Tablets

[mseries]

So using one of those things I need sim card away from home and an account or pay as you go type connection?.

Only if you want mobile internet. This is true for any tablet whether it be Android or iOS(iPad/Apple). These things do work when no network is available but you won't be able to do online things like watch Youtube or use eBay for example. BBC iPlayer allows downloading of shows for offline viewing though.

To be honest, for my lifestyle this is not a real issue. I rarely use the internet on my phone.

(You might be able to use your phone as a mobile hot spot and access it from your tablet using bluetooth).

EDIT: as Alex H says you can use other peoples networks but these are usually unsecured so anyone with the right equipment may 'eavesdrop'.

 

[devonwoody]

Well thanks all, I think all my need to know questions have been answered.

Verdict, I don't need a tablet (luckily) we have laptop and desktop and hardly ever away from home these days where I would need connection. my mobile upload lasts years so I would not want to spend that.

 

[ChrisR]

what is Android?

I don’t know what an android is either, I am far to long in the tooth, but I am sure you must be able to get an ointment for it. :roll:

Maybe it would be better to ask in a chemist shop rather than PC World. :wink:

The last time I went into PC World, I found that all the other customers were at least forty years younger than me, and the staff at least fifty years, not been back since. :shock:
Not a place for an old f**t like me.

Take care.

Chris R.

 

[mseries]

Well thanks all, I think all my need to know questions have been answered.

Verdict, I don't need a tablet (luckily) we have laptop and desktop and hardly ever away from home these days where I would need connection. my mobile upload lasts years so I would not want to spend that.

My wife won my Nexus on some forum, she already had and liked a Kindle Fired HD so she gave the Nexus to me. I wasn't itching to have one, if I had the cash to spare I'd have bought a new router !!!, anyway I didn't need one nor really want one. I do find it useful to have and it causes me to use my aging laptop less though.

 

[JustBen]

Android and apple are the 2 main players in the tablet world. (I've not used windows moblie 8 so can't comment on it)
Both have over 1,000,000 apps available
Android is open source and as such gets modified by each tablet manufacturer to suit its own needs.

There are some tablets that can do everything a pc/laptop (apple ipad not being one of them)

Both have their good and bad points.

Apples higher price tag comes from a number of things (or so I've been told)
Better software architecture, higher brand status, lower viral infections and the 'it just works' theory.

Having said that, I think a lot of those factors are fading now and believe them to be quite pricey in contrast to their competitors.

Despite owning an apple ipad, I would be inclined to get an android tablet next time.

 

[Alex H]

Apples higher price tag comes from a number of things (or so I've been told)
Better software architecture, higher brand status, lower viral infections and the 'it just works' theory.

You missed out the biggest reason for buying - "it looks prettier" :wink:

 

[JustBen]

Apples higher price tag comes from a number of things (or so I've been told)
Better software architecture, higher brand status, lower viral infections and the 'it just works' theory.

You missed out the biggest reason for buying - "it looks prettier" :wink:

Yeah I kinda omitted that and integrated it into 'higher brand status'. It would have only started arguments.

 

[Grahamshed]

This is a woodworking forum so think of it this way....
You know how some people just love Festool, Its not that they really do anything that other makes do not do, it is just that they are Festool and do it better.

It isn't that I am biassed, its just that I am an apple nut ( iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac. thats 4 of my 5 a day )and I have just brought a Festool router....... so yes, I am biassed

 

[RogerS]

Some people prefer the aspect ratio of the iPad being more 4 x 3 rather than being tall and skinny like many Android tablets. Of course, when one talks about Android tablets there are so many sizes, makes and models out there that comparing Apples with Apples can get tricky. I had an iPad.

It was bought to take on our holiday to Japan and to act as a browser , as a gateway to upload our photos and also as a local backup for photos. I bought it in January, tested it, configured it and promptly forgot all about it until May when we were due to go and had to hunt for it buried beneath a load of paperwork. I'd simply not had any use for it. No longer a road warrior so no need for information on the move. No more long daily commutes by train. So I took it on holiday, it worked well and then I sold it as I'd always planned to.

That was before I discovered the Logitech SqueezeServer software, iPeng and other goodies that let me access my music simply and easily from anywhere in the house or workshop. I use an iPod Touch for this. I occasionally use it also for browsing but the tiny screen is a chore. So an iPad would work better. But then there are apps for Android which will also access the SqueezeServer and so I'm pondering getting an Android device simply because it is cheaper than Apple. But I don't really NEED it. The iPod Touch does work.

There is a separate thread on this here

My two-pennorth is that if there is an App that you need then a tablet is one way to go. But if you don't have any compelling need then better to spend the money on tools. It's a little bit like why DAB radio has stalled. For the remaining many millions of us, there is no compelling radio station offering that is only available on DAB that we feel the need to go and buy one.

 

[david123]

Is the iPad tablet less prone to getting infected with malware etc than the android versions, or is that not a problem with tablets? :-k

 

[petermillard]

David, the iPad uses the same iOS system as the iPhone which largely restricts you to downloading apps from Apple's AppStore - the so-called 'walled garden' approach that keeps malware etc... at bay. This upsets some people ("it's my device I should be able to do what I want with it" etc.. etc..) and certainly with Apple there is a 'we know what's best for you' attitude that rubs some people up the wrong way, but for most people it is simply a non issue - by and large they/we are happy to have a nice device that works well without any worries regarding malware and other nasties.

Android is great if you like to tinker about, but as I may have mentioned before, I do the vast majority of my 'computing' these days on an iPad and essentially run my business on one.

Cheers, Pete

 

[david123]

Thanks Peter
So infection is still an issue with iPads as it is on say a laptops

 

[Harbo]

I have an iPhone, a MacBook Pro and a PC for the wife.
Back in Feb I bought an iPad mini - and I think it's great.
The right size for looking at photos etc and a very handy size to hold and carry around.
I hardly use my laptop and computer now - I access Forums with Tapatalk, when ever I feel like it - I can sit with the wife and pretend I'm listening to her or watching the TV with her but really I'm surfing the net!
I also bought an Apple TV which is great for showing photos, videos etc (I've made ) on the big screen.
Also very useful for keeping the grandchildren quiet in Restaurants or in the car
I like the fact that you can download lots of instruction booklets etc in PDF form to your Library and read them at leisure.


Rod

 

[RogerS]

Is the iPad tablet less prone to getting infected with malware etc than the android versions, or is that not a problem with tablets? :-k

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 88158.html

 

[RogerS]

Thanks Peter
So infection is still an issue with iPads as it is on say a laptops

Think we have to be careful what terms we are using here. To my mind, the chances of getting any malware on any Apple device is minimal. Especially compared to a device running Android or any flavour of Windows.

 

[petermillard]

Thanks Peter
So infection is still an issue with iPads as it is on say a laptops

No! As Roger says above, quite the opposite! On an iPad (or any other iOS device) you have to go out of your way to install anything not authorised by Apple, and Apple carefully controls what is available through their App Store. For us regular folks who just buy an iPad/iPhone and use it normally, the risk of infection on is minimal.

Now, it won't stop a user from inadvertently giving away say, their PayPal password by clicking on a link in a phishing email, any more than it would prevent someone looking over your shoulder whilst you tap in your banking password, but provided you apply a certain level of basic common sense then iOS is about as secure as you are likely to need it to be.

Certainly, I have no qualms about running all my business accounts on an iPad and carrying out all my banking through my bank app on an iPad and iPhone.

HTH Pete

 

[david123]

Thanks again for your input
. Apple it will be then. I recon the best time to buy will be in the new year

 

[petermillard]

Thanks again for your input
. Apple it will be then. I recon the best time to buy will be in the new year

New models have just been launched, so they should have stock sorted out and settled down by then, sure.

 

[david123]

Thanks again Peter

 

[RogerS]

Dave...there rarely is a 'best' time to buy them. Apple have a very close control on stock release. Never any concept of a January sale for example if that was what you were hoping for. Nor will you find many dealers giving much in the way of discount. The odd £20 here, the odd £30 there. You might want to keep an eye open on the Apple Refurb store....http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

For example, at the moment, you can get up to £140 off an iPad.