Recommend me a tablet

Irongut wrote:

ASUS eeePad Transformer Prime.

I'd say that's the optimal solution.

Irongut wrote:

iPad 2. I've invested in the app store enough, that an iPad 2 would immediately mean access to content we already own. Some of it is universal, some of it would of course just be re-sacled. So my own library of content is a big plus, but the price is a big negative. I see that Apples sells its own refurbs which might save 50 bucks or so and I'd consider that option.

Since I bought my iPad 2 in July, I've had zero regrets. Unless you need more than the 16GB version (I didn't), the price vs other tablets was something I felt justified the better experience it's provided. I don't doubt that the Amazon Fire is going to be popular and do well, but everything I've had over the 2 years I spent with Android just felt... unpolished.

I bought mine with an intent to have a slew of apps to assist with work, home, etc. The stronger the back-end, the more interested I was. I haven't owned an iPhone in 2 1/2 years, just jumped from my second Android device to a Windows Phone 7, and honestly just wanted something that worked and didn't give me a hassle.

I honestly can't complain.

My wife's been looking for an eBook upgrade that'll also handle comics, so we're probably going to go Kindle Fire for her as a holiday present.

trueheart78 wrote:

Unless you need more than the 16GB version (I didn't), the price vs other tablets was something I felt justified the better experience it's provided. I don't doubt that the Amazon Fire is going to be popular and do well, but everything I've had over the 2 years I spent with Android just felt... unpolished.

I bought mine with an intent to have a slew of apps to assist with work, home, etc. The stronger the back-end, the more interested I was. I haven't owned an iPhone in 2 1/2 years, just jumped from my second Android device to a Windows Phone 7, and honestly just wanted something that worked and didn't give me a hassle.

I honestly can't complain.

I have a 16 and 32gb ipad and I've completely run out of space on the 16. Lots of ipad games are 500meg and up. I have a couple of movies on it, photos, etcetera. I really think that 32 is the minimum space I'd purchase. Most android tablets offer a micro-sd slot which helps quite a bit on storage. My next iPad will likely have to be in the 64+ gb range with 32 the minimum. Hopefully, when the iPad 3 comes out it will start at 32.

The Kindle Fire's lack of a micro-sd slot is really limiting. IIRC it only has 8gb of memory as well.

B&N just announced the Nook Tablet: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook...

The competition to the Amazon Fire is sure heating up...(terrible, I know).

Symbiotic wrote:

B&N just announced the Nook Tablet: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook...

The competition to the Amazon Fire is sure heating up...(terrible, I know).

I should *cough* you on this but, your's is the official link.

trueheart78 wrote:

I don't doubt that the Amazon Fire is going to be popular and do well, but everything I've had over the 2 years I spent with Android just felt... unpolished.

That's why, like the Nook Color before it, it will be so heavily customized you won't realize it's Android until you go to Amazon's App Store from it.

EvilHomer3k wrote:
trueheart78 wrote:

Unless you need more than the 16GB version (I didn't), the price vs other tablets was something I felt justified the better experience it's provided. I don't doubt that the Amazon Fire is going to be popular and do well, but everything I've had over the 2 years I spent with Android just felt... unpolished.

I bought mine with an intent to have a slew of apps to assist with work, home, etc. The stronger the back-end, the more interested I was. I haven't owned an iPhone in 2 1/2 years, just jumped from my second Android device to a Windows Phone 7, and honestly just wanted something that worked and didn't give me a hassle.

I honestly can't complain.

I have a 16 and 32gb ipad and I've completely run out of space on the 16. Lots of ipad games are 500meg and up. I have a couple of movies on it, photos, etcetera. I really think that 32 is the minimum space I'd purchase. Most android tablets offer a micro-sd slot which helps quite a bit on storage. My next iPad will likely have to be in the 64+ gb range with 32 the minimum. Hopefully, when the iPad 3 comes out it will start at 32.

The Kindle Fire's lack of a micro-sd slot is really limiting. IIRC it only has 8gb of memory as well.

The trick to the Fire is that it's designed to run off the cloud; local storage is for when you're not going to be attached at the hip to WiFi.

AnimeJ wrote:

The trick to the Fire is that it's designed to run off the cloud; local storage is for when you're not going to be attached at the hip to WiFi.

Thats true. I think its cool how they are embracing the cloud and around the house, which is probably the only place we would use it.. it may not be a big issue. I'm not sure if I want to always depend on wifi for streaming though The other concern I guess is that 8 gigabyte sounds like a wall folks will hit relatively quickly locally even as they build an app library.

I'm just trying to think it through. Do I always want to be streaming apps to load them up and play them? I'm not sure yet. Sure I've got 8 gig of buffer (or cache) but will that wall result in a lot more storage 'management' over time. I just have a feeling it might. Maybe not in the beginning, but it feels like there will be a point where you lose the luxury of keeping everything on there and you'll be making decisions to open up space. Then again, without the device in hand, this may just be overthinking it a bit.

AnimeJ wrote:
EvilHomer3k wrote:
trueheart78 wrote:

Unless you need more than the 16GB version (I didn't), the price vs other tablets was something I felt justified the better experience it's provided. I don't doubt that the Amazon Fire is going to be popular and do well, but everything I've had over the 2 years I spent with Android just felt... unpolished.

I bought mine with an intent to have a slew of apps to assist with work, home, etc. The stronger the back-end, the more interested I was. I haven't owned an iPhone in 2 1/2 years, just jumped from my second Android device to a Windows Phone 7, and honestly just wanted something that worked and didn't give me a hassle.

I honestly can't complain.

I have a 16 and 32gb ipad and I've completely run out of space on the 16. Lots of ipad games are 500meg and up. I have a couple of movies on it, photos, etcetera. I really think that 32 is the minimum space I'd purchase. Most android tablets offer a micro-sd slot which helps quite a bit on storage. My next iPad will likely have to be in the 64+ gb range with 32 the minimum. Hopefully, when the iPad 3 comes out it will start at 32.

The Kindle Fire's lack of a micro-sd slot is really limiting. IIRC it only has 8gb of memory as well.

The trick to the Fire is that it's designed to run off the cloud; local storage is for when you're not going to be attached at the hip to WiFi.

I understand that. Designing it to run off the cloud cuts out people who don't have cloud access constantly. Additionally, my 16gb iPad doesn't have enough room to install the apps/games I have on it. Those don't run off the cloud. Finally, it doesn't have a cell connection so if you aren't on wi-fi you don't have cloud access (not that I would pay for that on a second device anyway). Perhaps others don't share an iPad with kids and other family members (or maybe they're not as prone to buy $1 games every time there's a sale). I think they could easily get away with 8 gb of storage (only 6 is available for my use) if they had put in a micro-sd slot. I understand why Apple does that (so they can charge you ridiculous amounts for additional storage) but Amazon only has the 8gb model. I can't imagine adding the micro-sd would cost that much more.

Personally, I don't plan on doing much sharing of my Fire with wife/kiddos at least until the new wears off, but even on the iPod I don't have more than a handful of apps that I'd expect to be large on there. Overall, I don't expect to have more than a few things like Angry Birds, PvZ and a couple other things on it. I'll still have my e-ink Kindle for books, so no need to use up space for those.

Ah well, I'm still looking forward to getting hands on, and I'll be sure to give a good rundown when that happens.

AnimeJ wrote:

Overall, I don't expect to have more than a few things like Angry Birds, PvZ and a couple other things on it.

/me checks the name of website.
/me looks at the contents of the iPad sitting next to me.
/me looks at the hundreds of free games that have been downloaded over the past year and a half.
/me lets out a long, satisfied sigh....

Honestly, you might think you can keep it to a few games, but if you get on one of those lists that has daily deals posted (regardless if you go Android or iOS), the urge to download everything free thing you can is like the pull of the sun's gravity. You cannot escape it!

I don't think I can justify $500, but $200-250 is ok. So I think that makes this a straight Nook v Fire fight for me, unless there are any other worthwhile tablets lurking out there.

As far as I can see the decision points are:
- $50 (duh)
- Storage...8G v 16G+SD slot
- Amazon Prime access to movies/books v nothing equivalent
- Silk browser to make the Web faster (maybe) & give Jeff Bezos my life story
- Am I missing anything?

Since for me, this will be mostly used at home & on the occasional flight, the storage is probably not a huge issue. So has anyone worked out if Silk & the opportunity to pay for Amazon Prime is really that valuable?

Cod wrote:

I don't think I can justify $500, but $200-250 is ok. So I think that makes this a straight Nook v Fire fight for me, unless there are any other worthwhile tablets lurking out there.

As far as I can see the decision points are:
- $50 (duh)
- Storage...8G v 16G+SD slot
- Amazon Prime access to movies/books v nothing equivalent
- Silk browser to make the Web faster (maybe) & give Jeff Bezos my life story
- Am I missing anything?

Since for me, this will be mostly used at home & on the occasional flight, the storage is probably not a huge issue. So has anyone worked out if Silk & the opportunity to pay for Amazon Prime is really that valuable?

I've really dug Amazon Prime even without a tablet (though a kindle owner). I do almost all my Xmas shopping through Amazon, the free movies, and now they added a book lending service that essentially gives you a free book to read every month, though it only works with Amazon devices.

I have netflix so I can't say I've ever watched a full movie on Prime. I probably would, though, if I had a fire. I have played with it a bit (just looking at things) and it seems fine. I can't see any way to que anything. It can be a little confusing what is available for free and what isn't free. You can be shown both if you don't filter properly.

I'm hoping to get a Fire with Christmas money. I appreciate Barnes and Noble making a run at not being obsolete, and I respect the Nook, but they're a retail book chain playing against a proven digital content giant. There's no way I'd pick a Nook over something from Amazon.

EvilHomer3k wrote:

I have netflix so I can't say I've ever watched a full movie on Prime. I probably would, though, if I had a fire. I have played with it a bit (just looking at things) and it seems fine. I can't see any way to que anything. It can be a little confusing what is available for free and what isn't free. You can be shown both if you don't filter properly.

Kindle Fire will have Netflix, too.

Kurrelgyre wrote:
EvilHomer3k wrote:

I have netflix so I can't say I've ever watched a full movie on Prime. I probably would, though, if I had a fire. I have played with it a bit (just looking at things) and it seems fine. I can't see any way to que anything. It can be a little confusing what is available for free and what isn't free. You can be shown both if you don't filter properly.

Kindle Fire will have Netflix, too.

I know. Cod was asking for opinions on the Amazon Prime, though.

I wouldn't buy anything with less than 64gb or a slot to upgrade the storage. Where I live, cloud just isn't practical. Where I work, one of the UK's biggest cities, there are plenty of hotspots, but they tend to boot you off pretty quickly if inactive.

Tanglebones wrote:

My wife's been looking for an eBook upgrade that'll also handle comics, so we're probably going to go Kindle Fire for her as a holiday present.

Unless you are talking about manga, a 7" screen will not be great for comics. Text won't be easily visible. Too much zooming and panning about. Unless it is strictly for stuff with guided view (I assume Amazon must be going for this), she would be better off with a bigger screen.

Someone asked about the Vizio tablet, the IT contractor at my office rolled in with a shiny new one. It was pretty poor, I suppose. I found it a bit sluggish, but, most importantly the buildnquality was shocking. 2 of the corners were loose and creaked, the buttons felt horrible, and the screen wasn't that responsive. It also refuses to tether to an iPhone.

After 20 minutes with my iPad, he took the Vizio back and got an iPad 2.

Yup, largely Manga - very little in the way of Grant Morrison penned comics

EvilHomer3k wrote:
Kurrelgyre wrote:
EvilHomer3k wrote:

I have netflix so I can't say I've ever watched a full movie on Prime. I probably would, though, if I had a fire. I have played with it a bit (just looking at things) and it seems fine. I can't see any way to que anything. It can be a little confusing what is available for free and what isn't free. You can be shown both if you don't filter properly.

Kindle Fire will have Netflix, too.

I know. Cod was asking for opinions on the Amazon Prime, though.

Indeed. Seems (to the untrained eye) like unless you take advantage of the free shipping, it's a slightly cheaper Netflix with a rotating selection of titles. Not sure that's enough to sell me a $200 player.

Edited for an overenthusiastic mouse.

With a Prime membership and, a relatively stock Android OS tablet couldn't you still watch videos purchased from there? I've never used the service myself but, I have seen it used at friends. He went to Prime purchased the movie and then it downloaded/streamed/whatever to his HTPC and we watched it in Media Player; couldn't the same be done on any device that has a media player, storage device, and internet? I ask since the one selling point for Fire a lot of people use is the Prime VOD and Music services.

Does the chrome bookmarks sync with android tablet browser?

I have an iPad but like the google cloud better than iCloud. So I am thinking of passing down my iPad and going with a transformer prime or something similar.

Google tells me it is a feature but broken in honeycomb.

My wife is looking for a laptop replacement for basic web surfing & email, and we're considering the upcoming Asus Transformer Prime. Part of the appeal is the keyboard dock when lots of typing is required (e.g. occasional working at home).

I'm interested in hearing if any of you used the original transformer, and your impressions about build quality, keyboard quality, etc.

Thinking about getting an ipad 2 soon or should i wait for the ipad3? Don't they usually come out with a new version at the beginning of the year?

Bill Bonney wrote:

Thinking about getting an ipad 2 soon or should i wait for the ipad3? Don't they usually come out with a new version at the beginning of the year?

March/April I think. I still think it's worth the full price atm.

I may have to jump on the tablet train when the supposed Nokia Windows 8 tablets drop next June/July. Anybody else feel the same?

Symbiotic wrote:

B&N just announced the Nook Tablet: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook...

The competition to the Amazon Fire is sure heating up...(terrible, I know).

Can anyone give me some advice on the Nook Color vs Nook Tablet vs Kindle Fire? I'd like to root it and install Android or CyanogenMod use it to run Netflix among other things. The Nook Color seems to have a slower processor, not sure how much of a problem this will be.