Smart phones& tablets, &ereaders, oh my!

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, Im in one of those parts of my life that can be looked at either as crisis or opportunity. :slight_smile: All or most of my electronics need replacing… help me find a solution all at once.

My smart phone (a motorola android of some type) has a battery that can’t last more than a few hours. (four if I don’t use it at all). Plus I hate it. I did have an iphone and I liked that. It seemed more functional to me. I don’t really need a smartphone, but I do need text and phone. On the other hand, a smart phone is how I check my email part way through my day at work,

I don’t currently have my “own” computer. I share with my husband and son, and that’s mostly pretty good (especially since we got the boy his own desk top this weekend…used but in great shape. etc)with only occasional OMG can I please use the computer. I mostly write, email, facebook, and surf. I usually have multiple tabs open, for instance my email, the SDMB, and wikipedia open at one time, that way I can reference any unfamiliar terms and I also open linked articles in other tabs. I’m a PC, not an Apple, but I could be converted. (My husband won’t convert though, and my son is learning PC at school. We are a PC family) It will be a laptop or tablet because a) I don’t have a desk to put a computer on, b) I think we need some kind of mobile device if we are on trips etc. I don’t really watch video or tv on my computer. I definitely won’t watch it on a phone so that’s a non issue.

I am also sick of my B&N Nook an older version from 2009? It has the touch screen thing on the bottom. I do like the e ink but sometimes I think it would be nice to have it lit for night. I have tried to read my books on e-reader apps on my phone but I am not in love with it. I still prefer real books, but I am starting to use it more, especially since my book club picks books I can’t always find in bricks and mortar stores without special ordering. E-book editions arrive right away, I usually buy from Chapters.ca so if I bought another dedicated reader it would probably be a Kobo, because I am not really a “buy from Amazon” person.

I do like to write in cafes etc. I would like something portable. I am not, however going to do any serious writing on a touch screen. I would need to slip an additional keyboard in if I was going to do creative writing on it. Right now I use pen and paper when I write outside the home. If a tablet had a handwriting stylus ap thing that my handwritten scrawls could be converted to text then loaded into a Word (or similar) document that would be great.

So… until last week I was going to buy a small net book, and get an Iphone. Then I remembered how much I hate my nook. Also, the people who sold me the barely used desktop for my son have a 17 inch pc laptop that is barely used. And an 8 year old macbook. Each of these are for sale in the 100 dollar range. (Long story about business computers vs home computers + combining households + a 37 week pregnant woman etc leads to several unused computers that HAVE TO GO NOW!)

So… do I get a tablet that I can use as an e reader? Do I buy the used lap top and just get a smart phone I like? is there something I am totally forgetting? Dopers know their technology, I would like to see what people think. Remember I am in Canada.

2

I’ve owned various devices with stylus & handwriting support, from various Palm Pilots to Windows CE, Android (with active digitizer and with just capacitive touchscreens), iPad, Windows-7 tablets with digitizers, and even a brand new Windows-8 tablet with a Wacom digitizer. And I can say with confidence that handwriting recognition is NOT practical. The stylus is very useful for taking handwritten notes and marking up documents, but you can’t write long paragraphs and have them convert reliably to text.

On the other hand, a 17-inch laptop is not a good portable device for writing - it fails miserably on the “portable” aspect. These are what’s called “desktop replacement” computers - they are transportable but not intended for daily portability.

If I were you, I’d look for an Android tablet with an optional keyboard dock (ASUS Transformer series, some Samsung Tab models, etc), or a lightweight notebook. The Chromebook might be a viable option if you want a small portable device mainly for web browsing and writing.

3

Yes the handwritten recognition is a “nice to have” but not essential. The big lap top that I might pick up from the other people would NOT be cafe usable, but I have nothing I am writing with other than pen and paper at cafes. I use the desktop when I can finagle time, usually early mornings or late evenings are ok. ( It just sucks on days like NHL trade deadline day when hubby is glued to the desk top.) My phone really has to go though. I am wondering about getting an android vs an apple to integrate with the other devices. I am not sure if I hate the android or just the particular Motorola I have.

4

How much do you have to spend ? How portable does the computer need to be ?
If portability isn’t a concern, $400 is enough for a decent laptop that can even do light gaming (http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-K55N-DS81-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B00B7K11MI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365126915&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+k55n)

For replacing the nook, the Kindle Paperwhite has by far the best lighting, and is much easier to read from for long periods than a tablet. For occasional reading though you can certainly get away with a tablet. Despite being an Amazon product you can buy or get your books from anywhere if they don’t have any DRM, and use Calibre to convert them in .mobi format for the Kindle.

For your cell phone if it isn’t actually slow/not functioning correctly, just buy the extended battery from Ebay, probably cost you $30. Edit to add, if you really want a new phone, you have to tell us the provider and whether you are on contract or not. The cheapest way generally is going to be some form of prepaid plus buy your own full priced phone. The Google Nexus line is priced well below other new off contract options that are similar quality - less than half the price of an iphone: https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_8gb&feature=microsite&hl=en

5

Well I am in a contract with Bell for my phone. (my phone was lost/stolen and my brother gave me an old one of his for free) I can spend pretty much what I want up to around $1000, I could go a little more. Gaming for me is playing “free cell” and tetris, so not an issue at all. I can’t remember the last time I bought software other than for doing my taxes.

6

A generic laptop/Chromebook + a Kindle Paperwhite would be my suggestion too. The Kindle Paperwhite is a dream to read on if you can get over the Amazon bias (or learn to deal with the annoyance of format conversion for every book you want to read).

Another alternative you could consider is an iPad or Google Nexus 10. Get a keyboard and you can do your reading, browsing, and email all on one lightweight device. The advantage of this over a laptop is portability and the ergonomics of having a portrait orientation and a touchscreen; that makes reading a lot more comfortable, especially on the couch or in bed. The disadvantage is that the tablets aren’t quite as capable/flexible as a similarly-priced laptop, but it doesn’t look like you’ll be doing anything that really requires a laptop anyway.

ETA: I happen to have a Paperwhite, Nexus 10, Chromebook, and regular Windows laptop in the same household right now (but not for long). If you’d like, I can make you a short video showing things you might normally do (email, Facebook, web browsing, document editing) to show you how each one works. Let me know.

7

This x100. The Kindle Paperwhite is my absolute favorite, madly in love with e-reader. It’s nearly perfect. And this comes after using a Kindle 2 that I really liked for a few years. The Paperwhite is small, e-ink is fantastic for long reading stretches and the backlight is adjustable all the way from “subtle” to “nearly blinding”. And the magnificent thing goes for weeks between recharges. It’s got a permanent spot on my nightstand; I also take it every time I travel for work, which is often, and I never need to bother packing a charger. This thing just lasts.

The only missing feature is a nice case; I’d suggest going to DODOcase to get a highly class, well put-together case that looks like a book, adds very little thickness and feels nice. I have a Hardcover for the Paperwhite, it’s beautiful, sturdy and useful.

8

I do love the e ink on my nook. In fact the only reason I am replacing it is the p.i.t.a factor of having an American ereader and the sideloading. My son got a Kobo mini for christmas and I love the ease of it. This morning I am thinking less about shiny gadgets or all in one things, keeping the nook, getting a new iphone and holding off on other purchases for now. Maybe a windows phone rather than an iphone. Not sure. The Asus one with dual screen looks amazing, but it is a bit pricey.

9

What’s wrong with Amazon’s leather case? I really like mine. It has a magnet to keep it closed, and it also turns the Kindle on/off when you open/close the cover.

10

FYI, I just just just bought a laptop very similar to this–same brand, size and case, just a little more oomph under the hood. I LOVE IT. So light and much larger than I had imagined.

11

Thank you for all your input. I think I am going to get a Samsung Note II for a start and see if I need the laptop option at all. The links above gave me some good ideas and I started questioning everything and did a need/want/nice to have list.

12

I don’t know that there’s anything wrong with it, I haven’t had the opportunity to handle one. Looks nice, though! :slight_smile:

What I really like about the DODOcase is that it looks, feels and handles like a leather-bound book. Very subtle, very class. Feels like it’s made to last. Plus it’s thin, no bulk at all. I like that it takes an e-reader and makes it look and feel more like a classic book. No frills (other than an optional subtle personal initials emboss).

I do wish the adhesive was a bit stronger (my kindle does pop out once in a while) but the adhesive is “renewable” in that you can just wet it a bit and it gets sticky. All in all, I love this case. Enough where I have one in black faux-leather, red inside lining and I’m tempted to buy another (probably black outside, purple inside or “fog” (dark gray) outside and light gray inside) just because I like the way the cases look and read and would enjoy mixing up the colors a bit.

13

I have the Samsung Galaxy Note II, so if you have any questions, ask away.

Needless to say I love it. I don’t think there’s anything out there as portable, but with a screen so large that you can actually do work on it. Surfing the web is a joy, and tab browsing is integrated well.

Reading on the Note II is a breeze and very comfortable. I’ve actually begun reading books on it via the Kindle app, something I thought I’d never do as I have a real Kindle.

Battery life is pretty good on the Note II, could always be better. Mine lasts me about a day, but that’s with generally heavy use.

I love, love, love the Google Maps navigation app. It’s the most accurate GPS I have ever owned, is free, has real-time traffic density indicators and alternate route suggestions so I can avoid bottlenecks, and it never requires map updates by the end-user as Google does this in the background automatically. Love it!

The Note II also has the S-pen, a stylus that allows me to write notes and save them, among a number of other neat apps the S-pen was designed to take advantage of.

The built-in camera takes pretty good, mid- to high-quality stills and videos, and has many DSLR features.

Would I take the Note II on vacation without a laptop or tablet? I have, and would again. The Note II can do everything I would need a laptop for while on vacation, and unlike a laptop or tablet, I can drop it in my pocket when I’m done.

Don’t let the size of the Note II scare you. Yes, it is quite big for a phone but, in my opinion, the benefits far outweigh any negatives its size may provide. And anyway, who puts cell phones up to their ear anymore? Get a nice set of buds, which come with the Note II, by the way, and you’ll be fine.