Want to do my research before I buy.

Ohhwataloser

Member
Apr 17, 2012
4
0
Hi all,

I'm looking into buying my first mobile computer. I love my multi monitor desktop, but I want something that I can enjoy outside, take in the garage, or even use during lunch at work. So after my googling, looking at options, and reading reviews I don't think I want a standard laptop. Tablets seems like a viable option if I got a keyboard and mouse that works with it, which from my understanding I can do this easily with bluetooth. So I came here to learn

My phone is android powered, bout as close as I have to a tablet right now. I live in michigan, USA.

I saw you had a "what should I buy thread" but It seems to just be a bunch of people asking what to buy and hardly any answers. but ill use the format from the thread.

I will be wanting to use it as a laptop. I really want to run the ubuntu app because I just think that's awesome, but if it unable to i can survive. I need something that can multitask easily. I want to go from word processor to web to ftp server to make updates to the website when necessary. I can already do this on my android phone, but it sucks lol. I would want flash support. I guess I would want bluetooth for a mouse and keyboard if its needed. Another bonus would be camera to skype with people.

I was hoping to spend less than 750 for the entire setup, im still looking at options.

I want a 10 inch screen, and higher the resolution is a bonus ( I like pretty things)

I don't know a whole lot about android, I do have a android phone, but I haven't rooted it or anything. However my OS is ubuntu and I'm constantly playing with it, I'm not afraid to try anything. I'm also wanting to get this just have another thing to screw around with, Id rather not do it with my phone.

I noticed the thread with the asus transformer pad tf 300 and at least to me seems pretty cool. has a keyboard that also extends the battery life, not sure if it can run the ubuntu app, but ill give it a shot if I end up getting it. besides that seems to be everything I want. What other options do I have or is there a reason I might want to go another route? Thanks in advanced.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 6, 2011
5,172
899
Honestly it sounds like you want a nettop or laptop from that description. Load Ubuntu on it and you're set. Tablets even with keyboards don't make good laptops if that is going to be the primary use.

However, if you do want a tablet you can pretty much get whatever you want with that price point. I suggest the Transformer Prime with keyboard dock or Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with a keyboard case. Basically it is just going to be like you phone but bigger so whatever you find yourself not being able to do on the phone will be the same on the tablet. If it is just a matter of size/input on the phone rather than apps to do what you want then it may help.

Tablets have their benefits and are really good at certain things and you can have a ton of fun tinkering on certain ones if that is what you want to do (rooting, ROMing, etc.) but you won't be able to be a power user like you can be on a proper linux box. Mostly though they tend to be better at entertainment than computer replacement productivity.

Edit: Then again... http://thomaspolasek.blogspot.ca/2012/04/arch-linux-lxde-w-xorg-mouse-keyboard_16.html
 
Last edited:

ShelJW

Member
Mar 26, 2012
6
0
I purchased the Asus Transformer Prime along with the keyboard dock, about three weeks ago.

Absolutely LOVE IT!

So far, it's been working great! I went to Dallas on my annual family visit to my sister, and for the first time left my laptop at home and brought the Transformer Prime and dock. It served my needs better then my laptop would have! I could take it to a restaurant, when I was eating alone, and browse the web, read news articles, etc. using it as a tablet.

Back in my hotel room, I'd connect it to the dock, and it performed admirably as a netbook, allowing me to read business e-mails, respond quickly with the advantage of a physical keyboard, open PDF files (I have a property in escrow, so docs were flying back and forth)

One thing I couldn't do was print legal size pages (the hotel's business office had a printer, but couldn't print legal size docs), so I did have to go to a Kinko's type of business for some things, but when I returned home, and had my laptop, I STILL had to go to a Kinko's for the same type of things (scanning 30-40 page docs, printing legal size pages full size, etc.)

If you have a Best Buy near you and can purchase an Asus Transformer Prime, or wait for the 300, and you'll have 30 days to try it out and see if it fits your needs, that's what I would suggest.

Worse case, you find it doesn't fit your needs and can return it for a full refund.

The advantage of being able to dock your tablet to a keyboard, and basically turn it into a mini-netbook, it really a killer feature!

Good luck!
 

Spider

Administrator
Staff member
Mar 24, 2011
15,785
1,813
Hi welcome to the forum. Glad you decided to become a member of Android Tablets. The best place on the forum for "shopping" information and recommendations is the Android Tablet Discussions section. I'm going to move your thread over there for you so more folks can discuss your tablet requirements with you and hopefully make some suggestions. Good luck!
 

Ohhwataloser

Member
Apr 17, 2012
4
0
Honestly it sounds like you want a nettop or laptop from that description. Load Ubuntu on it and you're set. Tablets even with keyboards don't make good laptops if that is going to be the primary use.

However, if you do want a tablet you can pretty much get whatever you want with that price point. I suggest the Transformer Prime with keyboard dock or Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with a keyboard case. Basically it is just going to be like you phone but bigger so whatever you find yourself not being able to do on the phone will be the same on the tablet. If it is just a matter of size/input on the phone rather than apps to do what you want then it may help.

Tablets have their benefits and are really good at certain things and you can have a ton of fun tinkering on certain ones if that is what you want to do (rooting, ROMing, etc.) but you won't be able to be a power user like you can be on a proper linux box. Mostly though they tend to be better at entertainment than computer replacement productivity.

Edit: Then again... Compute for Life: Arch Linux LXDE /w Xorg Mouse Keyboard on Nook Color Android Tablet

I might take a look at what netbooks have to offer, but i already decided a full laptop just not what I want. Thanks for the suggestions ill check em out. Its not that I can't do what I want on the phone, its just a pain with a onscreen keyboard, I hate touch screen keyboards lol. I know i could honestly just get a keyboard and fool around with my phone, but bigger screen obviously is appealing and if i 100% mess it up, im still able to get phone calls lol. I might have to try loading ubuntu on it one day, be even more ideal to dual boot between ubuntu and android, ill have to look into that more. thank you very much for the link. been a great help.

I purchased the Asus Transformer Prime along with the keyboard dock, about three weeks ago.

Absolutely LOVE IT!

So far, it's been working great! I went to Dallas on my annual family visit to my sister, and for the first time left my laptop at home and brought the Transformer Prime and dock. It served my needs better then my laptop would have! I could take it to a restaurant, when I was eating alone, and browse the web, read news articles, etc. using it as a tablet.

Back in my hotel room, I'd connect it to the dock, and it performed admirably as a netbook, allowing me to read business e-mails, respond quickly with the advantage of a physical keyboard, open PDF files (I have a property in escrow, so docs were flying back and forth)

One thing I couldn't do was print legal size pages (the hotel's business office had a printer, but couldn't print legal size docs), so I did have to go to a Kinko's type of business for some things, but when I returned home, and had my laptop, I STILL had to go to a Kinko's for the same type of things (scanning 30-40 page docs, printing legal size pages full size, etc.)

If you have a Best Buy near you and can purchase an Asus Transformer Prime, or wait for the 300, and you'll have 30 days to try it out and see if it fits your needs, that's what I would suggest.

Worse case, you find it doesn't fit your needs and can return it for a full refund.

The advantage of being able to dock your tablet to a keyboard, and basically turn it into a mini-netbook, it really a killer feature!

Good luck!

yea i still have my desktop for real work, didn't know I could try it for 30 days, I'll defiantly look into that. thank you

Hi welcome to the forum. Glad you decided to become a member of Android Tablets. The best place on the forum for "shopping" information and recommendations is the Android Tablet Discussions section. I'm going to move your thread over there for you so more folks can discuss your tablet requirements with you and hopefully make some suggestions. Good luck!

thank you sir
 

SpeMall.com

Senior Member
Jul 13, 2011
2,416
103
Hi welcome to the forum.
Maybe you can have a look at our Android Tablet PC. and for a 10" tablet PC i would recommed the Zenithink ZT-280 C91 (10.2 inch Android 4.0 ICS, 10point-touch capacitive screen) and Eken A90 (9.7inch, Android 4.0 ICS, High resolution IPS capacitive screen) for you. hope there's something of your interest. Good luck! :)
 

Ohhwataloser

Member
Apr 17, 2012
4
0
Hi welcome to the forum.
Maybe you can have a look at our Android Tablet PC. and for a 10" tablet PC i would recommed the Zenithink ZT-280 C91 (10.2 inch Android 4.0 ICS, 10point-touch capacitive screen) and Eken A90 (9.7inch, Android 4.0 ICS, High resolution IPS capacitive screen) for you. hope there's something of your interest. Good luck! :)

What exactly is a tablet PC (looking at spec briefly I'm not seeing whats different vs a normal tablet). Also whats a the difference between a capacitive screen vs a normal screen?

USD 750 budget is too much for a tablet.

damn my budget is too big? guess i can't buy one......
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 6, 2011
5,172
899
What exactly is a tablet PC (looking at spec briefly I'm not seeing whats different vs a normal tablet).

A tablet PC traditionally is a laptop pc with a rotatable screen that can be flipped around and folded back to make the pc a tablet. It is a full computer not running a moblie/tablet OS (iOS and Android). A newer take on this might be a tablet running Windows 8 where the tablet specs are closer to those of a traditional pc but there is no keyboard.

In this case I think it is simply marketing speak.


Also whats a the difference between a capacitive screen vs a normal screen?

Capacitive means finger friendly and touch sensitive. I guess "normal" would means just a regular screen that has no touch capabilities. The other main kind is Resistive which is also also touch sensitive but usually works better with a stylus since it takes some pressure to register the touch rather than just contact like a Capacitive.

damn my budget is too big? guess I can't buy one.....

I guess you should give the extra to me. Wouldn't want you to not be able to buy a tablet ;)
 

Ohhwataloser

Member
Apr 17, 2012
4
0
A tablet PC traditionally is a laptop pc with a rotatable screen that can be flipped around and folded back to make the pc a tablet. It is a full computer not running a moblie/tablet OS (iOS and Android). A newer take on this might be a tablet running Windows 8 where the tablet specs are closer to those of a traditional pc but there is no keyboard.

In this case I think it is simply marketing speak.

Capacitive means finger friendly and touch sensitive. I guess "normal" would means just a regular screen that has no touch capabilities. The other main kind is Resistive which is also also touch sensitive but usually works better with a stylus since it takes some pressure to register the touch rather than just contact like a Capacitive.

I fail to understand why they would call the two linked PC tablets then lol. not very good marketing if that's the case. Thanks for the info on the screens.

I guess you should give the extra to me. Wouldn't want you to not be able to buy a tablet ;)

Might have to, damn budget....
 

userbe1155

Senior Member
Nov 8, 2011
697
55
you could buy 2 tablets & give one to poor old me :) . I think the major differences between tablets and laptops are:
Touch screen - no need for mouse & kbd
Smaller memory - more for web browsing, media, games etc but with room for certain applications should you want or need them.
Total portability - its more like a very big phone with cameras, gps, etc.
More adaptable - easier to add/remove things you do or don't need depending on what you want to do with your device.

In general laptops are more powerful but also more cumbersome, faster and larger than tablets. They are more capable for heavy usage and less fragile, but for the general user, much of the things don't get used often enough to warrant carrying the extra weight.

With your price tag its possible to afford getting one of each if you shop around? Then you might see why I say these things. I use my tablets everyday but mostly its just web browsing, games, email, media etc. I don't need it to do work related documents, printing, etc. Thugh you can do these things with a good tab, most of the time they're not necessary. I think it really is down to what you will be using it for mostly. My son has a laptop but wants a tab as he sees it as much more portable, more fun to use and he doesn't need lots of programmes like office s/ware, printing etc.

I started out just wanting a cheap ebook reader but now would be lost without my tab.

Sent from my M9701 using Android Tablet
 

userbe1155

Senior Member
Nov 8, 2011
697
55
Ps a 9.7"/10.1" ips capacitive screen kbd is much better than a phone kbd. Go to a store where you can try one out. They are a joy to use.

Sent from my M9701 using Android Tablet
 

mamawm

Member
Dec 24, 2011
49
5
Hi all,





I noticed the thread with the asus transformer pad tf 300 and at least to me seems pretty cool. has a keyboard that also extends the battery life, not sure if it can run the ubuntu app, but ill give it a shot if I end up getting it. besides that seems to be everything I want. What other options do I have or is there a reason I might want to go another route? Thanks in advanced.
here's a great review that i saw this morning/ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 review | Android Central
 
Top