# Help with tablet purchase please **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 15, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-tablet-purchase-please/709863 "2015-01-15T00:35:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-tablet-purchase-please/709863/21 "2015-01-16T16:59:55Z")
You owe it yourself to check out the Windows Surface Pro 3. Everyone loves to bash Microsoft and Windows, and certainly I have as well from time to time, but they really hit it out of the park with this one, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-tablet-purchase-please/709863/22 "2015-01-16T17:10:28Z")
Though it is quite a bit more expense (as it is laptop as well as a tablet). ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-tablet-purchase-please/709863/23 "2015-01-16T18:09:24Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Though it is quite a bit more expense (as it is laptop as well as a tablet). That’s fair. Its versatility does up the price somewhat compared to something like a Android tablet, especially. But it really works in both tablet and laptop modes. I bought one for my wife, and she loves it. The previous generation isn’t expensive anymore, and you can still find them (the Pro 2 series.) They’re not as powerful in terms of performance as the Pro 3, but still very good. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-tablet-purchase-please/709863/24 "2015-01-16T18:26:33Z")
I have a Nexus 7 2013 and love it; however, the last time I tried to upgrade to Android 4.4.3, it killed the tablet and I had to have it restored. So, that leaves me with a tablet I can’t update. My husband wants to get me a tablet with wireless and I want to stick with Android. Verizon has the following available: Galaxy Tab 4 (8.0), Galaxy Tab S (10.5), Galaxy Note Pro, and the Galaxy Tab 4 (10.1). Does anyone have any experience with any of these tablets? (Ideally, I’d like to stick with the smaller tablet, but Verizon doesn’t have the Tab S (8.5) yet.) ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-tablet-purchase-please/709863/25 "2015-01-16T18:28:08Z")
Thanks, lSiddiqui, but that is more than I want to spend. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vegetable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Space\_Vegetable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vegetable)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-tablet-purchase-please/709863/26 "2015-01-17T21:43:51Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > BTW, the Nexus 7 that astro suggested, I believe is not cellular compatible. It depends on the model. A plain Nexus 7 2013 is Wifi-only, but the Nexus 7 LTE 2013 has cellular (as the name suggests). I have one, and the free T-Mobile plan **Dr. Strangelove** mentioned. I’ve found the free plan sufficient for occasionally looking stuff up while on public transit, getting real-time transit info, playing online games, and so forth. But I wouldn’t try to update an app or watch a streaming video if I didn’t have a Wifi connection. In a year of use, I’ve had to pay $10 to T-Mobile about 3-4 times, when I went over my free 200 MB allocation for the month, mostly as a result of unintentionally visiting a web page with some big media on it. I found the extra expense of the LTE model was well worth it. **Indyellen** , my Nexus updated to 4.4.4 just fine, so it’s possible they fixed whatever update bug killed your tablet. You might consider trying to update again once Android 5 is available for your device. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-tablet-purchase-please/709863/27 "2015-01-18T14:02:53Z")
Another fan of TMobile checking in. Power is out right now and a free connection for occasional use is great to have. At $20-$40 for monthly service, you can spend more than the cost of a tablet in a short time. If TMobile is not good in your area, look for a pre-paid plan you can start and stop. I used to use Verizon, but only activated it when on vacation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-tablet-purchase-please/709863.md?page=1)