Wizard765 Posted October 29, 2011 Share #1 Posted October 29, 2011 So I thought with this many people some of you may have an opinion on this. I've been looking to buy a tablet or eReader for my wife. At first I thought one of the new color ereaders would work but being in Canada it narrows it down to the Kobo Vox. The other choices I was looking at were true tablets. Now I have them narrowed down to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 or iPad 2 and now the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9. So which of these? or something else I have not seen? Any comments or thoughts? Sort of comes down to IOS vs Android.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friesman Posted October 29, 2011 Share #2 Posted October 29, 2011 (edited) I had the original KObo with the wireless and loved it. It was really light and thin and battery life was almost forever..BUT, its only use is a reader. I find it far easier to read the Kobo as its not backlit, it uses what is called digital paper and only uses batter life when turning a page or downloading from wireless. I now have a Motorola Xoom running Android Honeycomb 3.1 and I love it as well, but for different reasons. It does so many things well, and for my work it runs all my wireless network diagnistic tools so I dont have to carry my laptop around anymore. It surfs the net superfast, it loads webpages quite a bit quicker than my laptop or the Ipad2 that the guys at work have. Side by side loading the same webpage, my xoom was about 20%quicker, plus it runs flash. Sure there arent the millions of programs that Ipad people talk about but there are at least a few thousand, and how many do you need? I am running free stuff like an Office viewer and editor, an Autocad editor, free music, Movie, and tv Apps, and of course, about 18 versions of Angry Birds!..lol MY xoom has USB out, HDMI out and a microsd port for adding extra storage and for moving data without a cable or bluetooth. Also when making your decision figure out whether you really need the 3g or 4g version of the device. I didnt as I was thinking that I have wifi at home and most places when you travel offer it free.(Or with my Xoom I can tether it to my Blackberry and use that data plan if I have to but its costly) its about a hundred bucks cheaper if you can get by with just wifi on your tablet, ...in most cases. My xoom is a lot heavier than my Kobo was and I dont like it as well just for reading. the battery life is great for a tablet as it runs for my whole work day and at home as well (I can use it all day heavy and get 10 hours bat life) but the kobo life was a week or 2 when i was reading. I also find the Android interface not quite as polished as the Ipad but you have more options to configure and as I like to tinker the Android is a better choice for me. Try to figure out what she would want to use a tablet or reader for and then go buy what best fits that best. Edited October 29, 2011 by friesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bongobobny Posted October 29, 2011 Share #3 Posted October 29, 2011 Becky absolutely LOVES her Toshiba Thrive she got for her birthday last month. Keep in mind this is the same Becky that totally despises computers and wants nothing to do with them! Now she surfs the web and watches utube! The Thrive is Toshiba's equal to the Galaxy. We started out looking at B&W Kindles and ended up with the tablet. An Ipad would have been another choice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAWildKat Posted October 29, 2011 Share #4 Posted October 29, 2011 Being the Hardware geek I am I have an ereader, laptop, android smartphone, and desktop computer. I have a Pocketbook 902 ereader and I love it. I love the fact I can read books and newspapers w/o the distraction of the net as a whole. I love my laptop because I can sit in bed and work on the computer w/o stressing my back (Didn't know I was always chatting from bed did y'all?) The phone replaces my ereader and laptop, and mp3 player while traveling about while I can live w/o it, it does make things easier. Now my desktop is my baby, I built it myself almost 5 yrs ago, and she gets used sometimes still, but not so much anymore. As ereaders go.... I only have experience with 2, my pocketbook 902 and the nook. Roomie bought the nook with the intent to read books on it. I wound up using it for a couple of mons and managed to crash the android OS on it just flipping pages (I read rather fast) So back to Barnes and Noble it went. Mike decided to research readers after my problems with the nook and learned the pocketbook series were the best available in the American market. They are made by a German company and it works better than I hoped and easily keeps up with my reading speed. One note that will be worth noting on the tablet PCs, this includes the Ipads too. Many people experience moderate levels of eye fatigue and strain related to the backlit screens. with a no frills black and white ereader, it's almost nonexistant. The question you have to ask is what does your wife want and weigh the pros and cons of each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdroyer Posted October 29, 2011 Share #5 Posted October 29, 2011 I just saw this on the net about black Friday. But if you are willing to forgo a color screen and apps, the entry-level Kindle and lower-priced Android tablets are really where the deals are, noted Steve Baker, an analyst with market research firm NPD Group. The Kindle 3G will likely be less than $100, while generic Android tablets could even be much less. "We wouldn't be surprised to see a smaller 7-inch Android tablet selling for around $49 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted October 29, 2011 Share #6 Posted October 29, 2011 Best bet is a yellow tablet with blue lines. Readily available at many, many retail outlets. You're welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tx2sturgis Posted October 30, 2011 Share #7 Posted October 30, 2011 e-reader OR tablet? Who made that rule? e-reader AND tablet is the way to go. At todays prices, get both! A tablet for $200-700 plus a kindle for $79...such a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winston66 Posted October 30, 2011 Share #8 Posted October 30, 2011 Just last week I purchaced one of the above devices direct from a mob in China ,Needless to say it has not arrived as yet ,I spent a lot of time recearching this sort of item and I came accross this supplier tenq@wholesaleonepiece.com The lead in was from the Android Forum web site. As far as I could make out ,it is one of their latest releases which I felt was the most suitable for my purposes was their Minipad M9 Android 2.3 Capacitive Tablet PC. 7 inch Rockchip RK2918 Cortex A8 Dual Core 3G WIFI Bluetooth 8 GB Minipad (M9) This with free postage worldwide and for US$179,00 I also purchaced a 7 inch pad. Leather case and Detachable keyboard, For use with it for another US$33-00. I believe their address is wholesaleonepiece .com I think that you could do worse than to check them out. one thing that I liked was the reviews and the question and answers that they provided in association with their listing of the M9 minipad. One thing to make sure of with any purchase of this type is that it must be registered and compatable with Adobe,Adobe Digital, Google, and the Android Market, (suppliers ot both free and purchasable downloads) . Otherwise you will have no end of trouble with any future downloads etc. Please dont ask me how I know . Cheers Winston66. Australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midrsv Posted October 30, 2011 Share #9 Posted October 30, 2011 I second the Toshiba Thrive. It was a decent value at $329 after rebate. I like the textured cover which I find easier to hold than some of the other tablets. Has good connectivity with USB and HDMI and also has a memory card slot (SD) Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tx2sturgis Posted October 30, 2011 Share #10 Posted October 30, 2011 .........I felt was the most suitable for my purposes was their Minipad M9...... I guess that for a man, buyin a mini-pad online is a lot easier than going into the store and asking the clerk: 'you got any mini-pads'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariner Fan Posted October 30, 2011 Share #11 Posted October 30, 2011 We got a tablet that I think will be good to take with us on vacations. It's a Google platform. Ruthy also has a Kindle e-reader. I thought it was a big waste of money but she likes it! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyRich Posted October 30, 2011 Share #12 Posted October 30, 2011 It does so many things well, and for my work it runs all my wireless network diagnistic tools so I dont have to carry my laptop around anymore. Which diagnostics tools are you loading on your Xoom ? I was looking at one and this might be a way to get the company to pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friesman Posted October 30, 2011 Share #13 Posted October 30, 2011 (edited) Which diagnostics tools are you loading on your Xoom ? I was looking at one and this might be a way to get the company to pay for it. Thats how i did it. All of the network apps I am running are in the Android Market for free i am running -overlook fing -looks for devices on network ang gives you ips and mac . https://market.android.com/details?id=com.overlook.android.fing&hl=en -Farproc WiFi Analyzer- that gives 3 great graphs showing signal strength, channels used, saturation levels, types of encryption and shows usage inreal time. Also allows snapshots and makes suggestions on what channels to use in an area for best perfomance. http://www.pcworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=487999&expand=false -ookla speed test- simple speed tester. Also find the Remote desktop tools work great and when I use ANDsmb i can get right into the shares on our Windows domain.(with correct credentials of course) If you need anything more specific please message me and Ill be happy to discuss in there. Brian Edited October 30, 2011 by friesman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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