Apple iPad Air

The resolution is low enough, though, that text on websites looks pretty pixelated at times, making it harder to read than we'd like - our eyes have been spoiled by too many super-sharp displays on all the great smartphones now available.

After all, the iPad/2 has a big screen to play with and having just a huge expanse of icons greeting you on the home page does feel like a less than optimal use of this space.

You could think of the iPad Air as a 20 percent scaled-up version of the Mini, as the two tablets feature near-identical styling details, the bigger one differing only by having more speaker holes on the bottom (80 vs. 56 on the Mini).

We coached the iPad Air through some of our favorite benchmarks, along with a fourth-gen iPad running the most recent version of iOS (7.0.3).

The original iPad made its debut with iOS 3.2.

You don't need an iPhone either - Android handsets also tether, and more likely without the additional cost.

Although the new iPad's iPhone 4S-esque 2048 x 1536p resolution, 264 pixels per inch Retina Display is in a league of its own when it comes to tablet screens, the 1024 x 768p 132 PPI multi-touch offering that lines up on the iPad 2 is of a more than acceptable standard that has been overshadowed by the unparalleled image quality available through its replacement.

Videos come to life on the tablet as well, since the iPad Air is able to catch our eyes thanks to its smooth playback, rich colors, and superior details.

Even with its pixel density count of 264 ppi, the iPad Air 2 still manages to deliver some crisp and clean details – so it’s fantastic for reading, surfing the web, and even watching video.

Despite its expected, and even eagerly awaited, annual dethroning, the second-generation Apple tablet remains arguably the second best tablet device on the market with a new, lower price tag and a software update helping transform it into the first true new iPad challenger.

You couldn't bounce between applications with multitasking.

Even with all of the added new features, it still doesn’t quite provide that productivity element that we get from a true desktop operating systems.

The slew of great magazine and newspaper apps that are now available do provide an arguably nicer way to read the same content you might get online.

Additionally, we noticed slightly higher frame rates in some games, though that was far less prevalent.

This proves more of an advantage in the home than out and about; bearing in mind how many apps are effectively just pretty, stand-alone web pages, over 3G the connection tends to be the limiting factor in how fast apps run.