This past winter I bought a Samsung Galaxy A8 tablet for reading lyrics on stage and I couldn't be more satisfied with it.
Granted, I only need it for the most very basic function of displaying lyric sheets during live shows so I'm not exactly making high demands here. If your needs are more elaborate than mine, you should seriously consider an Apple product.
My overall impression:
-- The 10.5" screen size is adequate for my needs, even though I'm farsighted and have less than good vision. I have the tablet mounted on a pivoting clamp on my mic stand and it's very easy to read from this position.
-- I'm impressed with the screen brightness. I did an outdoor gig with it last weeknd and was sitting in direct, mid afternoon sunlight the entire time, and the screen was bright enough to easily read the lyrics without having to strain at all.
-- Battery life is excellent. Even with the screen brightness maxed the battery power was still above 70% after we'd finished playing for 3½ hours total.
-- No special software is needed for the basic functionality that I'm using this for. Again, for those who want more elaborate features, you'll need specialized software, which means you'll probably want to look at Apple products.
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For transferring files to the tablet, I download song lyrics to my smartphone and format them the way I want with "COLORNOTE" (a free, Notepad clone app I found somewhere) and save as a text type file.
Then, I transfer that file to the tablet by sharing with Bluetooth. I also do something similar with MP3 and MPEG type files.
It works flawlessly every time, and the device even knows all by itself how to automatically place text, music, and video files in their proper folders. No special app or software necessary.
Using the tablet at gigs is as easy as can be. Since I only use a lyric sheet for about 12 to 15 songs per night, and none of my lyric sheets are on multiple pages, I don't feel the need to get a page turner pedal.
I can easily switch from one song to the next in about 5 seconds just by closing the current file, which automatically brings me back to my song list (that I've pre-arranged in performance playing order), and I simply click on the next song on the list and it pops up instantly.
Usually, it defaults to a reasonably optimal size, but there are a few files where it's obviously been formatted too small and I have to resize it bigger.
That's also easy to do as I simply flick my thumb and index finger on the touch screen and make it whatever size I want. If that starts to annoy me, I can just go back to my note/text app on my smartphone and resize it there, then save it and transfer back to the tablet.
There are some features on the A8 tablet that I sometimes use, even though I don't technically need them for gigs.
I installed VLC media player in order to better handle all types of music and video files and I share these files with my bandmates and others.
It was also necessary, because whatever default media player software the A8 uses, it was seriously limited in what it could do and was virtually useless.
With VLC running things, the audiovisual experience on the tablet is 10x better than trying to watch video on a cell phone.
The 10.5" screen is reasonably large and the resolution is decent but not fantastic. Still, loads better than a cell phone screen.
Audio is in stereo with multiple drivers per channel and is impressive for a tablet. Much better bass response than I expected.
But what I really love is the built-in 3.5" stereo out jack. In our rehearsal studio, my bandmates and I can watch video of songs that we cover being played live by the original artists, and plug the music directly into our big studio PA. This same jack is also used for headphones (which I find to be very useful).
If having this physical 3.5" output jack built in to your tablet is important to you, then you'll need to be very selective when you buy, because most of the latest ones (and especially the most expensive) have done away with them.
