# Any Tablet users?



## wasilvers (Dec 13, 2011)

If so, can you give a short review of it? I'm looking and am curious what others are liking/disliking about what they have.


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## Jdholmes (Dec 13, 2011)

I have an iPad2 and absolutely love it. 

The only shortcoming I have found is that the camera for still shots sucks. The video camera is decent though. It is baffling to me why my wife's iPhone can have an amazing camera and my iPad2 can take such grainy crappy shots.

The only other 2 things that I saw as negative were...

1. iPads dont support flash, but that is not going to be an issue anymore because adobe has shut down the mobile flash program...html5 is now going to be the standard. This has only been an issue when trying to visit a website that uses flash, the iPad will take you to a mobile site instead which never look as pretty.

2. No extra storage...ie a sd card slot. This does suck if you want to quickly load pics from your digital camera or something...other than that hasn't been a real issue. Especially now that they have made iCloud free.

Over all I absolutely love it. Perfect size, super fast and does pretty much everything I want in a tablet. I very rarely use my laptop anymore...oh one other sucky thing is that I can't upload photos to a post on here with my iPad...have to use the laptop for that. I am not sure if that is an issue with other tablets or not.


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## KRS62 (Dec 13, 2011)

Do you have a Blackberry phone? If so, I would recommend taking a strong look at the Blackberry Playbook. I have a 64GB one and love it. (I can hear some Apple keyboards clicking away now to hurry up and flame the Playbook!) They are very cheap now as they have not sold as well as originally planned.

Positives:
- the screen is BEAUTIFUL. It is the true HD format. You need to watch a good quality video on it to appreciate it. The current iPad's are a "smaller" format. Sound is great too.

- The web experience is fantastic. Pretty much just as good as a PC (except the screen size and no keyboard.) It does support flash and can run all sites. (I can email a pic from my tablet, but haven't tried a post to a forum.) My iPad owning buddy has been telling me about the HTML5 for over year now. Meanwhile, I am surfing the net just fine! 

- You can transfer files to the tablet via your home network, or cable. It has HDMI out for a TV/monitor. They are close to having a USB adapter, but I don't think I would ever use it. Just transfer it via wifi.

- It has a bridge to your phone to access email, calendar and if you are not on a wifi newtwork....a FREE internet connection. It is not the fastest connection, but there is no plan needed. It uses your phone for the connection. 

- the size of the device is great. Small enough to put in a coat jacket.

- The will have an "android app" player soon that will open up a ton of apps.

- I rarely ever use my phone anymore for internet stuff (and I used to a lot on the road) and have probably cut my laptop use in half.


Negatives:
- the size of the device is easier to carry around, but yes, sometimes a 10" screen would be nice. 

- RIM gets tons of bad press and if you believe it, they will be out of business in 2 weeks. Some people will actually tease you for not having an iPad! RIM definitely did not sell as many as they thought they would, that's for sure. 

- There is no modem. If you do not have a blackberry, then you can only connect via a wifi connection. This could be a deal breaker for you. I thought this would be a problem for me, but it hasn't been at all. The iPad's wireless modem is great, but there is a service plan and fee that goes along with it. There have been rumors since day one for a Playbook 2 that adds the modem, but that remains to be seen. 

- There is no native email client yet. (Coming in OS2.0) So if you have your phone shut off, you can not read/type/send email. This only bothers me on a plane.

- There are limited Apps when compared to Apple/Android. This has not been an issue for me. My Apple friends talk about the 500,000 available Apps, but really only use 3-4 of them. Also, don't forget that the Android App is coming which will allow you to use those Apps.

So, since I have a BB phone, this thing is perfect for me. If I didn't have it, I would not be happy today (until OS2.) I truly believe the hardware is better than the iPad (minus the modem) but the iPad wins on software as they had a good head start. RIM has some nice promised upgrades coming soon.

I hear that the iPad 3 might come in Feb, so you might want to wait and see what Apple does.

KRS


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## devilmutt (Dec 13, 2011)

I have a Kindle Fire (if that counts as a tablet), but no review yet as I've only had it a few days.


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## wasilvers (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanks for the input. the ipad is pretty pricey for me. I've seen some great deals on playbooks, but one thing has kept me from getting one. I have purchased a ton of android market apps. To get them on the playbook will be a big workaround (from what I read). Maybe I'm mistaken. 
Lately I've been considering the galaxy tab 7. It seems as finished/refined as both the ipad and playbook, but stays in the android family. There are faster machines out there, but not many with as good of screens.


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## Jdholmes (Dec 22, 2011)

iPad can be pricey, for sure.

Check the refurbished section of their store...they have full warranty, new batteries, new screens...all that jazz. Usually they will be around $50 cheaper than the stores.

Play book....yeah...I won't even start on them. 

There are some nice tablets out there now though...even Acer is making a nice affordable one.

I actually really disliked the feel and look of the Galaxy. My friend got one...I really didn't like it at all. To me they didn't know if they wanted to be a phone or a tablet...it's closer to a big phone...

Kindle isn't on the same level as most of the tabs out there, but I don't think they ever expect to be...it is nice for its purposes regional purpose, reading.

One of the big reasons iPad is holding so much of the market share is that they found the perfect size screen. I would suggest finding a tablet with a similar size to theirs. Anything smaller is almost unusable and anything much larger is bordering on laptop size.


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## wihil (Dec 27, 2011)

Bought the wife a Nook Tablet for Christmas as a tester - I kind of want a tablet, she wanted an e-reader with extras, so it was a good experiment in my eyes.

Setup was a pain initially because of how I have my router set up, but that was fixed after looking up some wifi questions on the web. If a person wasn't tech savy, it could be a headache depending on who set the router up. 4th screen in they wanted a CC number, :roll: , and then finally it was up and running.

Pro's - Great looking screen, very responsive, has a micro SD port for expansion, speaker is okay but the headphone jack is nice and accessible.
Con's - not open to the Android market (just whatever BN allows), can't download "free" apps unless you put the CC number in, the initial wifi setup issues, 5 sheet paper manual is a JOKE - the real manual is on the unit, poor thinking on BN's part IMO. 

I'm a fan of most things Motorola, so I'm waiting for their tablet to mature a bit before I pick on up - I really liked the one I played with in the store. I like the Ipad, but am not a fan of Apple or it's release model - so Android for me.


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## wasilvers (Feb 16, 2012)

Update - bought an HTC Flyer yesterday on sale for $199. It has all the bells and whistles I wanted (gps, cameras, bluetooth, 7", good display, rootable, overclockable) + was the right price. Here is a vid that really sold me on it. 

[youtube]wdI9XDuFVsc[/youtube]

The pen is a separate accessory which I hear sprint sells for $40. I ordered one.

It's too early to see if I'd recommend it. But I've rooted, gone to custom honeycomb rom and it seems really nice right now. I like it much better than the nook and kindle fire in the same price range.


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## cartech5 (Feb 21, 2012)

Look into an asus eee pad transformer has quard core proccesor best bang for the buck I have the older dual core and itd great so the newer one would be even better


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## atxjess (Jun 20, 2012)

I've had a kindle fire a few months now and love it. For $80 a year I get unlimited instant tv and a book borrow every month. Also all my music and media are stored on there cloud so I never lose my purchases.


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## chuck99z28 (Oct 28, 2015)

When you're at a store, looking at tablets, have them take it outside and view it in daylight.

I find the ipad is best, but worst for wanting it to do something outside what Apps have available.

Windows tablets are easiest (for me) to program. But seem to be lacking screen wise for outside use.


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