Help me choose a tablet

[gonz13]

So I'm starting to look for Christmas gifts for my wife. Im thinking a tablet and could use some help. We both have iPhones 4s and was thinking to make things easy go with an iPad. Main reason was to be able to use AT&T service for Internet and not have to worry about wifi. My buddy mentioned getting an asus and just use the IPhone's hotspot. I like the idea of having something other than an iPad for the reason of having adobe and flash. I'm looking to spend around 400-500. I know it's low but don't want to spend more than that. She will be using if mainly for movies and games to kill time while work is slow. Any recommendations or info is appreciated! [Beer]

[HoneyBadger]

Definitely get the iPad. Everything just works, no hassle, and since you already have everything set up for iPhones, it'll be a piece of cake. When i got an ipad as a gift last year, I went about 4 months without even touching my laptop. Looking back, i wish I would have sold my laptop back when it was still worth something because it can do nearly everything that I ever used my laptop for.

Disclaimer: I used to have an iphone 4, but I sold it and bought an HTC Thunderbolt. After almost 2 years of using the Thunderbolt, I wish I had my iPhone back.

[wadero]

Purchased my wife the Asus Transfomer EEE last year on Black Friday from Best Buy. Was able to get the Tablet and the keyboard dock, which adds a USB port and an additional battery which lasts for days. The thing has worked perfectly since, and both pieces landed rite in your price range listed. The Asus also has a SD card slot for memory expansion, which is a plus you cant get with the IPad. The Android OS is user friendly, and just as many Apps available.

[HoneyBadger]

Purchased my wife the Asus Transfomer EEE last year on Black Friday from Best Buy. Was able to get the Tablet and the keyboard dock, which adds a USB port and an additional battery which lasts for days. The thing has worked perfectly since, and both pieces landed rite in your price range listed. The Asus also has a SD card slot for memory expansion, which is a plus you cant get with the IPad. The Android OS is user friendly, and just as many Apps available.

Not trying to discredit you, but in my experience (having owned 2 different iPhones for a total of 4 years and an android phone for almost 2 years), there are more QUALITY apps available through Apple than the Android Marketplace. Also, I think iOS is the ultimate user friendly OS and that is Apple's software claim to fame, but that's totally subjective.

[asmo]

The Asus Transformer kicks the iPad's (and every other tablet) butt. I have a TF201 Transformer Prime and I love it. Just bought my wife an Asus Infinity TF700 and it rocks. Both of them are very fast (my TF201 will kick an iPad 3's backside all day long and its almost 18 months old), very capable, and have stupid amounts of battery life (especially when you add the dock/keyboard).

I travel 75% of the time and my TF201 goes everywhere with me. Its been beaten, dropped, hit, and abused and there isn't a mark or scratch on it.

The best thing about the Asus is that it runs Android -- and that makes it all full of win compared to anything that Apple has. Especially when you take into account all the security issues Apple has with keeping people's information private.

As for your Flash requirement - give up on it. Flash is unsupported past Android 4.0 (ICS). Still runs great on my TF201 though.

[brutal]

If you're going to continue as iPhone users, it makes sense to stick with iPad. There's always something newer, faster, better just released, announced, or coming to muddy the waters. :D

I bought a Google Nexus when they came out and love it. However, I still require and use daily, a PC laptop.

The new Kindle Fire HD looks promising. Their biggest downside is the lock into Amazon, but they too can always be rooted if you want to go the geek route.

8.9" 4G LTE http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GFRBBW/ref=fs_jw
7" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GGCAVM/ref=fs_ta

[DeusExMachina]

iPad would be good if you already have money spent on the Apple store, but in my opinion the Kindle Fire (and now Fire HD) are more useful and better tablets. And way cheaper.

The size of the Fire is great, whereas the iPad is really only good for sitting on the couch and surfing. When I had an iPad, I just would use my iPhone and the iPad would sit idle.

There are rumors of a "iPad mini" coming out, though. Which might be killer.

[Fromk]

Don't forget that Apple is probably announcing a smaller ipad next month. You'll just have to be on top of that pre-order schedule for a Christmas delivery.

I do agree that if you're already invested in the Apple app store you should just stick with them. It's great that once you know one device it transfers to the others pretty easily. I am by no means a huge Apple fan but I do see the appeal. Flash really isn't that important any more.

[anomad]

I got my folks a droid tablet earlier this year and they love it.

But I would definitely stick with the apple platform if you already use iStuff.

[alan0269]

I've had/used both the iphone/ipad and Android based phones/tablets and I prefer Android because of the control you can have (started with me hating the iphone keyboard and being able to change keyboards on the Android and grew from there - I have a Samsung Nexus phone and a Samsung tablet), but if you already have iphones and like them, I'd go with the ipad. That way any apps that you have purchased on your account can be transferred over to the tablet without having to buy them a second time. If you don't plan on keeping the iphones, go Android and then when you get new phones you'll be ready with the apps that you have on the tablet. Both systems work and have their advantages, so it's a lot like firearms - get what you like and will be able to use efficiently.

iPad - the biggest advantage is that the apps and updates are developed for one device, so they should all work; disadvantage is that the user doesn't have any control over things that they do in the Android system

Android - biggest advantage is user control; disadvantage is that with many variations of each operating system (each manufacturer has their own little quirks built in to their version) apps may not work as well on one device as they do another (I have not personally experienced issues with this, but I've heard of them) and updates may not be available for all devices at the same time, or in some instances at all



Disclaimer: I used to have an iphone 4, but I sold it and bought an HTC Thunderbolt. After almost 2 years of using the Thunderbolt, I wish I had my iPhone back.

I had a Thunderbolt and hated it as well - one of the worst phones I've ever purchased. When I went to get something different, the salesman said that the phone had a very poor history overall and wasn't offered for sale very long because of it.

[gonz13]

I have always been an android fan. The only reason I have a iPhone is because my wife convinced me to go AT&T. Transferring info between the two will be easy. But know tht I think about it I don't have a reason to go back to an android. I have the hotspot now I guess I just miss the bigger screen.

[Ah Pook]

In before all the Apple haters. [Tooth]

I have not tried any other tablets. Between the SO and I, we have 1 iPhone, 2 MacBooks, 2 desk top Macs and 1 iPad. If you are sticking with iPhones, the iPads just makes thing easier.

[Zundfolge]

Android - biggest advantage is user control
Which is something that 90% of all users will never take advantage of (and I speak as one of those 10% ... actually one of the 1% that would wipe an Asus Transformer the day I got it and install a full Linux system on it).

MOST people will never use either an iPad or Android based tablet to its full potential, so I recommend the iPad because my mother (in her late 60s) is capable of using one without calling myself or my brother every 10 minutes to fix something (something she's not capable of doing with Windows even) so that says to me its dead simple for the average user to run unassisted.

[Teufelhund]

I'm planning to get a tablet for my missus as well, but we don't own any iStuff. Is there a tablet that is better for work (e.g. word processing, email integration, etc.)?

[waxthis]

Simple...........
http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss170/waxthis/apple_logo-300x225.jpg

They just work...Period.

[brutal]

I'm planning to get a tablet for my missus as well, but we don't own any iStuff. Is there a tablet that is better for work (e.g. word processing, email integration, etc.)?

That new Kindle fire 8.9" 64GB 4G LTE would probably be the ticket. They claim to have an Exchange app built in. I guess that all depends on corporate.

I like my Nexus7 but corporate e-mail using Good just downright sucks. What a giant POS (Good).

That said, "word processing" on a tablet sucks unless you get an external keyboard/docking keyboard. The new Kindle says bluetooth so BT keyboard should be a no brainer.

[soldier-of-the-apocalypse]

Ipad

[ronaldrwl]

I bought a iPad and the first time my wife used it was the last time I called it my iPad. She loves it. Easy to use. Apples always there if you have questions. It's a no-brainier for me. Nothing else compares. I wouldn't even compare spec's of other manufactures. It's not relevant. The service Apples provided us with the iPhones, iPad and iMacs far far out weighs specs from other manufactures. The App store is amazing. The number of amazing free apps blows my mind.

[brutal]

FFhjDX-DUew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFhjDX-DUew&feature=share&list=ULFFhjDX-DUew

Part 2, could not embed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTTSsB92L_s&feature=share&list=ULkTTSsB92L_s

[Aloha_Shooter]

I would go with either the iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Transformer or Nexus. The Kindle Smoke (Fire) is the absolute last thing I'd recommend as it's the worst of all worlds except in price. Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet is better designed than the Kindle Fire if you're going that route but you're better off getting a real Android tablet or iPad if you want a general purpose device.

[gonz13]

I'm looking into the asus transformer and infinity. Looks like a good buy. Everyone is saying the infinity is stupid fast

[brutal]

I would go with either the iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Transformer or Nexus. The Kindle Smoke (Fire) is the absolute last thing I'd recommend as it's the worst of all worlds except in price. Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet is better designed than the Kindle Fire if you're going that route but you're better off getting a real Android tablet or iPad if you want a general purpose device.

What is your basis for the opinion against Kindle Fire?

My wife loves hers. Except for the lock in to Amazon (again, I could root it if I wanted to support her), it's a great little tablet. Certainly the Nexus is better in most ways, however she got the Fire befor Nexus was annonced, and app support for JB has been very slow to come and there's tons of apps that work on Fire that don't work on Nexus. Honestly, even without rooting it, we've been able to install some "unsupported" apps simply by using a backup app and sugarsync from her HTC.

[Aloha_Shooter]

What is your basis for the opinion against Kindle Fire?

My wife loves hers. Except for the lock in to Amazon (again, I could root it if I wanted to support her), it's a great little tablet. Certainly the Nexus is better in most ways, however she got the Fire befor Nexus was annonced, and app support for JB has been very slow to come and there's tons of apps that work on Fire that don't work on Nexus. Honestly, even without rooting it, we've been able to install some "unsupported" apps simply by using a backup app and sugarsync from her HTC.

The Kindle Fire lacks an SD-MMC slot for media expansion and full-fledged Android capability. I seem to recall announcements for the Nexus before the Fire was released but perhaps that was on XDA channels. The B&N Nook Tablet has slightly better graphics, internal memory and has a micro-SD slot if you're going with media tablet versus full Android tablet (good reasons for doing so as I see GPS on a tablet as mainly a waste of weight and power but if you want full Android, get full Android).

IMHO, the Fire was built up by the sheer weight of Amazon's presence and marketing; spec-wise, it's a hardware equivalent of Vista. Bleh.

[asmo]

Simple...........

They just work...Period.

That's why they have armies of support staff, right?

[Holger Danske]

I just saw a Big Chief tablet this weekend. Ah, the memories....

[Aloha_Shooter]

It's really funny watching people who hate Apple attack their products. Apple products are neither as flawless as some Apple fanbois would have you think nor as weak as Microsoft/Android fanbois claim.

I used to have to do tech support over the phone for my parents on about a monthly basis when I had them on Windows boxes. That went to zero when I got my mother to migrate back to the Mac platform a few years ago and she absolutely loves her iPad. For her, it DOES "just work" -- and the army of support staff at her nearby Apple store are a comfortable security blanket when she needs it.

I haven't had ZERO problems with my Macbook Pro or Mac mini but I've had far fewer issues with them than with the Dell laptop issued to me by work, the Windows Vista or Windows 7 desktops I have to endure at work or the HP tablet PC I used for vacation traveling.

The couple times I've had problems with my Macbook Pro, I was able to diagnose and/or resolve them at the Apple store within minutes (okay, within an hour if you count the 30-45 minutes wait time I incurred for walking in without an appointment). One of the two times was simply finding out the new 1 TB hard drive I'd installed had sector problems -- quickly and easily resolved by putting the old hard drive back in until I got a replacement from Newegg, cloned it and installed.

Would I use an iPad? I can't see the iPad meeting my computing needs -- its design is exactly the wrong blend of size and capability for my needs but my needs are quite different from most people. I have no problems recommending an iPad-based solution to many friends and family, especially ones who already have a tech base involving iPhones or Macs. Overall, the design engineering on the iPads is still far superior to comparable Android or Windows Mobile products. You pay through the nose for that engineering but it is definitely superior. I would NOT recommend an iPad for anyone concerned about information security but I'm not sure I'd recommend any of the current Android tablets either if information security is a high priority item.

I would also be wary of recommending anything based on Google or Amazon software if you're worried about privacy or data mining. Apple has done some datamining themselves but they're still primarily a hardware company (as are Samsung and Asus) while Google and Amazon make their money by figuring out what you want/like/need and offering to sell it to you (or hooking up a partner to sell it to you). This is yet another reason I am wary of Amazon's Kindle Fire and even the Fire HD which fixes many of the design flaws in their original Fire (e.g., who the heck puts the power button on the bottom of anything?) -- Amazon's "Silk" is IMHO just another marketing window into your soul (and wallet!).

[Zundfolge]

I haven't had ZERO problems with my Macbook Pro or Mac mini but I've had far fewer issues with them than with the Dell laptop issued to me by work, the Windows Vista or Windows 7 desktops I have to endure at work or the HP tablet PC I used for vacation traveling.
I had close to zero problems with a Dell Mini9 Hackintosh (running OSX Lion) and that's a hacked together, cobbled up OS install held together with bailing wire and duct tape (eventually the SSD died but that's a hardware problem that could happen to any system).

We used to issue our sales reps laptops and I basically had to wipe and reinstall Windows on those every few months.

That said, the Dell Dimension 8400 desktop machine I got issued wen I started here almost a decade ago is still humming along just fine.


The simple truth is that ALL computer brands and operating systems suck and ALL computer brands and operating systems are EFFING AWESOME!