opinions and reasons please

[Lefty]

Not sure if this is appropriate but, I need some unbiased Techie input.

I am getting a pad this week. Was convinced the newest version of
Samsung Galaxy was the way to go. Now, conflicting information has me
stumped.

This will not be used for business (I'm retired-medical) and want the most bang
for my buck (who doesn't)

This device is sort of a compromise...a lap top is still to big and bulky for my planned

usage. I have a kindle....wish I had waited for the fire...but oh well. I am willing tp
to spend from 400.00 -700.00 USD.


Open at this point to thoughts from you pros. It doesn't have to be the Sammi or the
Apple, those arre just the ones I know more about. Pros, cons ...any info will
help. Thx.

 

[andysayshi]

I recently bought my mother a tablet for Mother's Day, and did quite a bit of research before the purchase. I'm generally perceived around here as a bit of an Apple lover, so take my contribution with that bias in mind.

My mother has an iPhone, loves some online games like Words With Friends, DrawSomething etc, uses Facebook, and reads a LOT.

I started out looking at cheaper tablets like the Kindle Fire and some eReaders. They were all plasticky junk, frankly, and most had common glitches and frequent screen lags etc. Touch response was not great, even in $300+ models.

Looked at various Android options, including the Samsung Galaxy 10.1, which was by far the best of them. Screen quality and touch response is excellent, but it can be a bit funky at time. I managed to crash it twice just doing instore tests. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 was just too small for Mum.

Overall, I didn't like the Android Marketplace, and find that, generally, too many apps are middling to poor there. I found using Android far less intuitive than iOS, and felt it would be harder for my mother to use.

In the end, given my Mother's familiarity with iOS, and the absolute intuitiveness of the iPad, I just bought her the 16GB iPad 2. It's relatively cheap, good quality, and just feels more substantial than the Samsung tablets. She loves it, to the point that my Father is beginning to resent her having it - she never puts it down!

 

[jft245]

If you can afford it go with an IPad. I am not an Apple fanatic, but I have the Kindle Fire, and have tried out the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 and the IPad 2 is the best by far. The Fire is ok but I wish they had gone with a bigger screen.

 

[palbert]

A very helpful thread. Thanks guys. Looking for myself.

 

[Lefty]

Hmmm,

Seems rotten old Apple is the leader of the pack.

Question 2 ...

Part a. ipad 2 or the 'new ipad
(remember, I am below novice so please,
talk to me in basic engRish.

Part b.... ipad 2...16 or 32?

Part c. 'new ipad...16 or 32?

This puppy has to last a long long time.
Should I wait for the big 'e' thing to finish
unveiling product? There is no have to
have by date, I just don't want to do like
I did with the kindle/kindle fire. 60 days
difference there and it was a I want one,
not have to have now...

Thanks some more, amazing what the sales
guys gloss over.

 

[andysayshi]

Hard to answer your extra questions without knowing your requirements. You haven't told us much about how you think you'll use a tablet. What are your focuses / intentions for it?

Are you a tinkerer? Will you be frustrated by having to conform to the Apple-way-or-the-highway world of the iPad? Maybe you'll enjoy jailbreaking an iPad? Maybe you hate iTunes with such a vengeance that you'll hate the iPad because of it?

Are you a Win/Mac/Linux user?

 

[Lefty]

Tinkerer, questor and nosy. Start off looking at something and keep getting distracted to other sites.
By win, is that windows...then yes. firefox and windows.
itunes and dropbox are not issues. Fact, I'm looking at a Bose sound wave to tie in to the puter
for the sound system the little thing has.

Mostly, the pad would be my mini take along computer with frills. Not business, pure hedonistic
joy and uninhibited surfing/learning. A hundred bucks more or less is not a deal breaker butt,
like buying a house and property...I'd rather have a little more (extra) than have to make do
in a couple of months.


Does that answer the question...better yet, does that make sense? Thx for taking the time
and making the effort.

 

[T-Rexx]

It depends on what you want to use the tablet for.

If you primarily want an e-book reader, a 7 inch tablet is preferable to an iPad (which is only available in 10 inch). That means a Kindle (locks you into Amazon) or a Nook (locks you into B&N), or one of the many Androids (Samsung, Asus, Creative, Lenovo, Huawei, Zenith, Motorola, Toshiba, or any of a thousand others).

If you want to surf, a 7 inch can do the job, but a 10 inch is better. That would mean a larger Android or an iPad. If you want to view sites with Flash video, however, you can only do that with Android. Apple does not support Flash.

If you want to run apps, a 10 inch is better for most of them. If you want to use a keyboard to input text, Android is preferred. You can use keyboards with the iPad, but these require a proprietary connector. Some Android models offer keyboards that are specifically designed to plug into your tablet, turning it effectively into a netbook. Some of these also prolong the battery life of your tablet to almost 24 hrs. of continuous running!

If you want to tinker and learn, Android is the only game in town. Android lets you install apps from multiple different stores, lets you install porn if you want, and lets you run programs you wrote yourself. You can't do any of that with Apple (or with Windows, if MS ever decides to actually release a tablet). There is even a program for Android (App Inventor) that lets non-programmers write their own apps for their tablets (or phones).

I bought a cheap 7 inch Android tablet from Big Lots (Polaroid PMID701i) for just $90. It looks cheap, the features are as minimal as features come, and the construction is flimsy. It is one of the best things I have bought in a while. I expanded the memory from 4 GB to 36 GB. I installed both the Amazon Android store and Google Play. I installed a B&N Nook reader app, an Amazon Kindle App, and a Kobo reader app, which pretty much gives me access to any ebook in the world, without lock-in to anybody's ecosystem. I got a whole bunch of books free and have been reading more than I have in years.

Because it is Android, I can play back Flash videos which I have downloaded from the Internet. I use it often as a movie player. It is a great platform for watching movies I have recorded with my phone or video camera, as the screen is much bigger than a phone. It's also great for showing videos to a small group. It even has video out port for playback on a TV.

I use it to surf, which it does acceptably well. Because my screen is only 800x480, however, it would not be my preference for every day use. I can play back flash video from sites which serve up Flash embedded, which is something even an expensive iPad cannot do. The tablet is small enough to fit into many of my pockets, so it is great for bringing everywhere. Again, that's something you could NOT do with an iPad.

I use if for a few other things as well, It is a great machine for playing games like Angry Birds. It is great for playing back streaming audio (including Shoutcast radio stations). I bought an $11 keyboard for it and use it for light word-processing/text writing (you will find that the "virtual" keyboards on all tablets are effectively useless). It is a great device for viewing still images.

I could have paid 6x as much for an iPad with less memory, a less utilitarian form factor, and less functionality.