Tablet PCs have been around for more than a decade, but they have become immensely popular since 2010 following the launch of the Apple iPad. Since then, numerous brands have come out with tablet PCs of their own to take on the Apple iPad.
This is a list of the top tablet brands according to their popularity.
Apple iPad
Launched in 2010, this device bridges the gap between the iPhone and the laptops in the Apple product range. It runs on the Apple’s iOS operating system. The device comes with a 9.7-inch touch screen display, while it has three memory variants – 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB. The device is also further split into two variants based on the connectivity options – Wi-Fi and 3G.
Amazon Kindle
Launched in 1997, the line-up of Kindle e-book readers from Amazon now numbers four in variants. The Kindle Fire variant comes with 7-inch displays along with Wi-Fi connectivity option. The Kindle Fire HD comes with 8.9-inch HD display and Dolby audio. The company also offers LTE version of the Kindle Fire HD as well. The products run on the Linux operating system.
Samsung Galaxy
The South Korean company introduced its first android-based tablet in 2010. There are two versions of the tablet with 7 inch and 10.1 inch display sizes. These tablets support memory capacities of up to 64 GB. The current lineup of tablet PCs includes dual core processors of more than 1 GHz in speed. They offer imaging capabilities with front and rear cameras.
Microsoft Surface
The Surface series of tablet PCs from Microsoft offer two different operating systems – Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro. The tablets were launched in 2012. The two variants of the device offer memory capacities from 32 GB to 128 GB.
ASUS Eee Pad
This Taiwanese offers four series of tablet PCs running on the Android operating system. The Asus Eee Pad Transformer series was launched in 2011. It features a 10.1-inch screen with a 1 GHz dual core processor and 1 GB of RAM.
This company offers two types of tablet PCs with 7 and 10-inch screens. Both the tablet PCs run on the Android operating system, while both were launched in 2012. The 10-inch version of the Google Nexus tablet runs on a 1.7 GHz dual core processor.
Acer Iconia
Acer offers three series of tablet PCs running on the Android and the new Windows 8 operating system. Some of the products come with integrated physical keyboards, while some offer aspects like a full HD display. The Android tablet comes with a quad core processor.
Sony
Launched in 2011, this Japanese company offers two types of tablet PCs running on the Android operating system. The Tablet S offers a 9.4-inch display, while the Tablet P offers two interoperating displays measuring 5.5 inches each.
Dell
Dell offers tablet PCs with three display measurement – 10, 12, and 13 inches. They run on the Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems. Some of the tablet PCs come with docking solutions and a full-fledged keyboard. Swivel touch screen is also present in some models.
Blackberry Playbook
Launched in 2011, this tablet PC from the Canadian manufacturer comes with aspects like a 7-inch display, LTE connectivity, and the BlackBerry communication apps. The device runs on the BlackBerry Tablet operating system, which is intended only for BlackBerry tablets.
Motorola Xoom & Xyboard
The Motorola Xoom is the first tablet PC from this American manufacturer and it was launched in early 2011. Featuring a 10.1-inch display, this device was replaced by the Xyboard during the end of 2011. Both devices run on the Android operating system.
Toshiba Thrive
This company has a range of two tablet PCs that come with 7 and 10.1-inch widescreen displays. The Nvidia dual core processors power them and they come with the Android operating systems. Dual cameras and stereo speakers are offered in the tablets that were introduced in 2011.
Barnes And Noble Nook
Barnes & Noble offers two types of tablet PCs with a 7 and 9-inch display. They run on the Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. There are also e-book readers available from this company.
Lenovo
This Chinese company offers tablet PCs as part of it ThinkPad and IdeaPad line-up. They run on the Android operating system, while the company launched a Windows 8 tablet in 2012. The Android tablets come with 9 and 10.1-inch displays.
HP Slate
This company provides a range of 10 products in its tablet PC line-up. They run on the Windows 7 operating system. The display size of 12.1 inches is constant across the range. The products come with both pen and touch input capabilities.
LG Optimus Pad
The tablet PC from this South Korean company features an 8.9 inch display. It runs on the Android Honeycomb operating system, which is intended only for tablets. The 3D video recording feature is available through the 5 megapixel camera.
MSI Windpad
Running on the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system, this is a 10-inch tablet PC. It comes with speakers having the SRS TruMedia technology, while the AMD Z-Series APU Processors are used to power it.
Archos G9
This French company offers two types of tablet PCs in its G9 series. The 8-inch tablet is aimed at portability, while the 10.1-inch tablet is aimed at powerful multimedia experience. The two tablets run on the Android 4.0 operating system.
Viewsonic GTablet
Launched in 2010, the ViewSonic G Tablet was the only tablet PC to be offered by the company. It provides the Android 2.2 operating system and a 10.1-inch display. It offered the Nvidia Tegra 2 processor along with 512 MB of RAM.
Coby
This company provides more than 20 different types of tablet PCs running on different versions of the Android operating system. The products differ on the aspects like processing speed, screen size, and multi-touch support.
