Best Tablet <£400

[Jamdude]

I'm looking to get a tablet for Christmas but don't follow their upgrade schedules so am not sure what's the best/newest or what is being released soon.  I definitely want Android and it has to be less than £400.  So far I'm hooked on the Samsung Tab S 10.5 thanks to its 1600p Super AMOLED screen but have heard terrible things about Samsung Touchwiz being resource hungry.

 

The other tablet I was considering is the Sony Z2 but it's lower resolution display put me off a little; I do love Sony products though.  If you have any other considerations then please comment below.

[Speedbird]

How about the NVIDIA Shield tablet?

[OfficialJsP]

maybe the nvidia shield tablet it looks good

[Nakoron]

Nexus 9.

It's also a better shield tablet than the shield tablet. hah!

It's made by HTC and has front facing speakers - at about $400 USD I believe.
also... has the Nvidia K1 in it. So yeah.

[s3ns3]

are you sure you want a tablet that big? go with nexus 9

[Jamdude]

How about the NVIDIA Shield tablet?

maybe the nvidia shield tablet it looks good

It's only an LCD 1200p display and I'm getting the tablet primarily for watching films, videos, and browsing the web.  I also don't have a Nvidia GPU so some of the best features are useless to me.

 

Nexus 9.

It's also a better shield tablet than the shield tablet. hah!

It's made by HTC and has front facing speakers - at about $400 USD I believe.

also... has the Nvidia K1 in it. So yeah.

are you sure you want a tablet that big? go with nexus 9

I was looking at the Nexus 9, the specs all seem great apart from the 4:3 display which just seems stupid.  I'll primarily be watching videos on the tablet so 4:3 just isn't ideal.  Yes the size is fine, I won't be taking it out anywhere with me because I already have a decent phone.

[Speedbird]

It's only an LCD 1200p display and I'm getting the tablet primarily for watching films, videos, and browsing the web.  I also don't have a Nvidia GPU so some of the best features are useless to me.

Do you really watch movies in 1440p?

[shadowblitz3]

Z2 Tablet for better audio experience with its front facing speakers, water resistance, better looks, and tweaks Sony made to make the display better to make up for the lower pixel count.

[Jamdude]

Do you really watch movies in 1440p?

No, but movies aren't the only things that benefit from a higher resolution display.

 

Z2 Tablet for better audio experience with its front facing speakers, water resistance, better looks, and tweaks Sony made to make the display better to make up for the lower pixel count.

I'll be using the tablet mostly with headphones plugged in so speakers aren't that big of a deal.  I don't need it to be water resistant but the Z2 is definitely better looking and a more solid construction.  The Samsung definitely has the better display of the two.

[Speedbird]

No, but movies aren't the only things that benefit from a higher resolution display.

Videos are the same as movies, and web browsing doesn't benefit from a higher-res display. I have used an iPad 2 (1024x768) and an iPad 4 (2048×1536) and I didn't notice any difference.

[wng_kingsley7]

Nexus 9. It's also a better shield tablet than the shield tablet. hah!

It's made by HTC and has front facing speakers - at about $400 USD I believe.

also... has the Nvidia K1 in it. So yeah.

$400 dollars isn't equivalent to the British pound/sterling however the Nexus 9 is a pretty darn great choice unless he opts to go with the shield or other priced/&/or spec'ed tablets.

@Jamdude

Asus memopad 7?iPad air?

[Jamdude]

web browsing doesn't benefit from a higher-res display.

What?  It absolutely does, especially since you can split the screen on the Tab S and have two windows open side by side.

 

$400 dollars isn't equivalent to the British pound/sterling however the Nexus 9 is a pretty darn great choice unless he opts to go with the shield or other priced/&/or spec'ed tablets.

@Jamdude

Asus memopad 7?iPad air?

The Asus Memopad 7's resolution is way too low for what I'm looking for.  I've ruled out the Nexus 9 because of the aspect ratio, and the Nvidia Shield would probably be a good choice if I had a Nvidia GPU, without one the Tab S seems like the better choice for media consumption.

[PoshBoyGames]

Nexus 9/Nvidia Shield Tablet or a new iPad (if you swing that way)

[Jamdude]

Nexus 9/Nvidia Shield Tablet or a new iPad (if you swing that way)

I'm looking for Android tablets.  Why do you recommend the Nexus 9 and Shield tablet over the Samsung Tab S 10.5 and Sony Xperia Z2 if I may ask?

[PoshBoyGames]

I'm looking for Android tablets.  Why do you recommend the Nexus 9 and Shield tablet over the Samsung Tab S 10.5 and Sony Xperia Z2 if I may ask?

They just don't seem to be interesting tablets for me, besides; the main reason for loving the Nexus 9 and shield tablet is the stock Android ROM, if you're into the whole modding (rooting, flashing) scene then that's easy to fix on a Tab S and a Z2 I assume, but if you're not then you're going to have a bad experience on the poorly developed ROMs on those devices, TouchWiz in particular.

 

Edit: I can help you out on flashing a stock-like ROM like Cyanogenmod for example if you really want either of those tablets

[Jamdude]

They just don't seem to be interesting tablets for me, besides; the main reason for loving the Nexus 9 and shield tablet is the stock Android ROM, if you're into the whole modding (rooting, flashing) scene then that's easy to fix on a Tab S and a Z2 I assume, but if you're not then you're going to have a bad experience on the poorly developed ROMs on those devices, TouchWiz in particular.

 

Edit: I can help you out on flashing a stock-like ROM like Cyanogenmod for example if you really want either of those tablets

Your deciding factor is that the Nexus and Shield have slightly better ROMs?  I've got no problem with rooting the device, as I said earlier in the thread, I've head a lot of poor reviews of Samsung's Touchwiz so am prepared to root the device if I find it necessary.

[PoshBoyGames]

Your deciding factor is that the Nexus and Shield have slightly better ROMs?  I've got no problem with rooting the device, as I said earlier in the thread, I've head a lot of poor reviews of Samsung's Touchwiz so am prepared to root the device if I find it necessary.

That's not my deciding factor, but it would be a big deal for people that didn't know how to tinker. Both devices are solid options.

[SSOB]

iPad Air (2) is still a very good option.

Also I would definetly go with a nexus 9 , the Xperia Z3 tablet is going to come out in a short while.

[Jamdude]

iPad Air (2) is still a very good option.

Also I would definetly go with a nexus 9 , the Xperia Z3 tablet is going to come out in a short while.

Again, I don't want the Nexus 9 because of its 4:3 screen and I definitely want an Android tablet.  The Z3 tablet should come out around February/March next year but is likely to be over £400 and I don't want to wait that long.

[SSOB]

Again, I don't want the Nexus 9 because of its 4:3 screen and I definitely want an Android tablet.  The Z3 tablet should come out around February/March next year but is likely to be over £400 and I don't want to wait that long.

Than the Z3 Compact/ Z2 tablet would be your best bet.

[Jamdude]

Than the Z3 Compact/ Z2 tablet would be your best bet.

Why those over the Tab S 10.5?

[SSOB]

Why those over the Tab S 10.5?

Touchwiz is really slow, especially because the hardware really can't push 1600P at all. When android L comes for both tablets, the Samsung tab will struggle to render everything in 60FPS. Also The build on the sony us superior, and it looks better IMO.