tablets

I don't have a tablet. And the only reason is the lack of travelling. if I travelled a lot I'd definitely have one.

I've been using an Archos 80 G9 Turbo for a year or so and it does everything I want. All my pals have iPads and they certainly do the job, if you can justify the price. I can't.

The Archos (OS is Android Ice Cream Sandwich) has good connectivity, with a mini USB connection that I hook up to a small Fuji SD card reader for importing pix. It has a built-in micro-SD card reader, but I just use this for extra storage. There's HDMI out and 3G connectivity with an optional stick, as well as wi-fi.

It comes in 8in and 10in versions, but I find the smaller screen size ideal for a bit of on-the-go computing. The screen's not great viewed from an angle but more than adequate straight on. The new Archos models have IPS screens, but the TFT screen in the 80 G9 is fine, given its relatively small size. Plenty of "apps" are available from the Google Playstore, or whatever they call it. Could be worth a look.


I mainly use mine when I'm travelling and can do without a proper keyboard.

Al

I've a Samsung Galaxy S2 7" . It cost me £130 but at the time Samsung were offering £30 cashback so it was effectively £100. I bought it as it slips easily into the inner pocket of a suit jacket - no need for an manbag.

The S2 can be tethered to an Android phone

I think you might find that they all only take micro SD cards. I have a micro SD to SD adapter so can put the micro SD card in the camera if I want to. But I also bought a £2 (?) Galaxy OTG connector that has a full SD card slot as one of its 5 means of connections.

I've bounced it a couple of times from about 1m onto a carpeted wooden floor with no damage.

Don't think any tablet can have reasonable sound based on the size of the speakers but it does have sound.

One drawback of the 7" version is that the screen keyboard takes up half the screen viewing area. I've bought a case with usb keyboard which I use at my desk in the office (£3.99 from 7dayshop) and this works really well.

Another drawback is the only connector is Samsungs own non industry standard - a bit like Apples. There is also no HDMI connectivity.

I think Polaris Office comes as one of the free apps - if not it's free to download anyway.

Ditto I don't like Apples pricing or lock-in.

I mainly use the tablet for internet and email. I have it in the office as our company wifi connection is for guest access and is not as locked down as our wired connection so can access a wider range of internet sites. I have the Kindle app on it and have Tony Northrups 'How to create stunning digital photography' book on it. I've also downloaded RawDroid to allow me to view raw files

Whats the lock in with apple?

I wonder what the new Tesco hudl will be like. Seems a reasonable spec for the price including HD.

Something else - the Asus Fonepad = most of the advantages of the other sub-£200 tablets AND 3G (& you can use it as a phone if you really must!)
Written on MY Fonepad !

Ahh

The world is so confusing and annoying.. There are very few shops that actually stock and can demonstrate a range of tablets.

All the reviews on the web contradict each other and feedback on products is by customers that have had problems.

The only sensible advice was given at the Apple store. PC World makes up the answers to some questions just to get you to buy - the correct answer is windows 8 on the surface tablet is a stripped down version and only supports software that is made for windows 8.(from the product website)!

So, buying a tablet is like buying a camera only the product is not quite as cute when displayed on a shelf or as comfortable in the hand.

Still I am assured that in two weeks time a range of new tablets are due out which should bring the prices of existing products tumbling down.

Dave

Windows 8 rt is stripped down, windows 8 on the surface pro is the full version which runs all windows 8 software including all adobe latest products

The new ones have just been announced so hopefully the existing surface pro will fall in price soon

We own In our house, 2 iPads one of which is the mini, an Acer and the Samsung,

I use the iPad, the wife uses the mini, the kids use the Acer and the Samsung is going on eBay this month.

Now I don't own any other apple products of any sort but there is just something just right on how the iPad just works and the screen is still unbeatable, so if it's for viewing on, I am sorry to say its apple all the way.

As for the Acer, it's very easy to use, as my 6 year old has no problem at all and knows more about it then I do.

As for the Samsung I don't think there is anything to dislike about it at all and in fact in some cases it beats the iPads, I think its that we have to many tablets and it's what you get use to and what you feel comfortable using, and that the Samsung came free with a phone deal we had.

Just invested in a Tesco Hudl for Margaret. When I say invested, we used out clubcard vouchers as they had a double up offer on the tablet. Should pick it up tomorrow, so I'll report back

The crucial thing I think is the SD card slot. If you have lots of photos why would you want to pay an extra £80 for an ipad with an extra 16GB of space when you can get a 64GB SD card for £40 which has the extra flexibility of being removable and compatible with other devices.

Depending on your budget I'd suggest looking at the Sony Xperia Tablet Z. It is no cheaper than the ipad but it has the sd card slot and is water / dust proof so should prove much more suitable for carrying lots of photos around in a campervan.

At the other end of the market there are lots of rebranded or nobrand android tablets that will do the job fine. They are drastically cheaper than the ipad or xperia tablets so just don't expect them to be as snappy or reliable. For example this one can take an SD:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=TB-004-OT&groupid=959&catid...

The tesco hudl is probably worth a look. It takes an sd card and should be higher quality than most android tablets in that price bracket but only has a 7" screen so not ideal for the OP.

Does anyone know if you can transfer photos to the new Tesco tablet? I currently have a Blackberry Playbook, which is fine for surfing the web, but you can't transfer photos either directly from a camera or via a SD card so it's useless for backing up photos when travelling and we end up taking the netbook as well.

I think the Tesco tablet just has a mini-SD card slot so wondered if you could connect via cable straight from the camera or get some sort of adapter to convert a full size SD card to a mini connection?

Just considering the Tesco tablet as we have a lot of unused Clubcard Vouchers, but don't want to make the Blackberry mistake again.

The Hudl has just two connections a mini USB used for charging, connection to a PC (cable supplied) and a mini HDMI port for connection to a TV (no cable supplied). You'r correct it only has a Micro SD slot and I'm not aware of and adapter to take a full size card. Plus the Hudl only has a 16GB memory, you can have SD cards bigger than that, so not much storage space.

I'm still trying to work out how to use it. If I come across a solution I'll let you know

Since it's got a micro-USB socket, you should be able to connect an SD card card reader or your camera to the Hudl with a suitable cable. My Archos uses an "on the go" cable (whatever that means -- I suspect the pinout is slightly different to a standard USB>Micro USB cable). This is the sort of think you need: link. There will certainly be a way to do it. The Hudl looks like a pretty good bet, by the way.

Al

Looks neat - except :

'The 25,6cm (10.1”) HD Reality Display is powered by Mobile BRAVIA® Engine 2, which automatically optimises every image. And with the fullest colour display, every scene is richer, brighter and more breathtakingly vibrant.'

Does this mean that every image gets contrasted and oversaturated and you can't turn this menace off ?