TOP TABS

Smartphone screens are puny. Upgrade to one of these worthy tablets to browse, watch and stream HD content on the go

Apple iPad Air Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0

Samsung’s Galaxy Tabs have been slowly gaining ground on Apple’s iPad range thanks to solid build and fantastic value for money. This Tab 3 gives you a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and a vivid 8in display. Clever features like Multi-Window let you run two apps side by side, making the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 quite the multitasker. Dh1,250, Samsung, The Dubai Mall. It’s the lightest and best full-sized tablet around; the iPad Air measures just 7.5mm thick and weighs only 469g. Despite its tiny size, it still rocks a 9.7in Retina Display and Apple’s next-gen A7 processor – which provides enough graphical grunt to handle even the most intense of the Apple App Store’s thousands of games. Dh1,899, apple.com/ae.

Apple iPad Mini Retina Display

The iPad Mini has always been the slower, duller little brother in Apple’s iPad family, but thanks to a Retina Display upgrade, this new model is now bang up to date. You get a 7.9in screen of the same quality as the iPad Air, plus the same A7 processor and iOS 7 operating system. Dh1,499, apple.com/ae.

New Google Nexus 7

Naming conventions aside (the last Google tab was called exactly the same), this new version is thinner, lighter and better. You get the sharpest 7in display on record (a stunning 1920x200 pixels) and its quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM make it faster than ever. Dh900, jadopado.com.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z

If there was one place where we thought books would always beat tablets, it’s in the bath. But not any more thanks to the Xperia Tablet Z’s clever coating that makes it waterproof down to one metre. You also get a sturdy premium design and a quad-core processor that makes this tablet just as capable as it is hardy. Dh1,899, Jumbo Electronics.