I’ve used my laptop as a base when traveling but am interested in getting a tablet instead to reduce the amount of gear I need to carry with me. I’ve got an upcoming ski trip to Austria and I’d like to be able to process (with Picasa or something similar) and post a limited number of photos and video I shoot while on vacation - the majority will wait until I get home but I’d like to be able to give folks a taste of the trip while it’s happening. Some web browsing, playing music, and reading some e-books will probably round out the planned usage.
My GF has a Mac and I’ve got a PC, so I think we’re open to any OS on the tablet. I’ll have to go in a store and pick up some of the models to see how they feel, but I’m leaning against the 10" screens, I think we’ll be fine with a smaller 7" screen. Is that too small to edit photos? I don’t expect to get a data plan, we can rely on Wi-Fi at our place in Austria and at home. We both have Android phones if that matters.
Anything in particular I should look out for or features that are must haves? Price isn’t too much of a factor; a quick like at the prices seems like most models are in our price range.
So, what do the Dopers have and what do you recommend?
If you want a 7" screen I’d go with either the Kindle Fire HD or the Google Nexus 7. The Nexus 7 is slightly better on paper as to it’s specs. But I’d just go with whatever company you use more. If you use Gmail, Google Calendar and generally are a Google person I’d get the Nexus. If you have Amazon Prime, regularly read books through Amazon and generally are a Amazon person get the Kindle Fire HD.
Of course, you can check your Gmail on the Kindle and you can get the Amazon app for the Nexus, so it really doesn’t matter too much. Google even has Youtube videos explaining exactly how to optimally set up your Nexus 7 for Amazon users to read their books.
Either one should be able to view and post pictures and I’m not sure which one (if either) would be specifically better for that.
I’ve got a nexus 7 and I’m very happy with it. So is my wife (so much so that I forced her to buy one for herself rather than keep stealing mine)
The main tipping point was price £159, that it integrated easily with my gmail account, I can drag and drop file onto it and it’ll play any video or music that you throw at it.
also, it is slim enough that it pops into an inside coat or trouser pocket. The ipad mini is just a touch wider (15mm) but enough so that it was a squeeze to get it in and out of most pockets.
A small thing but important to me.
I love my nexus 7 and it’s good for looking at pictures but I don’t know about editing them. I have an iPad 3 too and it’s really deluxe for looking at pictures compared to the nexus. Of course there’s the matter of transferring pics from the camera to the tablet. With iPad you can get a camera kit so you can transfer from an SD card. I don’t know what the options are with the nexus since I use whatever cloud account.
Nexus 7 w/32GB option. I’ve got a 16GB and wish I had waited for the 32GB model. Or, if you can find one an HP Touchpad 32GB (8.9") and load Cyanogenmod 9 (Custom Android ROM) and have WebOS and Android dual boot. Rumors abound about a custom Windows/RT ROM in the works for a Triple boot option…
I’m pretty much down to the Nexus 7 vs the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. While the Nexus generally has slightly better reviews it cost a bit more to me since I planned on using an Amazon gift card that I have, and the Nexus costs more on Amazon.
What are the options for getting data from a camera or SDHC card to the Nexus? For the Galaxy Tab 2 I can buy an SD card reader with USB ports that plugs into the Samsung connector and a 32G microSD card to expand the memory for $35 total, which seems to give me all that I need.