Some questions about tablets, resolution and screen size...

even tho I hate mac and their OS'es... I really like the ipads... got one for my mom and its fast, its smooth, the touch is great.
haven't really tried android or other OS'es though.
and yes, the 720 vs 1080 should be pretty noticeable. its a small screen, but you sit pretty close to it

also as far as 8" and 10"... I think its personal preference. you'll get used to either. I can watch a movie on my cell phone while laying in bed and it doesn't bother me even those its like a 5" screen or smaller (not sure what it is). you'll probably get used to w.e you get

Like hdmark noted, the Apple iPads are some of the all-around best tablets. But I think you mentioned somewhere that you do not like iPads. Thus, I will offer you a few alternatives, but before doing that, I would like to answer your questions directly first.

1) Is there a big quality difference between 720 and 1080 at 1920x1200 on a 10" display?

Yes. On a TV or a large monitor, you would be hard-pressed to notice a difference between the two resolutions, but with tablets, your eyes are much closer to the screen. A 720p display has a pixel count of 1280 x 720, and if you enter that exact phrase into a calculator, you get 921600. On the other hand, 1920 x 1080 is 2073600, so that means a 1080p screen has 2,073,600 pixels on it, and a 720p screen has 921,600. Doing the math, the 720p screen has less than half of the number of pixels on a 1080p display, and, since your eyes are really close to the screen, you will definitely notice a difference. (This bothers me A LOT on my 1024 x 768 iPad 2.) So, opt for 1080p if you can. I would recommend more strongly the new QHD panels, however (you can't even see the pixels on a Quad HD screen).

2) How much of a difference in viewing (besides 2" lol) will an 8" tablet be, as opposed to a 10" tablet?

Believe me, there IS a difference. Although the actual size differs only by two inches, it's like watching a movie on a 40" TV then moving to a 55-incher. I mean, a lot of people watch Vines and YouTube videos on their phones, but if you want to go with hard-core movie watching, look 9" and up.

3) Are there any brands that you all would recommend for around or under $500?

Brands? Apple. Samsung. Sony. HTC. Asus. Dell (yes). nVidia.

As for some suggestions on tablet models, I am basing my recommendations entirely on my knowledge that you are coming from an Xperia Z2. Because of this, the best option would have to be the Z4 Tablet. It now has a 2560 x 1600 TRILUMINOS screen, which is one of the best on the market right now. (In fact, it might be the best.) As for processing, it comes with the mighty octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset, along with three gigabytes of RAM. You might have heard that the 810 overheats, but the Z4 is COMPLETELY waterproof, so you can just water-cool it if you want to. (And since you're coming from a Z2, the charging port has no flap.) For movie-watching, the aspect ratio is perfect, at 16:9 (like your Z2), but for web browsing? You might want to opt for a better-optimized screen, with preferably a 4:3 aspect ratio, like the Nexus 9 or the iPads. The Z4 is a little over your budget, but it's worth it.

The Tab S2 was like, just announced. It's the latest and greatest from Samsung. The aspect ratio is 4:3, with a resolution of 2048 x 1536. The screen is better suited for web browsing and reading and documents, but you will see a lot of the annoying black lines when you're watching movies or videos. Speed should be no problem. I think it comes with the octa-core Exynos 7420 and 3GB of RAM. And oh, a fingerprint sensor. And a sleek, stylish metal-and-glass unibody. But if you want your tablet to last long, this is not the way to go. It has the annoying TouchWiz on top, and even though it's improved, Samsung is not the best for updates, and there is a lot of junky apps that you can't delete on there, even while considering it comes with a minimum of 32GB of storage.

If you want to save money, though, I think the original Tab S might suit you well enough. The screen is better for watching movies (at 16:9 and 2560 x 1600), and there is also micro-SD expansion, so you can put up to 128GB of movies on there if you like. The Tab S is really ugly, though.

My last recommendation would be the nVidia Shield tablet. It's 8", which you might not like, but, believe me, it totally makes up for it. It's a gaming tablet, probably the fastest mainstream tablet out right now. It's cheaper than most other tablets, so it probably fits under your budget, even the top-tier LTE 32GB model. There's micro-SD expansion, too. And it's more portable, and you can buy a controller (yes) with the money you save from not buying a Tab S2.

You can go to CNET's "best tablets" list if you like. But those would be my top recommendations. Oh wait, there's the Nexus 9 - check that out. Speedy, light, portable, thin, crisp-clear screen, and the best updates from Google, as soon as they're ready. But it comes with a maximum of 32GB of storage.



The original, 2014 Samsung Galaxy Tab S has a 2560 x 1600 sAMOLED display, while the more recent Tab S2 has a 2048 x 1536 pixel count. I don't believe any phone out on the market has a screen with a native resolution of 4K (do correct me if I'm wrong). 2K (2560 x 1600) and 4K (3840 x 2160) are rather different resolutions, with the latter being the resolution of current cinema screens. 2K is often known as "Quad HD", so there may have been a little confusion there, but if there is indeed a smartphone out there with a 4K display, please let me know what it is.