Help.....What Tablet.....

[funkylyn]

I will admit the iPod is great GaRRy, and so is the iPad... but nothing....and I mean NOTHING would move

me away from my surgically attached Samsung Galaxy S2... until my operation... which is booked in for

July 2013 ...for the replacement of said phone with the Samsung Galaxy S3

Apple might be claiming a part of my mind......but my heart is still Samsungs.....

Lynda

 

[Old_Dave]

You say that now... But once you get your iPad be prepared to change your mind about the phone, lol


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[GaRRy]

You say that now... But once you get your iPad be prepared to change your mind about the phone, lol


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Yep Never Say Never.

 

[lectureral]

I expect there is something to convert them too.....I must check that out!

I use Calibre - simple to use and effective

 

[lectureral]

If I remember correctly Alistair.....werent you the lucky b who WON an iPad ?

Wish I could.....then I wouldnt be bothered about my niggles lol.

I presume that I wouldnt have enough storage to keep all my photos on the 16 iPad like I do on Picassa ?
And what exactly do you mean by 'tidying up' ?
Dont go getting TOO techy on me


Lynda

You have a good memory Lynda - I don't even remember sharing that with pedelecs - yes, in a store giveaway shortly after we came here - I think they wanted a Barang face on the advertisement they published afterwards. I really use it a lot.

As to tidying up it's just a matter of deleting old stuff usually (eg 3 months worth of Sunday Times is about 7 GB).

 

[funkylyn]

Im like an elephant Alistair...I never forget......plus I was envious !

Lynda

 

[Ptarmigan]

Y'all must have better ( younger ! ) eyes than mine, I have trouble with my 15" laptop screen !
I recently downgraded from a 23" CRT monitor + desktop combo, the desktop is ok but the crt was long in the tooth and finally died !

Seems like web pages these days get bigger and the fonts get smaller, cant imagine how you manage on these fiddly wee devices !!

 

[GaRRy]

I use Calibre - simple to use and effective

Yep gets my vote

 

[styx]

Hi Lyn have you checked out the new samsung series 3 chromebook ?.I bought one as backup while I upgrade my desktop and I have found it excellent for basic tasks such as surfing, email, banking etc. It starts up and is ready to go in about ten seconds,security is built in so you have no hassle with that and the keyboard is one of the best I have tried on any laptop.In fact I have found it so quick and convenient that I hardly use the desktop anyway now LOL.There is no hard drive or any moving parts so overheating is no problem and anything you want to keep is stored in the cloud so it never slows down.It is cheap to buy at £229 so it might be worth checking out. regards styx

 

[funkylyn]

Oh thanks for that tip off Styx I will definitely look that one up right now....the trouble being though that

I like a touch screen and Im just a uncontrollable gadget lover

Will let you know what I think of it....I certainly like the price already

Lynda

 

[funkylyn]

Had a quick look, but not too sure about the repercussions of being at the mercy of Google for paid storage after the 2 free years.....what are your thoughts on that ?

Also, it tells me what I CAN use it for but would like to know what I CANT actually do on it ?

Thoughts anyone ?

Lynda

 

[lectureral]

Had a quick look, but not too sure about the repercussions of being at the mercy of Google for paid storage after the 2 free years.....what are your thoughts on that ?

Also, it tells me what I CAN use it for but would like to know what I CANT actually do on it ?

Thoughts anyone ?

Lynda

Usually there is a free in-the-cloud service which is big enough for most purposes. You can do pretty much anything - so long as you have an internet connection. Without an internet connection the chromebooks cannot operate. You would also not be able to run certain programmes but there are usually free alternatives available (google docs instead of Word, eg).

I think they are good as a second computer but I like to have my trusty old desktop for particular tasks.

 

[morphix]

I dont think I can keep this laptop going much longer

Im not happy about jumping into the first generation Windows8 and the half tablet/half keyboard offerings......
plus they are more expensive.....
and plus I really just want an excuse to buy a tablet

I have read so many comparisons on tablets... and apart from the headaches its giving me.....it really has to be between the iPad and the Samsung 10 Tab....OR the Samsung 10 Note......

My phone is the Samsung Galaxy but I also have an iPod touch.
My instinctive loyalty is towards the Samsung though ......

Has anyone tried all three tablets and can give me some sensible unbiased advice on which is the best ......or at least the pros and cons of each?......please.....

Lynda

I love my Toshiba Portege R500 laptop which is/was the thinnest and lightest in the world, so is a good alternative to a tablet, offering full computer functionality but in an ultra-portable package (lightest spec is under 1kg and my "heavy" spec with optical drive and HDD is 1.3kg.

Just out of interest, I picked up a few days ago a Portege R400 which is one of those hybrid laptop/tablets,where the LCD twists and sits flat over the keyboard turning it into a touch screen tablet PC. Compared to my R500 the thing is like having an elephant on your lap! weighing in at 1.72kg with battery. What a difference 420g makes. But it's a beautifully designed machine with some unusual features..after using it for 2 days I just can't get used to writing with a tablet stylus pen and it takes aaages just to write a post with all the correcting character mistakes.

Unless that improves over time, I don't think tablets offer a viable alternative to a proper lightweight laptop with a functional keyboard, but maybe that's just me. I know some tablets have the virtual keyboards that appear on screen, but that comes at a cost of screen space, which is not good when you're operating on 10-11" screen most tablets have.

All that said, I absolutely love my Android HTC phone, I can happily use that for YouTube, shopping,quick emails etc..I like the voice recognition feature and the bar code scanning...but I wouldn't want to write anything substantial on it, far too fiddly. I also have a 4.5" Nokia n810 tablet which I seldom use now I have the HTC...that was pretty good for basic web but hopeless again for posting on forums etc, even with it's sliding out keyboard..my fingers are just too big for the dinky keys!

 

[Cyclezee]

If you get an iPad Lynda, here is the ideal cover for it

 

[funkylyn]

If you get an iPad Lynda, here is the ideal cover for it

View attachment 4483

You do know what you are.... dont you... .........and that pic is enough to put me right off iPads.....

Lynda

 

[funkylyn]

I love my Toshiba Portege R500 laptop which is/was the thinnest and lightest in the world, so is a good alternative to a tablet, offering full computer functionality but in an ultra-portable package (lightest spec is under 1kg and my "heavy" spec with optical drive and HDD is 1.3kg.

Just out of interest, I picked up a few days ago a Portege R400 which is one of those hybrid laptop/tablets,where the LCD twists and sits flat over the keyboard turning it into a touch screen tablet PC. Compared to my R500 the thing is like having an elephant on your lap! weighing in at 1.72kg with battery. What a difference 420g makes. But it's a beautifully designed machine with some unusual features..after using it for 2 days I just can't get used to writing with a tablet stylus pen and it takes aaages just to write a post with all the correcting character mistakes.

Unless that improves over time, I don't think tablets offer a viable alternative to a proper lightweight laptop with a functional keyboard, but maybe that's just me. I know some tablets have the virtual keyboards that appear on screen, but that comes at a cost of screen space, which is not good when you're operating on 10-11" screen most tablets have.

All that said, I absolutely love my Android HTC phone, I can happily use that for YouTube, shopping,quick emails etc..I like the voice recognition feature and the bar code scanning...but I wouldn't want to write anything substantial on it, far too fiddly. I also have a 4.5" Nokia n810 tablet which I seldom use now I have the HTC...that was pretty good for basic web but hopeless again for posting on forums etc, even with it's sliding out keyboard..my fingers are just too big for the dinky keys!

The problem I have Paul is that I seem to be 'at war' with myself.....

My 'sensible' side says get a new laptop for just the reasons you state ie....easier for emails with a proper keyboard etc.....
but....
My 'crazy desire for gadgets' side says get an iPad just cos I like them and would love to have one.....and I just love touchscreens.....they are just so

I will report on the outcome of the war when the 'peacemakers' have had their final say in my brain

Lynda

 

[morphix]

The problem I have Paul is that I seem to be 'at war' with myself.....

My 'sensible' side says get a new laptop for just the reasons you state ie....easier for emails with a proper keyboard etc.....
but....
My 'crazy desire for gadgets' side says get an iPad just cos I like them and would love to have one.....and I just love touchscreens.....they are just so

I will report on the outcome of the war when the 'peacemakers' have had their final say in my brain

Lynda

If you're on a budget, here's a suggestion... get yourself a lightweight laptop or netbook from an ex-corp refurb outlet on the cheap (that's what I did with my Toshiba R500) you'll pay only about £130-£160, approx 10% of the normal retail value and you often get one mint condition with just the odd mark.. then use all the money you save to get yourself a good tablet... best of both worlds ;-)

There's a couple of outlets for the laptops (and they sell tablets too) the best one is Tier1 but you can also find AMSDirect on eBay that sell some. The good thing about buying from these firms rather than buying off private eBay users is that you get 3 months warranty and everything is checked over...any probs or it's not to your liking, they'll change it or refund in 7 days. I've bought 2 Toshiba R500's from Tier1 and found the service excellent. When I complained about some wear on keys and ram not being to spec, they just sent me brand new parts free.

 

[funkylyn]

Thanks Paul ...I am on tier1 as we speak

Lynda

 

[Old_Dave]

Save time, trouble and expense... Just get the iPad


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[colonel]

Lynda

Apple products have always attracted me from a design standpoint, and I must agree they have done a fantastic sales pitch to make the masses crave their products but they are NOT superior technology.
In the early days of the ipod a friend had 3 because the battery kept failing - he was charged £99 to change the battery (what they actually did was replace it and it came back without all his music).


I want a tablet that stores films, images from my camera, off-line mapping, skype, browsing, etc with a good battery life and if possible a keyboard.

Yes the iPad is a good piece of kit, but limited in many ways:

Can I connect my camera/usb devices to transfer data? - usb port (no sir, but we sell an adaptor for another £30)

Can I connect to my tv to watch said films/show holiday snaps? (no sir, but we sell an adaptor for another £30)

Can I increase base memory? - NO

Max battery life? - 8hrs

Why do I get black bands top/bottom of screen? - incorrect screen ratio for films

As I have said the iPad is a nice piece of kit, but I couldn't live with its limitations.

-----------------------------------------------------
My choice was the ASUS Transformer for reasons below:

Android operating system
Operating speed matches iPad
Graphics matches iPad
higher pixel density than iPad (in reality you'll never see difference, its just hype)
Camera front and back still/HD video (main one higher resolution than iPad)
micro SD port (expandable to 32gb)
SD port (also expandable to 32gb)
mini HDMI
2xUSB2 ports
GPS
Motion sensors
Keyboard/dock (protects screen when attached)
15hrs battery (8hrs in tablet- 7hrs in removable keyboard/dock)
TV/Cinema Screen ratio
wifi/bluetooth (3G version if required)

Benefits that I like are:
The full keyboard - when attached it operates as a netbook. There is a mousepad, I can add a usb mouse or still use the touch screen or any combination.
Connectability, via usb, HDMI or sd ports.
Charging my phone/mp4 player/etc via the usb ports when away from home - only need to take the one ASUS charger.
I bought the cheaper 16gb version and added a 32gb microSD.
Download free maps to work off-line with the inbuilt GPS - have all UK, France, Spain and New Zealand (These zoom in down to street level too, not large scale road route maps).

My Boss has everything Apple and brought his iPad in to compare with the ASUS - he agreed with all the points made above and loved the bronze metalise look and feel of the ASUS, but departed saying "I'm still keeping my iPad!!"

The ASUS was my considered choice, but as everything, development doesn't stand still.
All i'm saying is make sure you carefully match you requirements with the product and don't get carried away with the hype.