Best Small Tablet

[RichardCFC]

I'm looking to buy a small (7"-8") tablet and need to keep it under around £200. I've never owned a tablet so really am a novice in knowing which ones are best. 

 

The ones I've considered are:

 

iPad Mini (£200)

Google Nexus 7 (£165)

Samsung Galaxy Tab (£105)

Kindle Fire HD (£120).

 

I would use it for various things, playing games, watching videos (Netflix), editing documents using Google Drive, surfing the internet etc etc.

Any advice on the ones I've suggested or alternatives? Thanks.

[Valerie]

I own the 7 inch Samsung Galaxy, the 2nd series. I use it for surfing the internet, e-mail, quite a few apps, and some documents. I take a few, not many, photos on holiday.

I love the gadget, it's terrific on holiday to look up practical information, and at home it's good not to have to start up my computer.

I can't say how it performs for games or videos, or how it compares to other tablets. However, I do remember reading about safety/privacy issues of the Amazon Fire, something about credit card information of the buyer being loaded on the tablet before shipping it in very conspicuous packaging.

[Zola]

Nexus!!

[ForeverCarefree]

I have an Asus Nexus 7, its exactly the same as the Google Nexus minus the casing and was slightly cheaper.

Very happy with it, good for browsing and streaming.

[RichardCFC]

I have an Asus Nexus 7, its exactly the same as the Google Nexus minus the casing and was slightly cheaper.

Very happy with it, good for browsing and streaming.

 

I think that's the one I meant - it's described on Amazon as "Asus Google Nexus 7 7-inch Tablet".  That's the one you have I assume, and the only one I could find. 

 

I'm leaning towards the Nexus because most reviews say it has the best picture quality by far and is quick etc. I've played around with a Kindle Fire in Waterstones and never really felt like I wanted it. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is cheaper but apparently has a worse picture quality than the others which would annoy me when watching Netflix. I also have an iPhone which puts me off an iPad, I can't see it's worth paying more for something that wouldn't do a huge deal that my phone couldn't.

[undertow]

The 2nd gen Nexus 7 from 2013.

[Uno]

You cant go wrong with an Ipad!

[Stim]

I've been loving my Nexus 7 since I bought it like a year ago. Use it mainly for streaming, youtube, series and books.

 

Just note that it does not have a rear facing camera.

[ForeverCarefree]

I think that's the one I meant - it's described on Amazon as "Asus Google Nexus 7 7-inch Tablet".  That's the one you have I assume, and the only one I could find. 

 

I'm leaning towards the Nexus because most reviews say it has the best picture quality by far and is quick etc. I've played around with a Kindle Fire in Waterstones and never really felt like I wanted it. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is cheaper but apparently has a worse picture quality than the others which would annoy me when watching Netflix. I also have an iPhone which puts me off an iPad, I can't see it's worth paying more for something that wouldn't do a huge deal that my phone couldn't.

 

Yeah that's the one. I bought mine from PC World and in their they had a "Google Nexus" and an "Asus Nexus", all the specs were the same but the only difference we could see (including the shop assistant) was the casing and seeing as I put it straight into a protective case once I bought it anyway I wasn't going to spend the extra £20 just to have "Google" printed on it. 

 

I've had mine since November and I've had no problems with it at all. The browser is good, even on full sites not just mobile sites and the picture quality for using things like Youtube and Netflix is great as well. 

 

I shopped around a fair bit before buying mine and I found for the specs that the Nexus has and it's price it's probably about as good as you can get. 

[bluedave]

It's worth considering a Nook HD+, I bought one about a year ago when the prices were slashed and they're even cheaper now (£130 for the 9 inch version, £80 for 7 inch) since they're being discontinued. It's a great tablet but was competing against the (inferior) Kindle Fire brand and lost out despite having all the apps from the Google Play store (unlike the Kindle). I downloaded and installed cryanogenmod on mine to get rid of the Nook software and make it a pure android tablet.

 

What convinced me to buy a Nook HD+ rather than a Google Nexus or similar is that is has an SD card slot and the size is perfect, I've had a 10 inch tablet and found it too bulky and find the 7 inch tablets a little too small for normal web browsing. It can also output HDMI but you need to buy an adapter.