Posted: 4/2/2015 6:25:05 PM EDT
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Just bought a Dell latitude. Now tablets have never really interested me but during my search I saw a feW. Given their weight, portability and cheap price they might be good for surfing and youtube.
Does one matter over another feature/component wise? Thanks -Emt1581 |
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Quoted:
Just bought a Dell latitude. Now tablets have never really interested me but during my search I saw a feW. Given their weight, portability and cheap price they might be good for surfing and youtube. Does one matter over another feature/component wise? Thanks -Emt1581 with a 4G connection they are great, we have one like that, we go away and all I have to do is ask MrsWind ' where is the closest Bass Pro Shop... I need powder ' |
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i have had a few over the years and supported many at work.
yes there are VERY big differences in tablets. i have found most of the cheap ones have limited support for apps as well as other issues. ie video not supported for basic things like banking apps etc... one of the best i have seen so far for general use is the samsung galaxytab series. they offer a lot of bang for the buck. i liked them enough i bought my mother and wife one. one big thing you need to understand... these are NOT a laptop or pc replacement. nor are they really great for office work. i consider them more of a net surfing media device. they are great for things like ebooks, surfing the nets, watching videos etc. not so great for anything that requires an office type application and a keyboard. even the add on keyboards kinda suck for anything real world use. i consider the MS surface more of a PC than a tablet. it has actual pc functionality <and a price to match> vs and ipad/android device. different device with a different purpose. |
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i have had a few over the years and supported many at work. yes there are VERY big differences in tablets. i have found most of the cheap ones have limited support for apps as well as other issues. ie video not supported for basic things like banking apps etc... one of the best i have seen so far for general use is the samsung galaxytab series. they offer a lot of bang for the buck. i liked them enough i bought my mother and wife one. one big thing you need to understand... these are NOT a laptop or pc replacement. nor are they really great for office work. i consider them more of a net surfing media device. they are great for things like ebooks, surfing the nets, watching videos etc. not so great for anything that requires an office type application and a keyboard. even the add on keyboards kinda suck for anything real world use. i consider the MS surface more of a PC than a tablet. it has actual pc functionality <and a price to match> vs and ipad/android device. different device with a different purpose. A buddy suggested a note. But id like to stay under $200. Any bargains/deals? Woot? Thanks -Emt1581 |
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i consider the MS surface more of a PC than a tablet. it has actual pc functionality <and a price to match> vs and ipad/android device. different device with a different purpose. Prior to the Surface 3, I'd have agreed with this. The new Atom based Surface 3's are pretty compelling though, particularly on price. Like I said, they start at $500. The biggest question for me really would by how it feels in the hands. I find my Pro 2 to be a bit heavy, but I hear the new ones are lighter (and 4:3 which might balance a bit better). I need to handle one, but on paper they really do sound like the best of all worlds. I guess I'll say the on screen keyboard tends to be much better on iOS and android, but I don't find it to be terribly cumbersome on Windows 8.1. |
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Quoted: A buddy suggested a note. But id like to stay under $200. Any bargains/deals? Woot? Thanks -Emt1581 Quoted: Quoted: i have had a few over the years and supported many at work. yes there are VERY big differences in tablets. i have found most of the cheap ones have limited support for apps as well as other issues. ie video not supported for basic things like banking apps etc... one of the best i have seen so far for general use is the samsung galaxytab series. they offer a lot of bang for the buck. i liked them enough i bought my mother and wife one. one big thing you need to understand... these are NOT a laptop or pc replacement. nor are they really great for office work. i consider them more of a net surfing media device. they are great for things like ebooks, surfing the nets, watching videos etc. not so great for anything that requires an office type application and a keyboard. even the add on keyboards kinda suck for anything real world use. i consider the MS surface more of a PC than a tablet. it has actual pc functionality <and a price to match> vs and ipad/android device. different device with a different purpose. A buddy suggested a note. But id like to stay under $200. Any bargains/deals? Woot? Thanks -Emt1581 I recently got my wife a very inexpensive LG G Pad with 4G LTE. I was sold as a refurbished by a big dealer on EBay, they claim that they were only considered refurbished because they opened the box and turned them on to unlock them, I have no problem with that description, it was like brand new when it arrived. We use T-Mobile, and added a SIM card from a craptastic Alcatel tablet we had before, and off the wife went (I had to manually add the T-Mobile APN, took about 30 seconds). It is a seven inch tablet, and the specs aren't that spectacular, but it works incredibly well. She has been using it daily since she got it, and her older (and more expensive, and "better" Samsung wifi only tablets haven't been used at all). My 13YO son has a Kindle Fire HDX 7 with 4G LTE, they come unlocked from the factory, and work perfectly with T-Mobile as well. He loves it, he loves it so much that he doesn't even carry his phone anymore, but never leaves home without the HDX. T-Mobile charges $10 a month for data service on the tablet that matches whatever plan you have with your phone, which is pretty cheap. I think AT&T and Verizon have similar plans now. As for myself, my favorite tablet is a Bluehorse three line, dirt cheap and holds a charge forever. |
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Prior to the Surface 3, I'd have agreed with this. The new Atom based Surface 3's are pretty compelling though, particularly on price. Like I said, they start at $500. The biggest question for me really would by how it feels in the hands. I find my Pro 2 to be a bit heavy, but I hear the new ones are lighter (and 4:3 which might balance a bit better). I need to handle one, but on paper they really do sound like the best of all worlds. I guess I'll say the on screen keyboard tends to be much better on iOS and android, but I don't find it to be terribly cumbersome on Windows 8.1. Quoted:
Quoted:
i consider the MS surface more of a PC than a tablet. it has actual pc functionality <and a price to match> vs and ipad/android device. different device with a different purpose. Prior to the Surface 3, I'd have agreed with this. The new Atom based Surface 3's are pretty compelling though, particularly on price. Like I said, they start at $500. The biggest question for me really would by how it feels in the hands. I find my Pro 2 to be a bit heavy, but I hear the new ones are lighter (and 4:3 which might balance a bit better). I need to handle one, but on paper they really do sound like the best of all worlds. I guess I'll say the on screen keyboard tends to be much better on iOS and android, but I don't find it to be terribly cumbersome on Windows 8.1. They feel, weight-and-balance-wise, like a slightly smaller Pro 3. |
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Lenovo miix 2 8" full windows 8.1 $179
had it about a year and having full windows is awesome! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834318398&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-All+Tablets-_-N82E16834318398&gclid=Cj0KEQjw0fOoBRDn88Pol8bqhN0BEiQARGVJKkgUEbuzfi_F_H_W6rl38ROqEtUqx3b8ouhn6ViQniYaAieA8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds 
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Quoted:
Prior to the Surface 3, I'd have agreed with this. The new Atom based Surface 3's are pretty compelling though, particularly on price. Like I said, they start at $500. The biggest question for me really would by how it feels in the hands. I find my Pro 2 to be a bit heavy, but I hear the new ones are lighter (and 4:3 which might balance a bit better). I need to handle one, but on paper they really do sound like the best of all worlds. I guess I'll say the on screen keyboard tends to be much better on iOS and android, but I don't find it to be terribly cumbersome on Windows 8.1. Quoted:
Quoted:
i consider the MS surface more of a PC than a tablet. it has actual pc functionality <and a price to match> vs and ipad/android device. different device with a different purpose. Prior to the Surface 3, I'd have agreed with this. The new Atom based Surface 3's are pretty compelling though, particularly on price. Like I said, they start at $500. The biggest question for me really would by how it feels in the hands. I find my Pro 2 to be a bit heavy, but I hear the new ones are lighter (and 4:3 which might balance a bit better). I need to handle one, but on paper they really do sound like the best of all worlds. I guess I'll say the on screen keyboard tends to be much better on iOS and android, but I don't find it to be terribly cumbersome on Windows 8.1. i have used one and they are VERY nice. but still the cost of a similar laptop. they do however have all the same functionality. a similar android device will be a couple hundred cheaper in general. different tool with a different purpose and market. to be honest i'd rather have a better equipped laptop with a droid based tablet <which is what i did>. but i also like to game and i tend to push a laptop to its' limits. |
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Have one. They are nice for going everywhere you don't want to drag the laptop. Which basically means I take it with me everywhere.
Downside so far is email and ads. Now I have 3 electronic gizmos that I have to delete emails. Gmail does seem to work best when sync'd, but it's not my primary address. Haven't really looked on how to use an ad block and not sure how well it would work on laptops. And I still hate touch screens. |
| I am all Apple right now, MacBook Pro, iPad Air and iPhone 6, but I'm about to sell off all my Apple stuff. Getting a Samsung Galaxy S6, and I've been looking at tablets, and for me, the best bet is the Samsung Galaxy S Tablet 10.5". I can get the 16GB for 399, and add a cheap 120GB SD card to load all my video and music onto it. It is also built for use in landscape mode, which is how I use my iPad now almost exclusively. |
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i have used one and they are VERY nice. but still the cost of a similar laptop. they do however have all the same functionality. a similar android device will be a couple hundred cheaper in general. different tool with a different purpose and market. to be honest i'd rather have a better equipped laptop with a droid based tablet <which is what i did>. but i also like to game and i tend to push a laptop to its' limits. Quoted:
Quoted:
Prior to the Surface 3, I'd have agreed with this. The new Atom based Surface 3's are pretty compelling though, particularly on price. Like I said, they start at $500. The biggest question for me really would by how it feels in the hands. I find my Pro 2 to be a bit heavy, but I hear the new ones are lighter (and 4:3 which might balance a bit better). I need to handle one, but on paper they really do sound like the best of all worlds. I guess I'll say the on screen keyboard tends to be much better on iOS and android, but I don't find it to be terribly cumbersome on Windows 8.1. i have used one and they are VERY nice. but still the cost of a similar laptop. they do however have all the same functionality. a similar android device will be a couple hundred cheaper in general. different tool with a different purpose and market. to be honest i'd rather have a better equipped laptop with a droid based tablet <which is what i did>. but i also like to game and i tend to push a laptop to its' limits. I think we might be talking about different products. The Surface 3 was just announced this week. It sounds like you may be talking about the Pro 3. Your point about android being cheaper is still valid, but the gap is closing. 
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I picked one of these up two weeks ago to surf the web at home: http://www.microcenter.com/product/437498/TW100_101_Tablet_-_Black Works pretty well so far; can't really beat the price. It takes a long time to charge, and the battery life is not that great, but for under $200 it's pretty good. I have a Win 8.1 laptop, but now that I bought the tablet, I started using the apps instead of defaulting to the browser for everything. |
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Just bought a Dell latitude. Now tablets have never really interested me but during my search I saw a feW. Given their weight, portability and cheap price they might be good for surfing and youtube. Does one matter over another feature/component wise? Thanks -Emt1581 If I'm not mistaken you're a ham. There are many ham radio apps that run on Android, APRS Droid being one example. Tablets are very useful for the ham operating off-grid. There are other specialty apps that are quite useful, depending on what you need. Moon Reader Pro will let you carry a huge library if you're into reading. There are probably apps that would have reference materials useful for an EMT. What you have with a tablet is a very small, very portable computer that can hold quite a bit of info, particularly if you can stick a 65GB SD card in it. Features to look for, 4G/LTE (internal or SIM card), SD card slot, battery capacity, and internal storage are some of the more important ones. The Samsung tablets are high quality, but not all have the same features so shop with care. The high end ones are outstanding. My most recent tablet was the LTE nVidia Shield Tablet for $400ish. The smaller screen (8", my previous 2 tablets were 10") has not been a real handicap despite my aging vision. I mention the Shield Tablet because it's not a mainstream brand but it is very feature rich if you're a power user. You can go to play.google.com (link goes to a search for EMT apps) and see what programs you might be interested in. |
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Nexus 7 is one of the best bang for your buck. Pure android, no extra crap you dont need/use, great screen, good battery life, you can hook up extra memory devices, read/write to thumb drives, you can stream to your HDMI TV, charges wireless. I use it to check the pictures on my trail cam out in the woods. its just a very good all around device for about $200. (I paid $190 a year ago) I wanted a tablet just to play around with, surf the web, play games, read books, check email, etc. The nexus 7 fits that pretty well.
When i'm not in wifi I can hotspot my phone and run it through my phone for free. |
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I have two Samsung notes... an 8" and a 10"
I find they're fairly useless.... good for surfing while on the couch, checking email or using in the kitchen for a recipe... I thought I'd enjoy "doing the internets" with the tablet immensely because it goes to whatever comfy spot I want, but the screen size is unsatisfactory really and communicating in threads is a major PITA... I've also found I don't enjoy reading "e-magazines" or books on electronic devices, also kinda think the games for these things suck and are boring as hell, other than some pinball programs on the 8".... I still by far prefer to sit in my den and look at a beauty 23" screen with a real keyboard... this is what I've learned about them... of course, I wasn't raised on "smart phones" so maybe that's my problem, but my point is that I wouldn't expect it to replace a sit down setup and I would recommend going for a very value oriented model and just expect to use it mostly for casual surfing while watching the boob-tube and such. |
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I have a Nexus 7 for some things, mainly video from network cameras and watching TV via Slingbox. Small, and handy. Then I have an Acer 11" Switch Tablet with an I3 processor running Windows 8.1 Pro - has a detachable keyboard and enough processing power to act as a business PC. Almost as big as a full size laptop with keyboard and touchpad attached. Plus a standard Dell PC for stationary work, when a nearby phone is handy. So I have an Android, a Windows Tablet/Laptop, and a regular PC. Plus a couple older Dell and Acer Netbooks which still work well enough to browse the net - very lightweight and sturdy. But the most versatile machine I have is that Acer Switch, which is just like a Surface. It is weird though, now that touch screens are becoming standard input devices - I can't get used to that except when there's no keyboard. |
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I'd raise your price and get the nexus 9 The price is pretty much double of what attracted me to tablets in the first place. I figured they were $100 or so. I just paid $222 for my new laptop. No plans to spend even more for a tablet when I just want it for fun. Thanks though. -Emt1581 |
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The price is pretty much double of what attracted me to tablets in the first place. I figured they were $100 or so. I just paid $222 for my new laptop. No plans to spend even more for a tablet when I just want it for fun. Thanks though. -Emt1581 Quoted:
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I'd raise your price and get the nexus 9 The price is pretty much double of what attracted me to tablets in the first place. I figured they were $100 or so. I just paid $222 for my new laptop. No plans to spend even more for a tablet when I just want it for fun. Thanks though. -Emt1581 i got my mom a gaxytab4 8" for 120 at walmart for christmas. i could have done a bit better but it was an emergency buy when the tablet my dad got her <50.00 rca> would run a single app from the app store due to unsupported graphics. it a good machine. ended up upgrading the wifes toshiba to the 10.5" galaxytab a couple of months ago. |
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i got my mom a gaxytab4 8" for 120 at walmart for christmas. i could have done a bit better but it was an emergency buy when the tablet my dad got her <50.00 rca> would run a single app from the app store due to unsupported graphics. it a good machine. ended up upgrading the wifes toshiba to the 10.5" galaxytab a couple of months ago. Yeah I saw the RCA's at wal-mart last night. Seemed ok but the little 7inch was only slightly larger than my cell phone. And the 10" Samsungs were $300-$400 I think. Maybe more. Like I said, I know next to nothing about tablets. No big deal not buying one. Got bigger fish to fry anyway with this turd of a laptop I got in the mail tonight. I actually have to limit using it because it's making my eyes twitch. -Emt1581 |
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I was never an Apple fan until I got an iPad Air 2, wifi only. It's great. I got an Anker bluetooth ultra-slim key board that also acts as a case. I like the set up. I would recommend you get the largest amount of memory possible or be sure to set up a cloud account for storing pics and docs. I I use my cell phone as a hot spot when I can't find wifi.
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Just realize it's Win 8.1 running on atom processor.
So internet is fine and apps written for atom. The real ones with intel chips are nowhere near that cheap. Quoted:
Lenovo miix 2 8" full windows 8.1 $179 had it about a year and having full windows is awesome! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834318398&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-All+Tablets-_-N82E16834318398&gclid=Cj0KEQjw0fOoBRDn88Pol8bqhN0BEiQARGVJKkgUEbuzfi_F_H_W6rl38ROqEtUqx3b8ouhn6ViQniYaAieA8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91DyzSyftDL._SL1500_.jpg |