Tablets

[wolfeman131]

Trolling the boards from my iPad & noticed Ian's reply said " from my Kindle Fire". We have an iPad and iPad 2 and both get a ton of use by my kiddos, ages 4-12, my wife and myself. We didn't get the 3G models as we felt we would almost always be using them where wifi would be available. There has been a rare occasion that we wish we had it, but have gotten by with our iphones.

What are your thoughts on tablets? Interested in what Ian has to say about the Fire and what others have to say about others (Asus, HP, BB, Sony, etc.). Android platform vs apple?

[KG's Supra24]

I have a xoom and really like it. We have a 3g plan for it as we have to use it for home internet (only other option is satellite). Using it as a wireless hotspot works well for browsing internet on another laptop, haven't tried doing much more than that. I don't use it as much as I thought I would, though. Daughter loves it and we google video chat with the grandparents so it gets good use.

I'm a droid fan so its just my preference. Almost bought the nexus today but couldn't justify the extra 100 between verizon today and amazon in a week.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[kaneboats]

Mrs. Kane won an ipad2 and it gets used around the clock. Santa is bringing the twin boys an android tablet. It actually got here the other day but it's stashed away. I'll know a lot more about them in a few weeks.

[jmvotto]

Wife have the ipad one. Gets lots of use. Daughter won this samsung galaxy tablet, so i swapped her a new itouch for it. She is 11 and wanted more music ,videos and games.

I really only use this to surf the web. Ipad2 in my future.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Tapatalk

[rdlangston13]

im usually very far behind the technology gizmo curve so i will probably get my first tablet in about 6 years

[bret]

Instead of buying my wife a tablet for christmas i got her a wetsuit and life jacket. Priorities people!! :)

[bergermaister]

I've almost pulled the trigger on one of the lighter duty android based tablets this year that have been sub $100 just to play with but really can't justify it. I'm surrounded by computers all day (work and home) and have an iphone holstered 24/7. Browsing this forum and playing games is about all I'd use one for. Don't do much social stocking.

I've heard the lower end tablets do not have as responsive touch screens though. Brother in law had an iPad and I've played with that a lot. He now has a newer Android based Asus (insert name) tablet which was a few hundy that he got after his iPad was stolen. Played with that a bunch too and found I prefer the iPad.

[sandm]

guy at best buy summed it up for me..

tablets are in their infancy right now. don't buy one unless you have a solid pc/laptop at home already as they are not the replacement for the full blown pc yet. don't spend your cash on the most up-to-date machine as the price-per-computing curve on them will be sky high for the next 2 years and what you buy today, whether it's $200 or $700 will be the same paperweight in 2 years..

that being said, I bought an ARchos 10" for $219 from my work. it works well for the limited surfing and the few games that we play and it's a whole lot less bulky than a laptop. friend has an ipad that he shelled out $500 for. based on what I see, at the end of 2 years, we'll both be ready for the next generation, but I have a $300 head start on him :)

my opinion, I'll never own an apple product. android ftw... too many workarounds to get the music I have off limewire/napster onto itunes. give me drag/drop anyday....

sent from my bagphone using 56k dialup.

[Razzman]

99% percent of the tablets out now are for pure entertainment, and there's nothing wring with that at all. But a $500 tablet for just fun when you can have a capable laptop for the same price? Doesn't make sense.

That being said there is one, and my tablet of choice btw, that does promote productivity and that would be the Toshiba Thrive (http://us.toshiba.com/tablets/thrive/10-inch/). It is the only one that has full size access ports for external devices; USB, mini USB, HDMI, SD card and it's expandable. Not to mention the back cover removes for self battery replacement, nobody else does that that I'm aware off.

Yes it's a little bigger (thickness .63") and heavier (1.6lbs) than others but the benefits far outweigh that imo. Personally I like the thickness & weight of it, doesn't feel like it's flimsy or going to break.


It runs on Android 3.2 (Gingerbread) and comes fully loaded and ready to rock. Personally android is the only way to go for me. I'm a techy and love this stuff but it has to do more and allow me to do what i want with it. Android does that as it's open source code so I can make whatever changes and alterations i want, just like my Samsung Galaxy S smartphone. Good luck with that on an apple product.

[jpetty3023]

Sent from my iPad 2 because the kids are playing with the iPad 1.

[BobP]

We have an ipad2, love it. Totally different animal than a full PC/laptop...does most of what most people use a PC for anyway, surfing the web, watching videos, email, reading, music....in a form factor that is much more convenient. I think the whole point of tablets is simplicity...no need for extra ports, etc. I lug around a laptop for work everyday, would much rather carry the iPad.

[ian ashton]

I bought L a Kindle Fire for reading books, and after playing with it decided I wanted one for surfing the net and such. I really like it, and we got 2 for less than the cost of an ipad.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

[Wildbill]

I have a Blackberry Playbook and a new Samsung 4G. The Samsung is way better and is nearly warn out from the wife and kid..........and I thought it was mine........pffft!

[saskyrider]

wife has iphone, we have an Ipad 1st generation, and a blackberry playbook. My work phone is a BB so i like the playbook as the wife and kids can surf the internet on the road. We also have a laptop and that is the first choice for any of us when sitting on the couch, then the ipad then the playbook. I don't mind the playbook, but the smaller screen is a bit of a pain. both the ipad and playbook were gifts so i'm not complaining! My beef with the ipad is the compatability mismatch with adobe....

[kaneboats]

Do a search on the Ainol Nova 7 if you want a cheapo one with a great capacitive touchscreen for about $139. Just a toy but a great one.

[jmvotto]

Joined the ipad club my employer got me an ipad 2 yesterday. Whoo hoo!

Guess the galaxy tab goes to the kids.