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I need a tablet

boogenman

Turbo Monkey
Nov 3, 2004
4,290
973
BUFFALO
So I was pretty excited to hear that the ipad mini was coming out but after the $300+ rumors and now knowing it is $329 I am not so excited about getting it. I had the 1st generation ipad and liked it but it did have 3 drawbacks. It was kind of heavy, hard to hold with one hand and the resolution wasnt that great. Some asshole stole it from my office so I have been without one since May.

It will be used mainly for me to surf the web from the couch while my wife watches some of the ****tiest shows ever on tv(Grays anatomy, rich bitches yelling at eachother, ect.). Or she will surf the web with it while I watch awesome shows on TV that she can't comprehend. She will probably do some books and maybe a movie or two a year for airplane rides.

We both drank the apple juice and have iphones so obviously we like everything about iOs.

Our choices are spend $199 for a kindle fire HD(never used one) but we might hate the operating system. iPad mini for $339, ipad 2 for $399 or be big fukkin pimps and buy the new $500 ipad(which won't happen). Last January we walked into the mall to buy the ipad for $500 and decided to split the cash and buy whatever we wanted since it seemed like a waste.

Flame on, help me or whatever. Feel free to post amateur pictures of bacon as well.

Thank you:monkey:
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
I really like my Nexus 7. It's $200, full Google OS (i.e. not restricted to Amazon's ecosystem and beholden to when Amazon decides to roll out updates, not to mention the weird skin the Amazon throws on it), and it's small/light. The N7 is very easy to use 1-handed. We also have a 10" Android tablet and a 10" iPad in the house. Neither of those are practical to use 1-handed in any way.

I use it for a lot of things, but probably the most time gets spent with it browsing on the sofa, so using it 1-handed is great. If your big uses for it are books, movies and web browsing, there's no particular advantage for either operating system, since they both handle those tasks just fine, and you should really be shopping for price and form factor.
 

boogenman

Turbo Monkey
Nov 3, 2004
4,290
973
BUFFALO
First you sound cheap - are you looking at the mini because it's cheaper or because you'd be happy with a 7" vs a 10"?



/flame.
I didn't like that it was kind of hard to hold my ipad 1st gen with one hand so maybe a smaller tablet would be better. But the 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen ipad is a lot lighter.

The Nexus is another option. I sure wish there was a place that I could go do some showrooming!
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
You have to at least consider the Nexus 7. Later this month, the 16g will be $199 and the 32g will be $250.
This would be my vote as well, particularly if the 16g drops to $199. 16gb would be perfect to store some media on it, and you can use your home computer (assuming you have one?) as a media server for everything else. Resolution's higher than the iPride Mini as well.

Regardless I'd say wait to see what blowout deals start occurring for the holiday season?
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,192
media blackout
Nexus 7 is the only tab on the market I'd consider buying right now.

No doubt the iPad mini will be a great product, but given the devices they're going up against, they really missed the mark on price.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
The Nexus is another option. I sure wish there was a place that I could go do some showrooming
Staples usually has them on display.

This would be my vote as well, particularly if the 16g drops to $199. 16gb would be perfect to store some media on it, and you can use your home computer (assuming you have one?) as a media server for everything else.
Android has USB mass storage support even without rooting. Buy an USB OTG cable for $5 and then buy Nexus Media importer - instant access to content on any USB key or HDD:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.homeysoft.nexususb.importer&hl=en

Nexus Media Importer allows you to import and stream music, video, photos and documents from a USB flash drive or SD card connected to your Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus, Xoom or other Android 3.2+ devices with USB Host support. This is the only non-root solution for devices that do not provide native support for external flash storage. Requires the following hardware:
1) An Android 3.2+ device. Known compatible devices include Google Galaxy Nexus & Nexus 7 and the Motorola Xoom. Please try the free "Nexus Photo Viewer" first if you do not have one of these devices.
2) A USB OTG (On-The-Go) cable. Costs range from $1-5 USD on Amazon, see screenshots for examples.
3) A USB Flash Drive or USB SD Card Reader and SD Card, see screenshots for examples. Please see the FAQ on my website if you are trying to connect an external hard drive or other device.
 
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Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
iPad is great as a basic websurfer. I'd get my parents one.

I'm not thrilled on mine for anything more than that. I would highly consider going android or something if I were to buy one, iOU is for old people.

I think my next phone is going to be a galaxy note phablet thing.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
I think my next phone is going to be a galaxy note phablet thing.
It might not be as big, but the LG Nexus coming soon sounds like a nice phone.

The Samsung Nexus 10 is also supposed to be announced next week too.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
yeah, coming soon my ass. I waited for my thunderbolt for too long and while I danced around hoping the note 1 would come to verizon or encourage me to switch to T-brobile, it never did. Why phones takes a year and a half to be released is being any rational thought.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT

boogenman

Turbo Monkey
Nov 3, 2004
4,290
973
BUFFALO
I'm really towards the NEXUS 7 or the Fire HD. No one has comments or feedback on Fire? is it complete garbage?

I can buy a lot of bacon and pork product with the $140 I will save over the ipad mini.

BOOSH


 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,196
4,419
The pricing doesn't quite make sense to me... the galaxy nexus phone is $350, the nexus 7 tablet is $199?
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
I'm really towards the NEXUS 7 or the Fire HD. No one has comments or feedback on Fire? is it complete garbage?
It's not garbage, I just don't see the point. Actually, I do see the point: Amazon Instant Video. If that's important to you, go with the Fire. Amazon Instant Video isn't available for other tablets.

Other than that, Amazon has heavily manipulated the skin which interferes with usability (unless, you know, all you want to do is read books and watch movies), you only have access to the Amazon App Store unless you want to root the tablet (which means you only get a subset of applications), and Amazon's heavy modifications mean you're not going to get OS updates in a timely manner, if at all - they've basically abandoned the original Fire.

The pricing doesn't quite make sense to me... the galaxy nexus phone is $350, the nexus 7 tablet is $199?
Analysts indicated that Google is only making a tiny profit on each tablet, pretty close to breaking even. It's an attempt to get some high quality Android tablets into the market to spur app development.

Samsung isn't subsidizing your Nexus phone purchase - there are no such problems with Android phone adoption.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,943
13,135
Portland, OR
I hate the iPad. It's too big to single hand, it's bulky AND slippery, not a fan of iOS.

Nexus 7 FTMFW.

(I play with tablets ALL DAY at work, I know what I am talking about).
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,943
13,135
Portland, OR
I'm really towards the NEXUS 7 or the Fire HD. No one has comments or feedback on Fire? is it complete garbage?

I can buy a lot of bacon and pork product with the $140 I will save over the ipad mini.

BOOSH
BV nailed it. I hate the interface on the Kindle Fire. The Fire and Fire HD are nice, but you are LOCKED into Amazon unless you root it. We support the Amazon market, so all my Fire's are stock. The Fire is a little heavier than the Nexus 7, but lighter than the Tab1 or Tab2. I carry the Tab1 with me to game on the bus. It's a little bulkier than the Fire, but I have Goole Play, so MOAR GAMES.

The Nexus 7 for home/truck use. But the Tab1 is for "work" :rofl:
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
My wife has a Fire. I have a Xoom.
I actually bought both figuring we would return the one we didn't like. Ended up keeping both since they fill different rolls and the whole google account aspect really makes it work better as a single person device.

The Fire is a great web/movie/book device. It's small and cheap and you can travel with it w/o being too worried of it being ripped off. I let me 3yo play with it, and I'm not worried about it. Many apps don't work are aren't even available.

The Xoom is big and heavy and does everything. It has great battery life and has completely replaced my laptop. It's wifi only and was cheap. It doesn't travel well.
 

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
I just picked up a Kindle Fire HD a few weeks ago before I went to Belize. Works pretty well for $200, the ipad is better. But to travel with and leave out, it works just fine.