ruling the roost as the best tablet in the world, but with prices starting at £399 and rising all the way to £739, 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 original iPad Mini has seen a price cut since its successor, the iPad Mini with Retina display, came onto the scene.

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, and instead check out the superior options below.

For those of you who are still with us, well done. To reward you for your loyalty, here are some top tablets for under £250.

 

1. New Nexus 7 (2013)

 

 

Price: from £199

OS: Android 4.4 KitKat

Review score: 4.5/5

With a quad-core processor, beefy 12-core GPU, 7-inch full HD display and being the first tablet to run the superb Android KitKat operating system, the new Nexus 7 is quite simply the best budget tablet out there.

The 16GB, Wi-Fi only version is available for just £199, while the 32GB Wi-Fi model will set you back a still reasonable £239. It's quite possibly the bargain of the century.

The only real shortcoming is there is no microSD card slot, meaning you're stuck with 32GB at most – although that can be easily overlooked at this startlingly attractive price.

2. LG G Pad 8.3

Price: from £229.99

OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Review score: 4.5/5

If the 7-inch tablet range is a little too small for your liking, and the iPad mini 2 is just out of your price range then you'll love the LG G Pad 8.3.

As you may have already guessed it sports a 8.3-inch display, a full HD affair which looks great and with a 1.7GHz quad-core processor and 2GB, the G Pad 8.3 has no trouble running Android Jelly Bean.

The metal finish means the G Pad 8.3 also feels great, almost putting it on a par with the premium design of the iPad mini - it's a lovely tablet which won't disappoint.

3. Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7

Price: from £199

OS: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Review

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Android 4.4 KitKat review

Pros

-Fast and frictionless

-New productivity options

-Project Svelte

-Improved Google Now

Cons

-Hangouts needs work

-Experience Launcher exclusive

-Hopped into bed with Nestle

                                                                            -No split-screen apps

1. Introduction 

Everyone was expecting Key Lime Pie to serve as the delicious moniker for the next version of Android. Google surprised us all by bucking tradition and releasing Android 4.4 under the name KitKat.

Version 4.0 started life as Ice Cream Sandwich, but the last three decimal additions came under the Jelly Bean banner. This new version was obviously deemed different enough to snag a new nickname, but not different enough to merit a jump to version 5.0.

That 0.1 bump hardly does it justice. Don't be fooled: this is an important step up for Android. KitKat is super-smooth, the UI is refined and elegant, there are improvements to the long-neglected calling and messaging side of the platform, a new focus on productivity, and your fortune-telling digital assistant is brought front and centre as Google Now reaches maturity.

 

General surprise in the tech world wasn't just based on the erroneous supposition that Key Lime Pie had to be next; there were also some raised eyebrows at the idea of Google entering into a tawdry cross-licensing deal with Nestle which would see a flood of Android-shaped KitKats hitting the shops offering buyers the chance to win Nexus 7 tablets or Google Play credit.

According to Google the promotion was its idea and no money changed hands. With Nestle producing 50 million Android KitKat bars it certainly looks like a sweet deal for them.

Naming conventions aside, the 4.4 update is about addressing some of the Android criticisms that simply won't go away and it does so with aplomb.

There's a real focus on the consumer here, with a smattering of useful new features, a noticeable bump in performance, and some optimization to ensure that budget hardware is not left behind.

Android 4.4 is easily the best version of the platform to date, and Google has left the ball firmly in the OEMs' court when it comes to rolling out the upgrades.

Leading the field by extending the update beyond its Nexus line to the Moto G also neatly illustrates the move to improve the Android experience on low-end, affordable hardware.

First impressions

KitKat really makes a mockery of the idea that iOS 7 is more refined than Android. This

version of the platform

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Top Android Tablets to buy 2014

What is the best Android tablet to buy in 2014? Could it be the latest budget Android tablet the New Nexus 7 or the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab 3? Here's our guide to the 10-inch through to 7-inch Android tablets that get the T3 seal of approval

So the iPad (fourth-generation) just doesn't do it for you, and you'd prefer to add a Google Android tablet to your current Android phone existence. Well, we may just be able to help. With the tablet-optimized Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS firmly in the past, Google's latest updates Android 4.0, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and  Jelly Bean 4.3 are now in full force. It's certainly a good time to grab a Google-powered slate, get downloading some Android tablet apps and say goodbye to your laptop or notebook.

If you have tablets on the mind, specifically Android ones, here are the best ones we've played with you can buy right now.

1. Samsung Galaxy NotePRO 12.2

Perfect for business folk, the largest of Samsung's tab line-up boasts a laptop encroaching 12.2-inch display with a resolution of 2560x1600 and the nitfty ability to use four apps at the same time. An interface re-jig, named Magazine UX pulls in a load of content in a design that doesn't look that much different from the tiles in Windows 8. As it's part of the Note series, you'll have access to the S-Pen for drawing, making notes and the like. Under the faux-leather hood is a Snapdragon 800 processor, a whopping 3GB RAM, Android 4.4 Kit Kat, while an 8-meg cam takes care of the snaps.

Price: TBA | Samsung 

2. Samsung Galaxy TabPRO 8.4, 10.1 and 12.2

Not content with just unleashing one version of its new TabPRO, the latest slate from Samsung comes in three flavours - an iPad Mini and LG G-Pad baiting 8.3 incher, a more traditional 10.1 and an extra large 12.2-inch version. Even with these different sizes, each boast a 2560x1600 resolution, Android 4.4 and a snappy Snapdragon 800 processor, while the larger 12.2 device packs 3GB of RAM (the others still have the reasonable 2GB). A new and rather nice looking Magazine UX displays all your content in an easy to read manner, while there's an 8-meg snapper on the rear to take care of photos. It looks like Samsung has finally stepped up its game when it comes to tablets.

Price:

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