Recommendations for tablet pc (2)

Recommendations for tablet pc (2)

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As we all know the world of technology changes at such a pace that most of us cannot keep up. Back in November 2011 they were some excellent suggestions made on Tablet PCs. I would now like to take the plunge and actually buy a tablet PC.

From my reading of the earlier thread I intended to go for an Android tablet since I am a Google Apps for business user. Also I would like to move away from Apple (if  I can).  The one I have in mind is Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Bearing in mind I also intend to buy Samung Galaxy 3 The screen is bigger will I still need a tablet? I think I will.

Have things changed since November 2011? For business use, which is the current tablet to go for?

Thanks

Replies (3)

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By petersaxton
10th May 2012 08:43

My view

I think the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a great choice.

The Samsung Galaxy 3 is a good size and has the advantage of being a phone also. This reduces the cost of paying for another contract for internet access.

If I could justify it I would go for both.

If you get the Samsung Galaxy 3 would you need a tablet at all? I don't have a tablet and I hardly use my mobile phone. I will only take it out with me if I expect to use it. Practically all of my work is done at home on my desktop PC.

My wife has a Samsung 7 tablet but she uses it for checking times of planes and traffic congestion because she has her own small minicab business.

Of course you can use a tablet but most of the things you can do with a large screen mobile phone. I don't think an accountant needs a tablet. It's a toy. I'm waiting until I retire before I get one!

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By agburton
11th May 2012 07:57

Can be useful

I use a Galaxy tab 10.1 and before visiting clients put my checklists on it (automatically from my PC using Dropbox). I also use it for making notes when with client. It does add a small amount to efficiency, and also adds to an image of professionalism (I think).

You can do  lot of spreadsheeting, using paid for apps such as office pro, but not everything that Excel can. I understand that the  Windows 8, coming out shortly, will be fully tablet frinedly , and that it will be followed by a range of new tablets to work with it. Might be worth waiting, but then there's always something new just round the corner in this area!

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By david_terrar
11th May 2012 08:18

There is only one choice
Firstly I think the decision on smart phone doesn't need to be linked to your tablet choice. It's a factor to consider, but there are many other reasons for choosing a particular smart phone that are different to which is the best tablet. Secondly, one of the most important things about the success of the tablet/iPad is the size. The 9.7/10.1 inch size means you can provide a very different user experience over a small touch screen phone, even when it's quite big like the Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note. In a similar vein the 7 inch tablets from Samsung, HTC or the Kindle Fire are a bit of a compromise. Using a full size tablet can be a joy and replace most of what you might do on a laptop/ultrabook/netbook with a significantly better user experience and instant start up. I love the fact that I can pick it out of the bag and be showing someone directions on Google maps in seconds (instead of waiting minutes to fire up a PC and then connect to my 3G service and then get in to Google, etc.).

The key reason you'll use the tablet is apps, and actually I believe there is no contest. The iPad has over 200,000 apps. They aren't just iPhone apps with the screen size increased, they use the larger real estate properly. There are 10s of thousands, maybe over 100,000 android apps, but most of those are smart phone apps rather than optimised for the tablet screen size. If you add to that the actual sales of iPad vs the various flavours of Android tablet, Apple has a big lead and each new iPad launch is keeping them well ahead. The developer community and software entrepreneurs will usually build on iPad first and then think Android. Actually Microsoft has done a great job of encouraging developers to build for Windows phone, even though the handsets aren't popular. When Windows 8 comes out I think there is every chance that Microsoft based tablets will jump in to second spot behind Apple. But Apple will stay in front, and the quality and quantity of apps on the device is the key reason. Just Google iPad apps vs Android apps and look at the results, and you'll see it's not just me saying this.

There are good Android apps for tablet - see this Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2012/feb/06/50-best-androi...

So my recommendation is buy an iPad for your tablet and chose a smart phone based on your own needs. I use a BlackBerry Torch. When I change it I'm more likely to move to a Galaxy S3 than an iPhone (because I might try swype instead of a real keyboard, can't get on with the iPhone soft keyboard), but I love my iPad (and the keyboard works fine at that size).

David Terrar

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