Tablet Review - which tablet is the best?

For testing/dev purposes, I purchased several tablets/web devices in the past 6 months.  Here they are in no particular order:

Windows SurfaceRT w/integrated keyboard
iPad 2, 3, 4 and Mini
Samsung Galaxy Note
Blackberry ?
iPod 5, iPod 3, iPod 2, iPod 4

I also have a macbook air, a desktop PC, and an XBox.

3 months later Here is what I'm still using and how:
Samsung Galaxy Note -
This is my phone, and I use it for all the tablet functions. Its fast, zippy, good UI.  Big screen, impressive as a phone and really handy as a tablet.  Its the only "pocket sized tablet" and I think the form factor and device are essentially perfect.  Its the most used device I have.

Macbook Air

I use this all the time, in fact, I'm typing on it right now.  Its light, but I can do graphics, video editing, sound editing, print/press stuff, coding, interactive design, powerpoints, excel stuff, word stuff...and the form factor is elegant and wonderful.  I think its the best PC I have ever owned.  I love how I can barely tell if its in my laptop case, the smoothness, the thinness, yet has a great keyboard for touchtyping and feels really solid.

XBox 

Its really, really easy to use.  As a PC gamer I miss the graphics quality a bit and the cheat codes,  but the tradeoff for cost and now that I know how to use the controller I find it much more efficient than the keyboard and mouse.  I have a few complaints but overall I think its a great console and I enjoy using it.

old iPod 4 (chrome back)

I stuck with my old iPod as my "bedside computer" because the chrome back just feels better than the new form factor.  I can access email, games, and get the iOS experience on it.  Plus moving to a new one is a bit of a pain thanks to the incomprehensible labyrinth of "iTunes" universe.  In spite of rendering their old devices "obselete" , Apple does make the upgrade process VERY difficult in my opinion, particularly on the iOS devices.

Desktop PC

If I have really intensive layout, coding, or complex projects that my Macbook Air simply cant handle, I tend to default to my old backup PC.  Windows 8 ruined it, and I cant stress enough to people to NOT upgrade to windows 8 unless you have to.  Stick with Windows 7...it was fantastic and I miss it terribly.  I dont tend to "surf the web" on my Desktop much, its mainly a workhorse.  Also its the hub of my data/media storage and archiving.  Regardless of the "mobile world" I will likely always have a desktop PC somewhere unless Mobile devices are eventually able to connect to massive data storage that is cheap, as well as any resolution display device...wirelessly.

Gathering Dust:

iPad 2,3,4

 I like the look of the iPads, but I honestly find them too heavy to deal with, I actually hate picking it up...its a chore. They are also fragile and easy to drop due to their heft.  iPad 3 - if I didnt need it for testing, I would have felt it was a huge ripoff considering the crappy video rendering...particularly when the iPad4 came out along with the mini.  The iPad 4 has really impressive processing power, and if I could run office on it I *might* consider using it with a third party keyboard, BUT, the AIR still kicks butt.

iPad Mini

MUCH better form factor than the other iPads, but still too big.  Its the wideness.  I'm spoiled with my galaxy note.  The device is beautiful and interesting, but I cant see having a use for it if you already have a smart phone and a nice laptop like the AIR.

Microsoft Surface RT

I Really wanted to like this device.  There was a promise of flash support, basically a full PC experience in a tablet with a really lean and mean keyboard.  The kick stand is really cool.  Its lighter even with the keyboard than the macbook air.  BUT....alas, the OS killed me.  Windows 8 entirely blows.  Putting that useless "metro" thing on it but shunting you to the desktop every time you needed any of the most common apps like all the office ones was really really disappointing.  Also the flash support was *only* for a handful of sites whitelisted by microsoft...again...a total burn.  I loved being able to type AND sweep the screen depending on what I needed to do and the little flappy keyboard was cool...but one of the things I really like about my PC is the fact that I can run any PC application on it.  The surface really couldnt.  I was planning to "upgrade" to the Surface RT pro, but the primary advantage of "lightness" goes away with that one, and its bulkier than my AIR too.  So, no go.  Surface sits collecting dust.



Blackberry Playbook

Honestly I had to google "blackberry tablet" to even get the name for this abysmal piece of junk.  The OS reminded me of a $149 GPS no name device I purchased a long time ago...clunky, incomprehensible, and full of pointless junk.  Its small but heavy, has a huge wide frame around the screen that is "touch sensitive" for some odd reason...as if that somehow adds value. It was so bad I only used it to bring up my test websites but its barely been on at all. 

Were I to recommend a purchase to a fledgling geek, I would strongly recommend:
Galaxy Note as phone, Macbook AIR, iPod.  You also get to be aware of everything on all devices.  I'd recommend a nice big and configurable desktop PC if you can fit it somewhere in your house, and use it for media server etc as well so you can keep most of your big files there.

The rest I would "pasadena" including all the iPads.  If you can ONLY have one device and that one device CANT be a phone for some reason, the iPad mini would be a nice thing to have, particularly for a child or older person new to computers.  Otherwise get a Galaxy Note.  It really is the "everything device" and is by far the most important device in my collection if you go by use...closely followed by the AIR, and I dont leave home without either of them.