Anyone use a tablet ?

Emp_Fab

I'm thinking of getting one, but I can't justify it.  My primary intended use is to read PDF books that are almost impossible to read on my Kindle, and I can't be arsed to carry a laptop everywhere.  However, £120 for a budget tablet is way more expensive than the book I want to read on it !

I've seen a rather nice Asus Zenbook thing for £120 in Currys but I can't think of what use it would get really.

Help me justify buying it !

fretmeister

All the time.

I have an ipad and find it to be astonishingly useful for work, shopping, entertainment etc etc.

If I had the funds I'd be getting the newest one that allows stylus use so I could transcribe music more easily than using a mouse on a PC

gavin_axecaster

I have 3 - a 10" ipad knockoff and 2 Kindle Fire 7". I have them around for checking on emails etc when not in the office (can't stand emailing/browsing on a phone).
The Kindle Fire is just fine for what it is (paid under £40 for each), and the new HD8 coming out in June may be worth looking at.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01J94T0XU/ref=sd_allcat_k_dou
The Kindle OS is obviously heavily weighted towards Amazon and entertainment but it is based on Android and you can side load Google Play store on the older models (I assume this will be possible on the new ones) for anything not available in the Amazon app store.

EricTheWeary

I always poo-pooed tablets and when we bought a Sony one it didn't change my mind much. When I had an iPad for work it blew my tiny mind  

It maybe that if you've got a decent smartphone that a tablet doesn't offer much more. Lots of things I do on the iPad I could do on my phone or on work laptop, just slightly better looking on the iPad. Also lots of things I do on it that I could really live without but I'm slightly addicted to. For work it was great for video conferencing and creating presentations ( the apple equivalent of power point whatever it's called) although not the best for doing big documents. I've got things like Netflix, Now TV and the iPlayer on mine so with a pair of headphones I can dissapear into my own little world. But I play games, do the band Facebook, stream music, do band posters, do the Tesco shop, etc,etc.  

If it's a less expensive tablet primarily for reading I'd want to see if I felt comfortable with the resolution, even a good screen can be a bit eye strainy. If it's pdf books are you downloading them in which case memory would be an issue as well.

FX_Munkee

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Linx-10-Inch-Keyboard-Storage-Windows/dp/B01LWK42GM

Use this much more than my previous android tablet. Mostly just as a netbook, and then sometimes undocked as a tablet.
It comes in really handy as the editor interface for my THR10, GSP1101.
Seriously, if you're happy enough with Win10 this is way better than a standard android tablet.
The only downside is you can't get stuff like fruit ninja on it (TBH haven't checked).

dindude

I use an iPad for 95% of my home computing - i.e. browsing internet (including here), on-line shopping, simple spreadsheets for my finances, Spotify controller (not source), recording (Cubasis is awesome). When I go to my desktop it's because there's some serious shit to be done.

Vaiai

If you want to dip your toe in the water I have an iPad for sale - older one but £100 to get you started to see if it's for you. I use a Surface now but it's just a laptop in reality - iPad is a true tablet - Both are great for music, watching netflix/amazon/youtube, great for browsing while on the sofa or in bed etc. I use mine every day. Great for portability too. 
I actually took mine to a mates to learn some songs and had the Helix plugged in and monitored thru the PC speakers in his house.
When you get one you'll realise what they can do Android tablets are ok too - even the Kindle Fire and they are under £100 in some cases

Woodandwires

I use a simple basic tesco hudl for stuff on here, browsing internet, watching YouTube emails etc. We have a laptop for home banking, my Council work etc. My wife has a tablet and a Kindle but she is forever reading. I don't have a smart phone so it's easier to justify.

TTony

Vaiai said:

If you want to dip your toe in the water I have an iPad for sale - older one but £100 to get you started to see if it's for you.

I was going to recommend getting a cheapo iPad @Emp_Fab.

You'll always get the Android vs iOS arguments, but I'm sat here with a Galaxy phone and an iPad.  Horses for courses.  There is a far more varied selection of quality (and cheap) apps available for the iPad.

If you knew that you only wanted to use a tablet for XYZ, and that there was a perfect XYZ app on Android, then I'd say get an Android tablet as there are cheaper Android options.

As you don't know what you'll use it for, you'll find far more uses in the Apple App Store than on Android.

I dismissed the iPad v1 when it was released as a solution looking for a problem.  Why would I need a tablet when I had a (selection of) laptops that I was happy with.  I was tempted enough to buy a v2 iPad, and shortly thereafter wondered how the hell I'd ever managed without one.  

Buy one, it will become indispensable.  If not, there's something wrong with you.

stickyfiddle

I use a MacBook mostly when I'm at home, but iPad when travelling. It's not quite as good for typing and significantly less good for work, but great for reading & watching TV. 

Funkfingers

I keep wanting to try out the iPad app, Flux FX by Adrian Belew. First, I need to crack my wallet and buy the host device.

randella

Not a massive Apple fanboy but I do think, objectively, they make the best tablets.  I bought an iPad 4 the week of its release and come this September it'll be five years old.  It still works fantastically, still holds a decent charge, doesn't exhibit any of the oft-touted 'slowdown'.  Gets a good hammering every day.

It's used for about 95% of my home computing.  It's utterly indispensable.  Not like food or sunlight indispensable, but you get my drift

Bearing all that in mind, a secondhand one mightn't be a bad idea.

Axe_meister

I use my ipad mini 2 all the time. Is always with me on travels to I can access my plex home server for movies/music. When on a train/bus I tether it to my phone to save my eyesite.
I use it when sitting on the sofa and in bed.
I still use my kindle though for reading books purely for the image quality and battery life.

roberty

I got a massive phone (Nexus 6P) and barely use my tablet(s) now

chillidoggy

I have an iPad, and I think it's really good. But it pisses me off that you cannot plug anything into it, no USB port or any other connection, it's all iTunes, which as we all know is absolutely the worst piece of software ever devised. How a company can produce really good hardware, and make such a monumental cock-up with software is beyond comprehension.

EMP - Have you thought about buying secondhand? A lot cheaper like that.

holnrew

gavin_axecaster said:

I have 3 - a 10" ipad knockoff and 2 Kindle Fire 7". I have them around for checking on emails etc when not in the office (can't stand emailing/browsing on a phone).
The Kindle Fire is just fine for what it is (paid under £40 for each), and the new HD8 coming out in June may be worth looking at.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01J94T0XU/ref=sd_allcat_k_dou
The Kindle OS is obviously heavily weighted towards Amazon and entertainment but it is based on Android and you can side load Google Play store on the older models (I assume this will be possible on the new ones) for anything not available in the Amazon app store.

I'm tempted to get a kindle tablet because magazines are now included with Amazon Prime and they won't work with anything non Amazon, how's the screen for reading on the cheapy ones?

Axe_meister

chillidoggy said:

I have an iPad, and I think it's really good. But it pisses me off that you cannot plug anything into it, no USB port or any other connection, it's all iTunes, which as we all know is absolutely the worst piece of software ever devised. How a company can produce really good hardware, and make such a monumental cock-up with software is beyond comprehension.

EMP - Have you thought about buying secondhand? A lot cheaper like that.

You can get a USB adapter. I can plug in my Cannon camera directly into it and download the photos

chillidoggy

Axe_meister said:

chillidoggy said:

I have an iPad, and I think it's really good. But it pisses me off that you cannot plug anything into it, no USB port or any other connection, it's all iTunes, which as we all know is absolutely the worst piece of software ever devised. How a company can produce really good hardware, and make such a monumental cock-up with software is beyond comprehension.

EMP - Have you thought about buying secondhand? A lot cheaper like that.

You can get a USB adapter. I can plug in my Cannon camera directly into it and download the photos

Really? Is that an Apple-certified job, or a knock-off? I had one before, but the iPad refused to recognize it after a couple of goes.

EricTheWeary

chillidoggy said:

I have an iPad, and I think it's really good. But it pisses me off that you cannot plug anything into it, no USB port or any other connection, it's all iTunes, which as we all know is absolutely the worst piece of software ever devised. How a company can produce really good hardware, and make such a monumental cock-up with software is beyond comprehension.

EMP - Have you thought about buying secondhand? A lot cheaper like that.

I have Google Play on my iPad for streaming and that's really good. I haven't used Spotify for ages but I struggled to find what I wanted on that. Really can't be arsed to use iTunes on the iPad but I rarely need to go find stuff on MP3 with decent streaming available.

Sporky

I had a Nexus 10, and it was pretty good, but at upgrade time I changed to a convertible Windows Ultrabook, and I find it much more useful. The Nexus is now a Spotify remote control...

Emp_Fab

chillidoggy said:

EMP - Have you thought about buying secondhand? A lot cheaper like that.

Aye - I've been scouring ebay for a few days now.  Trouble is, I want it before I go on holiday Tuesday morning.  I can't rely on anyone getting it to me that quickly on a bank holiday weekend.  Ideally, I'd like to just walk into a shop and get one there and then, but it's proving very difficult to get any of the ones that get good reviews in a real shop.