[Mike C]

Hi everyone,

This is going to look pretty lazy but I’m hoping the experts on this section of the forum will have some words of advice they could share.

I’m considering getting a tablet computer.
I have discounted the iPad on cost.
That leaves me with what is probably still a big choice (the Google Nexus; Blackberry playbook, etc.).
I would generally tend to use the device when travelling (to visit a pal in Diss or travelling to South Africa) to access e-mail, facebook (I know…), RBA, Birdforum.
I have a Kindle, so don’t need massive memory to store books.

I suspect with a few hours trawling I could probably form an opinion but I suspect someone of here has already done the research and might even have “don’t touch device X” type advice.

I can access e-mail, etc on my phone (HTC Wildfire) but the screen isn’t really big enough / my spectacles aren’t up to it……….

So, any and all advice welcome.

Thanks

Mike

[Mike C]

perhaps I should add that I have wifi at home, as do the friends I visit around the country. I would plan to utilise free wifi in hotels, pubs and probably steer clear of 3G

[apbarr]

I ended up going for an 11.6" netbook as I felt it was more flexible than a tablet pc and comes with better protection for the screen when closed. Quite happy with my choice and glad I didn't go down the tablet route. (Although I still enjoy using my mate's iPad)

[ClarkWGriswold]

Hi Mike. I read a review of the Nexus on MSN and the only realy criticism was the lack of 3G. If this is not an issue for you then it maybe worth a look.

Rich

[Marmot]

Got this one about 2 weeks ago [saying that it has gone up £5 since then], but it is a little cracker and even gives Ians Galaxy Tab2 a run for its money. So if you are looking for the cheaper end of the market I would recommend this one. We ordered it on a Sunday and had it by the Tuesday.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TABTRONICS-M...544287&sr=8-13

[Mike C]

so far so good, thanks for the messages

[jackied]

Originally Posted by apbarr

I ended up going for an 11.6" netbook as I felt it was more flexible than a tablet pc and comes with better protection for the screen when closed. Quite happy with my choice and glad I didn't go down the tablet route. (Although I still enjoy using my mate's iPad)

What is the Wifi range like, I am thinking of getting one to use in the Hotels I'm
staying in when I go up to Scotland, but wonder if the Wifi signal will be strong enough.
Jackie

[apbarr]

Originally Posted by jackied

What is the Wifi range like, I am thinking of getting one to use in the Hotels I'm
staying in when I go up to Scotland, but wonder if the Wifi signal will be strong enough.
Jackie

Mine has wireless N built in which gives me a reasonable range, I've used it in hotels and hotspots without problems as long as the wifi signal itself is adequate.
I bought a Lenovo Ideapad S205 with an AMD 1.6Ghz processor, 4gb ram and 500gb HD and it's fine for my needs

[Sleeper]

Hi Mike

I would recommend going with at least a 10" screen rather than 7 as they are much more pleasant to use.

I don't recommend buying a chinese one as I first did.

I eventually found this at a reasonable price

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...d=369464648101

I received it and it looked like new and is a delight to use.

[GraemeS]

When I bought my iPad 16GB, Wifi only a while back it was partly because of cost -it was the cheapest one and I think it's fantastic.
Just mentioning it to make sure you're considering the bottom of the range model, it's probably enough.

[Colin Clark]

iPad - stuff the cost....... When I look at these things I find it helps my justification to buy the best toys to look at the cost difference instead of the full cost.......

[Mike C]

thanks to all so far...perhaps I shouldn't have asked

this device really will just be a "big boy's toy", with a desktop and a laptop in the house I'm not sure I need the fabulousness of an iPad as well....

thought I's be happy with a 7 inch screen cheap device

perhaps I'll start looking at the actual hardware in "the flesh" and get a sense of the tactile nature of the beast

[GraemeS]

I haven't had a 7" device, but I started with a Galaxy S phone. Since getting the iPad I hardly use the phone for more than a phone and tasks/calendar (synced to the iPad). I use my PC far less, too, unless I am using Office, programming or playing Civilization. I think the 10" tablet size is the sweet spot to get extended, comfortable us out of the machine for browsing, email, blogging, crosswords...snd my bird photos look great on it.
I can't really compare to other 10" tablets though, since I only own the one.

[Hermann]

I've been toying with the idea of getting a tablet as well, and I'd probably go for a 10'' one. The smaller ones are a bit close to some of the big smartphones nowadays.

However, so far I use my smartphone on the road. Sure, the screen could be bigger (it's 4''), but for a quick look at the news and so on and to check my emails it's alright. I even do that at home, it's often more convenient than firing up the computer just to have a look at how England is doing against SA ... :-) On longer trips I take a netbook and a 3G stick.

Hermann

[postcardcv]

I've been using an iPad for a couple of years and am very impressed by it, I really don't use it to it's full potential as I just use it or web and email. I recently decided to sell it and buy one of the cheaper, no frills tablets. I spent some time trying various ones and realised that none of the came up to the standard of the iPad. Yes it does cost more but the touch screen, speed of operation, screen quality are all better than the rivals that I tried. You should be able to pick up a secondhand or refurb iPad 1 or 2 for not much more than a Nexus.

[Sleeper]

The other point you may find useful is that since you have the android wildfire s it is simple to set this phone (if you have internet enabled) as a wireless hotspot so that you can then connect your tablet to the phone which allows you full internet without needing a dongle or extra sim card.

I was a late comer to the Android capabilities and now I love the Evo 3D and Xoom tablet.

Take your time and choose wisely.

[derekbez]

Hi Mike,

I got my Nexus 7 the day before I went on hols to Scotland. It was only on the last day of the trip that I was able to get a decent enough internet connection to download any birdie-related apps tho.

Anyway this is another +1 for the Nexus 7. Form factor is good, as I was able to carry it in a jacket pocket. It just ticks all the boxes - for me anyway.

If you can get your HTC Wildfire upgraded to Gingerbread (or CyanogenMod), you may be able to do 3G tethering, which might be useful in some circumstances. (I can explain in more detail if you like.)

A couple of apps for Android / Nexus 7 which might interest you:
- Birds of Britain : seems to be fairly comprehensive and easy to use, although the photos could be better.
- Trees of Britain
- UK Birds : lots of exotic listings, and good descriptions, but not easy to use.

All of the above apps are less 60p each.

Also saw an app for birds of Southern Africa, but it was like £15 or £20!!! Seems a bit OTT.

Anyway, back to the original question.... The Nexus 7 does email and all that stuff brilliantly. The apps for Gmail and FB are designed well. And at £150...

I've just got a cheap (£1) stylus today. Might be a useful thing to consider if you want to use the tablet with gloves or greasy fingers or want to draw (eg: "Markers" drawing app) or take handwritten notes (eg: "Handrite Free" app).

Another use I would have had for the Nexus 7 in Scotland if I had planned for it would have been to pre-load the Google Maps of the area. So if you're travelling to Kruger, for example, you could pre-cache maps and not be dependant on internet to use it as a satnav.

Good luck in your search!

[marek_walford]

I've got the Nexus 7. If you want a 7" device it's easily the best out there. Two possible negatives - there is no card slot so you can't expand the memory (16GB is the largest available) and there's no HDMI out (so you can't plug it into your TV). If that doesn't matter to you and you're Ok with a 7" tablet (incidentally much more comfortable to hold for reading) then you won't be disappointed.

[Mike C]

again, thanks for your contributions
I am thinking along the 7 inch screen route, ease of use, portability etc.
I only expect to use the device indoors, hopefully well within a decent wifi signal.
I only plan to look at fora, e-mail, maybe e-bay so I don't expect to need additional memory.

[Mike C]

Sorry to trawl this thread back up but Amazon have just recently announced that they are to sell the Kindle Fire in the UK.

I'm a dedicated Kindle fan for almost all my reading (technical books etc. excepted).
So I wonder if any of our North American members have any experience of this device ?
As above, only for light browsing but the combination of tablet computer and Kindle has me reaching for my wallet....

[prattw]

A problem with both Kindle and un-modified Nook is that both Amazon and B&N, respectively, wrap a proprietary superstructure around the Android os, making their tablets unable to run most Android apps. And of course, neither can run the other's eBooks.

There is, however a workaround, called rooting the machine. This gives direct access to the root of the Android os and turns the machine into a straight android device. Unfortunately, this is difficult to do with the Kindle, with a sizeable chance of bricking the machine. The Nook Color and Tablet, on the other hand root easily, and there is a device, the N2A card, that fits in the card slot, and turns the Nook into a double boot machine that can be booted either as a straight Android tablet or as a Nook, and removing the card turns it back into a straight Nook with no trace that it was ever rooted. Hence not voiding the warranty. I got a refurbished Nook Tablet for US$169 and a 32 gigabyte card for US$79, giving me a very well-built Android tablet with 27 gigabytes available memory for US$248. With the Nook for Android and Kindle for Android apps it can read either book format, and can run any app available for the Android os. Currently the price for a NEW Nook Tablet 16 gig machine is down to US$179, and the cost of a 32 gig N2A card is less that twice the cost of a card that size alone. The possible kicker is that I don't know about the availability and price of Nooks in the UK.

Will

[Mike C]

thanks prattw for your reply - don't know what a nook is though and would almost certainly only by e-books via Amazon.

Any comment on how it works as a tablet computer ?

[prattw]

Very simply, the Nook is Barnes and Noble's answer to the Kindle. (Or vice versa? I really don't know who was first.) They aren't that easy to tell apart on visual inspection. Both can handle such things as pdf, but Nook is an EPUB reader and Kindle a MOBI reader. Neither can read the other's format (B&N and Amazon made sure of that) and while many books are published in both, some are only available in one or the other.

The basic Nook and Kindle are essentially purely readers, with black and white displays and a limited web browsing and email capability. It is possible to root either, but hardly worth it. The Nook Color, Nook Tablet, and Kindle Fire are something else altogather, they are tablet computers, with color display and are capable web browsers. But neither can run most android applications. Neither BN nor Amazon is primarily interested in selling tablets, they are selling ebooks, and neither wants you to be able to read the other company's wares on their machine and if you could run android apps you could run the Nook for Android and Kindle for Android apps that each makes available for Android phone and tablet users and read both book formats.

Obviously such a situation could not be allowed to stand, and it took about six or eight weeks from the introduction of the Nook Color before someone managed to hack the B&N os superstructure and root the Nook Color.

The N2A card http://n2acards.com/ turns the Nook Color or Tablet into a very capable Android tablet computer. Both Nook and Kindle tablets are better constructed than the low end Android tablets and the resulting tablet is cheaper than the low end straight Androids but better quality. My rooted Nook Tablet reads both Kindle and Nook book formats, runs much more powerful PDF apps, and can use any Android app. I currently have 10 field guide apps loaded (I think 3 or 4 have Nook versions and the same is true of Kindle) plus one Nook and one Kindle fieldguide unavailable in the other format, or as apps.

Now, you could do the same by loading Kindle and Nook reading apps and the appropriate field guide apps on any Android tablet. The potential advantage of the rooted Nook Tablet is mainly price. B&N and Amazon have both dropped the price way down, because they are mainly wanting to sell you books. I actually buy more eBooks from Amazon than B&N and would have gone with Kindle most likely, if the Kindle Fire was easily rootable. The sole advantage Nook has here is that you can buy an inexpensive card and load it in the card slot and there's none available for the Kindle.

Will

[Mike C]

cheers prattw

[Geoff Brown]

I must say that the i-pad is so simple to use and with so many more "apps" it is well worth the extra over other devices. The larger screen is easier to read, and the build quality is superb. mine gets tossed into bags and left in my luggage but always has started and operates without any hiccups whatsoever, so it has been very reliable.
To sum up it may cost more but I think it is well worth the extra. I find that I use my laptop less and less as the i-pad does everything the lap top does, and usually quicker as well!