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Tablets (the iPad kind)

SquadronROESquadronROE
edited September 2011 in Technology
So I've been shopping around for a tablet recently, to complement our netbook and allow me to read through PDFs for work easier than having to sit at a computer (plus my kindle doesn't read pdf's very gracefully), and I'm wondering about the current crop of devices out there. Has anyone had experience with the Galaxy Tab (or the newer Tab 10.1?)?

My current thoughts are that I might get an iPad (first gen) since it seems to meet my needs (PDF reader, light web browsing, some fun with apps), and the price point is pretty low now. Plus, honestly, I like iOS for tablets despite disliking Apple rather intensely.
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Comments

  • Hitman HartHitman Hart
    I liked the original Galaxy tab from the little bit of time I spent with it at my store. One thing worth considering is ease of transfer and download. To the best of my knowledge, it will be easier to transfer direct from a computer or download files from the net on an Android tablet. The iPad will require iTunes to transfer through and you won't be able to download files to store them on the iPad directly.
  • SquadronROESquadronROE
    The iPad will require iTunes to transfer through and you won't be able to download files to store them on the iPad directly.
    Well, that kind of kills the iPad for me then. I don't want to have to use iTunes, and if I can't easily transfer and use PDFs on the iPad there's no reason for me to have one of those. If I got a Galaxy, it'd have to be one of the 10" screen ones, as smaller isn't worth it for me. Smaller is fine for my ebooks, but anything with graphs and flow charts would be harder to follow.

    On to Newegg I go!
  • Dr. TimoDr. Timo
    The iPad will require iTunes to transfer through and you won't be able to download files to store them on the iPad directly.
    Bull. There are tons of apps in the App store that allow you to transfer files to the iPad via WiFi or some cloud service. The most obvious example is Dropbox.

    You currently do need iTunes for the initial setup, but a) you can get that done in the apple store if you really don't even want to install iTunes once on your machine and b) with iOS 5 (i.e. within a couple of weeks) this requirement will be gone.
  • GundampilotspazGundampilotspaz
    The iPad will require iTunes to transfer through and you won't be able to download files to store them on the iPad directly.
    Well, that kind of kills the iPad for me then. I don't want to have to use iTunes, and if I can't easily transfer and use PDFs on the iPad there's no reason for me to have one of those. If I got a Galaxy, it'd have to be one of the 10" screen ones, as smaller isn't worth it for me. Smaller is fine for my ebooks, but anything with graphs and flow charts would be harder to follow.

    On to Newegg I go!
    That is not the only way to manage files on an iPad. A program called Goodreader goes a good job of managing files and the dropbox app reads PDFs natively and whatever you drop in to your dropbox folder just appears.
  • SquadronROESquadronROE
    That is not the only way to manage files on an iPad. A program called Goodreader goes a good job of managing files and the dropbox app reads PDFs natively and whatever you drop in to your dropbox folder just appears.
    Cool. Guess it's not out of the running entirely, then. It's still a bit out of my price range, but we'll see what an afternoon browsing Newegg does.
  • ninjarabbininjarabbi
    The 32gig Xoom is $350 on Woot today.
  • MattMatt
    you don't need iTunes or any app at all to download PDFs on iOS. Anytime you try to open a PDF whether it be as an email attachment or if you navigate to it in safari, it asks if you want to just download the file into iBooks instead of opening it as a temporary file.
  • ReolReol
    Is anyone curious about the Kindle Fire? I glanced over the news articles & took a look at it's amazon page, it looks neat, shiny and at the right price of $199. No camera or microphone, though, are those really necessary on a tablet? Runs android OS.
  • ninjarabbininjarabbi
    It looks nice, but it doesn't have an SD card slot, and its only running android 2.3. I'm interested in how long it will take for someone to port over Gingerbread. If they do it right, I may buy one.
  • okeefeokeefe
    I'm curious about how the iOS 5 cloud initiative is going to change things. We'll find out soon enough.
  • RochelleRochelle
    FYI, Newegg has the 64gb iPad (1st Generation) for $429.99 for the weekend.
  • BronzdragonBronzdragon
    http://forum.frontrowcrew.com/index.php?p=/discussion/8597/tablets-the-ipad-kind
  • Victor FrostVictor Frost
    You know, Vanilla 2 search is useless.
  • Victor FrostVictor Frost
    Hey all! My kindle died recently so I'm looking at getting a tablet as a replacement. I was considering the Kindle Fire due to it's low price, but I wanted to see if anyone here owned a tablet and, if so, what you thought about it.
  • AprecheApreche
    You know, Vanilla 2 search is useless.
    It's actually just fine. It just doesn't have the pre-Vanilla 2 threads indexed.
  • AriaAria
    Mine would be so very awesome had it 1) Had any programs written for it (it'll get Android stuff in February, but I kinda want, like, proper GTK and Linux applications. Currently it has like, maybe, 8.) 2) The battery lasted at least a day of use.
  • SailSail
    edited November 2011
    You know, Vanilla 2 search is useless.
    It's actually just fine. It just doesn't have the pre-Vanilla 2 threads indexed.
    It's not just that, it also only seems to search comments and not thread titles.

    [Edit] The merge function is rather nice, though.
    Post edited by Sail on
  • Josh BytesJosh Bytes
    I'm considering buying a Nook tablet. You can side load apps from which I gather you do from a sd card. By side loading you can have access to the Kindle store. You can also root it fairly easily it seems and have a full blown android tablet with access to the android market. Hardware specs are decent as well.
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    The Kindle Fire is great if you are big into Amazon. Otherwise it's OK only.

    I need to root mine just enough to get the Google Android Marketplace on it. There is no way I'm going to pay twice for apps I have already purchased.
  • ninjarabbininjarabbi
    edited November 2011
    Blackberry playbooks are pretty cheap now. At office max they had the 16 gig model for $200, and you can convert android apps to run on it so those of you looking at a kindle fire might want to check it out.
    Post edited by ninjarabbi on
  • Victor FrostVictor Frost
    edited November 2011
    Okay, so I did some digging and I think I'm going to get the Nook Color with Cyanogen mod.
    Here's why:
    • Cyanogen mod turns it into a real tablet, not just a nook.
    • It also appears to enable the hidden bluetooth capabilites of the wifi chipset.
    • I can install the kindle app on it, giving me access to my dozen or so kindle books that I've bought
    • Putting Cyanogen mod on it means I can use android's google apps, great for me because I've got more than a few Gmail and Apps for domains accounts, including calendar, etc.
    • Kindle Fire hasn't been rooted yet.
    Really, the biggest factors for me in choosing a table was price and the ability to access my kindle library. The kindle fire had the edge on price until I found out that the nook color was only $200.
    Post edited by Victor Frost on
  • ninjarabbininjarabbi
    But for $50 more you could get the new Nook tablet...
  • Victor FrostVictor Frost
    edited November 2011
    True... And, although there is no Cyanogen mod for it now, there probably will be soon. On the other hand, is there the ability to side-load apps onto it?

    EDIT: Yes, yes there is.
    Post edited by Victor Frost on
  • Josh BytesJosh Bytes
    Also for 50 bucks more you get more memory and a fast processor on the Nook tablet.
  • ChurbaChurba
    When prompted, I went with the Kindle keyboard. I mean, I already have my phone that does 99% of what a tablet would do for me, and does it equally well in a smaller package, so it's easier to carry day-to-day. However, the kindle does the small few things that it does very, very well - better than my phone does. Carry isn't an issue, in that case, as times when I'd use it are times when pocket space isn't an issue.
  • AriaAria
    edited November 2011
    So... turns out my Playbook's bootloader only allows stuff signed by RIM, so I can't get Linux on it. Even though Blackberry support totally said I could! I was like "Yo will putting Linux on it go against TOS?" and they were like, actually, they said, this is a quote;
    Regarding your inquiry with adding Linux software to your BlackBerry PlayBook, you can do this if you wish, but it is not recommended by RIM, as it will not be supported, and will void your warranty. You would be able to go back to QNX, but again this would not be support by RIM.
    I've had several emails from Blackberry support with typos or bad grammar. =P
    Post edited by Aria on
  • Victor FrostVictor Frost
    I haz a nook tablet.
  • Victor FrostVictor Frost
    edited November 2011
    Here's what I've done to it:
    Rooted it.
    Installed Gapps
    Installed GoLauncher EX
    Installed Homecatcher to redirect the Nook Key to GoLauncher
    Installed Amazon Appstore
    Installed Winamp (pleasantly surprised it does the intelligent thing of storing synced files to the sdcard rather than to the internal memory.


    Also, watching High School of the Dead on Netflix streaming.

    This is so awesome! If only I could get it to connect to my phone's ad-hoc wifi access point.
    Post edited by Victor Frost on
  • Josh BytesJosh Bytes
    That's awesome.
  • SquadronROESquadronROE
    Very awesome! I ended up with an iPad 2 and it works perfectly for what I want. Many nights of watching Ponies has been had with it.
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