Tablets & How They Work??

[Smokefan1977]

Hey guys I have been considering getting a Tablet but I have a few questions

How do these work for internet connection when im away from my router. Do you have to have service such as cell service provider?

What are some quality brands or should I just buy Apple?

Thanks fellas

 

[JHZR2]

Simply put - there are some that run off of 3G and WiFi, others just WiFi.

Tablets are 66% computers. Youll never run a full filesystem, true software, etc. But for doing web and email, they seem a pretty good option.

I have a macbook air 13", which is about as thin as it gets. There is a sony Vaio that is also really small and portable, but it is as much if not more than the MBA.

Netbooks have inferior keyboards and screens, as well as lower performance hardware. They have their place too, as theyll likely run as well as a tablet and retain more functionality.

Im not gigging tablets though. The ipad is the gold standard, samsung looks like they offer a pretty awesome one roughly the size of the ipad (not sure of the $$$). Will have to see how things like the kindle fire work out.

Stick with the majors and youll be best off, IMO. Beware of "specs". As an example, my wife's iphone 4 feels as fast for moist stuff as my new 4s (I know, I was running the 4 before I got the 4s), but the 4s battery seems to drain faster. While it may be "faster" in some ways, there are prices to be paid in engineering a device. So, you may not necessarily be wel served by fastest is best unless there is another compelling reason...

 

[Smokefan1977]

So if its 3G I would need network service? I need something bigger then a cell phone but not a full on computer. I find myself out of the office much more now and just need to keep up with email and something I can surf on.

 

[sasilverbullet]

I have a Nook Color that I hacked to use Android - great tablet but it can only connect to a wifi signal.

 

[PandaBear]

They are sort of like a smart phone that you cannot call with (there might be skype if you want to use it to call), think of it as a bigger iPod touch.

If you are not buying a 3G model but only a wifi, then you will be out of connection if you are not around a network you can use. There are still lots of apps and games you can use without a network around however so it is not all that bad.

The capacity has to do with how many photos, videos, musics, applications you can store. At least on iPad you cannot copy files to it and use the app to open what you copy over. The apps decide what is around and what you can open. Not sure about Andorid ones.

I'm biased and like iPad because if "feels" more automated and have less configurations to take care of, but the Android based ones are pretty nice too, especially the $199 Kindle Fire.

 

[ctrcbob]

I have an iPad2 with AT&T 3G plus WiFi. I can use it anywhere. I have it set so it will connect through WiFi if there is WiFi nearby, otherwise, it will connect through AT&T 3G. I can switch the WiFi off for those times that I want to check personal things, such as bank accounts, which I would never do through WiFi.

Someday in the future, I will get an iPhone5, once they introduce them, assuming that the 5 will be 4G. (the iphone4 and iphone4s are both 3G)

BTW, my main computers are both Acer PC Laptops. iPad and PC work very different than each other

Until Apple introduces the iPhone5, I will stick with my Motorola SLVR L9 "Dumb Phone". Very smart, but a dumb phone just the same.

 

[JHZR2]

FWIW, 3G is pretty darn fast. Doing stuff like photos on my iphone, I see 200-300kbps transfer speed, which I cant really complain about.

 

[SrDriver]

After the lst of the new year we should see more versions of tablets with faster processors, etc.

IPad 3 should be out this spring.

I went with a Netbook for my travel needs. They can be had for well under $300.00. Some offer a larger screen of 11.5 inches.

I have mine setup to boot into either Windows 7 or the Debian version of Linux Mint.

I like it for travel and it meets my needs.

May buy a tablet this fall just depending on what is on the market then?

 

[buickman50401]

I got an Iconia 500 for xmas. Just wireless though. Really liking it so far. Folks picked it up for me from OfficeMax. Didn't ask for one but they found one on sale plus had 15% off coupon and my dad had a $50 off coupon he gets through his work. Ended up being much less than a kindle fire. With a 3 year oops I threw it down concrete steps warranty it was just under $200.

I'm standing in my garage with a smoke and coffee typing this on the tab right now.

 

[Bill in Utah]

I've got a Toshiba Thrive 16gig which I grabbed on a Black Friday deal for around $250 shipped and I love it.

The full size USB, SD CARD and HDMI ports plus replaceable battery sealed the deal for me. It just became a wait for the price to get one for me. It will NOT replace a real computer but nice to use for streaming, emails, surfing the web and stuff like that. Love that it uses flash so everything plays well on the web.

The video chat works REAL well (better than the netbook that my wife has) and I use it for internet radio quite a bit.

Take care, bill

PS: Wi-Fi only. IF I needed something to get online away from an hotspot I'd get a Mi-Fi system so it could be used with other devices.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

If you have a smartphone, you can enable tethering and use it as a hotspot. I have an Asus Transformer and it's good for when I don't want to lug my 5 pound MBP around.

 

[ahoier]

Simply put, if you are out of the office a lot (or away from Open Wifi networks....) you'll want one that has "3G".....Otherwise you will be restricted to areas with "open Wifi" - whether it be work, home, Starbucks, McDonalds, etc.....that have "open wifi"...

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
If you have a smartphone, you can enable tethering and use it as a hotspot. I have an Asus Transformer and it's good for when I don't want to lug my 5 pound MBP around.


Except that the stupid data plans ae so overpriced, it hardly seems worth it.

 

[Smokefan1977]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
I've got a Toshiba Thrive 16gig which I grabbed on a Black Friday deal for around $250 shipped and I love it.

The full size USB, SD CARD and HDMI ports plus replaceable battery sealed the deal for me. It just became a wait for the price to get one for me. It will NOT replace a real computer but nice to use for streaming, emails, surfing the web and stuff like that. Love that it uses flash so everything plays well on the web.

The video chat works REAL well (better than the netbook that my wife has) and I use it for internet radio quite a bit.

Take care, bill

PS: Wi-Fi only. IF I needed something to get online away from an hotspot I'd get a Mi-Fi system so it could be used with other devices.


Thanks Bill the Thrive is one of my top contenders in this decision. I have had nothing but good luck with Toshiba Notebooks. Thank you for the indepth review Bill

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
If you have a smartphone, you can enable tethering and use it as a hotspot. I have an Asus Transformer and it's good for when I don't want to lug my 5 pound MBP around.


Except that the stupid data plans ae so overpriced, it hardly seems worth it.


You have to pay for 3g with the 3g enabled tablets don't you?

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
If you have a smartphone, you can enable tethering and use it as a hotspot. I have an Asus Transformer and it's good for when I don't want to lug my 5 pound MBP around.


Except that the stupid data plans ae so overpriced, it hardly seems worth it.


You have to pay for 3g with the 3g enabled tablets don't you?


Yes, this is true. My issue is that Im paying for unlimited 3G data with my smartphone. But to get tethering, I have to pay something like $40-50 MORE a month to enable it.

Cell plans are overpriced enough without this kind of ridiculous setup.

Paying that, Id rather get one of those little wifi hotspots and have separate equipment.

Can you even tether, say, an iphone to an ipad?

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Not sure about the iPhone, but on my phone, the tethering has been hacked to use regular 3g, but I only have a 200mb plan and I'm usually in Wifi areas. It works well the few times I've tried it though.

 

[2Fast4U]

Ipad is the tablet for dummies. If want your experience to be controlled by apple and are not very tech savy then ipad will be great for you. Want to be able to use flash on a website, have expandable space with sd card, have hdmi hookup , have usb hookup then get something else.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Haven't seen many Ipads have you?

 

[2Fast4U]

Got a work ipad2 and home asus transformer.