Tablets?
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Okay, I don't have a smartphone - I'm not willing to pay for a data plan. I'm quite happy that my phone is "just a phone" - I never originate text messages or take pictures with it though it can do both. But I do have a tablet. Okay - 3 tablets. :ohmy: My old tablet is a 7" Acer. That is a convenient size - it will fit the interior pocket of a coat or jacket while nothing larger would. It has GPS and Bluetooth, and if I did decide to get a data plan it could be used with that, but it is perfectly fine on my home network or any wi-fi hotspot. Cost at the time, $250 ... it's probably $200 now. My new tablets are 8" Nextbooks. The larger size is just a little better for reading (especially in Portrait orientation), the battery lasts 2-3 times as long per charge ... and it works below freezing. (Yes ... the touchscreen on the Acer is all messed up anywhere below freezing.) No GPS or Bluetooth though, and no way it would ever work with a phone carrier. Two? Well, the older one that I've had almost a year now has gotten somewhat flaky about charging, so I just bought a backup for when the first one finally does go out. At $99 (both last year and now) I suppose it's a worthwhile investment. Mind you, these are not quite "HD" - the Acer is too old anyway, 1024x600 was exceptional at the time but HD is 1280x768 or higher ... but I'll take "20% less than HD". You have a tablet? What features do you think matter the most? You want one? Which features are you looking for? Features mentioned above as starters: Size Resolution Battery life Bluetooth (for wireless external keyboard or microphone) GPS phone carrier connectivity tolerance for extreme weather conditions Other obvious ones: processor speed graphics speed (rendering frames per second for games)
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I just got a Nexus 7. I mainly wanted it for ebooks, so I had thought about a Nook, but this one wasn't much more than the higher end Nooks, and it seems to handle about any book format that I try on it.
I got the non-cellular wifi model. It was significantly less than the the more enabled ones, and I didn't want another data device on my carrier plan when I can connect by wifi at home or do wifi hotspot through my regular mobile.
7" is about right for reading long books yet still being easy to carry. Your 8" ones would be really great for reading, but the sale price kept me on the "7". The 10" ones must be really superb for reading, like stretching out with a full newspaper, but carrying them would be harder.
There must be a lot more room for a battery in tablets. This one will run all day when I can't stop reading.
It plays videos very well with strong stereo sound.
The firmware is easy to swap out, so I can try other ROM's. It gives me a lot to work on which I enjoy.
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The first tablet I used was the Ericsson HS210 :
http://www.gadgetcentral.com/hs210_intro.htm
This was a tablet that we worked on at Opera, that was sadly never launched. After that I awaited for tablets to become mainstream at some ridicule from my friends…
I am always trying different tablets and I have had a lot of tablets where Opera came pre-installed, such as the Toshiba Folio 100 and the Toshiba Journ.e. I have also spent significant time with the iPad and various Android tablets. My favorite? Probably the Amazon Fire HD. I like the Amazon integration, although others will see that as a negative and I like the HDMI output. The latest versions are also pretty fast.
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My wife and I have the Surface along with iPads. She prefers the Surface since it comes with Office and a fairly decent keyboard (the type keyboard as opposed to the touch). I bought a Logitech cover/keyboard for our iPads and while it adds functionality to the iPad it still is more of a consumption device. When the Surface mini becomes available, it will definitely replace my iPad. Since our son works for MS, we're in an enviable position (i.e. he sends them to us ).
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Welcome back James.
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Thanks, Jon. As I mentioned earlier, I was a little too quick with the trigger finger. Glad to be back.
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All three of my tablets have HDMI ports, though really I don't see the point. The Acer 7" with Bluetooth I bought a Logitech keyboard for … I was disappointed that Opera Mobile didn't have any shortcuts for an ASCII keyboard. All keyboard shortcuts were designed for a phone keypad (numbers, * and #).
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I like the Nexus 7, I find it big enough to work on while being quite portable. I like the cleanness of Android on the Nexus rage. I don't use it as an ebook reader though, I much prefer the un-backlit kindle for that.
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No smartphone or tablet in my life, yet anyway.
My bride has a Kindle Fire HD and it seems to be quite good. Great graphics and battery life (so I am told, I am not allowed near it).
I am awaiting the Linux tablet that is not android. G has enough money. They do not need an extra $6.30 from my purchase of an android device.
Edit:
It seems that the Linux (Ubuntu Linux) Tablet is comming. See this Link for more on Linux tablets. -
I have a Samsung 10.1 and have just ordered the Galaxy NotePRO 12.2 (Wi-Fi). Delivery has been delayed a per note from Samsung. Will write a few lines on this expensive investment if it ever arrives.
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A plain jo public user's review of the Galaxy Note Pro at http://www.engadget.com/products/samsung/galaxy/note/pro-12-2/
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I am writing this on my Lenovo Yoga 8 tablet. After trying several tablets from 7" to 10" I found that 8" works best for me in terms of usability and portability. I was taking a bit of a risk in the Yoga 8 purchase but it paid off. Fair price and amazing battery runtime. The Lenovo launcher needs some getting used to and one might want to replace it but overall I am a happy camper… fits well for browsing in bed and on the couch.
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I have iPad 2 and Motorolla Xoom (Android).
Generally iPad provides smoother experience, but Xoom allows more control and flexibility. If I go anywhere far away from home I definitely take Xoom with me.
I really want to try new Windows-based tablets, but 3rd tablet at home would be too much -
@JamesD I have a Surface Go, and my dad has an iPad. The iPad suits my dad well because he's in the Apple ecosystem. The Surface suits me, because on a Surface (at least an Intel-based one): You can install whatever operating system you want, same as you can on a desktop computer. That's useful for two reasons:
#1: My Surface will get security updates forever, because even when it gets too old to get Windows security updates, I can install Linux.
#2: I have both Windows and Android ("FydeOS for You" Distibution) installed, meaning my Surface is both a Windows laptop and an Android tablet.