Tablet notes

[mrsbrown]

Sitting on the couch feeling better than I feel when I stand up, I'm doing some shopping research.  I wish I'd brought my work computer home last night.  I could be working on the stuff that's stressing me out.  Oh well, I hope I'm better this arvo when I have to go in to prepare for a site visit tomorrow morning (omg, what if I feel like this again tomorrow morning?)

Anyway, our visit to the US is getting closer and, as a consumer indulgence, I've decided to buy an android tablet.

I want a later version of Android than the one on my phone, I want more internal memory so I can fit more apps on (even though access to info via the web browser is often better).  After a play on the weekend a 7" tablet seems like a better option as the screen size is large enough to use, and I can still fit it in my handbag.  I want to skype with it while we're away so it needs a front camera and it would also be good to be able to plug a usb stick into it.  I have data on my phone so I only need wifi.

If the Google Nexus tablet had a more reliable shipping date than "mid july" and "ships in 2-3 weeks", I would probably go with that.  I guess I could arrange to have one sent to my cousin in Washington, but I really want a tablet a bit earlier than that. 

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" seems to fit the bill and this review of the Nexus makes me feel better about htis choice too.

I could buy one here in Aus before we leave for $AUD498 (note 32G memory version which doesn't seem as available in the US)

Or I can buy it in Boston (8G version) when we get there for $USD250 at one of these places;

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+Galaxy+Tab+2+7.0+with+8GB+Memory+-+Titanium+Silver/5064393.p?id=1218604366681&skuId=5064393

http://www.sears.com/samsung-7-8221-galaxy-tab-2-with-wi-fi/p-00331971000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

http://www.staples.com/Samsung-Galaxy-II-7-8GB-WiFi/product_726938

They don't all have them in stock so it might be worth arranging for one to be delivered to shop near where we are staying.

Oh dear, this has gotten harder and harder to write and I'm now horizontal.  That'd be a hint then.

Comments

[hometime]

You need much more than 8G of memory! Well, I certainly do! Depending on how you use yours you may get away with 8G, but I put music, videos and photos onto my ipad, and I'm currently using around 35G out of my 64G of memory. When I was away I used a card reader to transfer photos from my camera's memory card onto the ipad, and that does use up a lot of memory (I took about 3500 photos, you will probably take less). My ipod touch is only 8G, because the young man serving me said that it would be plenty for my needs, and I fill it up completely and have to choose which music and videos I want on it.
hometime

[hometime]

ok, here's what I used the ipad for while travelling:
books to read while on planes and before I went to sleep at night. I use both the kindle app and ibooks. When I wanted a new book I just bought it straight off amazon.
maps- this is brilliant! The walk or public transport option was fanatastic. You need to be able to put in a simcard rather than relying on wifi in some places.
skype, without which I would have lost my sanity much much faster.
internet access
videos- YMMV, but I watched ballet and documentaries which I had preloaded.
music and audio books- great, also preloaded. I cunningly loaded an audio book of David Attenborough which gave me many hours of peace when I gave it to dad to listen too.
facebook- facebook messaging was my main form of communication with people, and putting up photos on facebook was really good, people seemd to like that.
I didn't use the ipad for taking photos at all, it is quite awkward to use for taking lots of pics. I used a card reader instead, which cost me about $40 (remembering that it is an apple product, so may be cheaper if you are going android).
games, I love playing games to help me unwind. Sudoku is good, and usually available as a free app. I also 'like where's my water' (known in the family as watercrack), and geared 2.
alarm clock

[mrsbrown]

I already use my phone for reading and maps and general internet access like facebook, LJ and DW. Also keeping up with email, but not writing detailed messages.

The aim with the tablet is to provide something similar for mr-bassman's old man eyes, as well as skype to keep Rose sane while we're away.

I'm intrigued with the card reader and I see this which can be used to put the camera SD card contents onto the Samsung tablets, just like your card reader.

I currently have a 8G microSD card on my phone and I'm nowhere near filling it - I don't listen to very much music and I regularly clear the photos from my phone, although when I need the video babysitter it doesn't quite have enough video for the car trip to Sydney.

I don't have enough internal memory on my phone to install the apps I/Rose would like. I think 8Gb should be enough for those, and I can use a removable SD card to store multimedia.

Thanks for the jolt though - the 7" Samsung doesn't appear to have a front camera - making it not very useful for Skype.

Oh well, back to the search.

[hometime]

Ok, it sounds as though you could get by with 8G (I listen to a lot of music and watch ballet videos, which does take up a lot of memory, ive always filled up all of the memory on my iPod touch which is 8G).
My card reader is about 3cm x 3cm x 0.5cm and plugs into the charging point of the iPad. You take the memory card out of the camera and insert it, and presto! It transfers photos onto the iPad and then gives you a choice about whether you keep copies on the memory card or delete them from the card.
A cover which folds into a stand is also nice- you can place the tablet on a table to watch videos, or lie in bed and read without having to hold a book open. Which does sound very lazy but is nice when your dodgy thumb hurts when holding a regular book open!

[rain_and_snow]

I have an ASUS Transformer Prime, which is a standard size tablet.

I don't remember when you are leaving, but you could have a play with it too at some point if you wanted. I have an Android phone too, but I find the tablet far more comfortable to use.

[mrsbrown]

Yes, I played with your tablet on the trip home from Crown.

I've had another look at the Samsung and the US one has a front camera for skype, so we'll probably get that.

It's also looking like there'll be a Google Nexus arriving here in the next week - for Rose and Sneetch to share. I'm looking forward to playing with it.