Tablet?

[christinebuhlman]

Happy Sunday everyone.

So I am wanting to add to my electronic family, a tablet, but I am unsure as to which one to get. What is your favorite couponers tablet? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[win-star]

Samsung Galaxy Tab

[xlxo]

Things to consider....

• do you have a budget? I like "unlimited" budgets.
• is battery life important to you? Cheaper models have smaller batteries and may have only a few hours life.
• do you have a preferred screen size? Smaller screens have longer battery life and are lighter to walk around. Larger tablets are easier to read.
• how much video/music do you want stored on there? How much does 32 vs 64gb cost? Does a wireless or wifi drive make your life easier?
• do you plan to watch a lot of video? Do you want stereo speakers? Are the speakers all positioned to one side if you watch the videos in landscape? Are external speakers practical? How important is sound quality to you?
• do you want iOS apps? do you want to run Android Apps? do you want to run your Windows software?
• are you only interested in reading? You might find an eReader more practical and cheaper than a tablet. For some, the savings is worth getting a second device. Most tablets will need to be recharged 2 to 10 hours. eReaders can last a few weeks before recharging, especially if you do not use a backlight when reading. eReaders are poor choices when browsing the web.
• is flash/java important to you? Some models display flash better than others. Go to a store display and try out your favourite websites. I use GlobalTV and CTV News as test sites.
• are you happy with the wifi model? Or do you want to pay extra for the cellular option? If you use public wifi a lot, consider a VPN to prevent data eavesdropping.
• what devices do you friend use? If you have problems, do you have someone to go to?
• are you happy with typing on the screen? Do you need an external keyboard? Some devices come with detachable keyboards to make you more productive.
• do you need the latest model? Would you be happy with something 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years older? There's savings for some.

[christinebuhlman]

Wow, xlxo, what a reply. I am just finding myself unable to access more and more things with my playbook. And since i am rather lazy i dont want to use my pc or laptop. Dont get me wrong, I'm a diehard blackberry fan but I am also a realist. As to budget, yes of course I have a budget, no more than it's worth. Ipad air or galaxy is what i am leaning towards.

[bhlombardy]

Christine, I posted a pretty detailed buyers guide a week or so ago in this very forum (if I can find it, I'll link to it).

In the meantime, it's a lot about budget and you current phone platform (if you have one).

You say you're a die-hard blackberry fan -- so perhaps you have a blackberry phone as well.

However, if you have an iPhone, or an Android phone, the logical choice is to buy a corresponding tablet. For the simple reason that the apps you've bought for one, will automatically be available to you on the other. If you're a cross-platform user (ie: iPhone, but Android tablet, or vice-versa) you have to buy the app from both Google and iTunes. That might not be ideal.

If you haven't decided on a smartphone platform, then maybe that should be part of your consideration as well. Just a thought.

(Other thread discussion: http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/370421-...-there-canada/ )

[christinebuhlman]

I have a blackberry phone and a blackberry tablet, ie playbook. I don't care for the galaxy phone just because the data it sucks up, as long as blackberry holds out i'll have one, love the bbm. I know i can get it as an app now but i loves ma phone. The thing i want to change is the ability to get apps. Most of the new things like pc plus, checkout 51 and snap saves are not supported by blackberry playbook. And you tube is a bugger too, i want to be able to get those apps and enjoy them.

[hirev]

get something android. this will allow you to easily load apps and is not locked down to apples software restrictions.

However apple has a better warranty

[Mitchell Martin]

You can get one at Canadian tire for $10 less then walmart

[christinebuhlman]

Canadian tire sells galaxy tablets?

You can get one at Canadian tire for $10 less then walmart

[scotia]

I had a Galaxy Tab in the past and I was not terribly impressed. I recently picked up a Nexus 7 and it is amazing. The screen is wonderful, and it is lightning fast. I would definitely recommend over the Galaxy.

[tjthemanto]

I am getting the MS Surface 10.6 " Tablet this Black Friday at Futureshop or Best Buy , check their flyer , its 150 bucks off ..only 199.99 ..pretty good price

I have an Ipad , but I am sick of their proprietary crap , not playing flash etc , hence going for the Surface , it has a version of MS Office in it as well ..so pretty productive.

[Inlovewithblue]

I have a Blackberry Playbook. I use mine primarily for social media viewing and reading books, and I find it's more than sufficient with 16 GB. I find it useful for taking meeting minutes using the Blackberry's keyboard to "type" into the Playbook then I can email the minutes out directly.

I recently switched to an iPhone from BB due to lack of apps on BB network.

[bhlombardy]

I am getting the MS Surface 10.6 " Tablet this Black Friday at Futureshop or Best Buy , check their flyer , its 150 bucks off ..only 199.99 ..pretty good price

I have an Ipad , but I am sick of their proprietary crap , not playing flash etc , hence going for the Surface , it has a version of MS Office in it as well ..so pretty productive.

Yea, it as "a version" of Office. But IMHO, it's the only thing going for it. I have test driven both the RT and the Pro (first generations which this one is). I was disappointed in both. The Pro was much better -- more like a laptop. But not worth the price tag. The RT is just a poor performer all around.

The RT is a very poor implementation of a tablet. It's not "really" Windows. It's a version of windows that looks like WIndows 8, but it's not. The metro interface is going to be your primary interface. Even though you can see the traditional Windows desktop UI. You CANNOT install regular windows apps or programs on it Windows RT designation makes this a certainty. The only things you can install are apps from their closed market as well.


For your $200, you can do better. Try for the Tab 3 which will be $169 at a few places.

And if you want a version of Office on your tablet: Documents 2 Go.

[jcol]

Nexus 7

[wiselink]

I use a Galaxy tablet but the Nexus 7 is better and I have seen some deals lately for the previous model Nexus 7 for as much as I paid for my galaxy.