sdh2903
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 07:24 PM |
|
|
iPad alternatives?
I'm looking to get a tablet for general use and also to load up with entertainment/games to keep a toddler entertained on an upcoming journey.
My step son has an iPad 2 and loves it but I'm now an android user purely because I hate iTunes and would prefer drag and drop rather that
converting movies etc.
I quite like the look of the galaxy note 10.1 but it gets mixed reviews and it feels quite poorly made. Does anyone have an android tablet and what
would you recommend? Or should I just accept the iPad 3 is the best to go for and put up with iTunes?
Cheers
Steve
|
|
|
|
|
wylliezx9r
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 07:33 PM |
|
|
I've had a Motorola zoom for over a year and absolutely love it. If I was in the market now though.I would get a google nexus, I believe they
come in under 200 quid as well which is great value.
Hth Dan
I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.
George Best
|
|
|
tweek
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 07:36 PM |
|
|
I'm an iPad user myself and personally I love it and with iCloud you never really have to use the desktop version of iTunes. It also has a
stunningly pretty screen! 
Having said that the variety and value of android tablets has really exploded in the last few months. If it was me I would have a look at the google
nexus 7 or amazon kindle fire - both offer a heck of a lot of hardware for very little money.
Best of luck!
John
"oh dear..." said god,
"I hadn't thought of that"
and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic
|
|
|
sdh2903
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 07:38 PM |
|
|
I like the nexus but I really want a 10"screen.
|
|
|
procomp
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 08:04 PM |
|
|
Hi.
Just brought a Tablo. Comes in a range of screen sizes Inc 10". Not used it myself but the 9yo says it does everything she wants it to do.
£170.
Cheers Matt
|
|
|
snakebelly
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 08:06 PM |
|
|
Ive had an Asus Arconia for about 18 months now and love it, very easy to use and good performance.
|
|
|
austin man
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 08:57 PM |
|
|
I have the sony tablet decent screen Android operating system
Life is like a bowl of fruit, funny how all the weird looking ones are left alone
|
|
|
sdh2903
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 09:09 PM |
|
|
Cheers guys, more models to look at.
|
|
|
mads
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 09:30 PM |
|
|
the new Kindle Fire HD has just come out and seems to be able to do almost everything an iPad can do but at a fraction of the price. I was considering
an iPad but may look at the Kindle now.
We gain knowledge faster than we do wisdom!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in
sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... "f*ck, what a trip!"
|
|
|
dlatch
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 10:11 PM |
|
|
the kindle fire HD looks great for the price 
|
|
|
craig1410
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 11:54 PM |
|
|
At the 10" size, the iPad 3 is still without any serious competition, taking account of hardware, software, app availability, iTunes ecosystem.
It is in a class of its own and will be for some time to come IMHO. Android tablets come and go at a dizzying rate but rarely stick around for long
before being obsoleted by the next one.
At 7" the Nexus 7 is probably the best to go for today but give it another month and Apple will kill the 7-8" market with a 7.85"
iPad Mini which will retain the advantages of the iPad 2 but in a smaller size and at a similar price point to the Kindle HD. Preview here:
http://www.macrumors.com/2012/09/11/new-photos-show-ipad-mini-physical-mockup-in-hand/
Amazon have done a decent job in recent days with the revised kindle line-up but they still lack international reach with apps and content and they
are working to a price point rather than trying to provide the best tablet experience. The kindle range in general is just a shopping device for
books, media and other Amazon products. The iPad is the future of what we currently think of as the "PC".
If possible, wait until Apple announce the iPad Mini. This will give several benefits:
1. The iPad Mini may be a good option for you.
2. The iPad 3 will be revised with a new type of dock connector and possibly some other tweaks.
3. The Nexus 7 price will drop and the Kindle HD won't seem so cheap
4. You will be in a better position to make an intelligent buying decision
As someone else said, don't be put off the iPad due to iTunes. With iOS 5 you never have to use iTunes (I don't anyway) and I suspect that
Apple will make radical changes to iTunes in the coming months to address your concerns anyway.
If you are under time pressure then consider the iPad 3 from the Apple refurbished store here:
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad/ipad3
You will get a 10% discount and get the same warranty and quality etc. Seriously, there is zero downside of the refurb store except that you get the
product in a plain box not a retail box. £359 for a 16GB WiFi model.
Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy it.
Craig.
|
|
|
ceebmoj
|
| posted on 11/9/12 at 11:58 PM |
|
|
There is an apple announcement thing tomorrow so you will see what is available then.
IMHO the Nexus 7 is a nice piece of kit for the price if the expected mini iPad comes out and forces the price lower still, even better.
|
|
|
craig1410
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 12:07 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by ceebmoj
There is an apple announcement thing tomorrow so you will see what is available then.
IMHO the Nexus 7 is a nice piece of kit for the price if the expected mini iPad comes out and forces the price lower still, even better.
Don't expect the iPad Mini to be announced tomorrow. It will most likely be announced at a separate event in October.
Tomorrow is all about the iPhone 5 (probably)...
|
|
|
Slimy38
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 07:43 AM |
|
|
I bought an Advent Vega a while back, £130 and only requires the installation of the Honeycomb OS (or Vegacomb as they call it), for it to become a
very good tablet.
However, I think it's been pretty much trounced (in capability and price) by the Nexus.
I wouldn't even consider an ipad, it's more than double the price of an 'average' Android tablet but not double the
capability. Craig, you mention the ipad mini, do you honestly believe they'd price it alongside the Kindle? That's not been Apple's
approach so far.
|
|
|
craig1410
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 08:56 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
I bought an Advent Vega a while back, £130 and only requires the installation of the Honeycomb OS (or Vegacomb as they call it), for it to become a
very good tablet.
However, I think it's been pretty much trounced (in capability and price) by the Nexus.
I wouldn't even consider an ipad, it's more than double the price of an 'average' Android tablet but not double the
capability. Craig, you mention the ipad mini, do you honestly believe they'd price it alongside the Kindle? That's not been Apple's
approach so far.
Well I follow the industry news and rumours pretty closely and the current expectation is that the iPad Mini price point will be $199 or $249 which
equates to £169 or £199. This will then appear a month or two later on the refurbished store at perhaps £149 and £169 respectively with full Apple
warranty etc. Apple can do this and still make a decent profit due to huge economies of scale and resulting buying power in the supply chain.
Just picking up on your point about 'average' Android tablets and their price comparison with the iPad. I think you are being unfair by
looking at 'price' but not 'value. The price is certainly easier to compare but the value is what is actually important. With an
'average' Android tablet you are likely to get a device with similar hardware specs (although the iPad 3 display still blows everything
else away...) but you also tend to get an older version of the Android O/S and often it is not straightforward (often impossible for the layman) to
upgrade to the latest O/S. This means that you lose out on the latest software developments and improvements. While in the PC world this might not be
such a big deal, on a tablet the software IS the device. Tablets by their very nature are just a piece of glass (or plastic in some cases) and
software. I got an iPad 1 when it first came out in 2010 and it is still running the very latest released version of iOS today and therefore I get the
benefits of all the improvements there has been since iOS 3.2 through to iOS 5.1.1. (See here for a list of improvements in that time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history#iOS_5.x:_fifth_major_OS_release )
This is a large part of the reason why the iPads (and other Apple hardware) tend to retain 'value' over time - because they retain
usefulness over time. This is reflected in the selling price of second hand hardware. (See here: http://www.mac2sell.net ) Using this site, my £499
iPad bought in early 2010 is still worth £150 today almost 30 months later. Show me an early Android tablet that is worth anything more than scrap
value after 30 months...
Anyway, my point to the OP was to wait a little while if possible regardless of whether they want an iPad or not because the release of the iPad Mini
will ripple through the entire industry in a very significant way.
C.
|
|
|
hughpinder
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 09:09 AM |
|
|
My missus has a ipad2 wifi/gsm and my daughter has a galaxy tab. I'd happily use either, but have to say the ipad is nicer to use/easier/more
consistant and has a better selection of apps(generally), and the 'new ipad' screen is amazing. Obviously the tab has some apps and
features that are better than the ipad ones I use (but of course I may not be using the best app in either ecosystem). Look at the ebay price too -
after a couple of ipad generations you can still sell your ipad on for about half what you paid for it, to offset the cost of the next one, with an
android tablet you almost certainly wont get anything significant back. I'd second the idea of using the apple refurb store if buying an ipad -
I have bought from there several times - no problem.
I saw an article on tablet sales recently showing how its now something like 60% android/40% ipad for all sales, but people buying their second tablet
its 70% ipad, 30% android if that tells you anything (from US sales).
Regards
Hugh
|
|
|
scudderfish
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 09:24 AM |
|
|
I bought myself an Asus Transformer and it is excellent. The keyboard means I can use it like a laptop (writing emails on a touch screen gets very
tiresome), but I can pull it apart if I want to use it as a tablet. The extra battery in the keyboard charges the one in the tablet whenever it
can.
ETA
This is the one I got
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-10-1-inch-Multitouch-Keyboard-Android/dp/B00862ZLIK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347447255&sr=8-1 £100 cheaper than
the one in the pcpro link below. A couple of weeks ago it automatically did an over the air update to Android 4.1, which was a pleasant surprise.
[Edited on 12/9/12 by scudderfish]
|
|
|
40inches
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 09:42 AM |
|
|
I have an iPad, it's ok, but the lack of connectivity (unless to another Apple device) is a huge disappointment.
Having a Galaxy S2, I now wish I had gone for the Tab 10.1, assuming the tab is a large version of the S2.
Food for thought here. PC Pro
|
|
|
David Jenkins
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 11:06 AM |
|
|
My son and his wife have an iPad - they liked it when they first got it (novely value) but now they dislike it a lot and are looking at an Android
replacement.
|
|
|
bj928
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 01:10 PM |
|
|
i've just bought the ASUS tf700 and its great, wasn't sure if i would get on with a tablet, but its great, good battery life, easy to use,
shame i had to wait so long for the ft700 to come out, but glad i waited, highly recoment if u want a high end tablet, i've put all my music on
a micro sd card in the side of the machine, leaving the machines 64gb for apps and stuff
|
|
|
Not Anumber
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 03:24 PM |
|
|
Ive used an IPad and a Nexus 7 and was amazed at what the Nexus could do for the money.
My only criticism is they dont currently make a Nexus 7 which can take a SIM card and to store more than 16Gb of data requires plugging in external
storage via the USB port as there isn't a micro SD slot.
Despite this it's a great device I nearly took the plunge on a Nexus but will wait until later in the year in case theythe next version of the
Nexus
|
|
|
MRLuke
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 04:25 PM |
|
|
I currently have a desire HD.
At upgrade time im going for a cheapy £11-£13 ppm android phone with all you can eat data and then tethering that to a Nexus 7 when I feel I want it.
After having the Desire HD I have got very used to having a big screen so the nexus seems like a logical step. The other alternative would be the
Galaxy S3 but seems a bit big for everyday holding to your ear etc.
As Craig says when apple release their latest device (which clearly copies the nexus and kindle ideas) it will be interesting to see how it stacks
up.
Personally I dont like apple at all. products that only integrate with other devices made by the same manufacturer sucks. If I buy a device or a piece
of software I want to be able to do whatever I want with it.
|
|
|
steve8274
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 05:07 PM |
|
|
I was thinking of getting daughter blackberry playbook. Currently on offer at pc world for 129.
Not sure how it stacks up with others but she has the phone and loves it.
Anyone think of a reason to not buy this other than preference.
Steve
|
|
|
austin man
|
| posted on 12/9/12 at 05:16 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by steve8274
I was thinking of getting daughter blackberry playbook. Currently on offer at pc world for 129.
Not sure how it stacks up with others but she has the phone and loves it.
Anyone think of a reason to not buy this other than preference.
Steve
Quite a small display if I recall
Life is like a bowl of fruit, funny how all the weird looking ones are left alone
|
|
|
sdh2903
|
| posted on 13/9/12 at 04:28 PM |
|
|
Cheers all, Ive been scourering the next with all the suggested makes and models.
I do like the google nexus however the 7" screen is a deal breaker, i have a galaxy s3 so a 7" just isn't wothwhile it has to be a
10" screen, there are rumours of a bigger one but nothing set in stone.
Down to the specs and I keep ending up back at the Ipad which is annoying. I can get the Ipad 3 for £360 ish through work or an Ipad2 for 299. The
only Android tab that I've found that really competes on specs is the Asus transformer prime, which looks good but is a bit pricey at £400.
I am tight ish on time as I would need it by early oct but I might just wait a couple of weeks and see what happens as something seems to be launching
every 2 mins with these bloody things.
|
|
|
.jpg)
