Tablet buying guide

Five key elements for buying a tablet

Resolution-

The higher the resolution, the sharper your screen will be. The amount of time you'll spend staring at that screen justifies the extra expense.

If you're not really used to HD screens then economizing with a low resolution might be tempting. Just remember that it will impact on everything. Reading, watching movies and gaming, are all significantly nicer on higher resolutions screens.

 

Storage-

Aim for at least 16GB of internal storage to be safe, even if you don't think you'll be downloading a lot of content. You'll thank us later.

If you can find a model with a microSD slot, all the better, as this is a great silo for photos, movies and other media that won't take up valuable space for apps.

 Platform-

In the tablet world the iPad claims the most tablet-optimized, quality apps. Android has an extensive choice with a high proportion of free apps, but many are designed for phones, so they can't boast the same level of polish.

Microsoft offers full-fat Windows 8.1, which brings a consistency across devices and should appeal to business users, or the cut down Windows RT, which looks weak in terms of function next to Android and iOS, although neither have a particularly comprehensive apps library.

 Processor and RAM-

This will have a big impact on the speed of your tablet and its ability to handle multiple tasks. Generally speaking, the higher the processor speed and RAM the better. Quad core tablets perform better, dual core options are kinder to the battery.