I'm going to be buying a tablet in a couple/few months to use for my business computing needs (very minimal, obviously) and general browsing. I really dig my Android phone, so I'm considering a non-iPad tablet. What's good out there? I know barely more than nothing on this subject.
Everything I've read indicates the Google Nexus is the best of the bunch.
I have heard very good things about the new google tablet and for the price you can't really go wrong the 8gb is only $200
I am thinking about getting one so I can have torque to read codes from my obd2 cars.
I have a Asus transformer that works great. Especially with the keyboard dock. It has just about replaced my netbook
Ive got a Galaxy 10.1. You can check it out if you want. I love it.
I have a Nextbook Premium 7 which is marketed as a budget ebook reader but is actually a full featured tablet. For the $99 I paid for it, it's great. Unlike other budget tablets, it is really solidly built, the screen is awesome (display and touch response are better than some major brand names I've used) and it does everything I want performance wise. I've been running 3D games and music studio apps on it and it has no trouble keeping up with my mum's Samsung Nexus S for example.
It came with the limited freeware version of Android but there's an unofficial update floating around out there that roots it and restores it to full functionality (gives you the Google Market and Google apps.) Takes thirty seconds to do and no trickery/hacking involved - just put the upgrade on a blank SD card and reboot the tablet.
My only complaints are it doesn't like styluses much (neither does my HTC phone), the USB port is slave only, and there's no bluetooth. I would have loved to hook up an external keyboard but I haven't been able to get that to work yet because of the limited USB port. (Doesn't mean it's not possible, but you need a better hacker than I to make it work.)
Avoid the earlier Nextbook tablets, the Premium series is worlds better.
(^^ Not a canoe, I just really like my tablet. 
)
first thing you have to decide is how much are you willing to spend... then what size do you want...
i'm debating a new laptop or tablet this next semester of school... i KNOW if it's a tablet I want a 10" type... wife has a kindle fire and the 7" screen just isn't enough for web surfing in comfort (it's better then a phone lol)
on a side note... if something very simple like a kindle fire or nook tablet would work for you keep your eyes open... this next week or so the kindle fire 2 is supposed to drop and the kindle fire will drop in price
Step 1: Do some soul searching and figure out if you want a 7" or a 10" tablet.
If a 7", buy the Nexus 7. There is no debate.
If a 10", you have 3 choices: first, the Asus Transformer Prime. Second, it's cheaper brother the Transformer TF300. Third, wait a few months for the Nexus 10.
All other options are inferior.
For what it's worth, I love my iPad--and this isn't to start an Apple vs. Android debate, just to say that I am a fan of the 10-inch tablet.
In reply to Osterkraut:
I'm typing this from my 32gb Transformer Prime. I had an Asus Eee Pc 1015PE that I used to use for browsing on the go. The Prime took its place. I gave the Eee PC to my mom so she wouldn't have to use her Kindle Fire to surf. I bought the 32gb version only to have the 64gb version be the same price less than a month later. That's the rub... no matter what you get, in 6 months or less, it won't be the new hotness anymore...
I'm an Android guy otherwise I would of jumped on a refurb iPad 2. The iPad does pretty much everything well, the Prime does a few things great but everything else is decent. You really can't go wrong with either...
PS... Whatever you decide, make sure you get a good case/cover. I have a Gumdrop for my Prime but there are many many options for the Ipad...
We just got an Archos 80 9G tablet. We have been looking for a budget tablet for a while now, and this is the nicest one I've seen for the money. It was $149 at Staples.
It comes with 3.2, but upgrades to 4.0 when you turn it on and check for updates. It has a 8" screen and ours has 4 gb of memory built-in, but has a SD slot upgradable to another 32 gb on top of that. It runs a very clean install of Android with no stupid proprietary skin like many have. It also has the real Google Play store where a lot of the cheap ones don't. It also has a built-in kickstand which is cool.
I do 99% of my Internet cruising on my Kindle Fire. That said, I don't do much on it besides cruise the Internet. I don't have a real big interest in apps.
Good info, folks. Thanks.
After doing a bit of poking around, I think I'm probably most interested in a 10" tablet, since this will in all likelihood become my primary machine. That said, there may be occasions where I'd like to have a keyboard. Do most of these popular tablets have keyboards available in the aftermarket?
Get one with Bluetooth and you have your choice of a million keyboards, mice, etc. If you want to use a USB keyboard specifically, make sure the tablet supports USB Host mode. (Even a lot of big-name tablets don't.)
The keyboard is one of the reasons I went with the Transformer. They snap together and fold just like my netbook. The keyboard also has a battery built in that stretches the battery life from 6-8 hours to 12-15. In the three months I've had it, I've never killed the battery. The other thing, when they are snapped together the cord charges both of them at the same time.
I'm pretty sure you can get bluetooth keyboards to work with any of them.
I got my older kids Samsung 7" tablets. So far they love them as well. The screen is a little small for me.
My wife has an Archos, and it's about 8 months old now. It's decent, but there are better options.
I have to suggest a larger screen as well. I've played with a Transformer, and I really like them. I've only messed with one with a keyboard in a store, and it was broken, but the one my cousin has is a great standalone tablet without one. You can get bluetooth keyboard cases for just about any tablet. The nice thing about the Transformer is that it's essentially an Android powered netbook with the keyboard.
CPUs for these devices are advancing at crazy speed. If any of you guys remember when Intel chips went from the PII era into the PIII era and speeds made a big jump, and then again from PIII to P4. nVidia has released a new CPU, and there was a big speed jump with it. It's also a quad core chip. Tablets are on their way to having as much power as a mid-level laptop. They already have the power of a low end laptop, and more power than the average netbook.
There is a bigger performance gap in tablets than you would expect, even when they have the same specs and run the same operating system. I'd suggest trying a couple out before spending your money on any of them. Touch screen response and screen resolution vary fairly widely, and both of those are deal breakers for most people.
if you want a keyboard built in check out the asus slider http://www.amazon.com/Asus-SL101-A1-WT-10-1-Inch-Tablet/dp/B005M0ISKC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344147596&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+slider
after seeing the lenovo yoga I still wonder what sort of stuff the release of windows8 has for us...makes buying a tablet or even laptop right now a difficult decision...
I expect Win8 to like WinME and Vista. Both Win98 and WinXP needed service pack 2 in order to be good operating systems. I'll wait until the OS matures and sees more real world testing before I am interested.
I'm running XP on an 8 yr old Dell, desperately need new a puter. Do I jump in new w/ an 8 or buy one w/ a 7 at discount and do the upgrade?
If you want the latest and greatest, wait. If you are the typical computer user, get one now. I'm not sure if they still have the offer, but many computers came with a $15 option to upgrade to Windows 8 when it was released. I passed it up, because I like Win7 too much. I am typically a Linux user, but my laptops all run Windows 7.
To be honest, an 8 year old Dell, especially if it's an Optiplex system, still has a ton of life left in it. I don't recommend upgrading a whole computer unless you need more processing power than you can upgrade your Dell. A clean Windows XP install will likely clear up any sluggishness issues. I used to reinstall XP every 6 months or so to keep my computer fresh.
I have a Toshiba 10" with full sized SD, HDMI and USB. I like it a lot.
Now I see Toshiba has a 13.1" tablet and I may upgrade to it some day.
akamcfly wrote: I have a Toshiba 10" with full sized SD, HDMI and USB. I like it a lot. Now I see Toshiba has a 13.1" tablet and I may upgrade to it some day.
For the win toshiba thrive 10
Karl La Follette wrote:akamcfly wrote: I have a Toshiba 10" with full sized SD, HDMI and USB. I like it a lot. Now I see Toshiba has a 13.1" tablet and I may upgrade to it some day.For the win toshiba thrive 10
I think that's what I have. I bought a green back plate for it. I'm still waiting for the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade, but It does support Beats Audio. I use it mostly for reading, facespace and netflix.
Well, I'm posting this from an Asus Transformer TF300T, and I bloody love the thing! Only thing I don't like is the lack of an actual USB port (full size or mini, all it has is a micro-HDMI port, a microSD card slot, a headphone jack, and the vaguely apple-esque charge port)
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