Technology has become a favourite Christmas present for many people. Tablets are gaining in popularity each year, not as small and fiddly as some smart phones can be, but not as large or expensive as laptops.

With a tablet you can store data, take photos, watch tv & films, listen to music, browse the internet and keep up with friends and current affairs on social media.

We’ve chosen to compare tablets that are of similar size and with, in most cases, similar storage capacities. Depending on what you’ll mainly be using it for will dictate the best one for you. For example, if your kids are going to be sitting in the back of the car watching films or playing games, you want something with a long battery life. If you’re going to be toting it around in your bag each day, you want something lightweight. If taking photos is your thing, you’ll want one with a 5 megapixel camera.

1. Lenovo Tab 3 7″ 8GB tablet – black – £49.99
   • 5 MP camera
   • up to 10 hours of battery life
   • 9.9mm thick, 300 grams
2. Fire Tablet, 7″ display, Wi-Fi, 8GB – £49.99
   • 2 MP camera
   • up to 7 hours of battery life
   • 10.6mm thick, 313 grams
3. HIPSTREET Titan 4 7″ Tablet – 8GB, black – £49.99
   • 2 MP camera
   • up to 10 hours of battery life
   • 10mm thick, 300 grams
4. Huawei Mediapad T1, 7″ Android tablet, 8GB, WiFi only – black – £79.00
   • 2 MP camera
   • up to 8 hours of battery life
   • 8.5mm thick, 278 grams
5. SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab A 7″ tablet – 8GB, black – £113.99
   • 5 MP camera
   • up to 11 hours of battery life
   • 8.7mm thick, 283 grams
6. ASUS Transformer Book T100HA-FU006T, 2GB 2-in-1 laptop – £179.99
   • 5 MP camera
   • up to 12 hours of battery life
   • 8.38mm thick, 590 grams
7. Apple iPad mini 2, Apple A7, iOS, 7.9″, Wi-Fi, 32GB, Space Grey – £219.00
   • 5 MP camera
   • up to 10 hours of battery life
   • 7.5mm thick, 331 grams