What Mini-Tablet to Buy?

[Tony_S]

... it's a useful business tool which gets marketed towards the fast-food loving youtuber.

Youtuber sounds like a variety of potato!

Seriously, I am very interested in all these reviews and opinions. My wife is of the opinion that a tablet would be very useful for her work (senior, senior management get iPads) but MS Office compatibility is a must.

[Andy Y]

I'd certainly be looking at 10" pads if any work applications are likely to get used Tony (larger screen space and larger keypad); I've had a Motorola Xoom for a while and I'm really happy with that but if I were looking for a good spec Android tablet I'd be keeping an eye out for the Huawei Mediapad 10 surfacing (dependent on price) at some point in 2013.

[trisonic]

Difficult isn't it?

The reason I opted for the Kindle F. HD was simply that the screen was much easier on my eyes than anything else. My 7incher does not need a special iteration of a website to use - in fact I'm annoyed if it get routed to one of them (like the BBC) because they look so awful. the other reason I chose the Kindle was to shamelessly use the power of Amazon....when I fired it up it downloaded everything (books) already on my Wife's basic Kindle from several years ago, it thought that I now "owned" two.

 

Best, Pete.

[roundhouse]

I have multi Android devices. The latest version of Android (Jelly Bean). Even transfers you wifi passwords across to a new device if using the same Google account.

 

I use spreadsheets on my Android tablet and phone. They all work with Microsoft Office on the PC and there are quite a few different word and spreadsheet apps for Android, and some even free.

It is a difficult choice to choose the right one but with a little bit of info and knowing what you might want to use the tablet for, and it gets a bit simpler

[Worsdell forever]

Another vote here for the Google Nexus 7. Bought mine direct form Google who were the cheapest around beating Amazon, ebay and Tesco.

What's the keyboard like with your paws?

 

Don't have a tablet but my phone (Acer Android) is quite large and tipped on its side the keyboard is a good size, basic but with Wi-Fi, great to keep up with Rmweb on the go, I'm currently sitting in Caffe Nero in Guisborough. I think a tablet would be a bit big for carrying about easily.

[trisonic]

Personally I think ten inch tablets are too big - I like the seven inch ones. They remind me of those diary/calender things from the eighties that were popular (I' ve forgotten their name).

Best, Pete.

[Ron Ron Ron]

Important note about expandable memory using media cards (SD).

Google Nexus tablets (Nexus 7 & Nexus 10) do not and will not be having them.

Google have decreed they do not want these slots on Android tablets.

Some other budget tablets don't have them either and Google are actively discouraging OEM manufacturers from including them on their next models.

 

Although it remains on sale at a lower price, the Kindle Fire has really been superceded by the Fire HD.

The Fire HD has a very good screen, but it is severely compromised in several ways, notably how it is tailored and locked down towards Amazon content and services.

The Kindle Fire is not a normal tablet, but more a means of accessing Amazon content.

For movie and TV show fans, there is only live streaming from Amazon's own LoveFilm service. You cannot download for offline viewing.

These devices are best avoided if you want more from a tablet.

 

Google's Nexus 7 is highly regarded and given good reviews.

It's biggest selling points are the low price (subsidised by Google) and the latest version of the Android OS.

It's a good handy size and comfortable and easy to hold.

You certainly get a lot of "bang for your buck", however it is cheap for a reason....

The negatives include....

poor build quality - screens working or coming loose is a common fault;

poor to non-existant backup and support;

the sharp and clear high resolution screen is spoilt by poor contrast, weak colours and a slightly washed out look;

the 16:10 screen ratio is good for movies and video, but not really optimised for reading magazines, books and web pages;

the default browser, Chrome, takes up to much of the limited screen space, leaving less room to display page content;

Android apps are growing in number, but very few are optimised for tablets. Most just expand apps designed for smartphones;

 

The Blackberry PlayBook and it's intended ecosystem and usage was a failure.

The result was the huge drop in price, mostly to clear stocks, and opening it up to Android apps.

 

Samsung's current 7" Tab 2 has not been a great sales success. Hence some bargain prices.

 

Apples iPad Mini is much more expensive than the other small tablets.

Very well built, with a metal body, thin and light;

It's larger 7.9" screen and "squarer" screen ratio is better and more natural for reading books, magazines and viewing web content;

Movies and video means there are the black bars at the top and bottom, but the actual viewing area is still larger than on other 7" tablets;

Large amount of accessory support;

Huge choice of apps, especially those designed or optimised for tablets;

Very quick and smooth operation.

Whites looks white and not the yellow tint on the Fire HD, or "warm" look on the Nexus.

Second to none back-up, support and after sales service.

The negatives include...

the high price (not so much for the entry level model, but for the larger capacity and 4G models);

lower resolution screen than the Nexus 7 and Fire HD, but still good with very good contrast ratio and accurate colour rendering;

not as easy to hold (it's larger and wider) and the metal case is not as grippy.

 

 

 

Just a note of caution and not a criticism; for those that don't know, the open'ness of the Android ecosystem, means that there is no checking or quality control on apps; so it's buyer beware.

Hence Android being the no. 1 target for the bad people and their malware and trojans.

Tests have shown the anti-virus and security products for tablets are next to useless.

 

 

.

[Jol Wilkinson]

Ron Ron Ron,

 

clearly you have some knowledge of the different versions. Any views on the Nook (what a delightful name) tablets?

 

Jol

[30801]

Dont buy your Goole Nexus from Amazon - they inflate the price artificially to make the Kindle HD look better, which they dont need to do as its pretty decent anyway.

 

That's not really true. They simply don't stock it at all. The ones you see for silly money are from third party sellers who always jack up the price for things Amazon don't stock.

 

The advice remains the same though

[ELTEL]

Over recent years I have moved over to Apple products first a iMac some five years ago never had a problem then came the iPhone 3 about two and half years ago recently updated to iPhone 5 (quicker and much better camera plus larger screen) and to complete the package I added a iPad 2 about 18 months ago they all work together either with iCloud or iTunes transfer of information all happens automatically

 

All work first time every time, very seldom have to reboot any of them, great product like most things in life you get what you pay for.

 

I also have a ex work Microsoft Laptop (12 months old) and I use it as little as possible just for a few program's that there is not a apple application

 

So it's iPad for me

 

Eltel

 

 

[Ron Ron Ron]

Ron Ron Ron,

 

clearly you have some knowledge of the different versions. Any views on the Nook (what a delightful name) tablets?

 

Jol

 

Jol, i hope you don't mind but I'll let you read up on the Nook HD for yourself.......

 

 

PC Pro magazine (UK magazine) Nook HD

PC Mag (US magazine) Nook HD

PC Mag (US magazine) Nook HD+

The Verge Nook HD+

Tech radar Nook HD

Engadget Nook HD

Engadget Nook HD+

 

Regards

Ron

[roundhouse]

Whilst I agree that Apple products are great and generally much safer from malware etc., that's not the only reason Apple lock them down. They also want you to use / buy everything from them. I a good example of this is the switch from Google maps to their own maps. Just have a read on the Internet about their mapping iios6. It's one reason why I now use Android devices more and more.

As Ron says not all Android devices have card slots so you do need to choose carefully if you decide on Android.

That said, the if you do not intend to store large amounts of data such as video, and movies, and a large collection of music then this may not be so much of a plus point.

Regarding security, and it's best to install apps from Google Play rather than other websites. Also not all Android based devices can access Google Play

 

[backofanenvelope]

Personally I think ten inch tablets are too big - I like the seven inch ones. They remind me of those diary/calender things from the eighties that were popular (I' ve forgotten their name).

Best, Pete.

 

Would that be a Filofax?

[backofanenvelope]

I have been pondering getting a tablet and as an iPhone user I was thinking it was a going to be a choice between and Nexus 7 and a iPad mini. Now although my digital life is spent on Apple I was curious to see how Android would shape up to this. I know that there is lots of flexibility in the Android platform but I like the way that iProducts just work together. Given the cost difference and Nexus 7 would be less of a mistake and as I would only really be using it as a media consumer it could always be reused in the family and gives me the opportunity to mess around with Android...

T.

[BG John]

Do these little tablets come with somewhere to store your glasses, so you can read them?

[Jol Wilkinson]

Jol, i hope you don't mind but I'll let you read up on the Nook HD for yourself.......

 

 

PC Pro magazine (UK magazine) Nook HD

PC Mag (US magazine) Nook HD

PC Mag (US magazine) Nook HD+

The Verge Nook HD+

Tech radar Nook HD

Engadget Nook HD

Engadget Nook HD+

 

Regards

Ron

 

Thanks,

 

I''ll start reading.

[Revolution Mike]

I have been pondering getting a tablet and as an iPhone user I was thinking it was a going to be a choice between and Nexus 7 and a iPad mini. Now although my digital life is spent on Apple I was curious to see how Android would shape up to this. I know that there is lots of flexibility in the Android platform but I like the way that iProducts just work together. Given the cost difference and Nexus 7 would be less of a mistake and as I would only really be using it as a media consumer it could always be reused in the family and gives me the opportunity to mess around with Android...

T.

 

If you have lots of paid for Apple apps thne it might be worth sticking with Apple, but you can often find similar Android apps for free so it isn't too much of an issue.

 

FWIW I have an Iphone and an Android (Samsung Galaxy Tab) tablet.

 

The important thing is that most media is device independent eg books I buy from the Kindle store I use the Kindle app on either my phone or tablet to read. Similarly music can be synced to either. Films with the advent of UV will be similar.

 

Cheers, Mike

[PhilH]

I'd certainly be looking at 10" pads if any work applications are likely to get used Tony (larger screen space and larger keypad); I've had a Motorola Xoom for a while and I'm really happy with that but if I were looking for a good spec Android tablet I'd be keeping an eye out for the Huawei Mediapad 10 surfacing (dependent on price) at some point in 2013.

 

I obviously have no idea what this will be like but if it's anything like a Huawei phone I had in the not too distant past then beware, not good.

[trisonic]

Would that be a Filofax?

 

Yep, sorry the ol' alzheimers kicked in, again....

 

Best, Pete.

[Ron Ron Ron]

Whilst I agree that Apple products are great and generally much safer from malware etc., that's not the only reason Apple lock them down. They also want you to use / buy everything from them.

 

Just as Amazon want you to buy everything from them; hence the semi- (almost completely) locked down nature of the Kindle Fire range.

The Kindle Fire range of tablets will only allow you to buy apps and certain content from the Amazon ecosystem.

Google themselves may go this way once their Google Play store gains significant traction, because that's probably the only way they can make money from the investment they've put into developing the Android OS

 

...a good example of this is the switch from Google maps to their own maps. Just have a read on the Internet about their mapping ios6.

 

One of the main reasons Apple stopped including Google Maps pre-loaded with iOS, was that Google held back many of the later features, such as turn-by-turn navigation and wouldn't include them on the iOS app.

It's interesting to see that since this happened, Google have moved pretty darned quick to release a new vector based Google Maps app for iOS. It was released just this week for the iPhone (an iPad optimised version will follow later).

No surprise considering that more than half of Googles mobile income comes from iOS users.

So yes, Apple Maps has been a bit of a disaster so far and created a lot of bad PR for Apple; but Google Maps is back, as of a few days ago.

The new app is not only an improvement on the old app for iOS, they say it's a more advanced version than the current one on Android. The Android version gets updated early next year apparently.

 

As Ron says not all Android devices have card slots so you do need to choose carefully if you decide on Android.....

 

I also mentioned that Google want card slots banished from these devices running their OS.

They will not include them on their own branded Nexus range and are trying to discourage other manufacturers from including them.

 

Regarding security, and it's best to install apps from Google Play rather than other websites.

 

Good advice to only install apps from a trusted source, but note that Google Play is not policed much at all, there is no quality control and apps are not checked, although Google are belatedly trying to get a grip on the situation.

The result is not just malware, but cloned apps, poor apps, apps that can malfunction or contain software bugs etc.

Just use caution and where possible check out recommendations and watch out for clones.

 

Also not all Android based devices can access Google Play.

 

Many cheapo "never heard of" Chinese tablets have this problem.

The Kindle Fire series also cannot access Google Play, being locked into Amazon products and services.

 

If you have lots of paid for Apple apps thne it might be worth sticking with Apple, but you can often find similar Android apps for free so it isn't too much of an issue.

 

Although many apps in the iOS app store have an Android equivalent. They are not necessarily free or of the same quality.

There are many best selling or popular free apps where the Android version is not as polished, or lacks some functionality compared to the iOS original. It's as if they've been rushed out to get a presence in the Android marketplace.

There are also apps on each platform that are not available on the other.

 

One big difference is the number of apps designed or optimised for larger tablet devices rather than just being the smartphone version.

Apple have a huge lead here, with Android being a long way behind. This is largely because despite the very large number of Android devices out there, the majority are smartphones and not tablets.

Until very recently, most android based tablets have been total sales flops, so there has been no market; but that is changing.

 

However, it isn't just having apps that may be a good reason for sticking with one platform e.g. Apple.

For example, if you have iOS devices and a Mac computer, then the seamless compatibility means that using iCloud, it will enable your content, documents, messages, emails, photos, music, video, movies etc to automatically and almost instantly be transferred or made available on all your other Apple devices and computers.

 

 

In our family we have an iMac, a MacBook Pro (daughter's), an iPad 4 (still wrapped up under the Xmas tree), 3 iPod Touches (including my daughter's new retina display iPod touch), but no iPhones.

We have 2 Android phones and a Blackberry; not to mention a Windows 7 laptop, an XP Netbook and 2 almost completely unused XP desktop computers.

 

We also have a Nexus 7 Tablet which we bought because it was cheap. this is OK, but less than perfect.

Although it has lots of features and nice little extras (live widgets etc), the OS is still not as smooth as iOS and some operations on it are "laggy".

The screens also too small for sensible web browsing. Hence the iPad going on the Xmas wish list.

 

I've also had several looks at the iPad mini and am quite impressed. Although it doesn't have the high resolution retina display of its big brother, it is still very convincing IMHO and clearly a quality product.

It all comes down to personal choice. For me, had the iPad mini been available when we bought the Nexus 7, I would have paid the extra and bought the Mini instead. Compatibility with our other Apple products being a bonus.

 

 

I think the youngsters say, "your mileage may differ", or is that phrase "old hat" now?

 

 

.

[trisonic]

What about a cost vs facility comparison?

 

I've been using a Kindle Fire HD 7" for a month and have not even downloaded an app. I'm 60 and my eyes are shot but I can browse the web with it and read it perfectly - it is the most legible of all these devices.

My daughter has an Ipad 4 and likes to use mine 'cos it's convenient to use - $200.00 cheaper too. I can also use the Kindle in places where the Ipad will not pick up our WiFi.

 

I like Apple, we have two of their lap tops and one Imac - which I use for composing and recording music, I have nothing against Apple and just don't need an all singing, all dancing tablet.

 

Best, Pete.

[backofanenvelope]

{snip}

It all comes down to personal choice. For me, had the iPad mini been available when we bought the Nexus 7, I would have paid the extra and bought the Mini instead. Compatibility with our other Apple products being a bonus.

 

Thanks for the concise review Ron, I may take a look at the iPad mini after Christmas, although I am still wrestling with the need for one and might wait till a retina version appears if it does which seems to be what they are doing with all there other products.

T.

[Steve Williams]

I would just like something to store my photographs on and that I could use to show people without having to lug albums about and wouldn't break the bank. Don't want to have to use iplayer to upload. Just want to be able to save j.pegs in the normal way. Would also be a useful backup. Am not really interested about it having an internet connection. One at home is enough for me

[30801]

I would just like something to store my photographs on and that I could use to show people without having to lug albums about and wouldn't break the bank. Don't want to have to use iplayer to upload. Just want to be able to save j.pegs in the normal way. Would also be a useful backup. Am not really interested about it having an internet connection. One at home is enough for me

 

One of those generic £50 Chinese Android tablets would do that just fine. Plug it in via USB, drag & drop files into it like it's a memory stick and job done.

You may want to spend a little more to get a quality screen to show off your photos.

[Steve Williams]

One of those generic £50 Chinese Android tablets would do that just fine. Plug it in via USB, drag & drop files into it like it's a memory stick and job done.

You may want to spend a little more to get a quality screen to show off your photos.

Thanks. That sounds a possibility.