Help with deciding on a tablet.

[tmaxx]

Android or IPad is the first order of business. I understand this is an android tablet forum so maybe I can get a bit of advice on why I an android tablet would be a better choice for me than an Ipad. I can get an IPad1 for $300 from a friend. In terms of Android tablets, there are so many over such a wide range of prices and specifications that it is daunting. So here is what I am looking for in a tablet:

1. I am looking to use it as an organizer. Tracking to do lists. Taking meeting minutes. Scheduling my calendar. I rely alot on reminders. I plan to keep it with me most of the time. I currently do alot of these things on my phone but the small screen makes entering info cumbersome.
2. I like to journal alot, so I want to be able to capture thoughts, ideas, etc when I am inspired. This might imply that I would use an external keyboard.
3. I don't plan on paying a monthly subscription for 3G access, so wi-fi only is fine with me.
4. I want to be able to review adobe and word docs. I would like to be able to enter data into either Word or Excel although I am not sure this is possible on an Android or IPad platform.
5. We often take long road trips, so I want my kids to be able to watch movies. I assume that I would need to have the movies stored on the tablet in order to view them on the road. I haven't dealt much with digitized movies. We primarily stream netflix and watch DVDs.
6. Typically when I am at home, I like to be able to surf the web while sitting in my recliner or sitting on the deck of my home. So I forsee myself wanting to be be able to surf the web on the tablet.
7. Probably will stream Netflix on the tablet at some point.
8. Of course, I'll want to check and send email.
9. I do alot of Bible study, so I want to be able to have Bible resources available to use.
10. I write to Facebook alot.
11. I am not a gamer.
12. I currently have an HTC Incredible with the Android system. I have used the Android marketplace quite a bit to find applications which are useful to me. Things such as a Redbox app, Facebook app, Craigs list app, Ebay app, Priceline app etc.
13. I use the Google maps feature on my HTC Incredible phone alot. Not sure if it is possible to get a tablet without 3G connectivity and still use the maps feature.
14. In terms of cost, I would like to stay around $300 to $400.

 

[Pamster]

Hi tmaxx,

Welcome to the board, I am glad you joined us. I bet someone else will be able to help with the blanks I can't fill in here. From the sounds of it to me you'd want a tablet with the official market preinstalled so you could use gmail and the google calender apps with ease and not have to diddle around with setting it up yourself manually. That is something I think higher end tablets have. And you can get external keyboards for the tablets, amazon has a lot to choose from or if you go with the Transformer it's keyboard dock adds a LOT Of battery power among other features. I don't know about using Word, or Excel, others will have to answer that as I don't have a use for either program and am clueless as to the ability to use them with the Andtiod OS. You can store movies and other media on SD cards, and use those to go on trips, so you don't have to use up the tablet's 'internal memory' for that ability. You should be able to stream Netflix on the tablet with the Netflix App, and if you have a way to transfer movies to an SD card you'd be set on that front. Gmail app would take care of the email for you, and you can definitely surf well on higher end tablets like you'd be looking at getting in place of the ipad your friend has.

I think there are bible resources available, apps for that I mean, so that should be no trouble, and Facebook won't be a problem either. Though you might not want to run the app in the background if you're doing something CPU intensive at the time. Your kids will probably want some games and the Angry Birds series, or Fruit Ninja and others will fill that need too. I don't have a Android smart phone so my first dip into Android will be with a Coby MID1125 which we're looking at buying maybe after Christmas. I think the Motorola Xoom tablet has GPS and I have heard people talking here about using Google maps on their tablets so that too shouldn't be a problem. There are a few good tablets in your price range so maybe look at the Acer Iconia A500, running around $350 for 16 GB tablet, Toshiba has the Thrive, for $367 for 16GB or $449 for t he 32GB tablet, Asus has the EeePad Transformer 16GB for around $349 and I am not sure what the Sansung Galaxy Tablet is running lately, but it's a nice tablet as is the last one I looked at when researching 10" higher end tablets was the Motorola Xoom.

Hope this helps.

 

[J515OP]

Pamster has a nice start for you. Essentially there are many tablets that will do what you want in that price range. It will be up to you to decide what type of tablet you want Android vs. Apple and I also suggest thinking about size 7" vs. 10". As far the Android vs. Apple question it has been explored recently in this thread http://www.androidtablets.net/forum...hether-buy-ipad-asus-eee-pad-transformer.html.

JP