2016: Best Android tablets for work and play

If you want a cheap but user-friendly Android tablet with excellent build quality then look no further than the Amazon Fire HDX 8.9. About the only complaint I can level at the Fire HDX is that the Amazon app store is a little more barren than its Google counterpart. But if you're a heavy user of Amazon's service, the HDX 8.9 will act as a great hub for all your entertainment and shopping needs.

Tech spec:

• Android OS, v4.4 (heavily modified version of KitKat)
• 8.9-inch 2560 x 1600 IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 featuring a quad-core 2.5GHz Krait 450 CPU and Adreno 420 GPU
• 2GB of RAM
• Non-removable Li-Ion battery
• 8-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and LED flash

For more information on the Amazon Fire HDX 8.9, along with pricing, check out the CNET review.

A slim, waterproof and dustproof tablet that's highly customizable and offers superb performance.

Tech spec:

• Android OS, v5.0 (Lollipop)
• 10.1-inch 2560 x 1600 IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
• 3GB of RAM
• 8.1-megapixel primary camera with auto focus

For more information on the Sony Xperia Z4, along with pricing, check out the CNET review.

It's thin, it's light, it features an Intel RealSense depth-sensing camera. It must be the Dell Venue 8 7000.

Tech spec:

• Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat) at launch, with planned upgrade to v5.0.2 (Lollipop)
• 8.4-inch 1600 x 2560 OLED capacitive touchscreen
• Quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 CPU with PowerVR G6430 GPU
• 2GB of RAM
• 8-megapixel primary camera with auto focus, and two 720p Intel RealSense 3D cameras

For more information on the Nvidia Shield Tablet, along with pricing, check out the CNET review.

If you want a pure Android experience, free from UI overlays and junkware, along with a regular drip feed of updates then the Nexus is the place to look, and the Nexus 9 is tablet for you.

Tech spec:

• Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
• 8.9-inch 2048 x 1536 IPS LCD TFT display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Nvidia Tegra K1 chip featuring a dual-core 2.3GHz Denver CPU and Kepler DX1 GPU
• 2GB of RAM
• 6600 mAh non-removable battery
• 1.6-megapixel front camera with fixed focus
• 8-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and LED flash

For more information on the Google Nexus 9, along with pricing, check out the CNET review.

Time for a big tablet, and big tablets don't come much better than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S. This is a big tablet, big enough to make compete with the iPad, giving you better screen real estate to do more work.

Tech spec:

• Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat), upgradable to v5.0.2 (Lollipop)
• 10.5-inch 2560 x 1600 Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 or Exynos 5 Octa 5420
• 3GB of RAM
• 8-megapixel primary camera with auto focus

For more information on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, along with pricing, check out the CNET review.

Not a new tablet, but it's back after a hiatus following a fire hazard recall, the NVIDIA SHIELD tablet K1 at the lower price of $199.

Tech spec:

• Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat), upgradable to v5.0.1 (Lollipop)
• 8.0-inch 1920 x 1200 capacitive touchscreen
• NVIDIA Tegra K1 192 core Kepler GPU
  2.2 GHz ARM Cortex A15 CPU
  
• 2GB of RAM
• 5-megapixel front and rear cameras

For more information on the NVIDIA SHIELD tablet K1, along with pricing, check out the CNET review.