Five Of The Latest 18-Inch Tablets - More Pixels, More Clarity (Part 1) - Apple iPad Air, Asus Transformer Pad TF701T

More pixels equal better looking photos, text and movies on a crisp 18-inch screen. We round out five of the latest 18-inch tablets and find out which one delivers the best overall user experience.

DESIGN & HANDLING

Apple iPad Air

Dubbed the lightest, thinnest full-size iPad ever, the side profile of the Air measures just 7.5mm, which is 1.9mm thinner than both the iPad 3 and 4, 1.3mm thinner than the iPad 2 and 5.9mm thinner than the first generation iPad. Add to that, the new Air is about 200g lighter than its predecessors.

Apple iPad Air

For consumers who have been using previous-generation iPads, these improvements can definitely be felt - but the degree in advancement really depends from which iPad you are comparing with. Nonetheless, the Air offers improved handling due to the new edge design, flat back and narrower screen bezel. The Xperia Tablet Z comes very close to matching the Air in terms of handling, but we are won over by the latter's more premium build and finish.

Apple retains the same display size (9.7-inch) and resolution (2,048 x 1,536 pixels) on the Air. This works out to a pixel density of 264ppi, which is a tad lower than the Asus, Samsung and Toshiba tablets. What's significant about the display is not inside it, but around it. The bezel has shrunk in a similar fashion as the iPad Mini, resulting in a narrower width.

The Air runs on iOS 7, which in a nutshell, has a more colorful look and feel, with a thinner, more modern font and flatter overall design. iWork apps (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) and iLife creativity apps (Photos, iMovie and Garageband) are free for download on any iOS 7 device. Previously, they cost a total of $45.

Like the iPhone 5S, the Air sports the 64-bit A7 processor and 1GB RAM though its processor clock speed is slightly higher at 1.4GHz. The imaging aspect remains unchanged; a 5-megapixel rear camera with f/2.4 aperture, 5-element lens, BSI sensor and a 1.2-megapixel FaceTime HD front-facing camera.

Thinner bezels means narrower width overall

Asus Transformer Pad TF701T

Inheriting the signature design trait of the Transformer Pad Infinity, the new Asus Transformer Pad comes with a circular brushed metal back and a unibody chassis made up of aerospace-grade aluminum alloy. In terms of build quality and feel, the Transformer Pad blows the other three tablets away.

Asus Transformer Pad TF701T

On its front is a 10.1-inch Super IPS display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels. Its pixel density works out to be 299ppi, which is similar to the Samsung and Toshiba tablets. What differentiates the display of Transformer Pad is its ability to achieve up to 400nits of brightness. In addition, IPS displays are known for their excellent wide viewing angles and accurate color.

The Transformer Pad ships with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and comes with several customizations to the interface such as App Backup to restore all your apps after a factory reset, Super Note 3.1 to type and write with handwriting recognition, and enhanced multitasking via Floating Windows.

It is powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core 1.9GHz processor and 2GB of RAM. It has a 5-megapixel rear camera and 4-element f/2.4 lens. Its internal storage capacity of 32GB is complemented by a micro-SD card slot which supports cards up to 64GB, as well as 5GB free Asus WebStorage for life.

The brushed metal rear gives a premium feel