Which Tablet?

[honeybee]

Never thought I would be posting this, but there it goes!

I am looking for a tablet. It will be mainly used for browsing the net and checking emails (Google, Yahoo and so on). It needs to be fast, should have 3G connectivity (of course with a SIM card), should have at least one USB port where I can connect an external keyboard if required. It also should allow me to create/open/edit/manage MS Office documents.

It should be able to do all of this pretty fast. It should be portable, ie. can be carried in a small bag. At the same time the screen should be big enough to not strain the eyes (Need to be able to clearly see about 20/25 emails in one screen). Expected battery life is around 4 hours at least.

Why I am not considering a netbook or a laptop is it's too bulky, the boot times are slower compared to a tablet and there won't be a touch screen.

It seems mostly the tablet will run Android (rest are too pricey or too restrictivce), so I would also like to know if it makes any particular difference if I go for the Honeycomb or the Ice Cream Sandwich.

Price point is US$ 400 or below.

.

[techgnome]

I'm looking at the Asus Transformer Prime ... comes in both a wifi only and 3g model... And if you get the docking station with keyboard, it extends the battery life.

As far as 3g goes.. unless you get it through your cellular provider at a discount, I'm not sure you're going to get it for the 400 price point. I suspect that the only way that's going to happen is if you get an older model with an older version of Android, but there's no guarantee it'll be up-gradable to a newer version. But search around... might be able to pick up a refurb at a decent price.

Opening Office documents... there isn't a tablet that's going to be able to do that natively. You can buy an app (QuickOffice is the popular one) that would allow you to do that though.

-tg

[Icyculyr]

I'm not sure you'll be able to get what you want in that price point, but the Prime or the iPad are the best candidates. Both will handle web browsing and emailing very well.

I'm not sure if there's free software available on iOS for handling those types of documents, but Apple's iWork suite seems pretty powerful for a slate. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, will run you $10 each on iOS, and they're the Apple equivalent of PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.

There's no USB port, but you can hook up a wireless keyboard (although I'm not sure if it's only compatible with Apple's wireless keyboard or not, I don't think so but you'd want to check that out though) to the iPad, and I presume the Prime as well. The iPad 2 16GB WiFi is $399, and the 3G model is $529. The iPad 3 is the same but +$100, the screen is great and LTE is much better than 3G if you can get it in your area.

[dilettante]

There are plenty of Win7 based tablets out there now, some even coming close to the $400 target. These can run full MS Office, and by their nature are much more versatile than anything like an Android device just because of the ton of software available for Windows.

Many have 10" to 11" diagonal multitouch displays from 1280x800 on up, most have rotation sensors to change from landscape to portrait. Some come with keyboard docks. Battery life ranges from 4 to 6 hours. Usually they have 32 to 64GB SSDs. Most have two USB 2.0 ports, some have an HDMI port, generally one or two cameras and mic are built in, and almost always something like an SD slot you can use to increase storage capacity (64GB SD cards can be had for not-terrible prices now).

Boot time is longer than for simpler ARM-based devices, but not bad. They tend to be thicker and heavier as well, partially due to more powerful componets and larger batteries.


The "touch experience" on Win7 is often augmented by manufacturer-bundled tools optimized for touch. You can improve the "experience" more by following Microsoft's recommendation to somewhat increase the size of menu fonts, scrollbar width, etc. This gives you more accurate "hits" on GUI widgets.

Remember, capacitive finger-touch screens are the norm now. These have incredibly poor resolution and you won't be using handwriting recognition on them even with a "blunt capacitive stylus" 3rd parties sell for them.


But feel free to ignore this advice. However I suggest before you buy any Android tablet device you find a way to get one to use for a week.

I suspect you'll run screaming back to Windows.

Damned few Windows tablets have 3G support outside of Europe though. WiFi is fairly standard as are Ethernet ports on the keyboard docks.

[honeybee]

Boot times simply must be in mobile phone range. And from what I have seen of the Windows mobiles, 'they could be improved'. I would ideally want the boot times to be four to five seconds from the moment I switch the power on.

Document editing might be a pain area, but I am willing to buy QuickOffice if it can work on the tablet. I have already got a paid version running on one of my Nokias, and for basic documents in English language, it does the job passably well.

Handwriting is a tradeoff, but if I could plug in an external USB keyboard it can take care of all the typing. For a few quick keystrokes, the onscreen keyboard should suffice. I doubt with a larger device I would be able to balance it in one hand and use the stylus to handwrite with the other.

Vodafone is offering 3G data plans which are dirt cheap (at least now), so there's no reason to not use them. I actually have a data-enabled SIM card lying unused because my regular SIM is already 3G. So the tablet must be 3G.

With Android I get the added advantage of creating a WiFi hotspot and using it with other devices.

There are a few basic tablets out here which run on Honeycomb. Would it matter much for the functions I have in mind if the tablet ran the latest Android OS?

There's a Sony 9.4" tablet available here. Since it's Sony I am willing to bet the hardware must be good. Any feedback on it?

.

[Icyculyr]

If you're going to go with Android, I'd make sure you've got one running ICS. It's a good OS, and has GPU acceleration unlike Honeycomb, which I think results in a smoother UI.

[techgnome]

Plus ICS was designed with tablets in mind... HC was in that quasi-period where it scaled OK, but it wasn't intended for tablet.

-tg

[abhijit]

The transformer prime is the one that you should take a look at. The second one is Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.

[dilettante]

Boot times simply must be in mobile phone range. And from what I have seen of the Windows mobiles, 'they could be improved'. I would ideally want the boot times to be four to five seconds from the moment I switch the power on.

I was talking about Windows NT, not the Windows CE-based Phone 7. Windows Mobile hasn't existed for years now except on legacy devices.

So that means Windows 7 now, and Windows 8 tomorrow. From what I've seen Windows 8 improves boot times significantly, and most Win7 tablets bought today can be upgraded to Win8 later if you choose to. The few I tested Win8 on worked fine.


But whatever. Just try before you buy.

[honeybee]

I was talking about Windows NT, not the Windows CE-based Phone 7. Windows Mobile hasn't existed for years now except on legacy devices.

So that means Windows 7 now, and Windows 8 tomorrow. From what I've seen Windows 8 improves boot times significantly, and most Win7 tablets bought today can be upgraded to Win8 later if you choose to. The few I tested Win8 on worked fine.


But whatever. Just try before you buy.

Hmmm... I am not sure we have any Windows 7/8 tablets available over here. So far the choice is Android, iOS or Blackberry.

.

[tudordavies]

If you are just going to be browsing and checking emails then I would suggest not spending too much on a tablet. In fact, you could even use a Kindle Fire for what you need, which is a lot cheaper than some of the tablets on the market.

[dilettante]

Android devices usually carry a heavy privacy exposure "Google Tax" as well. Lots of things will not work until you sign up with Google and turn over they keys to your information. Of course GMail users are already doomed, so in for a penny...

[honeybee]

I am planning to use it primarily with my gmail account, which is why the leaning towards Android. As long as Google only exposes the data I have stored in my online profile, I don't have a big problem with it (specially since I am not sure others don't do it, and our telecom and other service providers would make Google look like a saint).

Google mail, Youtube, Google Maps are some of the features I am planning to use. These would definitely work (and probably work better) on an Android device. Not sure if Kindle Fire can do all this...

.

[techgnome]

Kindle Fire only has WiFi.... no 3G.

-tg

[schoolbusdriver]

Archos 101 G9

WiFi + 3G pay as you go.

It's been a long time since I posted here, but spotted this thread.

I'm also after a tablet I can use when out walking on the Peak District moors or fells in the Lake District. I need GPS capability for datalogging too. The Archos seems to fit the bill, but if anyone can come up with something better for the price, I'd be interested to know.

It's got to withstand a bit of rough, but can be protected from mud etc with clingfilm. See the pic below for my location...

[akhileshbc]

Archos 101 G9

WiFi + 3G pay as you go.

It's been a long time since I posted here, but spotted this thread.

I'm also after a tablet I can use when out walking on the Peak District moors or fells in the Lake District. I need GPS capability for datalogging too. The Archos seems to fit the bill, but if anyone can come up with something better for the price, I'd be interested to know.

It's got to withstand a bit of rough, but can be protected from mud etc with clingfilm. See the pic below for my location...

Beautiful location

[FunkyDexter]

I'm looking at the Asus Transformer Prime

Is that really the name of a tablet? Really?!

I'm willing to bet it's the optimal choice but I'll have no truck with it.

[techgnome]

Yeah... that;s actually the name of it... I think some one was having a bit of fun during the naming session.

-tg

[honeybee]

Kindle Fire only has WiFi.... no 3G.

-tg

I absolutely need 3G.

The transformer prime is too costly.

[akhileshbc]

I absolutely need 3G.

The transformer prime is too costly.

I think within a few months, there would be newer tablet versions at low cost as there has been a competition in the tablet market(in India).

Check some of these:

• ThinkDigit Top 10 Tablets
• Aakash tablet pc and all Tablet Reviews
• 12 hot Android tablets in India

So if you don't need it very urgent, maybe if you wait for a month or two, you could get a better one at an affordable price (that's what I am trying to do now).

[honeybee]

Thanks, Akhilesh.

I went through the links, half of them are pre-historic versions of Android and the other half are too pricey.

I wouldn't mind waiting, but I doubt if it will change anything.

.

[KiwiDexter]

I'm not sure you'll be able to get what you want in that price point, but the Prime or the iPad are the best candidates. Both will handle web browsing and emailing very well.

I'm not sure if there's free software available on iOS for handling those types of documents, but Apple's iWork suite seems pretty powerful for a slate. Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, will run you $10 each on iOS, and they're the Apple equivalent of PowerPoint, Word, and Excel.

There's no USB port, but you can hook up a wireless keyboard (although I'm not sure if it's only compatible with Apple's wireless keyboard or not, I don't think so but you'd want to check that out though) to the iPad, and I presume the Prime as well. The iPad 2 16GB WiFi is $399, and the 3G model is $529. The iPad 3 is the same but +$100, the screen is great and LTE is much better than 3G if you can get it in your area.

So in other words the iPad doesn't acheive what Honeybee wants, but you're still going to rabbit on about it

[Icyculyr]

So in other words the iPad doesn't acheive what Honeybee wants, but you're still going to rabbit on about it

Actually it does, but what's your problem? He's looking for a slate, and I suggested one and explained a little about each of what he asked in relation to it. It's great for browsing the web, emailing, managing Office documents, and it's quite fast and has amazing battery life. The only compromise is no USB port, thus a bluetooth keyboard would be required, and there's no native support for Office documents but as far as I know that's true of every other slate, the iPad has Apple's iWork suite though, which is pretty great.

[KiwiDexter]

Actually it does, but what's your problem? He's looking for a slate, and I suggested one and explained a little about each of what he asked in relation to it. It's great for browsing the web, emailing, managing Office documents, and it's quite fast and has amazing battery life. The only compromise is no USB port, thus a bluetooth keyboard would be required, and there's no native support for Office documents but as far as I know that's true of every other slate, the iPad has Apple's iWork suite though, which is pretty great.

Clearly apple users don't get the concept of matching to user requirements.

So if I wanted a four bedroom 2 bathroom house with a backyard for a dog, you would suggest a 1 bedroom unit. Think about it, two crucial requirements outlined by Honeybee seem to have completely passed you by. Would explain why iPads didn't have USB ports I guess

[SJWhiteley]

The AL Vicodin 500mg.

Won't keep up all night, worrying.

[Icyculyr]

Clearly apple users don't get the concept of matching to user requirements.

So if I wanted a four bedroom 2 bathroom house with a backyard for a dog, you would suggest a 1 bedroom unit. Think about it,

If what you want wasn't available or if I didn't know of anything which fit your requirements then I'd suggest to you something similar, which is exactly what I did.

two crucial requirements outlined by Honeybee seem to have completely passed you by. Would explain why iPads didn't have USB ports I guess

It's clear one of these 'crucial requirements' is the USB port, but that was only for connecting an external keyboard. As I noted in my reply, that can be achieved with a Bluetooth keyboard. Whether that suits him or not I don't know, but it's a possibility if he's interested in the iPad.

What's the other? If you're referring to lack of 3G on the $399 model, then I'd say you won't find any decent slate for that price with 3G. If you refer to the lack of native support of Office documents, well all mobile OSes lack that as far as I know.

[dilettante]

My old Windows Mobile 6 smartphone (truly a "smart" phone being user programmable, no lock-in to "app stores" and so on - not a 'tainment phone) has Office Mobile.

Of course when Microsoft trashed the platform (Phoney 7) I eventually moved to Android. Talk about a bizarre platform though with plenty of warts.

Microsoft just has a death wish anymore.

[honeybee]

I have a Windows Mobile 6 phone. I also have a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone. However the screen size, though big by mobile standards, isn't very convenient for easy browsing or email reading or document reading. Also the onscreen keyboard is only good for texting and not so good for document editing. I have tried it. The only way to type in fast is to use just my thumbs and use the tips of the nails to punch in the keys. Works great, and also gives great cramps.

The handwriting recognition feature works good, but isn't 100% accurate all the time. Plus the small area available (even if you used the whole screen) makes it equally cramped to write on it using the stylus. However it would be a good-to-have, almost required feature in a tablet if there existed only an on-screen keyboard.

I have tried the iPad and the iPhone too, and the keyboards aren't exactly meant for serious typing. So I would prefer an external keyboard. Bluetooth keyboard is an option, but it will be costly and it will take batteries, both of which make it prohibitive. I don't want to spend 20% of the tablet price on a single accessory if I can avoid it. Plus it would make it difficult to carry. I have a roll-able keyboard which can plug into the USB port and can be just rolled up and carried in a bag. It's very flexible. I don't think any powered keyboard could come close to that.

While editing of office documents may not be natively available in the non-Microsoft OSes, I am willing to pay for QuickOffice. I have tried it and it is good for the intended use.

What I would really love is a Windows-based tablet with 3G, however I don't know if that's going to materialize this year and at what price.

Over here we do have a few tablets under $400 with 3G support, however they aren't from the known brands like Samsung.

.

[Icyculyr]

I have a Windows Mobile 6 phone. I also have a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone. However the screen size, though big by mobile standards, isn't very convenient for easy browsing or email reading or document reading. Also the onscreen keyboard is only good for texting and not so good for document editing. I have tried it. The only way to type in fast is to use just my thumbs and use the tips of the nails to punch in the keys. Works great, and also gives great cramps.

The handwriting recognition feature works good, but isn't 100% accurate all the time. Plus the small area available (even if you used the whole screen) makes it equally cramped to write on it using the stylus. However it would be a good-to-have, almost required feature in a tablet if there existed only an on-screen keyboard.

I have tried the iPad and the iPhone too, and the keyboards aren't exactly meant for serious typing. So I would prefer an external keyboard. Bluetooth keyboard is an option, but it will be costly and it will take batteries, both of which make it prohibitive. I don't want to spend 20% of the tablet price on a single accessory if I can avoid it. Plus it would make it difficult to carry. I have a roll-able keyboard which can plug into the USB port and can be just rolled up and carried in a bag. It's very flexible. I don't think any powered keyboard could come close to that.

While editing of office documents may not be natively available in the non-Microsoft OSes, I am willing to pay for QuickOffice. I have tried it and it is good for the intended use.

What I would really love is a Windows-based tablet with 3G, however I don't know if that's going to materialize this year and at what price.

Over here we do have a few tablets under $400 with 3G support, however they aren't from the known brands like Samsung.

.

The iPad does have a split keyboard as well which is better than the standard one, but it's still not anywhere near as easy as typing on a physical keyboard. I'd only use a bluetooth keyboard if you could pick one up for cheap, but if you've already got a roll-able USB one it makes sense to find a slate with USB.

Have you considered the original ASUS Transformer? It's a dual-core, and it's upgradable to ICS.