For those who cannot decide if they will pick the Apple iPad Air, Apple iPad Mini, Microsoft Surface 2, or the Amazon Kindle HDX this holiday season, there can be no better help that reading complaints of fellow consumers. The troubleshooting resource Fixya just made life easier by compiling over 10,000 complaints about these tablets.
While some of the points covered might have already been mentioned by other gadget reviews, there are interesting points others might have missed.
Microsoft Surface 2
This tablet from Microsoft will be appealing to business people who rely a lot on Microsoft Office and find it a burden to carry a laptop around. According to the Fixya report, the Surface 2's major issues include app support, speaker quality, Touch Cover keyboard, and compatibility with other Microsoft products.
"Outside of the essential (and truly well-designed) suite of Microsoft Office that comes pre-packaged with the Surface 2, the Surface 2 struggles with extensive app support that tablets from Apple, Android, and Google are privy to. This is unfortunate because the Surface 2 is really a device that could use a well-rounded offering of applications," the report stated.
Consumers also gave a thumbs down to the relatively quiet speaker of the device.
iPad Air
The marketing ingenuity of Apple usually blinds buyers about flaws its products might have. However, the complaints about the iPad Air are pointing to a faulty screen and frequently crashing browser.
"Although the iPad Air screen is beautiful to look at in the aggregate, some users have reported that half of their screen has a yellow tint to it or some faint gray lines that cut across the screen," the report read.
Consumers also blasted the pre-packaged Safari browser that cannot handle multiple tabs and websites that most likely are heavy on Flash.
Kindle HDX
This tablet that was specifically designed with Amazon customers in mind, got a few strikes from complaining consumers. Poor grades were given for its Silk browser, app support, and battery.
Consumers were not delighted with the choppy performance of Amazon's Silk browser as well as freezing screens. Buyers are also looking for more apps. Kindle HDX owners also complained about the lengthy charging time of the tablet's battery.
iPad Mini
The smaller of the iPad brood was also not safe from protests from consumers. While this version of the Mini gets a better screen, consumers noted that it also has a problematic screen. It does not involve a yellow tint or gray lines but is dogged by ghosting issues.
"When flipping between apps or interacting with any part of the screen that causes the displayed image to change to something else, the previous image will still be lightly visible on the screen for a short period of time. Known as "ghosting", this issue presents some significant user experience for users, especially since the selling point of the iPad Mini with a retina display is that the screen is so wonderful to look at," the Fixya report read.
Owners are also hoping for a bigger local storage instead of just relying on the iCloud. Just like its big brother, the iPad Mini also cannot handle well multiple tabs and certain websites.
