Tablets? Kindle Fire?

[DBMaster]

Asking people which tablet you should buy is like asking them where to get the best tacos. The most recent ratings I read in Consumer Reports and online from sites like CNET and PC Magazine do seem the rate the iPad at the top. Google Nexus comes next. Samsung's tablets are in the top few as well. I can see already that you're not going to get a conclusive answer here. Sometimes you just have to take a risk. I very recently got a Samsung Galaxy 2 10.1. It does everything I wanted it to do. I am not so much into apps. I just wanted, basically, an internet appliance that would free me from my office at the house.

Doing your homework will get you a lot farther than asking this forum.

 

[NateDN10]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Asking people which tablet you should buy is like asking them where to get the best tacos. The most recent ratings I read in Consumer Reports and online from sites like CNET and PC Magazine do seem the rate the iPad at the top. Google Nexus comes next. Samsung's tablets are in the top few as well. I can see already that you're not going to get a conclusive answer here. Sometimes you just have to take a risk. I very recently got a Samsung Galaxy 2 10.1. It does everything I wanted it to do. I am not so much into apps. I just wanted, basically, an internet appliance that would free me from my office at the house.

Doing your homework will get you a lot farther than asking this forum.

Of course we're not going to come to a consensus on here. We never do. But differing opinions are still useful.

 

[crw]

If we're voting, my vote is the iPad Mini. Both my wife and I have the full size retina display iPad. These are great devices, and for something like this you might as well go for the best.

 

[JHZR2]

My inlaws, who are pretty agnostic when it comes to "ecosystems" for handheld devices, and who run a pretty big windows based network for home and business stuff, are migrating away from Kindle and into the iPad.

THe iPad regular version is a bit large. Its great if youre a road warrior and want something with screen real estate. Its not as great for handling one handed. So the first question (and this can be said for the prodcts by Samsung or whomever else) is if a smaller or larger one is justified.

It seems that the OP wants smaller. After handling the ipad mini this weekend, Id tend to agree.

But they are moving away from Kindles to ipad minis. Why? All the features and functions. Notibly, imessage that allows consistent contact, facetime which freely lets them interact with us and their new grandson, the same kindle ereading capability (granted the original kindle blows any tablet away in this area simply because the battery lasts so much longer with the e-paper type screen). Sure kindle fire does apps and email, so that is good, but they also like the concept of the consistent user interface.

Is it right or wrong? I dont know. I will say that I liked the feel of the ipad mini, and for web browsing and email and that kind of thing, the mini has good apps that are consistent in the apple world. Might you get a little better deal with a kindle? Sure. Is the user experience the same? Maybe, maybe not.

If you have the money, go with the best, and get the ipad mini. If you need a lower price point, hit it with a Kindle.

THe lack of retina display is where the ipad mini falls short to me, and it appears that there is a kindle fire HD that has a high density display. So if youre into photos and stuff like that, the HD may be a good compromise on price point and screen quality.

 

[DBMaster]

I guess it's not as bad as asking the infamous, "What oil should I use for X?" LOL!

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
THe lack of retina display is where the ipad mini falls short to me...


That, combined with the price, is why I don't like it. The quality of the Retina Display on the fullsize iPads is fantastic, is a known quantity, and the price of the tablet is more or less in-line with other choices (or within 10% or so).

The Mini's display is only barely class-competitive in my opinion, and the price is leaps and bounds over its competitors. To find any sub-10" tablet costing nearly $350, you're looking at a very feature-rich model including maximum available storage, full GPS and cellular capabilities, etc. The Mini starts at $329, for a minimal amount of storage and no 4G.

I've said before that I was disappointed in Apple's price on the Mini and I still am. Given the display and known quality construction, I think it's a solid $249 tablet, or even something like $279. You'd still get Kindle and Nexus 7 shoppers at either of those prices I think. But only Apple folks or those who dislike Android for whatever reason are going to shop an 8" tablet for next to $350. The strategy may work for Apple, I don't know. I do think they have limited their potential customer base on this thing, though.

 

[NateDN10]

Wound up getting the Kindle Fire. I went to Best Buy to play around with the Fire, iPad and whatever Android tablets they had around. Based on the 15 minutes I played with them, I really liked how easy it was to use the Kindle Fire, and was surprised how well it worked. The screen was very nice, and it was plenty fluid and very easy to figure out the interface. For $130, I couldn't say "no"... The iPad Mini was obviously nicer, but for $200 more (2.5x the price!) I couldn't justify it.