Apple iPad 2

Market Price: US$500 to US$700

Despite its array of rivals, Apple's iPad remains the unarguable king of the tablet market this year, raking in a reported 75 percent of all tablet sales. The iPad 2, which was released in March 2011, is much thinner and lighter than its predecessor. The gadget has a 9.7-inch LED-backlit screen in 1024x768 pixel resolution, and is available in 16, 32, and 64 GB variants. It's powered by a dual-core A5 processor for amazingly super-fast performance and stunning graphics. Other outstanding features include excellent battery life of up to 10 hours, front and rear cameras, Apple's huge catalog of apps and entertainment, and dead-simple usability. And it's all for the same price as the first iPad.

Buy it on Amazon.com