Talk to me about tablets

JakeRae

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
8,125
New York, NY
I'm considering buying a tablet. I don't really need a tablet. The purpose of this thread is twofold. First, tell me why I should buy a tablet or why buying a tablet is just a waste of my money. Second, if you think I should buy a tablet, offer me advice on which one.

A little about me. I own a 2013 MacBook Air and a Nexus 5X. I commute on a subway and think a tablet might be useful as a way to read documents on the subway, as a phone is a bit small and paper is cumbersome. I also think I would potentially use the tablet for media/browsing/games. Lastly, I think it might be nice to have for travel (personal) as a laptop replacement given it's being more compact, lighter, and cheaper (thus, the risk of losing it is lesser). For home use, the tablet would be kind of an inbetween couch device. I have a dog that likes to cuddle on the couch and can make a laptop awkward, a tablet might resolve some awkwardness in that regard. There is no universe in which I can see a tablet actually functioning as a laptop replacement, so this is an extra device, not a replacement device (not to mention that my MacBook Air still works great and I anticipate lasting for years still.

Assuming you fall on the side of my purchasing a tablet, please offer your thoughts on choosing one. There are several questions. Once again, to narrow things a bit, I can't see wanting a size larger than 10 inches, but have no idea of the best size for my goals. In terms of operating system, I like Android, have not really liked IOS in my limited interaction with it on iPhones, but am very happy with OSX. I don't extensively customize Android, although there are some power-user features I do utilize that are unavailable on a non-jailbroken IOS device (like mock-GPS). I own very few paid apps, so ecosystem commitment is pretty much a non-factor. I am a Google Apps guy, not an Apple Apps guy, even on my laptop.
 

Orange Julia

kittens kitttens kittens kittens
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 13, 2006
13,828
NatsTown!
I have a galaxy tab 10 and an iPad air and the iPad wins hands down. Longer battery life makes it worth the price ( i get a refurbished at the Apple store online) while I continue to struggle with the apple photo sharing impossibility, I am steadily working my way back to the iOS universe. One other complaint is that there is no instagram for the iPad so I use the phone version and it sucks.