Want to buy a Tablet (non-IPAD)

exalted

United States3612 Posts

May 30 2011 19:03 GMT

I want to buy a shiny new tablet PC slightly smaller than the iPad2 but hopefully more capable and a better value.

I don't like iTunes, USB ports seem important, and Flash support is nice. I am in Taiwan right now so I shouldn't have to worry about contracts or anything. Budget is not an issue but I want value for the money spent.

Ascetically pleasing is a nice plus. I know one of the Ipad's strongest features is their vibrant, sensitive screen, so am hoping to hear recommendations that are competitive with what Apple has to offer. Thanks!

ninja edit: thread was moved to Tech forum, thanks!

Dalguno

United States2446 Posts

May 30 2011 19:08 GMT

My friend has the Motorola Xoom, and it's very sleek and efficient. I believe it does have Flash support, but it doesn't have USB ports (I don't know if many tablets do). Like said below, it does have a micro USB, but not a standard one for your general peripherals. It's pretty looking as well. It also has expandable memory, up to an extra 32 gig. Dual processor.

Motorola XOOM

Firepaw292

Canada126 Posts

May 30 2011 19:20 GMT

On May 31 2011 04:08 Dalguno wrote:
My friend has the Motorola Xoom, and it's very sleek and efficient. I believe it does have Flash support, but it doesn't have USB ports (I don't know if many tablets do). It's pretty looking as well. It also has expandable memory, up to an extra 32 gig. Dual processor.

Motorola XOOM

I own a Xoom wifi and it has a micro-usb on it

Enervate

United States1769 Posts

May 30 2011 19:37 GMT

The Xoom actually has a larger screen size than the ipad 2. It's shorter but longer. I don't think any tablets besides the 7 in Samsung Galaxy tab are smaller than the ipad 2, but I wouldn't recommend it as it hasn't been too well-received by reviews.

So you probably are going to have to settle for a tablet about the same size as an Ipad. Maybe you should look into the Asus eee pad transformer. It's cheaper than the ipad and has a keyboard accessory which might be useful. Also I think there are usb ports on the keyboard dock.

Oh actually, the Blackberry Playbook also has a 7 in screen. Again, I don't think it's worth buying though.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, Asus is a taiwanese company so that should be easy for you to get.

If you wait a while, I think better tablets will be released soon, though.

synapse

China13814 Posts

May 30 2011 20:10 GMT

I've heard good things about the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (?), it's more widescreen and just SLIGHTLY thinner than the iPad 2 IIRC. 500ish dollars I'm guessing...

denzelz

United States604 Posts

May 30 2011 20:15 GMT

I've played with a Xoom in person at the local Staples. It is pretty sleek but slightly pricier than the iPad. Maybe you can drive down to your local store and take a look yourself.

The Galaxy Tab II is going out early June and is priced to be competitive with the iPads.

exalted

United States3612 Posts

May 31 2011 17:43 GMT

The Galaxy Tab II looks promising - I like the Samsung brand. The Ipad is already pretty large so I don't think I would want something even larger than that. Portability is a big one for me. However, I also want the screen to be nice and big (with a very high resolution!). It annoys me how the sides of the tablets are so thick (could be more screen area), but I guess that's a constraint of current technology (and budget).

exalted

United States3612 Posts

June 01 2011 22:47 GMT

Small bump - should I be waiting for new models to come out this summer?

Zeke50100

United States2220 Posts

June 01 2011 23:05 GMT

Have you considered getting a Nook? I'm not exactly sure on the specifications, although my friend has one and it is much smaller (relatively) than the iPad: http://cdn.devicemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/ipad_nook_kindle.jpg

The Nook is on the far right.

It's technically an e-reader, but there you can easily hack it for more than just books.

sYstim

Canada161 Posts

June 02 2011 08:07 GMT

#10

get a playbook and watch justin tv and gomtv, nuff said
also its smaller than ipad

Zeddicus

United States239 Posts

June 07 2011 16:13 GMT

#11

I've almost convinced myself to get a tablet as well, and one of the most common things I will do is watch SC2. Does anyone have any experience with this?

I was at a Best Buy last night checking their selection out. I picked up the various models they had on display, and the only one to actually play a justin.tv stream was the HTC one, but I don't think I want that one, it seemed pretty slow and choppy, so that kind of turned me off. Also, it was small. Does anyone have a smaller table and watch sc2? Can you see supply and resource numbers and that sort of thing? The one nice thing I saw about the HTC was it had a stylus type pen, so I could use that instead of my fat fingers to try to choose 240p or 360p quality...

I couldn't figure out the playbook, it had Need for Speed running, and I couldn 't figure out how to exit it, but from what I hear that should be able to run a Justin.tv stream as is. I'd kind of like either iOS or Android OS though, for the apps, but I guess in the end, It'll be mostly an internet tablet which the playbook would do fine with.

I would probably be all over the xoom, that looked really nice. It had tabbed browsing, was big enough that I think it wouldn't be any problem seeing little details in streams. It just couldn't play the JTV stream

Has anyone had experience with both a small tablet like HTC sized and bigger like iPad or Xoom? Do you prefer the portability or the size? I've always had a 17" laptop that's huge and don't mind it, so I'd probably be happier with a larger tablet.

Any other thoughts on choosing one?

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