Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

[Caspian]

So I'm thinking about getting a tablet this Christmas and was curious to see what people recommended. What do you have? Do you like it? What features do you like? Hate? What features should I look for?
Right now with the minimal research I've put in so far, I'm leaning towards a Surface 2. The kicker is Office already installed. This just seems to make it way too versatile. I know the app store isn't what it is for things like the iPad yet, but theoretically it will balance out before too long. Plus it has an sd port and the ability to run two apps at the same time.
Android, I don't know much about Android other than my brother in law has one and he likes it. Are there models that are liked better than others?
iPad, well its an iPad and its Apple. Would be nice since all my music is on iTunes because of my phone but other than that it really strikes me as a larger iPhone. No sd port and no word processing (that I know of) plus the increased cost for having the Apple logo on the back has me a little more skiddish on getting this one.

EDIT: Oh, almost forgot about the kindle fire. Is it a full on tablet? Or is it an ereader with some tablet stuff thrown in for good measure?

What do ya'll think?

[Armando]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

Depends on whether you need to do laptop-y things on it. If you do, then get a Surface or maybe an ultrabook). If you don't, then it's kinda pointless to get one of those. The next question would be whether you want a big tablet or a small tablet. My fiance has a Google Nexus 10 and it's pretty nice, the resolution is great. But I know some people prefer tinier 6-7" tablets.

Fairly sure the Kindle Fire is a regular tablet. It runs off a very modified version of Android if I remember right.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

From what I've observed of how other people use tablets (iPads, mostly):

Tablet is a consumption device; you should be asking yourself "Can I get used to surfing the web with this _____ tablet?" "Can I watch the videos I want to watch using this ____ ?" "Is it easy to hold for how I would be using it?"

If you want to actually do productive stuff, get a regular old laptop/desktop--a little boring, but proven to function well.

* * *

Of course, tablets can be used to type out short messages (tweets, responding to cat videos) or perform simple tasks like paying bills, but if you want to have a keyboard all the time, you basically want a laptop.

That doesn't apply to everyone, of course. Take for example, our CEO (well, technically just a high-level manager now, post company sale).

He has an iPad; he uses it to show product demo videos and photos to clients and visitors, check e-mail when he's running around, read books, and probably poking around Facebook when no one is looking. When he has do spreadsheet, presentations, long e-mail, etc? He uses his PC laptop--at his desk. (If traveling, I'd imagine it'd be his MacBook Air--he travels a lot, and one can just manage to fit a MacBook Air on those tiny, Southwest airline trays.)

The dude's philosophy is "I'll spend money if it makes me money," so he has all those devices because they make him more productive (if ignoring the possible Facebook time).

* * *

Of course, if you're just purchasing a toy which happens to be a tablet, get whatever appeals to you, which sounds like MS Surface (2?).

[Armando]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

If you want to actually do productive stuff, get a regular old laptop/desktop--a little boring, but proven to function well.

To expand on this a bit more: even with a bluetooth keyboard/mouse, a tablet isn't a laptop replacement. You won't find any of the keyboard shortcuts you're used to, and won't find good replacements for many programs. Having a bluetooth keyboard lets you chat or post on forums at reasonable speeds, but that's about it.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

I don't understand what need tablets are supposed to fill that isn't already being fulfilled.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

I don't understand what need tablets are supposed to fill that isn't already being fulfilled.

Form matters.

I can comfortably hold my Kindle (Paperwhite, not fancy Fire) in a way that I can never do with my laptops. The same e-book which would be faster to search and easier to see more of on my computer is read on the Kindle and will continued to be read on it. Why? It's the right form for passively consuming media.

(And, yes, books with only text count as media, you audio/video addicted young whippersnappers.)

It seems to be the same for my iPad using friends; tablet is working out to be the perfect fit for people who were raised by TV and want their (mostly) passive entertainment at their fingertips now.

(Though, there is the special case of one dude giving his parents and in-laws iPads instead of himself. Apparently, they use them for e-mail in Chinese, and my friend is ultra happy because he never had to play computer tech support since giving them those--those iPads just work, and work very well for them old, not-very-technical people who aren't very comfortable with English.)

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

Funny, I was at Best Buy checking out the Nexus 7 and typed in the forum and found this.

I think I'm going to get that or its bigger brother about to come out. Great screen, decent price and it seems useful for most of me media and blogging needs. Sucks it has no SD support, but I use my 3DS for NP3s anyway.

I did spy this Dell tablet/laptop hybrid that was kind of cool. the base is light and the screen swivels to lay over the Keyboard to become a tablet. Kinda pricey at $1k, though. The Nexus 7 is $229, so i think that's good

I don't understand what need tablets are supposed to fill that isn't already being fulfilled.

Easy access to social media, media center, ereader and be light while doing it. Imagine having one it school rather than lugging around textbooks.

For me its for all the stuff that isn't for work or pure play, but the general screwing around, watching movies, reading facebook, twitter and tumblr feeds. Maybe blogging, too.

The main attraction is it doesn't ring when people call you.

[Firewind]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

Android Tablets can emulate a laptop very well, though I'm not sure how many out there have haptic feedback for typing anything more than a forum post. You wouldn't believe how nice it is to have when typing.

Honestly I'm not sure why people would buy an iPad now. You can play all your iTunes media on other tablets and to be honest the App Store isn't that much bigger than what is on say Google Play. They tend to be cheaper and have a far better battery life too. Plus they don't ring every time someone tries to call you.

I don't understand what need tablets are supposed to fill that isn't already being fulfilled.

The only real use I have seen for them is in the UK where the Emergency Services (Police, Fire, Ambulance) use them a lot now. Having a small computer with that much portability is extremely useful for them.

I've seen no other use for a tablet that a Smartphone or Laptop doesn't already cover. Especially since the low end tablets are like now netbooks are to laptops: scaled down to the point where there's not much point in buying it unless you are a VERY casual user who only uses it to browse the internet or occasionally watch a video.

That said, there is the price. Oh dear god the price. Seriously, if you want a tablet that cam emulate a laptop just get a smartphone, it will be cheaper, have a better battery life and will come with a 4G data plan, plus it is cheaper to insure them.

[Icemage]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

Win8's app store is garbage and looks like it will continue to be garbage for quite some time. If you're considering buying a Surface 2, don't do it for the apps. If you need something light that has a keyboard and runs productivity software, get a netbook instead. If you just need an e-reader/web browser, you're better off with a standard tablet like a Nexus.

Generally speaking, tablets are cool, but only of limited use unless you're in a profession that actually can use one effectively.


Icemage

[Truece]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

I bought the ASUS Transformer Prime (TF201) and upgraded to the infinity (TF701) when that was available. I also bought the keyboard dock to go along with it. It runs on the latest version of Android (jelly bean?) and had about the best hardware that you could get in a tablet when it hit the shelves 2 years ago.

It seemed to do pretty well in benchmark tests versus similar tablets (iPad2 came out at about the same time) and was extremely customizable (vs iOS, which was the only mobile OS that I could compare it to).

What I REALLY liked about this tablet versus the iPad was that I had the option of adding 2 SD cards for expanded storage as well as a full-sized USB port. I keep a 32 GB micro-SD card in the tablet itself which I store my movies and music on, and have an extra 16 GB SD card in the dock. The dock also has its own battery so as long as it is docked, it will drain the battery from the dock first, then move on to the internal battery. I use the tablet docked most of the time, so I find myself sitting as if I had a laptop on my lap. I can plug in my thumb drive to access my important documents (and usually work on them using free versions of software available in the Android app store), I could plug in a mouse if I didn't want to use the built-in track pad on the dock or the touch screen on the tablet itself.

With the dock connected, it will sit upright on its own. I take advantage of this primarily when I'm reading guitar tabs or watching a movie with another person.

It is on the heavier side, which becomes a factor when I'm trying to read in bed. There are cases with an attached hand strap so you don't have to worry about it slipping, but there is still muscle fatigue to deal with.

There are a lot of apps available, but I occasionally run into an app that was designed for a phone which just looks silly on a 10-inch screen.

[Aeni]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

Depends on whether you need to do laptop-y things on it. If you do, then get a Surface or maybe an ultrabook). If you don't, then it's kinda pointless to get one of those. The next question would be whether you want a big tablet or a small tablet. My fiance has a Google Nexus 10 and it's pretty nice, the resolution is great. But I know some people prefer tinier 6-7" tablets.

Fairly sure the Kindle Fire is a regular tablet. It runs off a very modified version of Android if I remember right.

I would say larger hands may want to get larger tablets. For me, a 7" tablet is perfect, as the display isn't tiny as a smart phone, and the size makes it much more comfortable to hold and wield. Remember, with the size, the added weight gets into the picture, and you may think that the subtle difference isn't likely to impact the user, but try holding it in place for 15 minutes and you will definitely be able to tell the difference.

[Armando]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

Remember, with the size, the added weight gets into the picture, and you may think that the subtle difference isn't likely to impact the user, but try holding it in place for 15 minutes and you will definitely be able to tell the difference.

That's a good point. It's one of three reasons I got a Kindle Paperwhite for reading books; holding my Toshiba Thrive for extended periods of time was killing me. (The other two reasons were battery life and being unable to read outside.)

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

Since my laptop is mostly shot and good for little else but backing up data, I can't spring for a new one and I found a really good deal, I picked up a Nexus 7 (2012 model).

Pretty pleased with it overall, the only real downsides being no SD card slot and no rear-facing camera, but otherwise it handles everything I need to do. I have a feeling I'll still lean toward upgrading to a Samsung Galaxy Tab or Note sometime next year, but the Nexus 7 has amazing functionality for now and its more than good enough.

I can't for the life of me see why someone would spend practically double on an iPad Mini when Galaxy and Nexus or even Kindle Fire are out there.

[Aeni]

Re: Tablets! Tablets! Tablets!

Check out the free Google Drive option for backup/archiving of your data to free up the storage capacity on the tablet. It's free up to a certain amount, but inexpensive to expand on that. You can also just download the necessary apps to connect to any existing storage you already have with other companies, like Dropbox. The advantage of Google Drive is that it also expands your storage for media that you use in the "Google Universe", like Picasso, Google+ and your Album, can be used for collaborative work-flow if you own your own business, or even if it's something fairly novel, like an online Guild's raid attendance record or if you work on game FAQs.