What recommended tablet please?

I wonder if you guys can help me? I am looking for a tablet (preferably 10") where I can surf the net, watch I Player and U Tube and play games whilst listening to music on Spotify or last FM. Have looked at the Apple I pad but it's very expensive, is the Google Nuxus very good or the Sony. If not am I better off getting a laptop?

Something like a Nexus is good for what you want, but for extra "grunt" for handling photo-editing, you'd be better off with a laptop.

Thanks steven i think I would use it for when I can't find a cycber cafe and save my photo editing for my PC, where is the best place to get one and does the Nexus have good reviews?

Hello Aura

We had a good discussion about this a few weeks ago see:

link

Dave

Sony Xperia looks gud then?

Hello Aura,

The Asus Transformer TF 300 is a fine tablet. It also has a seperate querty keyboard which extends the battery life to around 12 hours.

The iPad generally sets the standard for tablets. If you look on the Apple site check out their 'refurbished' iPads, which can usually be had for a good price. The refurbs could be returned or demonstrator items, or maybe just old surplus stock. I bought my iPad 2 from there for about £250 a couple of years ago, and at that time they were supplied in a new case and with a new battery, and the full Apple warranty. But they do go very quickly. When I bought mine I started checking the site on an hourly basis until the one I wanted came in to stock. They cheaper ones really were selling almost as soon as they were put up for sale.

Theres a reason the iPads are expensive, they get supported by software updates longer than other tablets. The iPad 2 for example was launched in March 2011. How many android tablets from that time are still getting OS updates like the iPad 2 still gets? Not many I should imagine and the price for iPad 2 has been the same since launch. Before getting my iPad I think I got through 3 or 4 android tablets due to them not getting android updates. You may not think this is important but when google bring out a new app store and there have been three different app stores in the last two years and your tablet is no longer supported thats when Android devices get expensive. Think you can manage without Google play? Wait until youtube bring out an update or the Beeb update Iplayer then you will be thinking hmmm....

Maybe Nexus will be different but given Google past behaviour with Android updates I wouldn't hold my breath.

I've been researching non-Apple tablets for my wife and the Sony Xperia Tablet Z seems to be the best available at the moment. If this feature is important to you, it's also water and dust resistant. However, It's not cheap!

Several reviewers have also rated it as a better performer all-round than the iPads, not that I'd touch Apple with a very long barge pole (and NO - I'm not a Luddite, I just don't like Apple!).

The debate on tablets could run forever - everybody will have a favourite for different reasons.

It is really down to what you want to do with it, reliability, ease of use and how much you have to spend.

Personally - I am not hung up on having something that will be 'future proof' the reality is most of us do not keep devices like this for a long time - we behave exactly as we do with camera bodies - K7, K5, K3 - which one would most of us prefer to have if we are being honest?

Decide how much you want to spend - and then create a 'shortlist' based on reviews/ advice of which ones you are interested in - then get yourself to a retailer that stocks them - have a play with the ones on your list - and make a choice - then buy from wherever you can get the best deal.

There are plenty of review sites such as:

link

link

Just remember - you are not necessarily looking for the one they think is the best - you are trying to work out what is best for you

One tip - the best deal may not be on-line - in my case I bought a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 a few months ago from Currys/ PC World. They were not the cheapest when I walked in to the shop - but by the time I had played with the ones I was interested in - and told them how much I could get it for online (and they checked what I said on a PC) I came out with a tablet plus a case worth £30 plus a screen protector plus a retail packed 10 user version of Norton Security plus £20 of film downloads from KnowHow Movies. All this for only £10 more than the cheapest on-line price.
Good luck

Carl

Hi thanks for your replies, it's a toss between the Sony Nexus or the ipad mini 16gb. Will 16gb be enough fow what I want please? Also is there a link to the refurbished Apple Ipads please?

Here's the link to refurbished/clearance items: link

My iPad 2 is 16GB, and I find that's enough. It's easy enough to transfer images to and from the iPad so that you can store all your images on a computer and just transfer those to the iPad that you want at that time. More capacity is always useful, but if you're on a budget 16GB is still a useful and manageable size.

The one thing that does slightly irritate me is that there's no SD card slot, but third party readers that plug in to the iPad are pretty cheap - mine was about £3

But for images I think the 10" screen would be much better that the mini, but of course it's entirely up to you and what you want to get out of the device

Thanks for that will check later. can you get 10" screen with the apple I pad please?

Yes - the 7" iPad Mini is a recent addition to the range.

If you decide it's an iPad you want, then the cheapest options will be WiFi only - ignore those with a cellular option - and then look for the older models such as iPad 2. Keep a close and regular eye on that page and eventually the right one for you will come along.

I have and use an iPad 2 - it goes away with me regularly [ about to do my 5th trip to Dublin this year ! ] but though I'll drop any photos I take on it I'll do nothing more than rotate my pics if necessary on it - serious PPing takes place in Aperture on the MacBook Pro.

I LOVE my iPad2 , but it's no substitute for a decent screen and machine to work on