So, my mom has had it about up to here with the Internet. A lot of things work really poorly for her, as a result of a combination of her oldish computer, her cheap (and hence slow) Internet access, her limited computer skills, and some just plain dumb luck. Now, for the things she uses the Internet for, dial-up and a decade-old computer really should be adequate, but unfortunately, that’s a small enough segment of the market that, increasingly, designers don’t consider it at all, and as a result, it really isn’t adequate any more.
Now that I’ve gotten the background out of the way: She suggested that one solution might be to get a single, self-contained device that she’d use for nothing but the Internet, which had its own built-in connection, and which would be simple enough that it’d be tough to screw up. And yeah, that sounds like a pretty good idea. I’m sure that I’ve heard of tablets (Kindle comes to mind) that connect to the Internet via the cell network, for free or a low price (after the device itself is paid for, of course).
But I’m having a hard time finding such devices. It looks like Kindles used to have such access, but that now, it’s only usable for Wikipedia and Amazon, and/or that it’s limited to 50 MB per month (which, even at my mom’s usage, would still be awfully skimpy). Almost everything offers WiFi access, of course, but Mom’s house isn’t a hotspot, and she doesn’t want to go to a coffee shop or the library every time she wants to do something online.
So, what’s a good solution for a simple device, with cheap Internet access not dependent on WiFi, for which low bandwidth and slow speeds are acceptable?
I don’t know of any that come with their own cell service as part of purchasing the tablet but it does sound as though you’d want a cell-capable tablet with a low cost data plan. You’d have to judge how quickly she’ll go through 2/4/6GB a month depending on what she uses the internet for.
I don’t have hands on experience with any of those tablets though, I’m afraid.
If she is accustomed to a standard-size keyboard, especially if she can touch-type, she will hate the onscreen keyboard of a tablet, and simply get so frustrated with it, she will throw it away. Not a chance in hell she will ever get comfortable with that.
With an exceptional design in tow, the [COLOR=“Blue”]Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 gives the Apple iPad Mini a run for its money. The 8-inch Tab S2 is thinner and lighter than both the iPad Mini 4 and the Dell Venue 8 7000, and it offers twice the amount of internal storage for the same price as each of them. (A 9.7-inch version of the Tab S2 is also available, and is otherwise almost identical.)[/COLOR] jtur88, get a bluetooth keyboard.
The Amazon Fire HD 10 is on sale, fwiw, at $179. I don’t know if the 10" model is too big for her, but that’s a pretty decent price. My mom has the 8" model, which is $149 and also a nice choice.
Here’s the thing about internet connections. There are three options for an internet connection. (This is general background, not just in re tablets.)
Plug an ethernet cord into your device. This is presumably how your Mom’s current computer connects.
Connect Wirelessly via Satellite. This is how cellphones and the Amazon older Kindle e-readers connect, when they’re not on wi-fi. It’s slow, compared to wifi & direct ethernet plugs, and expensive.
For example, Verizon will sell you a tablet, either iPad or Android, and it will come with internet via a cellphone contract. Effectively - it’s just a giant Smartphone. All the cellphone services will will do this.
If you think your mom will be happy with the speed and data caps of a cellphone plan, this might be the way to go. But be sure to check your mom’s coverage area. And of course, cell phone plans pricey and metered. If a cellphone plan won’t be enough (and it may well be, depending on your situation,) then you need wifi.
3. So, Wifi. Plug an ethernet cord from your internet modem into a router, connect your device wirelessly. This is how tablets operate and what you’re going to want to set up for your mom.
This is really pretty easy to set up and it will be probably be cheaper, too. Plus, you can shop around more for the tablet you want.
You could get your mom’s current ISP to set up her wifi for her. Or, if your mom has a broadband connection, you could just buy your own router, plug it into her current modem and then connect her tablet.
So my advice would be to buy the Amazon Fire tablet, get your mom a subscription to Amazon prime, and then talk to her ISP about getting her a broadband wifi setup. But depending on where you live, you might be better off going on the cellphone/satellite route.
This will be your gating problem. Using a 4G connection to access the web will be expensive as your only method, especially if she’s going to be streaming video.
Attaching a full-size keyboard would defeat the purpose of buying a compact device like a tablet. Just get a laptop.
If your comment is directed as advice to me personally, the only time I ever use my tablet is when I travel, for exactly the reason that I don’t want to lug a keyboard in my carryon.
If the OP’s mom is set on only one device and wants a tablet, then a bluetooth keyboard that she can turn on once in a while to type longer messages is perfectly reasonable and doesn’t defeat the purpose of getting a tablet if most of what she’s doing is surfing the Internet.
There is some misinformation earlier in this thread.
Wireless internet without needing a router/modem is available via cellular carriers yes, but it has zip to do with satellite internet, which is a whole different thing. Cellular internet uses ground based towers that are usually (but not always) hard wired from the tower to the internet.
Any other internet you pretty much need an in house router or modem. Commonly available options are Cable, DSL, Fixed point wireless, Satellite internet.
Generally the best way to do low cost internet is naked DSL via your phone company, if available - that is usually the cheapest way that still allows you to watch netflix or amazon prime or whatever.
If you really don’t use a lot of data and you never ever intend to stream and you are in an urban enough area that there is t-mobile or sprint towers, you can get low-ish cost data service via resellers such as http://www.freedompop.com/products
With those you either buy a cellular compatible tablet (that is compatible with the towers they use- NOT universal). Or you buy a cellular to wifi hotspot and any tablet you want with wifi.
But that is much, much less preferred to DSL if you can get it. The amount of data cellular services allow you feels kind of like a joke.
My wife has a Microsoft Surface with a Bluetooth keyboard that’s about the same width as the tablet. Not even close to full size, and I have no problem typing with it.
In her situation, the best thing she can get is a cellular iPad. They are intuitive, simple and safe. You can routinely get good deals on refurbished models from Apple, too, if she doesn’t want the latest and greatest.
One idea to think about about- do any of her neighbors have wifi that reaches her house? If so, maybe one of those neighbors would be willing to let her leach off their wifi, assuming she’s not going to be torrenting Game of Thrones and downloading warez at all hours. She could chip in 5-10 bucks a month or a batch of homemade cookies or a sixer of craft beer or whatever.
I strongly recommend that the OP raise the question with his mom, and see how she feels about the keyboard. If she, like me, has been touch-typing for years on a standard typewriter keyboard, she is simply not going to bond with any keyboard that does not have standard fingering intervals. But I would not offer her one without asking first and raising that issue with her.
However, it is true that on an Android, there is much less call for keyboarding when just surfing the web, because voice commands can be used to google on Android, while keyboard entry is required for all entries in Windows.
She currently has dial-up for (I think) $7.50 a month. Yes, I know that by modern standards, that’s ludicrously slow. But really, all she uses the Internet for is e-mail and (occasionally) textual information from a website. For which dial-up is actually fast enough… if the website with her e-mail or the textual information isn’t horribly bloated with ads, scripts, unnecessary images, and so on. She doesn’t have any interest in anything remotely resembling Netflix, or even YouTube.
She might be OK with using the onscreen keyboard for all the more she types in e-mails. I’ll ask her about that; if not, we can get her a keyboard too. She does type considerably more for larger documents on a word processor, but that still works just fine on her desktop.
A home internet connection to a WiFi router really isn’t a good option for her, since she doesn’t want to pay that much for speed which she genuinely doesn’t use. It’s also one more piece that can go wrong.
Jophiel has already linked to a cellular data plan for only $15 a month. Yes, yes, I know that some of you are gasping in horror at “only 2 GB per month!”, but I would be amazed if Mom ever managed a tenth of that.
Probably the best option is to get a tablet with wifi only and then buy a mobile hotspot. You have a far greater choice of tablets, separating the two means she can upgrade one without the other and also have multiple devices using the same connection if there’s ever a need.
I’ll be damned – dedicated wifi over dial-up devices do exist. I am not vouching for this product, but I doubt you’ll find many options. I’m a little surprised to find even one. On the other hand, you can find instructions for how to convert a PC with a modem and wireless card into a hotspot provider in several places.
According to this guy, the service costs (he thinks) $7.50 a month.