Reading comics on a tablet

[Steve Englehart]

I'm getting a tablet soon.

As I understand it the two best 10" tablets are the Apple iPad Air 2 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S.
http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets/10-best-tablet-pcs-in-the-world-today-1079603

I'm concerned about storage though.

If I buy the 16GB iPad how many comics would it hold?
Should I buy a non-apple product so that I can get an SD card reader?

What has been your experience?

 

[KevanG]

You can hold a ton of comics on 16 gigs. I'd choose a non-apple because I like to modify my tablet a lot and I don't like Apple much anyway. Being able to swap in a 64 gb micro sd would be great as well if you need it.

 

[Steve Englehart]

How many is a ton?

100 comics? 1000?

 

[KevanG]

Depending on the size and format of the issues you could have a single issue as big as 5-8 megs. Let's round it to 10 per. So that's easily 100 per gig. I had a 2 gb I loaded with comics for my nephew and he had a few hundred issues on it.

 

[random_havoc]

Yeah if all you're worried about is reading comics 16gb will be tons of space. If you also want to play console type games and use it for productivity, a higher storage amount is better.

Google "best tablet of the year" and read the results Google will give you. Every site lists the iPad Air 2 as the best tablet.

There's even an Android site that listed the iPad Air 2 on its best gift guide for Christmas this year (a list that was only supposed to be Android devices). They say
"The iPad Air 2 doesn't run Android and I don't really care... If it's my money being spent on a tablet, I'm going to buy the one I know is going to live up to a standard of quality - the iPad has been the gold standard in tablets since it was unveiled, and that hasn't changed. I don't see it changing any time soon, either." Again, that's from an Android site.

I'd recommend getting the iPad Air 2 and paying the extra $100 for 64gb of storage (quadruple the base storage) so that you can use it for probably 5 years without having to worry about running out of space or having any need to upgrade your tablet (the iPad 2 still runs almost every app out there and it's 5 years old I think).

 

[Havok83]

Hell no to a 16gb tablet. If you are serious about using that thing 32gb is the bare minimum.

 

[KevanG]

That's why I recommend a tablet you can boost up the space on. If you have 16gb that's alright as it's not a lot but if you need to you can kick it up to 80gb with a 64gb and that doesn't cost much, usually $60 or so and a 32gb is $30.

 

[Will Nolte]

I got a 32gb mini sd for 16 bucks recently. The store I work at had them on sale for 20 bucks and my employee discount brought it down to 16. The cards are fairly cheap. I would go for an Android because of the more space and it is easier to load directly onto the card as opposed to trying to sync an iPad with your computer or hope you have an internet connection to download comics.

I've got a Nook Tablet (the OS is a bastardized Android that B&N put their own bloatware and limits on) and I load my ebooks directly on the card, it is much easier that way (also the Nook comes with its own built in comics ereader that is awesome).

edit: and KevanG, you should add your vote to the poll.

 

[random_havoc]

I would go for an Android because of the more space and it is easier to load directly onto the card as opposed to trying to sync an iPad with your computer or hope you have an internet connection to download comics.

There's a ton of different ways to load them onto an iPad these days. Depending on what's handy at the moment I can Airdrop (fastest way and wireless), use iCloud, or most commonly I keep all of my comic files on my Box account and access them wirelessly wherever I am through the free iComix app which connects with Box. Or there's the iTunes sync.

Like I said, Google best tablet and you'll find every list puts iPad Air 2 at the top. When you're buying a tablet it's worth buying the best.

 

[KevanG]

I just copied over whatever runs I wanted to one of my micro SDs. I remember having the entire run of Hulk on something like 4gbs (I think). It was great. I remember hating all the ****ing crossovers in the 90's that kept skipping 2-3 chapters because they went into different books.

 

[CConn]

I highly, highly recommend the Tab S. The resolution is incredible. The colors - especially with comics - pop off the page like I've never seen before.

 

[herakles]

personally against virtual comics. The collector in me won't allow it lol

 

[KevanG]

Honestly I just buy physical comics of ones I really want and the rest are digital. Saves space and makes it far easier to read and carry.