Tablet advice

[Lord Valumart]

So I'm thining about getting a table computer, mostly as a kind of mid point between brain and laptop for notes and some writing. I mean all I'd probably get some games and comics on there, movies etc.

So my main question it, is it worth the money getting an Ipad or can I get something on android that's just as good for maybe a bit less? I mean I'm probably looking to spend around £200 on this thing.

 

[Soapy]

I don't know about Android tablets, but depending on how soon you need one you might want to wait for Microsoft's Surface tablet to be released and see how that pans out. It looks like it's going to be the iPad's best competitor.

I say this because you mention you want to use it for writing and note taking, and the Surface is going to have a very sleek keyboard and kickstand built into the cover that comes with it. I have an iPad, and I love it, but I can't imagine using it to type out anything longer than forum posts.

 

[huskerwebhead]

Several of the top Android tablets are very good and, if you don't want to wait for the Surface or break the bank on an iPad, they are certainly very good alternatives. I have the ASUS Transformer Prime currently and love it. The Galaxy Tab, Nexus 7, and Lenovo tablets are also very good products.

In regards to keyboards, there are plenty of options that out there for external keyboards, some that I feel are better than what the Surface is going to provide. The ASUS line of tablets each have a keyboard "dock" accessory that you can purchase. Not only does this provide a physical keyboard to use but it also doubles the battery life, adds 1-2 additional full size USB ports, and a full size SD Card port. Lenovo has one coming out with a keyboard dock as well that looks pretty slick.

There are smaller, travel keyboards you can get that connect via bluetooth. Logitech makes a great one that works with just about any tablet.

Whatever you end up getting, download Evernote. If you're going to be doing a lot of note taking and writing, it's amazing.

 

[Arach Knight]

Tablets in general are lovely devices. I find that desktop/laptop computing is more for power users. For instance, I still have a Mac Mini because I record music (which isn't quite as robust an experience on tablets). If you just want to write, listen to music, read, surf the web and watch videos, you'll find them all enjoyable with a tablet. They are extremely light weight, responsive and have long lasting batteries.

As far as Android tablets are concerned, I have two issues with them;

1) Android tablets are a bit sluggish in regards to the user interface

2) Android is too fragmented. Even if a new OS update is available, it is entirely up to the tablet manufacturer to release said update. This is why so many Android tablets run Honeycomb (Android OS 3.xx) where as the most current release is Jelly Bean (Android OS 4.1xx), which is two iterations later. Apple may have the bad habit of limiting updates for older iOS hardware, but at least that is a hardware issue. It isn't as if some iPad 2s and 3s will run iOS 6 while other iPad 2s and 3s are stuck with iOS 4 because they refuse to release an update.

 

[Darthphere]

That was true 6 months ago but the Nexus 7 running Jellybean with Butter (hungry?) is one of the smoothest experiences ever. Just as smooth or moreso than the iPad.

 

[KALEL114]

Did you get one yet Phere? That was going to be my recommendation for Valumart. It hits all of the right specs and has a great price. I think it will meet all of his needs.

 

[Darthphere]

Did you get one yet Phere? That was going to be my recommendation for Valumart. It hits all of the right specs and has a great price. I think it will meet all of his needs.

I'm on the waitlist because I sprang for the 16 GB version, should get it in the next week. I have a friend that got one already and yeah, the interface is smooth as hell and it's very fast.

The only thing is, Android developers need to step up and make more tablet optimized apps.

 

[Arach Knight]

That was true 6 months ago but the Nexus 7 running Jellybean with Butter (hungry?) is one of the smoothest experiences ever. Just as smooth or moreso than the iPad.

I'll concede that to an extent. The new Iconia is a smooth user experience and it runs Ice Cream Sandwich. Still, other recent Android tablets are still a bit chuggy when switching between apps, switching between pages for app icons amd when opening apps.

 

[Lord Valumart]

The Nexus 7 does look to be the one that ticks all the boxes. Unless anyone has any others they'd like to throw in the mix I think thats the winner.

 

[Darthphere]

It's the one I'd recommend. If you want a 10 inch option ASUS just released the Transformer Infinity though I haven't heard much if anything about it, it's gonna be triple the price of the Nexus 7 though.

 

[Siby]

My biggest gripe with the Nexus 7 is that it does not have expandable memory.

MS Surface does look nice but it doesn't have the market for apps like Android or iPad.

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad which I really like. It has a stylus which I use quite often to take notes in class. I mainly use it for reading textbooks and taking notes but games and netflix run smoothly on it. Here is the link: http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/tablet/thinkpad/thinkpad-tablet/

 

[KALEL114]

Thinkpad is way out of his price range. Plus it has an older processor (compared to the Nexus) and doesn't even have Jelly Bean yet. The memory shouldn't be an issue for what he wants it for.

 

[Darthphere]

So I finally got the Nexus 7 and I absolutely love it. It's fast, smooth and it's full Android for $200 (not like the Kindle Fire). It's gorgeous honestly, Jellybean is great so far and Butter makes it very smooth. Videos looks great (You get a free copy of Transformers 3 if you're into that). The speaker is actually pretty decent. The front facing camera seems like a waste a 3 mp though. I don't see myself ever using it and probably would've preferred more memory instead. I mean for $200, I don't think you can beat this. Sure the iPad has the retina display and looks gorgeous but it's not something that makes it $500 worth it to me. I also love the 7 inch size. I can hold it with one hand and it's quite light.

 

[Lily Adler]

I have question, should I get the Nexus 7 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2?

 

[Darthphere]

Depends really. Are you talking about the 7 inch model on the Galaxy tab? Either way, I would get the Nexus 7 because you'll get a cleaner and fuller Android experience. Samsung always has all this extra **** you can't delete for some reason that you'll never use. The only plus on the Galaxy Tab 2 I can find is expandable memory. But still the Nexus 7 16 GB version is still $100 cheaper at $250.

 

[Lily Adler]

I don't mind bloatware, but can the Galaxy Tab 2 upgrade to Jelly Bean, if not then I will most likely get the Nexus 7.

 

[Darthphere]

Galaxy Tab is on Ice Cream Sandwich right now. Not many devices have Jellybean and they usually take their time with those type of things. I would expect it to get it eventually but that could be next month or 6 months from now.

 

[Lily Adler]

On second thought, I might wait for the Microsoft Surface or the Samsung Ativ Tab.

 

[Darthphere]

I'm intrigued by Surface and in general the new Windows OS on these tablets. Surface seems like a winner if it pulls off everything they say they can.

 

[SpiderBat]

Anyone used the nexus 7? How would you rate it? A good iPad alternative or just save for an ipad?

 

[KALEL114]

Anyone used the nexus 7? How would you rate it? A good iPad alternative or just save for an ipad?

So I finally got the Nexus 7 and I absolutely love it. It's fast, smooth and it's full Android for $200 (not like the Kindle Fire). It's gorgeous honestly, Jellybean is great so far and Butter makes it very smooth. Videos looks great (You get a free copy of Transformers 3 if you're into that). The speaker is actually pretty decent. The front facing camera seems like a waste a 3 mp though. I don't see myself ever using it and probably would've preferred more memory instead. I mean for $200, I don't think you can beat this. Sure the iPad has the retina display and looks gorgeous but it's not something that makes it $500 worth it to me. I also love the 7 inch size. I can hold it with one hand and it's quite light.

 

[SpiderBat]

I should have browsed a little further back.

Appreciated.

 

[KALEL114]

No worries.

Amazon announces 7 and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDs, pricing starts at $199

Almost a year after unveiling its first entry into the tablet market, Amazon is back with three more Kindle Fires. At a press conference in Santa Monica, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos first unveiled two new members of the Kindle Fire family, both of them with improved, high-resolution displays, both of them called the Kindle Fire HD.

The new HD tablet will come in two screen sizes (a 7-inch display, as on the original Kindle Fire, and a larger 8.9-inch display). Each display will boast a 1,920x1,200 resolution and will improve on the problems with glare that the original Kindle Fire suffered from. The Kindle Fire HD is equipped with Bluetooth, HDMI out, and dual stereo speakers (which Bezos noted was one more speaker than on the iPad, according to Engadget); it is also the first tablet with "Dolby Digital Plus" audio technology. Bezos also played up the new Wi-Fi technology in the Kindle Fire HD, claiming that the new tablet will cut down on interference and more reliably connect to networks. (The Kindle Fire HD's Wi-Fi is 41 percent faster than that of the new iPad, according to Bezos, as quoted by Engadget).

The original Kindle Fire, meanwhile, has been updated for better battery life, twice as much RAM and faster performance. The device also gets a price cut: The "Kindle Fire SD" will now cost $159, down from the initial $199 price.

Bezos also detailed several new software features for Amazon's inventive Android-based operating system. The Kindle Fire HD adds a front-facing camera, and Skype has built an app especially for the Fire; Facebook, too, has designed a new app, and Amazon has updated its own much-bemoaned email app for better Exchange integration, the ability to sync contacts and calendars, and faster email fetching. An interesting feature called X-Ray for Movies will allow you to tap on any actor's face in a movie or television show to bring up that actor's filmography and other information: This service is being powered by popular film database IMDB and is similar to Amazon's X-Ray feature for books, which brings up dictionaries, word glossaries, and other educational tools.

Other new features include a parental control option called Kindle FreeTime, which will allow moms and dads to set time limits on how long they'll allow their kids to play on the Kindle Fire per day. Parents can also designate the number of hours that can be spent by category, meaning a kid could read for an unlimited amount of time but might only get 30 minutes of game time and an hour of movie or TV viewing time. Another feature, Whispersync for Games, lets gamers save their progress on certain games across devices; so, if you beat thirty levels on your Kindle Fire HD, and then buy a different Kindle Fire, you won't have to start over on the new tablet.

These new devices -- the Kindle Fire HDs, as well as the Kindle Paperweight -- represent the first update to the Kindle line since September 2011, when Amazon debuted the $199 Kindle Fire tablet and three Kindle e-readers: The Kindle Touch 3G, the $99 Kindle Touch, and the $79 Kindle with physical page-turning buttons. It was the Kindle Fire that stole the show, with high demand for the cheap 7-inch tablet when it was released in November. Though Amazon does not release sales numbers, the company did recently claim to own 22 percent tablet market share, which Anthony Diclemente of Barclays Capital estimates as 7 million tablets sold.

The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD, which comes with 16GB storage, will cost $199. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD (also a 16GB device) will cost $299. Both Kindle Fire HDs will ship on November 20th but should be available for pre-order immediately.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/kindle-fire-hd_n_1861981.html

 

[Lily Adler]

Dang I was just about to post it... Looks good.

 

[Prison Mike]

I'm thinking about getting a tablet for my mom for her birthday. My budget is around $200 so I'm thinking either Amazon Kindle Fire HD or Google Nexus 7. I'll have to go to Best Buy and check out the demos. You can watch youtube videos on either, right?