I've tried a friend's ipad for a few days whilst on vacation in Boston and had fun playing a few games and watching youtube etc

I don't think I can justify paying for a new ipad as i wouldnt think it money well spent although I have considered a preowned original ipad with wifi as it has all i need really.

But are there any other tablets that can compare?

For budget, go with an Amazon Kindle Fire. It has all sorts of power behind it; and if you want more functions, you can easily flash it with different firmware to unlock all sorts of abilities. XDA-developers.com is the place to go to learn about that.

For things that REALLY rival the iPad in function, though, I recommend going with an ASUS Eee Pad Transformer. These suckers are easily the best tablets out there function-wise; the iPad has them beat for support, though (but I haven't seen a single moment where that's been an issue).

There are three models out - the original Eee Pad Transformer, with 16 or 32GB onboard storage plus expandable MicroUSB on the system itself and the keyboard add-on has an original SD card slot on it (so you can expand up to 64GB extra space over what the system has by default). Has 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and 1GB RAM. 5MP back camera, 1.3MP front camera. Display is 1280x800 (just a bit above 720p).

Then there's the Eee Pad Transformer Prime. All the same features of the original Transformer, but it's either 32 or 64GB, has a 1.3GB Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, and the front camera is 8MP. Display is the same.

Finally, there's the Transformer Pad Infinity. 1.6GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 (WiFi model), or 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM 8260A/8960 Snapdragon S4 (3G / 4G model). Display is 1920 x 1200 (just a bit above 1080p). Has the same storage specs as the Prime, front camera is now 2MP (back one is still 8MP), and it's thinner and lighter than the new iPad.

Here's a good page for comparing the best tablets against the new iPad: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/07/new-ipad-competition-specs/

I own the original Transformer, with the keyboard add-on, and I LOVE it. I've handled iPads, but I absolutely 100% think this is vastly superior.

Also, here's a propaganda ad for Transformer products and the conclusion of someone's comparison of the new Transformer vs the new iPad:

(note: in this image, it's docked on the keyboard dock. The two are fully separatable, though. As I'll show in an image at the bottom).

"I still believe that by now you’re making a choice of ecosystems, whether it’s Android or iOS, so that should be the #1 decision for most people, but in terms of specs the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity seems like a better tablet in everything except the slightly higher resolution. You get higher performance for most apps thanks to a quad core and higher clocked CPU, and richer graphics thanks to the Tegra 3 GPU. Plus, you get a thinner (8.5 mm vs 9.4 mm) and a lighter tablet (586 g vs 652 g), and if you want to use it as a laptop, there’s no better choice then a Transformer device."

Asus tablet is awesome.

I haven't had a need to buy a tablet yet, however, there is a "nexus" style tablet coming out soon that is rumored to be anywhere from $150 to $250. Probably will be 7" at that price, but should be far more of a tablet then the Kindle Fire and will of course be a Nexus style, thus pure virgin Android. Additionally, rumors state ASUS might be the OEM.

If this all proves to come true, it will be the one I buy.

I have the Ipad2 and it's fine for me but the Samsung galaxy looks like a contender.

I say just buy a laptop.

That's why you get the Asus Transformer. For about the same price, you get both.

Just buy a laptop, tablets are stupid.

But if you insist on a tablet, try the Samsung Galaxy Tablet.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_358687482_3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000719771&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=auto-sparkle&pf_rd_r=4EDD3D3462BB400B9881&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_p=1350406242&pf_rd_i=ipad

Was looking at tablets and found this. I find it funny how hard they tried to make the Kindle Fire seem superior or less inferior.

Ipad is worth the money.