63 replies to this topic

[RShack]

Wouldn't want smaller than the ipad2 I have...don't know the size but it's not the mini.

 

Is WiFi good enough?  Or do you wanna pay extra for a wireless data plan and thus need a SIM card slot?

[RShack]

Is WiFi good enough?  Or do you wanna pay extra for a wireless data plan and thus need a SIM card slot?

 

2 others things that you might or might not care about...

 

* A slot for removable memory cards so you can move stuff back and forth from your laptop... and store more stuff on the tablet that you could otherwise.

 

* An e-stylus so you can actually write or doodle with a pen that works (as opposed to those things with a very fat round non-point that's like writing with a dull crayon).

[SportsGuy]

Wifi good enough..don't have a laptop so memory cards don't matter to me.

use my tablet for Internet, apps and playing games basically.

I just want something very user friendly...my iPad has always been fine until this new update...and now it sucks ass. Safari has froze on me 5 times today and that is pretty normal since the update happened.

[RShack]

Wifi good enough..don't have a laptop so memory cards don't matter to me.

use my tablet for Internet, apps and playing games basically.

I just want something very user friendly...my iPad has always been fine until this new update...and now it sucks ass. Safari has froze on me 5 times today and that is pretty normal since the update happened.

 

Well, if you don't want to be at the mercy of Apple screwing up your device, then Android is the only alternate choice that's viable.  (Personally, I would not buy Apple stuff for this very reason... but obviously plenty of others love Apple stuff.)   With (most) Android devices, you can undo whatever annoyances a new version of the OS might cause.  While non-geeks might not care, Android is the opposite of Apples's closed system.  You can install different versions of the OS if you want... both in terms of which numerical version of the OS it is, and in terms of which features are/aren't included.  So, with an Android tablet, what just happened to you with your iPad would not require a new device, it would just require you or a geek-friend to screw around with it for a little while to change which OS is running your apps for you.  In short, you won't have the forced-obsolescence risk.  With Apple, you pretty much take whatever they want you to have, regardless of whether you want it or not.

 

One more question:  the aspect ratio of the iPad2 screen is 4:3 (like the proportions of an old traditional TV screen) while new Android tablets are gonna be either 16:9 or 16:10 (like the proportions of modern widescreen TV's).  Not everybody likes that.  Most people don't care, but some folks have a fit.   If you're used to holding your iPad in portrait orientation, the screen will be taller and skinnier than you're used to; if you're used to holding it in landscape orientation, it will be wider and shorter than you're used to.  Not saying you should prefer either 4:3 or 16:9, just saying you should expect a difference, that's all.  (Most people don't give a f***, but some people who expected to not give a f*** are surprised to find out that they do anyway.) Now, if that matters to you, there are Android tablets that have a 4:3 aspect ratio... but they're not the latest-and-greatest designs... some good ones, not dissing them, but designs from a couple years ago.  So, to get 4:3 you pretty much have to settle for the same so-so screen resolution that your iPad2's got, whereas a new one can give you a better quality screen but with a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio.   So, you gotta decide what you wanna do about that.  Either the proportions you're used to and the screen resolution you're used vs. widescreen aspect ratio and better screen resolution.

[RShack]

Did you decide to do anything in particular, or are you still thinking about it?

[SportsGuy]

Did you decide to do anything in particular, or are you still thinking about it?

Still thinking...may ask for one for Xmas.

I think there's a good chance I will go with the Galaxy. I love Samsung products but I haven't done enough research to see if that is good enough. I'm sure it will satisfy my needs though.

[RShack]

Still thinking...may ask for one for Xmas.

I think there's a good chance I will go with the Galaxy. I love Samsung products but I haven't done enough research to see if that is good enough. I'm sure it will satisfy my needs though.

 

As luck would have it, I happen to know about them because I just got one... a refurb for cheap.  Since I'm pretty much a cheapskate, I always spend too much time looking into things before I buy them... 

 

Here's what I know about the big-display (10" or above) current Samsung tablets... all of which are called Samsung Galaxy-something, and often Samsung Galaxy Tab-something... which means it gets very confusing quite easily... the words Galaxy and Tab mean next to nothing... it's what comes after Galaxy, and sometimes what comes after Tab, that counts...

 

(10'1" is the de facto standard size for big screen Android tablets; your iPad is 9.7")

 

In Jan'14 Samsung released the Galaxy Tab Pro in sizes that included 10.1" and 12;2" screens (plus a smaller one).

* These are the same as the Galaxy Note Pro except the Note-Pro's have electronic stylus-pens while the Tab-Pro's don't. (In Samsung-speak, Note means it's got an e-stylus to write with)

* They all have 2560x1600 screens, which will make a mockery of your iPad's 1024x768 screens, detail-wise.  (The iPad screen's color is better when viewing from off-to-the-side.)

 

Just recently, they released the Galaxy Tab S, which is pretty much the same thing as the Tab Pro except for:

* Small changes in overall size, with the Tab-S being a wee bit bigger

* It's bigger because, instead of a 10.1" screen, the Tab-S has a 10.5" screen.  There is no Tab-S 12.2" screen. (There is a smaller Tab-S screen.)

* The screen is still 2560x1600 but it's AMOLED technology, which is better when viewed from the side, and richer in blacks and other deep colors, and which is thought to be better overall, it's just that until now it was limited to smaller phone-screens... so the big news for tech geeks is that this is a big AMOLED screen...

* The only problem is that when they test the Tab-S screen vs the Tab-Pro screen, nobody can tell much difference... unless you look at it from way off-to-the-side.

 

So, Tab-S is the new one... which means they're closing out the released-in-Jan'14 Tab-Pro's for no reason whatsoever except that the Tab-S is out.

* This means Tab-Pro's can be had for a lot cheaper than they were just recently.

* Samsung will never admit this, as they don't want to discount the brand.

* So, they sell them as refurb's.  You can tell because all-the-sudden there are boatloads of refurbs available.  

* But there's nothing refurb about them.  People get brand new items, but in a different box, and with a 90-day warranty.

 

Apart from the slight difference in screen and size, what else is different?

* The have the same processor inside.

* The 10.5" Tab-S has 3GB RAM... same as the Tab-Pro 12.2" screen... while the Tab-Pro 10.1" screen had 2GB RAM, not 3GB.  

* People argue about whether this makes any difference or not.   If it does, it's only when multiple things run at once, and maybe not then (beats me).

* The 10.5" Tab-S costs $500

* The 10.1" Tab-Note was $500 until the Tab-S came out, but now can be had for ~$290

* The 12.2" Tab-Note was, and many places still is, $650... but can be had for ~$350

 

The main tradeoff is price vs. warranty.  And since most electronic things either break soon or don't break for a long time, I decided that it's a good tradeoff for cheapskate-me.   

 

The only reason I cared is because the 10.1" screen on my Asus TF700 is not big enough to suit me... so I grabbed a Tab Pro 12.2" while I could.

 

Dunno what's best for you... that's just what I know about them, that's all...

[RShack]

Is the 12.2" one I got too big?

 

There's a cool size-tool on phonearena. com... here's a pic of the size diff between an iPad Air and the 12.2" Tab Note 12.2" I just got...

 

http://www.phonearen...hones/8053,8274

 

To get a better idea, use the "View Layered" button at the bottom...

[SportsGuy]

Thanks for the info.

[RShack]

Review of the Tab S that references the similar Tab Pro:

 

http://www.digitaltr...-s-10-5-review/

[RShack]

Is the 12.2" one I got too big?

 

There's a cool size-tool on phonearena. com... here's a pic of the size diff between an iPad Air and the 12.2" Tab Note 12.2" I just got...

 

http://www.phonearen...hones/8053,8274

 

To get a better idea, use the "View Layered" button at the bottom...

 

Well, it just now showed up... 

 

While some reviews say it's huge, IMO they're wrong... it's exactly the right size...  it's what 10.1" tablets should have been.... 

 

ps.  It came with a useful cover too...

[RShack]

Well, it just now showed up... 
 
While some reviews say it's huge, IMO they're wrong... it's exactly the right size...  it's what 10.1" tablets should have been.... 
 
ps.  It came with a useful cover too...

Plus, the onscreen keyboard is the real deal... no clicking to another view to get numbers and punctuation... it's got cursor arrow keys, etc... just like God intended...

[RShack]

In case somebody cares... right now (and for a few more hours) Woot has the Note Pro 12.2 for $475... it's same thing as the Tab Pro 12.2 plus it has the e-stylus pen (in it's own little slot) so you can write on it.  (This diff is more than just an included e-stylus, it's also the e-stuff inside the tablet itself that the e-stylus talks to... plus, it's pressure-sensitive which is a big deal among e-stylus fans)....  these appear to be new, not so-called refurbs... the diff is the box and the warranty... (my refurb included the extras: $25 at the google play store, the extra 48GB of dropbox, plus other stuff...)  

 

These things were list-$800 and street-$750 but are now down to something like $640 on amazon... so $475 on woot means amazon is dumping them as it's no longer the newest model (despite the fact that the Note-Pro-12.2 and Tab-Pro-12.2 are the only big ones around...)

 

EDIT: manufacturer refurbs of the Note version on ebay for $390 w/ free shipping...

[RShack]

Well, it just now showed up... 

 

While some reviews say it's huge, IMO they're wrong... it's exactly the right size...  it's what 10.1" tablets should have been.... 

 

ps.  It came with a useful cover too...

 

I'm loving this thing...

 

Plus, it looks like mine actually was a return... now, it does seem brand new and untouched... but it arrived with a mostly-full 16GB micro-SD in it... so, I wondered, what's on this SD card?  Turns out it's 14.7GB of porn... (I am not making this up)... so, either the guy who returned it lost his porn, or else the people at Samsung who are boxing up their remaining stock as refurbs are offering extra freebies.... 

[Nigel Tufnel]

There's currently a pricing mistake on the Kindle Voyage - $59 instead of $199.

 

http://www.amazon.co...0?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Nigel Tufnel]

Looks like they fixed it.  Hope my order goes through.

[SammyBirdland]

I have an iPad 3 with Retina.  I love it.  I mainly use it for books and bible apps, Texas Hold'em, Netflix/Amazon Prime streaming, and Comcast's live streaming app.

[You Play to Win the Game]

I have an iPad 3 with Retina.  I love it.  I mainly use it for books and bible apps, Texas Hold'em, Netflix/Amazon Prime streaming, and Comcast's live streaming app.

I used to read on the iPad, but had to get an e-ink Amazon reader. The strain on my eyes just got to be way too intense and started giving me migraines. I even turned the brightness all the way down while reading, and of course used the black background with white text. Didn't help, unfortunately. Doesn't help of course that I'm staring at a computer screen most of the day to begin with.

[JeremyStrain]

I have an iPad 3 with Retina.  I love it.  I mainly use it for books and bible apps, Texas Hold'em, Netflix/Amazon Prime streaming, and Comcast's live streaming app.

The girls and I all have iPad mini 2s and the wife has an iPad retina. I have a Kindle Fire I use more than my iPad though, that's mostly for work.

[Mark Carver]

Gonna be alot of ticked off Kindle owner tomorrow.

 

Critical Update: Your Kindle Will Lose Internet if You Don't Do This Today [Mar 21]

 

Kindle users will lose Internet connectivity on their devices if they don't install a crucial update before March 22, Amazon has warned.

 

This would mean services such as downloading books, accessing the Kindle Store and other Internet-dependent tasks would not work.

 

The Amazon update applies to Kindles sold in 2012 and before.

 

If the update is not done before March 22, users will receive the following message on their devices: "Your Kindle is unable to connect at this time. Please make sure you are within wireless range and try again. If the problem persists, please restart your Kindle from the menu in settings and try again."

 

If users miss the deadline, they will have to manually install the update by downloading it on a computer or laptop, then plugging in the Kindle via a USB connection and transferring the software to the device.

 

Amazon has released a table outlining what generation devices require updating.

 

The U.S. e-commerce giant has also outlined instructions on how to update the Kindle here.

http://www.nbcnews.c...you-don-n542466