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Question

Tablet vs e-reader

Dec 9, 2012 3:15AM PST

Hi all it's my first post so hi!

I'm 16 years old and a college student and recently I had an issues with my Kindle so it is getting replaced free of charge. I only have the 4th gen one and having no backlight really annoys me... I'm definitely selling it when it arrives but I don't know if I should go and buy a Kobo Glo/Kindle Paperwhite or a tablet, all will be the same price but I don't know what to go for.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 which I use for emailing and well, most things and I can only see a tablet as a bigger version of it, it will be a nicer viewing experience but I can only see myself not getting that much use out of it because it will be easier just to crack out my phone. The tablet will do what my phone is just it's bigger which has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Your opinions?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
This one is easy.
Dec 9, 2012 3:45AM PST

A college student would get a laptop and they would not need the e-reader.
Bob

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Thanks for the reply
Dec 9, 2012 4:38AM PST

I have a laptop I use but I don't bother bringing it to college with me, I enjoy reading and think that the tablet won't be that well suited to it and will be more like a luxury device?

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Because of our office porting apps.
Dec 9, 2012 4:50AM PST

I can play and use many models folk ask about. I have the new Kindle Fire HD, Asus Transformer with keyboard and the Nexus 7 with a keyboard as well as others. The latest crop of tablets are very nice but do not replace a laptop for college work.
Bob

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What about these two?
Dec 9, 2012 6:12AM PST

I'm thinking of getting the Fire (not the HD) but people say it's not as good as ordinary tablets due to limitations. I rarely bother watching movies and if I do I would watch them on Netflix at home because I don't travel all that often, in the house I will use a laptop and smartphone and at college I can use the computers there or if needs be I can take my laptop there. I like to play games like Angry Birds etc and most of what Android offers but the smartphone does that decently enough. All I can imagine is that with a tablet it would just be overkill. I had an iPod Touch with an older phone I had and eventually that was just gathering dust and I'm worried having a tablet would be the same... I could read books on a tablet but with all the other uses the battery wouldn't last me long enough. I'm really tied between a Pipo Smart-S1 and a Kobo Glo. I've managed without a tablet all this time so why would getting one now be worth it?

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Let me share.
Dec 9, 2012 6:37AM PST

My brother has the Fire, I have the Fire HD for reasons given. Get the HD.

What limitation are you writing about? It has many of the same apps you get since app writers are "all in" on the KF.

The two models you noted are off the main stream and if you pay 99 bucks then no heartbreaker.
Bob

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Maybe just the e-reader
Dec 9, 2012 6:49AM PST

My brother is waiting for his tablet to arrive and I might see what he thinks of it because personally I think having a tablet will just be a waste when I have my smartphone. I do like to read!

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My KF HD is very nice.
Dec 9, 2012 8:21AM PST

I got the HDMI connected to the HDTV and it's great to see they have figured out full 1080p HD playback without all the issues I've seen over the years. Amazon really nailed that model. I added a "Roo" case that has it turn on when I open and off when I close it.

Get a demo as this is a very nice tablet.
Bob

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Answer
So whats the question?
Dec 14, 2012 8:45PM PST

Honestly, I am not very clear of your question but here are my 2 cents.

I have all of the gadgets you mentioned and use it regularly.

e-book reader, solely for reading epubs. My actual idea was I could read scientific research articles on it but it doesn't work well so I read ebooks on porcelain throne and on the train to work.

Tablet (Motorola Xoom), primarily used for reading scientific articles using iAnnotatePDF app (yes, their android version is free, grab it ASAP). When home or when I am absolutely tired/bored, it is used for playing some games. And of course, the other regular stuff like RSS feeds, emails and regular early morning coffee stuff.

Laptop is used primarily when I have loads to type or the stuff that I can not do on the tablet.

I believe, you can very well replace laptop with the tablet for college work and even for making notes during the classes, if you pay up for decent apps.