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Original poster

Tablet advice from luddite: Looking to get geeky DH one, which should I choose?

130 replies

JoyceDivision · 26/12/2013 20:55

Ok, Iapologise if my post is shockingly thick, but I am rubbish at computers andstuff, while DH loves reading manuals about learning new programs or whatever they are... Blush

so, its a big birthday for DH mid year, and I will hopefully get a bonus of about £300 from work, so I could look to buy him a tablet for his b'day.

So which one do I get?

Is there one that is well and truly better than the rest?

I don't even know what features I should be looking at, so if you think theres anything I should consider, all help would really be appreciated!

OP posts:
tribpot · 27/12/2013 21:20

Special s-pen salute, Bunnyjo Wink

MoreThanChristmasCrackers · 27/12/2013 22:41

Sorry to derail but what benefits or purpose would it be for a child who already has a lap top.

tribpot · 27/12/2013 23:19

I meant to say in reply to unlucky83, no the apps cost no more than they do on a smartphone. Most of them are free, usual in-app purchases for games and so on.

ChristmasCrackers, I would think mainly travel, maybe some games?

TiggyD · 27/12/2013 23:20

Just been reading reviews for the new Nexus. A tiny bit more expensive, but a definite improvement it seems. And now youtube has shown me how to stick my dongle in it I think I might get one.

NoComet · 27/12/2013 23:27

Ask, I was given a kindle fire as a present and it drives me nuts, DD2 and DD1s partner in crime love their nexus 7s

NoComet · 27/12/2013 23:28

Also as much memory as you can afford, my kindles only saving grace is being a 32 GB

PosyNarker · 27/12/2013 23:56

To the person who asked tablet vs laptop + smartphone. I have a MacBook Air 11" and it is light, portable and I can use it in most circumstances I can use a tablet. If you have desktop or laptop is a brick, I can see the appeal.

OP I would ask. For me £300 isn't a good tablet budget, so I would prefer something else. He may not think that / might have a preferred brand / OS among what is available.

I've been bought tech that doesn't suit in the part and often where the person giving has spent £££ on something that I really don't want but £50 would have bought me what I really wanted. It's disappointing all round so I wouldn't try to surprise on this one.

unlucky83 · 27/12/2013 23:58

trib - looking at that the galaxy note is a smart phone too?
And it seems to be more like a small laptop/netbook than a tablet - with a price to match...which made me wince
When I was thinking about getting DD1 tablet I read that laptops were more expensive that tablets because they came with everything (more or less), once you had spent your money that was it, whereas tablets are cheaper but you needed to get extras - software extras (apps) but also memory cards, stands, cases, keyboards...
As technology moves on in the next few years I think laptops and tablets will be the same thing (tablets but better - will come with a detachable keyboard etc, will connect to external hard drives wirelessly for archive storage (rather than cloud storage with possible security implications)...also to large screens and full size keyboards for convenience of use (with the touchscreen replacing the mouse)... I realise this is happening now...
Tablets are not really anything new ...in 2002 I was looking for a new laptop (for work, home and my partner's business) and I looked at an early tablet PC -a windows tablet - the keyboard stored under the screen and you could write with a 'pen' on the screen..nearly got one but the technology wasn't quite up to it at the time (too many glitches) so I went for a traditional laptop...and in retrospect glad that I did Smile

unlucky83 · 28/12/2013 00:07

Meant to say - when I'm not playing on web forums I do a lot of spreadsheet stuff... the bigger the screen the better (have a 15 inch laptop - nearly got a 17inch but carrying it put me off) and a full size external keyboard - I can't see how touch screen could help - anything like my smart phone 'keyboard' for data entry would drive me insane - I like to know I've pressed a key and not have to check I have and it is right one every time Grin but then I did teach myself to type on a an old fashioned manual typewriter so I do like banging the keys!

moralimbecile · 28/12/2013 00:54

Is the Tesco Hudl worth a look? I'm considering a tablet for learning programming, using sites like Code Academy and Programmr. Would this be any good for this? Is 7" too small?

Hudl has an SD card slot, which makes it appealing to me.

Also, what is the difference between one Android tablet and another? Why is the Hudl meant to be good for kids - what is the difference between a kiddie tablet and a geek one, if they both have the same OS?

Bertrude · 28/12/2013 04:53

In my family (as in my parents, siblings and their families) we have 1 iPad retina, 2 iPad 2s, a hudl, a kindle fire, and another android tablet that I can't remember what is. This Christmas the kindle fire and other android one have both been replaced by iPads. the hudl hasn't, because its for a 3 year old we're all fairly geeky and the other two tablets just pissed their users off royally. Not tried the Samsung ones or nexus ones though

sykadelic15 · 28/12/2013 05:59

I'm a total technerd so here are my notes:

  1. I prefer Android devices and would never get an iPad (way overpriced and too proprietary)... though if I were in the graphic design field I would go with an Apple computer, not an iPad, as they are far superior for graphic work (but some swear by them, not all are the same);
  1. I wouldn't get a Kindle Fire as a "tablet" device. There are still too many bugs and it's really only a reading device with app capability;
  1. I would never "cheap out". When it comes to my gadgets I would never just buy what's cheap, unless it was also good and did what I wanted... otherwise cheap is still too much;
  1. I would give him an IOU or a giftcard or just the cash with a note "towards a tablet". If he's a serious nerd he'll want the joy of picking it himself (the research is half the fun :D)

Good luck!

sykadelic15 · 28/12/2013 06:03

moral - simply put, specs. Here's a link that compares 4 of the major ones (and outlines some differences).

GRW · 28/12/2013 07:37

The Tesco Hudl had good reviews in Which magazine recently, so I went for that one. You can use clubcard vouchers to buy it too.

babiesmakemecrazy · 28/12/2013 08:26

I just got a Samsung Galaxy 3 tablet 8 inch, they also come in 10 inch. It's really good and I'm so happy with it. It's just like a bigger version of the phones to be honest. It's very fast also. With the 8 inch one I also got a memory card with extra storage included which is great as I have many apps!

Now is the best time to get one. Mine has now been reduced to 180, I paid 250!

Devotee · 28/12/2013 08:34

We have two tablets in our house; one is the Nexus 7 and the other is a Prestigio. I would say the Nexus has a slight edge on graphics but other than they are much of a muchness to me.

edamsavestheday · 28/12/2013 09:11

I've got a Kindle Fire (last year's, not the new HD one) and the new Nexus. Kindle Fire is heavier and doesn't do Flash which is a pain in the bum when e.g. you are looking at Beeb news website and want to watch some video footage. You can watch videos, but any website that inc. video footage as part of what it does uses Flash.

Nexus much better except that the 'home' button is so close to the space bar in landscape mode that I keep being taken home when I am typing - quite often when using MN, for example. Apart from that, I love it.

HoleySocksBatman · 28/12/2013 09:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HoleySocksBatman · 28/12/2013 10:19

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NetworkGuy · 28/12/2013 10:26

babiesmakemecrazy - just nosy but curious as to where has it been reduced so much, please ?

loveolives · 28/12/2013 10:26

I personally find the iPad absolutely faultless.

NetworkGuy · 28/12/2013 10:32

I have used an Archos 7" for the last 2 years, which was just 99 quid in Carphone Warehouse in December 2011.

I mention it, (a) as it can be plugged into a big TV (once you find a suitable HDMI cable), (b) can take a microSD card (so the fact it only has 8GB storage built in isn't a problem), and (c) because it was significantly cheaper than many others on the market then.

It does come back to personal preference, so an "IOU" note (with say £250 so your DH can decide how much of his own cash he wants to add to it - if he was to choose an iPad, say, he'd know he'd be looking at perhaps £200 more and may see sense! :) )

HebrideanMum · 28/12/2013 11:44

Another Luddite with a stupid question! Can you transfer stuff from a desktop to a tablet and if so how?! Also can you download photos from a digital camera to a tablet like you can with a desktop. Thanks!

tribpot · 28/12/2013 12:21

There are lots of ways of moving files from one to the other, Hebridean.

Most tablets can just be plugged into the desktop via the USB cable. Then you can transfer the files from one to the other. (This is not exactly how it's done with the iPad but it's the same idea).

Most tablets don't have a massive amount of internal storage, so you tend to rely on a microSD card which you can slot into the tablet. The microSD card then comes out and can be plugged into the desktop using a card reader.

You can use a standard USB memory stick as well, but in this case you will need a reader to attach it to the tablet as many tablets don't have a normal USB slot in them.

You can move files between the two devices wirelessly, using something like Airdroid (also does not apply to an iPad).

You can also store your files in the cloud, that is to say on the internet somewhere. An example is Dropbox. You then access the files from a Dropbox application on both devices and can choose to store some of them locally so you've got them when you're not connected to the internet.

Cameras - many cameras also come with a microSD card in, so you can just take the card out and stick it in the tablet. Otherwise there are cables you can get to directly connect a camera to a tablet, I think. Or you can go super-fancy and get a camera that can directly upload the photos to the internet.