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General discussion

Do you have a tablet? If so, what do you use it for?

Apr 3, 2015 10:25AM PDT

Discussion is locked

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you asked for it
Apr 3, 2015 10:50AM PDT

for reading news articles when sitting on the porcelain throne Happy

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seriously
Apr 3, 2015 3:37PM PDT

I have the original galaxy note 10.1 tablet. I was planning to upgrade to a newer model this year but one was not released. the tablet was a laptop replacement for using around the house. Though I have the galaxy note 3 smartphone, I tend to use the tablet for solitaire, reading, online shopping and writing my eyes are not as good as they used to be so it helps. I use the phone when out and about where carrying a tablet would be more of an inconvenience.

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No tablets in my house.
Apr 3, 2015 12:01PM PDT

None of us desire a tablet. For us the proper combination is our smartphone plus a computer. The smartphone does everything a tablet would do, but it fits in out pocket. A tablet fits in the middle but there are no important features in a tablet that aren't covered by a smartphone and a laptop.

I like to keep up on electronics but I don't even read tablet reviews (same for smart watches).

I have seen many good uses for tablets in business applications. Even there it is a niche solution. Some business solutions using tablets are quite good such as point of sale, inventory, real estate and others. But in many cases tablets simply don't have the software used in many business applications.

For home use a tablet offers a larger screen than a smartphone. Tablets power up much faster than laptops. The apps available on smartphones/tablets are often easier to use than traditional PC/Mac operating systems. So I do see the benefit. Just not for us.

In my opinion the lack of a keyboard is the biggest disadvantage of a tablet. If a keyboard would support the display you'd then have something interesting, but we call those laptops!

For us spending $200-800 for a tablet just didn't offer us $200-800 worth of value given that we already all have smartphones and computers.

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Tablets have their place in my life
Apr 3, 2015 1:37PM PDT

I don't need a tablet, but I have two (Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, 7-inch Kindle Fire) and appreciate them for what they are: lightweight in-between devices. To be honest, I use the Kindle Fire more often than the 10-incher for most "tablet" things; it's lighter and easier to carry than my three-year old Samsung, with both in protective leather cases. The little tablet is almost just-right for checking e-mail and light Web surfing when I'm mobile, but not nearly as good for writing short e-mail responses ... and pitifully inadequate for writing anything longer.

My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S III. A phablet's screen might be nearly large enough to replace the Kindle Fire, but a 5.5 to 6-inch screen would have an even smaller "virtual keyboard" than the Kindle while a phablet's overall size would be greater than my phone's. I think I'd rather have both of the devices I have now, using whichever is best for the particular job. (I don't really rely that much on either device; in fact, I have a problem remembering to bring my phone in with me when I park my car.)

I might not mind having either a smaller phone (along with a 7- or 8-inch tablet), or a 7- to 8-inch phablet that I could voice-dial (using a Bluetooth ear-thing) without having to bother with its on-screen keypad. <span style="font-size: 14.4799995422363px;">But I also have full-fledged computers that I use when I need to get real work done. I prefer to have a variety of tools, and choose the proper one for each task.

My philosophy is: use what you like, like what you use. Not everyone needs a tablet, no matter how powerful, just as not everyone needs a laptop or desktop computer.

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I'm with you
Apr 4, 2015 5:42PM PDT

My Kindle Fire does just about everything when I'm moving around the house and as a reader it is second to none. Like yours it's also a 7" Fire and I have a leather cover with bluetooth keyboard incorporated in it which is much better than using the on-screen offering.

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Surface 3 might replace two of my devices
Apr 3, 2015 1:09PM PDT

At last count I have two desktop computers (the older one is a spare, not in use), a 4.5-lb "budget" laptop, a 10-inch Android tablet, a first-generation (7-inch) Kindle Fire, a smartphone and a NAS to pull it all together. I can see getting a Surface 3 to replace both the tablet and too-heavy laptop for most mobile tasks; it could even replace the Kindle Fire as my go-to device for reading e-books, I suppose. A lot will depend on how well I like the new Surface's keyboard cover; I'm spoiled by my desktop keyboards.

Off course, I'd much rather have a Surface Pro 3, which I am sure would be more than a match for the laptop -- and possibly the older desktop -- but I'm looking at the non-Pro version primarily as a mobile content consumption and light writing device. No matter what, I'm keeping my main desktop machine for getting real work done.

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Poor Value
Apr 3, 2015 2:02PM PDT

After having used a couple of high quality tablets for a few weeks, they are something I view as being mostly an expensive novelty device with limited capabilities. In many ways a tablet is a lot like having a crippled smartphone. I have a couple of outstanding smartphones that are capable of delivering everything a tablet can, and then some, so I regard a tablet as being unnecessary and redundant. I have several high end laptops, so anything in the middle is not something that I find particularly useful. While I have learned to tolerate a slimy touch screen on my smartphones, I do not care for touch and I much prefer using a keyboard and mouse/touchpad as input devices when there is anything meaningful that needs to be done in terms of work or play.

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Why bother? I have Surface Pro 3
Apr 3, 2015 3:11PM PDT

My heading says most of it; having a Surface Pro 3 covers all bases.

But to be honest I seldom have a use for a tablet. Thus, although the Pro 3 is on the large side for a tablet, it does the job if I occasionally want to kick back in the armchair without the keyboard. It is completely usable with fingers

only, plus having the advantage of the Microsoft Pen.

If you are a major tablet user the situation may well be different. As I see it, you are probably wanting to carry something pretty portable and as we all know a 7" will fit into the average jacket pocket. Of course that's not so for an iPad or any other 10". (LOL my PC just asked for a spell-check for 'iPad'!)

Also an iPad user primarily uses the Internet, takes notes (for study etc) and plays the odd game, right?

Obviously I have to check the Internet; that's one of today's constants. Also I write stuff and take notes, both much easier with a kb in my opinion. But I don't play games. You probably think I'm "booriing", well, there you are, in a single stroke I've told you why I don't have a (smaller) 'tablet'...

But in my opinion it's the game-players that are boring, not to mention empty-headed! I would much much rather read an interesting book, or even a news magazine such as The Economist, than play some gormless game!

But I have heard that playing computer games helps with development of intelligence, etc. Maybe they need that.

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Ditto
Apr 5, 2015 9:57PM PDT

This mirrors my experience - I have completely replaced my laptop and iPad with my Surface Pro 3. I realize that the subject here is the Surface 3, not the Pro.

My wife now uses my old iPad to play games and read email/surf while in the living room. It really wasn't capable of doing real work so I don't miss it at all. Everything that I found useful on the iPad has a counterpart on the Surface. Some of them aren't as pretty but some of the iPad apps weren't as pretty as some of their replacements. The ONLY thing that I've found that I wish that I could get for my Surface is a usable Ancestry app. The Windows 8 Ancestry app is a total waste of time. That is mitigated by the fact that I can run the full Ancestry program on my Surface but I still don't understand why they can't make a Windows app that is useful.

I also realize that the size can put off some people but as I am "getting up in years", a smartphone or smaller tablet is useless to me simply because I can't read them without zooming in so much that I can't see other things that I need to use them effectively.

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I Don't have a Need for One
Apr 3, 2015 3:58PM PDT

Very rarely do I ever think that a task would be easier if I had a tablet. I do have an encrypted Netbook that I used for work (all portable devices had to be encrypted) but I didn't use that very much (just to take meeting notes). Since we were a criminal justice system department, I could not use anything that wasn't CJIS-compliant and they would not allow us into the network remotely unless it was Windows. I'm still using an old desktop at home.

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Great for a quick web hit, but no "killer app" yet for me
Apr 3, 2015 8:50PM PDT

I didn't plan on getting a tablet, but I did get one in exchange for a loan repayment (it was the tablet or nothing, so easy choice).

I use it when something comes up when I'm watching TV -- either a product (rarely) or a character that I've seen before (thanks, imdb.com) or some other idea pops in my brain and I need to see something about it on the web. It's on in a hurry, surfs well enough, and lets me get back to the show quickly.

I also use the organizational aspects to help with family matters (my ancient bucket-of-bolts phone doesn't have the same level of tools). The video chat is fun, but the tablet is tiring to hold up long (to avoid neck problems). The games are fun sometimes, too, but I wouldn't buy one just for the ways that I use it. It's nice to have, but I lived without it before and I could again, if I had to.

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I use all
Apr 4, 2015 12:26AM PDT

I have a smartphone, a 7 inch android tablet, a small-screen but powerful laptop, and multiple desktops at home and at work. Each has its advantages and disadvantages and I use them all at different times (sometimes at the same time!)

I actually find the 7 inch tablet quite comfortable to work with and still quit portable; it fits easily in my jeans' back pocket (although still too big to carry around all the time). I find smartphones just too small to do anything comfortably. Convenient, yes, but often I just wait til I can get to my desktop.

There are a ton of clever niche uses for tablets. I have a lot of musician friends that keep all of their musical charts on 10 or 12 inch tablets. I've been thinking of doing the same.

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Silence!
Apr 4, 2015 12:30AM PDT

I narrate audiobooks, and my Nexus 10 is my preferred reading platform. Printed materials will always require editing out the whisper of page turns. My microphone also recorded the button-clicks from an Amazon Kindle. The Nexus is truly silent - meaning I can concentrate on editing my mistakes, not my reading!

I have also used my Nexus as a substitute for my desktop PC while on trips. Sorry, but I much prefer the PC experience to mobile. These days I carry a laptop.

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Yes, I have a tablet.
Apr 4, 2015 3:45AM PDT

Yes, I have a tablet, actually two of them.

My first tablet was a big (10 inch) clunky Acer Iconia A500 and I loved it. Carried it around from room to room, to club meetings, etc. This December I bought the Nuvision 7.65 tablet and I now love it even more, carrying it from room to room. It is light-weight, has Android 4.4.2, wi-fi, and bluetooth. It synchronizes with my desktop so I can read my mail, sync with Evernote, email, facebook, google calendar and kindle. A charge lasts pretty much the whole day. And it cost less than $100 - $77 plus tax actually. When I'm on my desktop, like now, it is recharging. (Btw, I am a 79 year old retiree.)

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I <3 Tablets!!!
Apr 4, 2015 9:10AM PDT

Well, I'm a bit of an anomaly. I didn't buy my first computer until laptops were the norm, so I've never sat at either a desk top computer or ever used a mouse...I've ONLY ever grown up using a touch pad. Therefore, the 'touch' feature of so many tablets comes as second nature to me and I adapted to them and adopted them instantly!

I run a construction firm which translates into "Instantaneous DEATH of Smart Phones!" Therefore, none of my employees nor myself have them; we use hard-core Clam-shell phones which can take a wicked beating at the job site. Drop one of those suckers from a Bobcat and like a Timex Watch, it "Takes a Lickin' but Keeps on Tickin'...or making calls!" I hate texting, preferring face to face conversations so having an Agent Gibbs phone keeps texts at a minimum.

However, only slightly exaggerating, I was one of the very first people on the planet to adopt a tablet 5 years ago with the original Samsung Galaxy tablet, seeing it instantly as The World's BEST Marketing Tool! Back then, there only existed 2 tablets: the original iPad and the original Gal Tab. I chose the Gal tab because it not only was 3G but it also had a camera AND a flash, something that Steve Jobs didn't deem necessary with the original monster-sized iPad. With my tablet, I could be at the wholesalers, take a photo of some kitchen cabinets and lighting, send them in an email to a client, call them on my clam-shell, and have them make the decision INSTANTLY vs. waiting days and days for an answer if I had to go back to the office and download photos into my laptop and send them out.

Also, the tablet is a HUGE bonus when I am selling new jobs, as I take my portfolio with me on my 7" tablet, and with the Pinch & Zoom ability, my clients can look at hundreds of jobs I've done, from regular viewing to extreme close up. Also, on my tablet, I've downloaded conversion scales, timers, light meters, and loads more apps that aid my profession. There's just NO WAY that a 4" screen can compete with a 7" screen!

I also am a minimalist and once the very first e-readers came out over 7 years ago, I began gifting away my books to reduce clutter. I've gone from the Sony Reader (now extinct) to several Kindle's and then the Kindle Fire. Yes, I have a Kindle app on my Gal Tab, but a dedicated Kindle has loads more features that just aren't available on the app, such as X-Ray and the built in dictionary.

I know that my lifestyle is vastly different than the regular 9-5 office person or even someone who works at Starbuck's, so I get why smartphones are popular. But, if you're an artist or builder, having a tablet is like striking it rich at a gold mine...it pays for itself with your first job!

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(NT) Option B when mobile.
Apr 4, 2015 9:37AM PDT
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I have a Kindle Fire
Apr 4, 2015 5:34PM PDT

I have a Kindle for play and sometimes use it for emails and some internet searches but I also have a lap top for work, play & movies while traveling, and a desk top for any real work with Office and similar programs. The small screens are just not good enough.

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abcd
Apr 4, 2015 9:49PM PDT

I use my Samsung tab 4, 8 inch screen & kit kat for everything, got it for 250$. I do not expect it to replace a desktop, not interested in e-games really, i like the portability, not to big , easier for an old geaser like me to handle than a smart? phone....my 2 cents....buzzzzb

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I am what you would call a power user, so no!
Apr 5, 2015 2:01AM PDT

I'm a power user. I need a real computer, with lots of storage for my mobile work. When I visit a client, I have to have with me every tool in my arsenal, just in case. It's very unprofessional to say to the client, "Yes, I know what your problem is, and I can fix it, but I have to go back and get the right software tool to do so."

That's why I carry one of several laptops. I bought them all from eBay for less than $200 each, and upgraded the hell out of them. I have one for XP, one for VISTA (for one client), three for Windows 7 (Pro, Ultimate, & Enterprise), and two for Windows 8, & 8.1.

They are each clearly labeled on the bottom, as to what they are, and are kept on a multi-charger of my own design when not in use. They all have the maximum ram, and 1TB hard drives full of software diagnostics, and tools. They each also have a half dozen USB keys (ranging form 8 GB's to 64 GB's).

I also keep a few 4 TB external hard drives, just in case I have to back up a client's computer before I start to work on it.

I need all that, because in many cases, I'm dealing with old hardware that I sold to them years ago. I have been trying to drag them, kicking and screaming, off of XP, and VISTA to Windows 7. One client even made the plunge, and upgraded their whole office to Windows 8. Hence my Windows 8 & 8.1 laptops.

I admit, it would be convenient to be able to use a tablet instead of a laptop, but as yet the specs just aren't there. The biggest SSD I can get in a tablet is 250 MB, not nearly what I need to carry my tool kits.

Then there's Linux. On my laptops I can duel boot to Linux if their computers are so badly screwed up that Windows is no longer an option. True, I always bring a Linux boot CD, & USB key so I can at least get into their systems. But I need a Linux partition on my laptops hard drive to hold all my Linux tools.

On a couple of occasions, I've had to take a dead computer, boot to Linux, and use my tool kit to completely rebuild their hard drives. And yes, I know there are Windows PE disks that do much of the same things. It's just that there is so much more Linux software available that do the things I need to do, and do them easier.

I have been reading about the new 3D SSD architecture, that will bring the cost of a 1 TB drive down to be compatible with standard hard drives, and I am very interested in that. Perhaps when that does make it to market, I will reconsider, but until then I can't see myself using anything less than a laptop.

Regards,
Mr. Windows

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Tablets - I now have five
Apr 5, 2015 3:45AM PDT

My first tablet was a Blackberry Playbook and I also purchased one for my wife. I leave mine by the bedside so that I can wake up, read or respond to emails, download the local paper, etc. It pretty much stays on the night table. I then have three HP Streams that are mounted on the wall in different rooms of which can be used for a multitude of things as they are running Windows 8.1. I have a Dell XPS in my office that I use most of the time. Three monitors on the desk as I trade currencies as a hobby. I also have a Dell 17" Inspiron in the kitchen that runs Windows 8.1 and just recently picked up two Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablets that are running Windows 8.1 that I prefer in most cases to the Dell laptop as they are a lot lighter and no painful fan running that makes your lap hot. You can kick back and put these things in just about any position on your lap that you feel comfortable with. I love them and can easily see them turning into my travelling companion as they work as well as my laptop or desktop and run pretty much everything that I have on each so it's almost seamless going from one item to another.

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Answer : C
Apr 6, 2015 9:13AM PDT

I usually use my tablet for work / school and play. But mostly for play! Happy

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Tablet for android games
Apr 6, 2015 11:37AM PDT

Windows 8.1 laptop, Windows 7 laptop, Nook HD+ 9" tablet. I can control everything from my tablet 32GB internal an 32GB sandisk ultra mobile SD card. Android has great games an still have productivity Office Suits 8 pro they all sync together. I find that I use my table more than the new laptops

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Hard to beat the large view finder
May 4, 2015 5:42AM PDT

C...

I use my iPad as my primary camera. The 8.7" screen is a wonderful view finder, I always have a network connection allowing me to message, email, etc.. I own an android tablet with a 5 mp lenses but the battery won't last all day.

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Nexus 7
May 8, 2015 1:36AM PDT

I have a Nexus 7 and I use it for

C. Yes, work and play.

Mostly work though.