I need to get a tablet

aVocado

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Never saw this type of threads before iirc, and I checked rules so nothing against this. sorry if mods don't like it but I need help on this so yeah.

I've never owned a tablet before and know zip about them. I've been looking to get one now for a while though and since starting my 2nd term a few days ago I decided I definitely need one because my chem and bio courses are both using e-books instead of physical textbooks and a tablet would make it a lot more easier and convenient. I also want it for casual browsing and watching tv shows/movies because while my phone screen isn't that small, I'd much rather to watch them on a tablet cuz they take too much of my phone's battery.

I would rather an android tablet simply because apple unnecessarily complicates its products by letting them have unique ports for charging rather than a fucking simple mini-usb everything else uses. It also doesn't support SD cards, and I had difficulties transferring torrented (although that doesn't matter) mp4 files from my PC to my iPod, and I had to change the format and put them on iTunes in order to get them on my iPod but it still didn't work for some reason and I eventually gave up and just watched them on my phone. so yeah. I'm open to using Cloud as my storage instead of an SD card even though I never used it before, but I'm willing to try it out.

so basically what I want to do with the tablet is:
- casually browse the internet
- use it for watching tv shows/movies
- reading some books
- most importantly I want it to have a solid battery life

I know Kindle are the best for reading e-books but I don't want it /just/ for reading e-books if you know what I mean.

thanks in advance :]

edit: I also need it quickly so I don't want to wait a month or two for a new one to come out.
 

Arcueid

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Kindle Paperwhite has an excellent price + battery + is not that bad, probably the best kindle
iPad Mini 2/3 is worth it for its price and specs. The difference between them is touch ID and thats pmuch it.
iPad Air 3 has great specs. It is for a high end user. Great speed but its worth it.
Nexus 9 is not that bad though.

pmuch your choice, depends on your preference
 

aVocado

@ Everstone
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I would also like to add that I can probably afford any tablet as long as it isn't some ridiculous $600 or some shit
 

Soul Fly

IMMA TEACH YOU WHAT SPLASHIN' MEANS
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Any tablet will do given your vague generic needs. I seriously don't see why you just couldn't google around a bit.

I have a friend who raves about his LG G Pad. Battery life is solid and has 32 gigs expandable (+16GB already inbuilt). The latest Samsung <insert_latest_galaxy_note_model> is readily available and also works good enough and comes slightly cheaper. There's Amazon Fire HDX, which is great only if you're an avid Amazon customer, otherwise a very forgetful piece of hardware.

If you didn't have apple issues, I would just say go for iPad Air/Mini. Retina is very sweet (which I like enough in small screen devices to offset my crapple hate), plus easily clocks long hours.

Again as I said, most good tablets will easily go 10+ hours of heavy usage. So it's really pointless asking for recommendations. Everyone'll just give personal anecdotes.
 

Acklow

I am always tired. Don't bother me.
I'll be the first here to say that a Windows Surface is pretty solid. Also yeah iPad is pretty rad. I own one myself, but I hate the interface. I barely use it since I recently switched jobs though...
 

Woodchuck

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http://thewirecutter.com/leaderboard/tablets/

The Wirecutter makes a good case for their pick in all their reviews because they try to do a thorough examination of what's on the market. Even after picking something they'll detail why they picked it and possible alternatives if you have different priorities than the reviewers did. I recommend checking out their articles.
 

Cresselia~~

Junichi Masuda likes this!!
Tablets can never replace laptops though. Plus most websites are designed for laptop/ desk top use, and are difficult to browse on tablet.

I owned an android tablet but would prefer ipad mini.
This is due to, for taking notes in the lesson, the better apps are designed for apple.
Android users in my class quickly returned to using pen and paper, whilst apple users continued using apple.

I know that apple specs look crappy on paper, bit without good apps, you are not going anywhere neither.
 
If you really want Android, I recommend at least picking a company and model that will likely get updates; for example, there's every cheap one out there that can do what you want, but they will likely be stuck forever on whatever version of Android it came with since it's up to the manufacturer to push updates to the OS. That or you'd have to replace it and go with something like Cyanogen to mod it.

So in that vein, any Nexus tablet will get updates right away since they're basically Google's. Samsung isn't too bad either for eventually getting updates too. Kindle Fire I personally don't like since it's not a "true" Android unless you root and mess with it, but if books is your game, you do get benefits with it + Amazon Prime.

You may want to consider hybrid tablets/laptops as well if you want Windows (but avoid anything with Windows RT like the plague). One of the ones I own is an Asus Transformer T100, and it does basic computing pretty well while offering full Windows 8 (so you can run or play any file you want like a normal computer) and the laptop base for when you want to type out stuff.

My personal favorite tablet is the iPad, but you don't like it so I won't go into it. I do agree it has some shitty problems with moving files and "syncing", but it otherwise is great for almost any media content consumption.
 

aVocado

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I'm not using the tablet as a replacement for a laptop, I have a functional laptop, it's just that a tablet would be more convenient fir some classes and for stuff like reading and watching stuff on the bus/traib, and I can afford one.

Anyway thanks for the responses guys, i'm considering the iPad and not completely dismissing it, it's just that I like the 'customization' and simplicity android provides.
 

Cresselia~~

Junichi Masuda likes this!!
Well, I used Samsung 7.7 before, it helped for revising on the train and for lab menus.
If that's what you want.
As for battery life, you can always use an external power bank. They can be cheap and are easy to carry.

Just that if you want to take notes in lecture, ipad had better apps.
 
I have used a Samsung tablet and a iPad. I actually think iOS is much simpler and easier to use than Android. My opinion is that you should definitely go with iPad. Whether you want the iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini 3 is up to your size preference. I have an iPad Air and can confirm that its battery life is great, unlike the iPhone.

I do agree that a laptop is better if you're planning on using this device mostly at home.
 
iPad Air definitely has great battery life, I've left it in sleep mode for weeks and still have plenty of battery. I do that with my nvidia shield (not a true tablet, but akin to one) or other basic android devices, they die by week's end, and that's with shutting off wifi and stuff. Android definitely has spotty battery power management, why else would you have to get apps to mess with it to improve life when you'd think it'd be something the system should do.
 

Woodchuck

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Well, I used Samsung 7.7 before, it helped for revising on the train and for lab menus.
If that's what you want.
As for battery life, you can always use an external power bank. They can be cheap and are easy to carry.

Just that if you want to take notes in lecture, ipad had better apps.
How many apps do you need for note-taking? Evernote is on both platforms...

I would also be willing to bet that several people in this thread are comparing their experience with a ~$200 Android tablet to a ~$400 iPad (especially the battery life complaints). Compare like for like. If you're willing to spend as much for an Android tablet as an iPad then the distinction is more than likely going to come down to which OS you like better. There are great apps for both Android and iOS.

(Sucks for Windows 8 users, though...)
 
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I work at Best Buy, so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt.

Tablets can never replace laptops though.
Hm? I wouldn't say that! It's all about context, honestly.

Most consumers that walk in the door have needs that mirror the criteria listed in the OP. The only other common requirement is word processing capabilities, and Microsoft Office 365 supports Ipads and Windows-based tablets. With Windows-based tablets like the Lenovo Yoga 2 and the Asus Transformer T100TAM running the full Windows 8.1 OS (eliminating software-related compatibility issues & app-based limitations - not that the Microsoft Store doesn't still kinda suck), in addition to USB ports (in the T100TAM's case, which is especially useful for peripherals like external optical drives), microSD card slots for data transfer/memory expansion, HDMI output, bluetooth capabilities, and 1080p displays, tablets are, for all intents and purposes, perfectly capable of replacing laptops for a lot of people. The two of them even have great battery lives and come with the keyboard already in the box!

And that's only from looking at lower end stuff. Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is a full-fledged laptop disguised as a tablet, and the only mobile devices carried in store that are actually capable of outperforming it are the ones accompanied by dedicated GPUs (like the Lenovo Yoga Thinkpad 14 or the 15" Macbook Pro) for gaming & 3-D rendering-related needs. The Surface Pro 3 has been so ridiculously successful that Dell and HP have each released their own laptop/tablet hybrids with M Processors & full SSDs in hopes of competing. They don't have the 8.1 PRO OS, and aren't (as) optimized for/accompanied by a stylus, but they are significantly cheaper and the keyboard is already in the box, so you don't have to spend $130 dollars just to have something to type on and cover up the screen with. They're honestly the coolest things I've seen HP and Dell make in a long time and I can't wait to see what other companies come up with.

Anyways. I'm rambling.

The point is: tablets are more than capable of replacing laptops. For a lot of people, they already have, and for individuals that need the portability & battery life of a tablet combined with the power offered by a laptop, well, they've already got plenty of options. With all of that said:

Any tablet will do given your vague generic needs.
Soul Fly totally hit the nail on the head. There is honestly not a single tablet (I've seen) incapable of satisfying the needs you'be outlined by the OP. If you haven't already, I highly recommend walking into a Best Buy and hunting down and Apple and Samsung representative (assuming a store close to you has one). They'll know their products front to back, can help you better navigate/take advantage of what their respective OS's offer, and help you decide if you really care about any of their unique bells and whistles. Blue Shirts will know their stuff too, but the reps are probably a better resource when it comes to the more intimate questions. I did a little bit of research while I was at work the other day, so I'm gonna try and help you out as well.

Looking at Apple, the iPad Mini 2 is probably the most cost effective option available. They can be bought as cheaply as $250.00 (open box/refurbished), and the only things offered by the iPad Mini 3 are a better camera, the thumbprint id thing, and higher storage capacities. The former two don't really matter, while the latter is gotten around via iCloud. If you don't like the cloud, though, a Dropbox app is available, too. If you plan on purchasing a keyboard-case for it, Office 365 has OneDrive - Microsoft's version of Dropbox/iCloud - and comes with a license for 1 PC/Mac & 1 Tablet, so you can do you schoolwork while your out and about. You could probably use Google Docs for the same thing since it lets you export stuff as Word documents, but that's only as reliable as your internet connection.

The iPad Air is another viable option, but the only thing it has over the iPad Mini is a larger screen - and 7" is plenty big as is! I recently bought my little sister (and by proxy, the rest of my family, since they seem to be using it just as much) an iPad Mini 2 for Christmas and I was pretty shocked about how large it felt. Demonstrations are usually done within arm's reach since the iPad's Retina Display means you don't have to hold it close to your face to actually see what's going on, and this can make it seem small. But when you're actually lying down with it on the couch, or in bed, I've found it more than large enough. Definitely ask yourself how big you'll need it to be.

If you like the iPad Air's size, I'd also look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, since it's within the same price range. I was playing with the demo and the AMOLED display is absolutely brilliant - much better than Apple's Retina Display, I think (and it's already pretty fantastic). The videos on the demo were movie theatre quality (though, I might be overselling it just a tad). Anyways, if you plan on consuming a lot of media & feel more comfortable using SD cards rather than iCloud/Drop Box/One Drive, Samsung's Galaxy Tab S has an incredible display and can have 2.25x the amount of physical storage offered by the iPad Air 2 at the same price. Keyboards can be pretty pricey depending on who you buy it from (not that this is any different for the iPad) but price matching* and open box items** can help mitigate costs. Office 365 doesn't support Android-based tablets, though, and Google Docs is only as reliable as your internet connection. Their app store might have something that makes this a non-issue, however, if such a thing were a concern.

*Best Buy price matches competitors like Amazon & Newegg as long as it's shipped and sold by them. The Galaxy Tab S is $50.99 cheaper on Amazon than it is at Best Buy. Don't be afraid to do a little digging, 'cause it's definitely more convenient than paying shipping & waiting for it to arrive to just pick it up in store.
**Open box items are a great way to save some money since defective products aren't resold and customers usually return them because they didn't like it or couldn't get it to work, not because there was actually anything wrong with it. I don't know if the Best Buy website only tells you what's available in your area (since the damn thing won't let me log out), but it's available for as low as $399.99 on my end. Definitely consider this when you're shopping around, especially if other vendors offer similar deals.

Although their app store isn't as well supported, there are some pretty interesting Window-based tablets available that'll be significantly less expensive than the above.

The Lenovo Yoga 2 & the Asus Transformer Pad T100AM both offer 1080p resolutions, HDMI output, microSD card support, come with the keyboard already in the box, and run the full Windows 8.1 OS, eliminating software-related compatibility issues. Although the Lenovo Yoga 2 doesn't have USB ports like the Asus Transformer, it does have a higher resolution, and the hole in the kickstand lets you hang it up, giving it some rather dynamic uses that other tablets can't offer. The loss of USB means you can't use flash drives, optical drives, hubs, docking stations, external hard drives, or wireless mice with it, though (unless they're 100% bluetooth). None of this may matter, however, as you already have a fully-functioning laptop. You might find the ability to carry these around in place of your laptop an appealing possibility, though.

Anyways, that's just my two cents! I'm not familiar with everything that's available as I mostly with laptops/desktops, not tablets, but these guys stood out from what we carry at my store.

get a laptop
I think Macle might have the right idea, and I'll try to explain why when I get back from work.

Good luck!
 
Get an iPad Air 2 if you want a standalone tablet or a SP3 if you want the best of both the tablet / ultrabook world.
 

Holiday

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Hey Arikado. I got the ASUS Transformer Book T100 for Christmas, and I haven't been let down. It comes with an attachable keyboard if you need to use it as a laptop, but loses 0 functionality without it. It can do everything you asked in the OP, and it's really functional for just about all walks of life. The one thing I can say is a flaw is that it takes a long time to charge when you're using it (like 3 hours) but it has an 11 hour battery life (this is functioning with low brightness etc, I usually blast my brightness and Bluetooth and it still lasts for 8) so basically don't use it while it's charging and you can't go wrong!
 

Cresselia~~

Junichi Masuda likes this!!
How many apps do you need for note-taking? Evernote is on both platforms...

I would also be willing to bet that several people in this thread are comparing their experience with a ~$200 Android tablet to a ~$400 iPad (especially the battery life complaints). Compare like for like. If you're willing to spend as much for an Android tablet as an iPad then the distinction is more than likely going to come down to which OS you like better. There are great apps for both Android and iOS.

(Sucks for Windows 8 users, though...)
Evernote wasn't very useful to me.
I wanted an app that can type words directly onto powerpoint files, right next to where you want to put the text, usually near a picture. (instead of really have to write on the powerpoint)
My friend with iPad has an app that can do that, but it's not for android.
 
Hey Arikado. I got the ASUS Transformer Book T100 for Christmas, and I haven't been let down. It comes with an attachable keyboard if you need to use it as a laptop, but loses 0 functionality without it. It can do everything you asked in the OP, and it's really functional for just about all walks of life. The one thing I can say is a flaw is that it takes a long time to charge when you're using it (like 3 hours) but it has an 11 hour battery life (this is functioning with low brightness etc, I usually blast my brightness and Bluetooth and it still lasts for 8) so basically don't use it while it's charging and you can't go wrong!
You can save on this by buying the non-OEM model from Microcenter assuming you have one near you: http://www.microcenter.com/product/437498/TW100_101_Tablet_-_Black
That's just the standalone tablet, if you want the dock you'll need to buy that separately: http://www.microcenter.com/product/437428/101_Pogo_Pin_Keyboard_for_Winbook_101

They are the exact same product.
 

aVocado

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Ok so I looked at some tablets and took some advice both from this thread and another one and I came upon the galaxy note tablet pro 12.2

I originally wanted the Nexus 9 but I heard that thing sucks for note-taking etc and that the GNP 12.2 has a better screen and also comes with a stylus. only thing I don't like is the seemingly big size compared to the convenient nexus 9, but I can probably easily get over that one.

what do you guys think about it?
 
I dunno, especially if you want to write on it, a larger screen is more of a plus than smaller. Better for viewing stuff on as well. Granted it won't be lighter, but it can't be more than a pound difference, if even that. And it's still small enough to fit comfortably in a bag, I mean you're not putting any of them in your pocket. Or they do make smaller Notes if you want a smaller tablet too. Their pen tech is one of the better options on the market iirc.

Assuming cost isn't an issue, another option would be a Surface Pro, costs a bit more but it's full Windows 8.1, so you can run all your normal PC programs and such. Not as much in the way of apps for sure, but it's basically (as others have said here before) a full laptop. Probably even do some basic PC gaming on it. Also just a bit bigger than a Nexus 9. And they do have pen stuff for it as well. If you like it enough you could even ditch your normal laptop for it, assuming you aren't using a high end one for gaming or something.
 
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Ok so I looked at some tablets and took some advice both from this thread and another one and I came upon the galaxy note tablet pro 12.2

I originally wanted the Nexus 9 but I heard that thing sucks for note-taking etc and that the GNP 12.2 has a better screen and also comes with a stylus. only thing I don't like is the seemingly big size compared to the convenient nexus 9, but I can probably easily get over that one.

what do you guys think about it?
I agree with Shinryu - a larger screen should be more useful for taking notes (without using a keyboard). What makes the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 your primary choice? Is it the fact that it comes with a stylus? Even if you buy just a tablet, Wacom makes all sorts of Bamboo Styluses; the Fineline Stylus is especially fantastic for taking notes (in addition to sketching/painting/whatever) and should work with any bluetooth capable computer/tablet.

Is price also no longer a concern? The Samsung Galaxy Note Pro is $650 whether you buy it (new) from Best Buy or Amazon. You mentioned wanting to stay under $600, but if you're willing to spend nearly $700 I don't see why you wouldn't just replace your laptop (assuming you're not using it for high-end gaming or other 3D rendering related needs). The following options are Windows-based, but they'll be significantly more powerful than any Apple or Samsung Tablet. In fact, they're all literally laptops. They're advertised as tablets, but they're laptops. All of them run laptop processors, run the full Windows 8.1 OS, are equipped with 4 or more GBs of RAM & full SSDs AND have USB ports/HDMI outputs.

Intel's M Processor (found inside the HP & Dell, and soon enough in the Surface Pro 4) is fan-less, consumes electricity very economically, and doesn't run hot, so it's amazing for mobile devices.

I have to get on the clock, but I'll edit this post with some more information when I get off. I was wrong earlier, also; the HP & Dell tablets have styluses for them through their respective companies, and the Dell even has a docking station available for it.

HP 13-j002DX
M-5y70 | 8 GB RAM | 256 GB SSD | 13.3" | $799.99

Dell Venue Pro 11
M-5y10 | 4 GB RAM | 64 GB SSD | 10.8" | $749.99

Microsoft Surface Pro 2
i5-4200U | 4GB RAM | 128 GB SSD | 10.6" | $799.99

Microsoft Surface Pro 3
i3-4020y | 4 GB RAM | 64 GB SSD | 12" | $799.99
 

aVocado

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Cshadow Shinryu I went by PC World (big shop with tablets/phones/laptops and all that jazz) and actually looked at the 12.2 and it was too huge. I didn't realize it was actually that big lol, so I just instantly rejected the idea. I liked the Galaxy S Tab 8.4 though, but that looked a bit too small.. the Galaxy S Tab 10.4 (same tablet but bigger) looks too big @_@ it's just a big dilemma and there are so many tablets to choose from

The 8.4 was for 400 Euros which is $464, the 10.4 was 500 Euros which is $580. I'm leaning a lot towards the 8.4 because it's sitting at a convenient price range and the small size of it can actually help with holding it in one hand etc.

I don't actually want a laptop though, I've got a perfectly functioning one (that's not really old either, i've got it on september) that's got strong specs and can easily play most games, and I'll keep using it for the important stuff. The tablet would just be for quick use on the go (in school mainly) to read e-books, use it for classes (some of my classes use e-books, and a lot of teachers post the powerpoint online before the actual class/lecture so having those on my tablet would be useful), and other casual things that people buy tablets for (watching media, browse, etc). I've considered getting the Surface Pro before buying my current laptop but decided against it, having a laptop + tablet just seems 'safer' to me than having a tablet + laptop in one lol, besides it wasn't able to play games /that/ well and that was a big factor that made me get the laptop I'm using currently

But yeah, so far, my choices have been the Nexus 9, Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and 10.2 (the 2014 edition), S Tab 8.4 and 10.4. Between those I've eliminated the Nexus 9 and Note Pro 12.2 for reasons I stated before, and I'm liking the Galaxy S Tablets better than the Note 10.2... so yeah, I might end up getting one of those, probably the 8.4.


Thanks to both of you though, you guys are helping!
 

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