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Tablets? Seeking recommendations...

The Transformer Prime is hands down the best Android tablet - so long as you don't care that they encrypted the bootlocker. That prevents you from hacking it.

Personally, I am waiting for a quad core tablet with Ice Cream Sandwich (the Transformer Prime has Honeycomb but should get ICS soon) and no locked bootloader. Samsung is rumored to be making one with a 2560x1600 display that will be coming out soon. If this is true, I will almost certainly be getting it.
 
It really depends what you want to do with it. I already have two fully-featured computers (one PC and one laptop). I also already have a smartphone.

As an avid reader, the Amazon Kindle Fire has perfectly filled a specific niche for me: it replaces hardcopy books. It is also a wifi-capable web browser, and has a lot of other nifty features. It's also half as expensive as the Transformer Prime. Unlike The Dark Lord, "hackability" is not a priority (or even a concern) for me in a tablet. Instead my primary interest is in the Amazon e-reader and Amazon's catalog of e-books.

I can't imagine buying a tablet that is only an e-reader (such as the original Kindle or the basic B&N Nook), but on the other hand, I know that if I ever need a real computer, I have real computers already.

If you're looking for a tablet that will also be your primary computing device, for email, document editing, media access, etc., you should look for a tablet that offers these features.

tl;dr: What, exactly, with details, do you want your tablet to do for you?
 
My biggest problem with the Kindle Fire is that it only has 8GB of storage w/ about 6GB available for user use and no way to expand it (like via a microSD card). 6GB can go by fast; more than that is used on my phone. If they had just put a microSD card slot, which would have cost them practically nothing, I probably would have bought one because $200 is a good price.
 
I can recommend AGAINST any Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet. If you just want an eBook reader, the Cruz Reader is great for the price; but their tablets are just awful, even at reduced prices.
 
I have the Transformer and enjoy it quite well. The added battery in the keyboard makes it very useful for long times without power.
 
The Dark Lord said:
My biggest problem with the Kindle Fire is that it only has 8GB of storage w/ about 6GB available for user use and no way to expand it (like via a microSD card). 6GB can go by fast; more than that is used on my phone. If they had just put a microSD card slot, which would have cost them practically nothing, I probably would have bought one because $200 is a good price.
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I've been using my Fire extensively since I first got it, and I'm nowhere near the limit. Besides, like I said, if I need real storage, I already have real computers.

I guess it depends on what you're storing on your phone, and whether your idea of a good tablet is one that takes over your phone's storage duties.

For example, I use my phone as an music player, so I store music on it. I don't store any music on my tablet, because it's already stored on my phone. So I'm not looking for a tablet with the same storage as my phone.

Again, it really comes down to what, exactly, you want your tablet to do. Low storage isn't really a problem, unless you want your tablet to store a lot of stuff. I want my tablet to read books and surf the web in wifi-capable environments. So far, that doesn't seem to require a lot of storage. If you want your tablet to do other things, then storage might be an issue.
 
Elizabeth I said:
If someone were going to buy a tablet other than an iPad, which one would you recommend?

Thanks!
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I prefer HP products but until I actually hold the Windows 8 Slate in my hands later this Summer, I can't recommend it. (still waiting on the webOS resurrection)
 
Elizabeth I said:
If someone were going to buy a tablet other than an iPad, which one would you recommend?

Thanks!
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What are you looking for exactly? Small computer, high-end tablet, budget tablet, glorified e-reader, really big phone, media player, etc.? Depending on what you actually want it to do and how much you're willing to spend, there's a huge variety available.

If you want something like an iPad just not Apple, then Asus Transformer (Prime or not, and careful if you want to use it for satnav because they've had a problem with the GPS) or Samsung Galaxy 10.1 are probably the best. But while they're cheaper than an iPad, they're still more expensive than many netbooks and low-end laptops. http://www.reghardware.com/2011/11/09/review_roundup_ten_high_end_android_tablets/

If you just want something that does tablety things but aren't worried about having the shiniest and fastest possible, there are a lot of cheaper tablets around that don't get much attention but are actually pretty good for their price. http://www.reghardware.com/2011/08/27/ten_budget_android_tablets/

If you want a good media player then something like an Archos might be best, since they still do hard drive versions with far more storage space than any of the more general tablets, while still being tablets with Android, wifi and so on, just perhaps not as nice as the headliners.

Then there are the various e-readers which can mostly do at least basic internet as well, with things like the Kindle Fire being a lot more versatile. Still not really up to high-end tablet standards, but not at all bad for the price.

And then you have things like the HTC Sensation XL and Samsung Galaxy Note that fall somewhere in between phones and tablets. They're big enough, and expensive enough, to just be straight up tablets, but are smaller than most dedicated tablets and work as phones as well.

So yeah, there's a lot of choice around, but it depends very much on what you actually want to do with it.
 
I'm happy with my motorola xoom. One of the things that convinced me android was worth looking at was a normally Apple rabid colleague who said his A500 was better than his iPad. The only advantage he saw in his iPad was the better quality of apps on the apple market as they're vetted. YMMV
PS I also have a big windows desktop and a linux laptop.
 
Thanks for all the responses.

I have a good laptop (which I mostly use as my home computer) but it's so damn heavy that it's a pain to carry around to meetings and such. So mostly I want something that will do what my laptop does but not break my back transporting it - something that I could carry easily in my hand or in a tote bag.

Any further recommendations?
 
Elizabeth I said:
Thanks for all the responses.

I have a good laptop (which I mostly use as my home computer) but it's so damn heavy that it's a pain to carry around to meetings and such. So mostly I want something that will do what my laptop does but not break my back transporting it - something that I could carry easily in my hand or in a tote bag.

Any further recommendations?
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That is the reason for my preference of HP, the tablets they produce are handheld computers with some reduction of capability and limitations accompanying the compaction. All of the other tablets I have seen take the opposite approach of being expanded versions of smart phones (generally minus the phone capabilities). Great for some restricted web surfing and media tasks (videos, movies, games), but not so good at traditional computer functions. So given this, it is probably important to clarify what you primarily use your laptop for. If its mostly games, schedules, movies, etc., any of the more common tablets are probably fine. If you use it mostly for business, word processing, database manipulation and applications and information that you want to swap back and forth smoothly with traditional laptops/desktop systems, your options are much more limited. The win8 OS is supposed to be especially designed to function well with the tablet platform, and handle many more actual computer applications. It will start appearing in various offerings over then next few months.
 
Elizabeth I said:
Thanks for all the responses.

I have a good laptop (which I mostly use as my home computer) but it's so damn heavy that it's a pain to carry around to meetings and such. So mostly I want something that will do what my laptop does but not break my back transporting it - something that I could carry easily in my hand or in a tote bag.

Any further recommendations?
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It sounds like you really want is a lighter laptop ... like maybe a netbook.

The reality (imho) is there is the ipad, (which is out) - some 'high end' android tablets (xoom, galaxy tab, transformer - take your pick) and a bunch of other random chinese tablets, the nook, the kindle fire.

Why don't you just get a netbook ?
 
TheL8Elvis said:
It sounds like you really want is a lighter laptop ... like maybe a netbook.

The reality (imho) is there is the ipad, (which is out) - some 'high end' android tablets (xoom, galaxy tab, transformer - take your pick) and a bunch of other random chinese tablets, the nook, the kindle fire.

Why don't you just get a netbook ?
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That was my thought, too. If Elizabeth looking for a smaller, lighter computer, then she should just get a smaller, lighter computer, don't mess with different formats, like tablets. Net books will do what she wants, be easier to adjust to from a laptop and are often cheaper than a lot of the tablets.
 
The Dark Lord said:
My biggest problem with the Kindle Fire is that it only has 8GB of storage w/ about 6GB available for user use and no way to expand it (like via a microSD card). 6GB can go by fast; more than that is used on my phone. If they had just put a microSD card slot, which would have cost them practically nothing, I probably would have bought one because $200 is a good price.
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I've had my B&N nook Tablet for a little over a week and I'm pleased with it so far. It sports 16GB of storage of which ~3GB is used by the OS...and only 1GB is available for non-B&N user content. It does, however, accept a microSD card.
 
second vote for the xoom. i find it very easy to use,and prefer the Android platform,for various reasons.

i can watch TV on it,kindle reader (though i prefer my Kindle for long term reading) good camera..for me..video calling is very good too...it means I can move around the house and show things to my granddaughter.
i have a laptop.. HP..and we have a PC.
 
I love my Samsung Galaxy P1000 Tab. 3G phone, book reader, email, web, music player, watch films, games, alarm clock etc etc. Their sync software isn't as good as the Nokia sync was, but I only use it for upgrades so it's not a big deal.
 
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You could get one of those stone tablets god draws on with a bush on fire. Those look pretty cool. Of course all it will do is tell you what not to do and then order you around and stuff so there is that one tiny drawback to them...

Plus I hear that disposing of them after they break is a bit of trouble too. Something about melting faces and whatnot but hey, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs right?
 
Sam.I.Am said:
You could get one of those stone tablets god draws on with a bush on fire. Those look pretty cool. Of course all it will do is tell you what not to do and then order you around and stuff so there is that one tiny drawback to them...

Plus I hear that disposing of them after they break is a bit of trouble too. Something about melting faces and whatnot but hey, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs right?
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Well, the Rosetta brand seems to have held up better. It's data retention and built-in redundant backup system are practically unbeatable. Though some have complained about the limited storage space.
 
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