I’ve been wanting to buy my mom a tablet for a while now. My parents live on one side of the country, while my family and I live on the other. Air travel is expensive these days, so I’d love to have my kids connect more with their grandparents, and in today’s age of Skype and FaceTime, why can’t they at least connect online? My parents have no idea how to use a computer… that’s why.
I’m a technology and gadget geek, and my dad has to put black electrician tape over the DVD player if the power goes out and the clock is flashing so it doesn’t bother him. Trying to get them to do something on a PC is like trying to teach a dog a card trick. There’s a lot of staring and scratching. But the last time we visited, my mom really got interested in the tablet my kids were using, so this holiday season I want to pick one up for her. And who better to guide me in my purchase than Best Buy’s own customers? So, here’s my list of the top five best tablets for the Holiday Season, as reviewed by all you folks.
Microsoft Surface 3 10.8″ 64GB Windows 10 Tablet With Quad-Core Intel Processor
4.3/5 (10 ratings, 7 reviews)
The Microsoft Surface 3 is like a marriage between a laptop and a tablet. It’s thin and lightweight, and it’s got a 10.8-inch screen with 1920 x 1280 Full HD. It can run Windows OS, along with all its goodies like Office and other desktop software, plus all the touch apps from the Windows app store.
It also comes pre-installed with Skype, which would be a big plus for my needs. And, with Dolby sound and lots of battery life, it’s made a believer out of Phillippe from Quebec.
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Best tablet ever I owned more than 30 tablets in the last couple years, I have the surface 3 for the last two days and it’s perfect. Fast enough for 90% of your daily tasks, great battery life, fantastic screen (better than Surface Pro 3, no yellow tinted bar) and comfortable to hold with the stand extended. |
Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70 10.1″ 16GB Android 4.4 Tablet with MTK 8165 Quad-Core Processor
4.7/5 (10 ratings, 9 reviews)
The Lenovo TAB would be a great way to introduce my mom to the world of Netflix and online movies. With a 10-inch full HD display and Dolby Atmos 3D cinema sound, she could pop on some headphones and watch something with a tap of her finger, while my dad shouts at the Montreal Canadiens on TV.
It packs 16GB of internal storage and a MTK 8165 quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. She can also use it to surf the web and have access to all the apps in the Google Play store. It also comes preloaded with a bunch of stuff like Twitter, but holy moly do I want my mom on Twitter? TRB from Thunder Bay seemed to be pleased he had chosen the Lenovo TAB.
| Great tablet!!
Picture quality, sound, battery life, ease of use and speed are all awesome! |
Apple iPad Air 2 64GB With Wi-Fi
4.4/5 (15 ratings, 13 reviews)
Apple’s iPads are pretty synonymous with tablets, and my mom calls anything that even looks like a tablet an “iPad or whatever.” Seriously. Not an “iPad,” but an “iPad or whatever.” So, maybe she should get to know what an iPad really is and what it can do.
This model has the 9.7-inch Retina display with 2048×1536 resolution, and it’s fast. Plus it runs the iOS operating system, which my kids seem to prefer when having a choice between our own iPad and a Samsung Galaxy. It’s also got FaceTime built in, and access to the ga-zillion apps on Apple’s app store.
Donna from Toronto seemed impressed with her own choice to pick up an iPad Air 2.
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Wow….definitely worth the wait!!! Let me just put it this way…..I’ve had the economy versions…..now I’ve got the Rolls Royce. I love the sleek elegant design, screen resolution is crisp and clear, the thumbprint security is a major bonus and I’m finding navigation a snap. |
Acer Iconia Tab 8″ 16GB Android 4.4 Tablet With Intel Atom Z3745 Processor
4.1/5 (39 ratings, 31 reviews)
I like the size of this 8-inch tablet, as it’s something my mom could carry around easily like a pocketbook, and she may be more prone to using it more often. It has a 1920 x 1200 HD screen, and dual speakers so she can play her music anywhere in the house, too.
The Android 4.4 Kit Kat OS also gives you to access to over 800,000 apps and games available on Google Play, so she can play all her favourite card games too. Jim from Kawartha, Ontario raved about the Acer Iconia Tab 8 ..
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Wicked device! I have owned my fair share of tablets and I have to say that this one is a winner. For the price you get quite an attractive tablet with tons of power under the hood. Running a quad core Intel chipset with 2gb of RAM and an intel gpu its handled everything that I’ve thrown at it. Comes with some neat features too like turning the screen on with two thumbs or fingers. Overall highly recommended if you want a device that can stand up to the big boys and not break the bank. |
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7″ 8GB Android 4.4 Tablet With 1.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor
4.2/5 (25 ratings, 18 reviews)
Whenever tablets are reviewed, the Samsung Galaxy is always one of the top of the list. That makes this Galaxy Tab 4 7-inch tablet a sure bet to please.
A lot of my friends have the Galaxy, and we’ve owned an older model for a while now. It’s small (7-inch) and really comfortable to use. Its display is 1280 x 800 resolution, which is fine for most of the things my mom would be using a tablet for.
And it also runs the Android Kit Kat OS, giving access to Google Play and all its apps and games. It does everything Jules from Barrie Ontario needs it to do.
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I love my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 It’s the perfect size and is quick and easy for everything that I want to do. I just want a mobile device that will let me play around with a few apps and games, as well as read ebooks when I want to. That’s exactly what this lets me do. |
Decisions, decisions. Luckily, the holidays are still far enough away that I can still do a little more research on which tablet to buy my mom. I’m not even sure she’ll really want to try the “iPad or whatever,” but at least I’ll make the attempt to get her to start using email and connecting more with her grandchildren online. Who knows … she may never even use it, or my dad could just cover it with electrician tape. But at least I’ll try to drag them into the online world.
