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The Christmas gift guide for phones and tablets on Android

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The Christmas gift guide for phones and tablets on Android
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Christmas is a time for giving, and if you're reading this you're probably considering the gift of an Android phone or tablet.

Whether you're on a budget or have money to burn, let us talk you through the best stuff you can get this Christmas for fans of the green robot.

And if iOS is more your speed, take a look at the lovely Harry Slater's complete iOS buyers' guide.

A lovely new phone

There are a bunch of decent Android phones out there, and a lot of them are a fair bit cheaper than their iOS counterparts.

On a budget? Go ahead and grab the new Nexus 5X, the sequel to Google's (and LG's) fan-favourite Nexus 5. It might not be the best Android phone available but you can't really scoff at that price for those competitive specs.

Get it for £304 (£35 off) at the Google Store.

If you're one of the lucky few with money to spare, we'd recommend the ultra-premium Nexus 6P. This is the Huawei-developed successor to last year's misguided Nexus 6, and offers absolute top of the range specs in a stylish piece of kit that rivals even the iPhone in the looks department.

Get it for £449 at the Google Store.

Looking for something a little bit different? Well, there are a whole host of offerings available to you. The LG G4 offers a midpoint between the 5X and the 6P in terms of price and specs while the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge probably competes with the iPhone the hardest in terms of style.

Get the LG G4 for £299 from eBuyer and the Galaxy S6 Edge for £309.99 from Carphone Warehouse.

You also couldn't go far wrong taking a stab at the Motorola Moto X Play, the Huawei Ascend G7, or the OnePlus 2 - though the latter is notoriously difficult to get.

Get the Moto X Play for £249.95 at John Lewis, the Huawei Ascend G7 for £179.99 at Amazon, and the OnePlus 2 for £289 at OnePlus.net.

A shiny new tablet

If a tablet is more what you're after, then we'd strongly recommend taking a look at the newly-released Nvidia Shield Tablet K1. Android tablets do generally play second fiddle to the iPad but the K1 offers a host of features that the iPad simply doesn't, so it's an easy sell.

For a start, it has the K1 processor, which is capable of producing console and PC quality visuals.

Then there's the ability to hook it up to your TV and use the controller (sold separately) to basically have a mobile games console. You'll also find genuine console games on there like Half Life 2, Portal, Trine 2, or The Talos Principle.

You can also use the stylus (again, sold separately) to produce works of art, or write notes and documents the old school way - but on your tablet.

Not only is the K1 possibly the best Android tablet currently on the market, it's also one of the cheapest.

Get it for £149 from pcspecialist.co.uk.

That being said, if you were looking for something a little different, we'd recommend last year's Nexus 9, which still holds up quite well, has a handy (and expensive) keyboard folio to work on the go, and has Marshmallow right from the box (the K1 is set to get it soon).

Get it for £319 at the Google Store.

Chris James
Chris James
A footy game fanatic and experienced editor of numerous computing and game titles, lively Chris is up for anything - including running Steel Media! (Madman!)