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Tablets

crikker

crikker

Yooper
Sep 25, 2004
308
82
Oak Creek, WI
#1
I'm interested in tablets but have no background concerning them. I'm looking for something to travel with that I can use wi-fi with, an e-reader and can store music. Is there such a thing? Is there a website or two that you'd recommend that I could do some research also? Thanks.
 
#3
I'll second the get an iPad. But only if you want a high quality product that actually works, if not buy some Android powered thing.
On the plus side, ease of use, quality of build, design, sheer number of apps, number of third party accessories, iOS is a lot more stable than android. Less of a chance of getting a nasty virus, less means less, not no chance.

Rumor has it that the new iPad will be released in Spring or early Summer. If so, look at the features and price of the new and the current model. Pick the one that gives you the features you want at the price you want. Maybe the new one, maybe not. You can't go wrong either way.
 
#7
I went ahead and bought a generic Android tablet, a couple years ago. At the time it was the cheapest tablet with a reasonable sized screen and minimal restrictions on what apps I could install.

I use mine for TalkBass, e-mail, calendar, and the New York Times. One of my relatives is quite happy with her Google Nexus 7.

I've been perfectly happy with it. I'm sure that I'd have been happy with an Apple too. It's also possible that the price difference between Apple and the Android tablets has narrowed.

I know lots of people with various kinds of smart phones and tables, including Apple. The most frequent comment that I hear is: "I love my iPhone (or iPad), but I hate iTunes." So, in the process of choosing a tablet, it's worth checking out not only the tablet, but also the PC and Web apps that you will be tethered to, because those things will also affect your user experience.

If you expect to use a tablet at your workplace, I suggest asking your colleagues about it. Connecting at work might or might not be possible depending on how your IT infrastructure is set up.

The cheapness was important to me. I expected to carry the thing around on my bike, and I simply wanted to minimize my risk exposure to the thing getting lost, stolen, or crushed. A minor issue was that I was interested at the time in developing apps, which so far hasn't materialized.
 
#10
Check out the iPad Mini. I travel with my 16GB iPad mini and have all my study materials for classes, videos, etc. to make good use of my time. Wifi to surf the internet and only weighs a hair under 11 ounces. It's so light I forget it's in my bag most of the time, and it's super thin too! Great battery life.

My only regret? Not getting the 32GB. I have to swap movies before a long bout of traveling.
 
#13
tplyons said:
Check out the iPad Mini. I travel with my 16GB iPad mini and have all my study materials for classes, videos, etc. to make good use of my time. Wifi to surf the internet and only weighs a hair under 11 ounces. It's so light I forget it's in my bag most of the time, and it's super thin too! Great battery life.

My only regret? Not getting the 32GB. I have to swap movies before a long bout of traveling.
Click to expand...

x1000.

Look at getting an iPad Mini and get the biggest size you can afford.
 
#14
The mini is a good unit.

Have a iPad 3 and a iPad Mini. Use the the 3 for most things but the mini goes with me when I go out. Keep the programs for using my insulin pump on it. Mynetdiary, restaurant nutrition guide, and one that lists vege items for most restaurants and a few other apps. Just got the 16 wifi one as I didn't need 4g. iPhone is a hotspot if needed.

I'd suggest if it is your only device getting the 64 or if price is a concern the 32 as better for more things.

The rumor mill has it there will be a new iPad and Mini in the near future.

If you are just going to have one unit, the iPad is probably better for more things than the Mini. Get the most memory you can afford.
 
#15
I've got several Android tablets and an iPad 2.
7" is a nice form factor for light usage and lugging around in a gig bag - I use my HTC Flyer for looking up sheet music and tabs, tuning, and since it has an SD card slot I can fit 64Gb of music on it to make it a super iPod.
My Asus Transformer tablet is my 'work' tablet - has a keyboard/extra battery, hdmi out for presentations or plugging into the TV, and again has expansion ports for USB memory sticks and a micro SD card.
The iPad 2 though, is the go to device to do any music creation. And I trust all the non-techies to use it. There's tons of peripherals like stomp boxes, microphones, etc. available for the iPad as well.

So, specialized needs or if you want cheap expandable memory because you have a ton of music, look at some Android options. Everything else, get an iPad - and you can get screaming deals on iPad 2s right now if you don't need insane screen resolution.
 
#16
I know this thread is about tablets, but I think this is pretty funny because of all the folks here plugging iPads:

How-Android-iPhone-and-Blackberry-Users-See-Themselves-550x777_zpsa0aabad0.gif
 
#18
Let's face it, the iPad is the dominant tablet in the market.

However, it's not perfect. And some of us make it a point to avoid iTunes and the entire Apple digital media monopoly approach.

I use a Motorola Zoom. It's a bit thicker than the iPad but weighs about the same. Wi-fi reception is just fine, and there are thousands of free apps which work beautifully. I have never found anything I want to do with it that I can't do...and I can rip my own movies and music and load them onto the Xoom as I wish to, without the ghost of Stevie Jobs looking over my shoulder.

If you're an Apple user, you're probably going to be happiest with the iPad.

If you're an Android user like me, you will be very happy with the Xoom or any number of other Android OS devices. I head a tech unit that has tried out four different tablets and they all work well if you learn how to use them.

The main drawbacks to the Xoom are that you don't find accessories in every Radio Shack, and it has the silliest charging port ever - it's separate from the micro-HDMI port.
 
#19
Well, what kind of a user are you?
Are you a discerning user? Do you have any sort of 'above the norm' preference in those categories you listed? Do you have eyes that get bothered easily by reading a tablet screen for a while, are you an audiophile, etc etc.
Quite frankly for the purposes you've listed, without more information, screw the iPad, you'd be overpaying by a factor of about double or even triple.
(IMO screw the iPad anyways for anything but music related things, but I'm trying to be objective here!)
 

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