16 replies to this topic

[felinoel]

I'm breaking down and finally considering buying a tablet, but which one?!

 

My needs are simple, internet browsers that have multiple window tabs capability, and USB ports for a mouse or keyboard (bluetooth mouse/keyboard will only be considered if it REQUIRES that)

 

I am fine with buying one tablet and installing a new OS on it like some tablet form of Ubuntu if it comes to that.

 

Thoughts anyone?

[Thaxllssillyia]

Hey felinol,

 

first some questions:

 

Do you need a x86-Tablet or is an OS like Android also suitable for you? Which display size do you need? What about the battery time?

[felinoel]

Do you need a x86-Tablet or is an OS like Android also suitable for you?

I do enjoy Android because it is Linux, but I don't care too much on this.

Which display size do you need?

Something of a relatively large size is preferred.

What about the battery time?

Relatively lengthy.

Of course the things I noted in the OP were what mattered to me though.

[RZR0]

Personally I'd recommend going for an x86 Windows 8 tablet like the Surface Pro. I feel like Android and iOS tablets are just large phones which don't really offer proper tools for any sort of useful productivity. The downside is that they're usually fairly expensive. There's also Windows RT, which is fine if your needs are somewhat limit, but for powerusers, I generally wouldn't recommend that.

[Celestial Oblivion]

Well, I just got a new tablet recently. I have to read a lot of long online articles so I wanted a device that could access the internet with a decent screen size at a reasonable price, so I was looking at things less than $300. I ended up with an Asus Memopad with Android 4.2 for $250. For that price it had the largest sized if not quality screen (10 inch), 2 GB of RAM and a pretty good processor, though it was an Intel processor and some mobile apps may not like that, though it is becoming much more common.

 

Most of the latest tablets have dual or quadcore (sometimes with the help of hyperthreading), so tabbed browsing should not be a problem on any somewhat recent tablet. I have not seen many tablets with USB ports, save the surface type products of course; they are all pretty much intended to use bluetooth.

[Iamtk421]

You may also be able to get a usb adapter for whichever tablet you choose.

[RZR0]

You may also be able to get a usb adapter for whichever tablet you choose.

On that note, (newer) android tablets should be able to use an OTG adapter to allows USB-host mode for the mini-usb port if they have one. My I9300 smartphone can do it, but it's possible not every tablet or phone supports it. The OTG adapter converts to a regular usb port, so that'd allow you to plug in any USB device, or multiple if you use a hub. The device obviously does have to be supported by your OS. My phone did pretty much work with any USB device I have lying around, from hard drives to mouse and keyboard.

[felinoel]

for powerusers, I generally wouldn't recommend that.

Ehh, I just like to have several tabs open and watch Youtube videos on all of those tabs (let it load on mute while watching something else lol) or open all 90+ of my webcomics in new tabs and let them all load at once and read the updates one comic at a time.

so tabbed browsing should not be a problem

The issue I am foreseeing (with limited knowledge on the subject matter) is not a problem with tabbed browsing per se, but an inability to even use multiple tabs at all. One broswer window, no tabs.

On that note, (newer) android tablets should be able to use an OTG adapter to allows USB-host mode for the mini-usb port if they have one. My I9300 smartphone can do it, but it's possible not every tablet or phone supports it. The OTG adapter converts to a regular usb port, so that'd allow you to plug in any USB device, or multiple if you use a hub. The device obviously does have to be supported by your OS. My phone did pretty much work with any USB device I have lying around, from hard drives to mouse and keyboard.

Sweetness, that is quite awesome to know.

[Celestial Oblivion]

Ehh, I just like to have several tabs open and watch Youtube videos on all of those tabs (let it load on mute while watching something else lol) or open all 90+ of my webcomics in new tabs and let them all load at once and read the updates one comic at a time.

The issue I am foreseeing (with limited knowledge on the subject matter) is not a problem with tabbed browsing per se, but an inability to even use multiple tabs at all. One broswer window, no tabs.

Sweetness, that is quite awesome to know.

 

Well, all I can say is that my 4.2 Android tablet I got last month had tabbed browsing on Chrome built in just like Chrome on the PC.

 

Also if you can find the model you are interested in at an electronics or cell phone carrier store and look at it you should be able to ensure that it has tabbed browsing. But I think all the newer ones should.

[felinoel]

Also if you can find the model you are interested in at an electronics or cell phone carrier store and look at it you should be able to ensure that it has tabbed browsing. But I think all the newer ones should.

lol I'm more interested in quality than brand names.

BUT a friend of mine at work was playing Steam games on his phone!? I asked him how and he said he was remote desktopping with an app called SplashTop?!
If that is possible then %#$@ all of the above I posted, I just want relatively good battery, relatively good processing power (for streaming), and the capability of streaming my home computer!

[felinoel]

I ended up with the Galaxy Note II

[Daoev]

I ended up with the Galaxy Note II

The note is a good phablet(I did not make that up.), speaking from personal experience(though it was a note 3.)

[felinoel]

The note is a good phablet(I did not make that up.), speaking from personal experience(though it was a note 3.)

lol no Apple made that word up and it is hilarious.

[ZL123]

lol no Apple made that word up and it is hilarious.

Wait, seriously?! It was Apple?

[felinoel]

Wait, seriously?! It was Apple?

I was pretty sure they did but the Wikipedia article makes no mention of it...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phablet

 

It might be like how Windows made the first tablets and then Apple made their iPad and now everyone thinks iPads came first when they were just copied from the Microsoft Tablet though.

[dgelessus]

Unlike with every other mobile device (iPod and full-touch phone/tablet) it was not actually Apple who made "phablets" popular. Before the iPhone 6 (Plus) all of the iPhones were clearly "phone-sized" while other smartphone manufacturers were already making unusually large phones that eventually evolved into phablets. (This is how I understand/see the situation, don't read this as an absolute fact.)

[felinoel]

Unlike with every other mobile device (iPod and full-touch phone/tablet) it was not actually Apple who made "phablets" popular. Before the iPhone 6 (Plus) all of the iPhones were clearly "phone-sized" while other smartphone manufacturers were already making unusually large phones that eventually evolved into phablets. (This is how I understand/see the situation, don't read this as an absolute fact.)

No I am saying the term was made popular by them, not the device itself.