Tablet or Ipad?

[kcladyjane]

I am behind on electronics...I have a semi smart phone and a laptop.  I am interested in purchasing some sort of device that I can play dvds on, search internet, watch netflix, check email, etc.  Is there an ipad or tablet that does all of this?  Or do I need to get another laptop?  I need a second device because my husband always has the laptop taken over.  Please guide me..

[kcladyjane]

I wanted to get some ideas before the Black Friday sales so I can maybe find a good deal...Thanks in advance!

[Deleted]

A tablet, of which Ipad is one of them, will not have a dvd player. It will do everything else, though.

[justme]

No tablets (iPad are tablets) allow you to play DVDs. You either stream/download the movies with the tablets. If you want to play a physical DVD you either need a desktop or laptop. Beyond the DVDs tablets do everything else you mentioned, so the choice mainly comes down to how big of a hard drive you want (laptops have more space to download/save stuff), whether you want a keyboard always attached to it, and what size/weight you want.

[kcladyjane]

ok, thanks for the advice.  I don't see myself saving a bunch of stuff to the device.  Maybe Itunes?  How much memory do I need for internet surfing and Itunes?  One more question...would a Kindle Fire do all these things too?  I think I am fine with an on screen keyboard.  If I needed to do any major typing I could trade my husband and use the laptop.  Do you guys have any recommendations on which tablets are good?  I am trying to remember which one is on the commercial where they can attach a keyboard... I am 31...how can I be this out of the loop on technology?

[justme]

I believe a Kindle Fire does all those things. Internet surfing/email wouldn't need much storage - for iTunes it depends on how much music you have. If you have 10Gigs of music you don't want to buy the Kindle Fire that only has 8Gigs of storage.

[giramomma]

Honestly, I would go to a store and see if you can test drive some tablets.  Besides the different brands, there's also different size screens.

I have an iPad from work, and I really do love it.  I didn't think I would.

DH has a tablet with a 7 inch screen that runs on android. I think I like that screen size best, to be honest.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Nov 14, 2013 15:00:52 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Honestly, I would go to a store and see if you can test drive some tablets.  Besides the different brands, there's also different size screens.

I have an iPad from work, and I really do love it.  I didn't think I would.

DH has a tablet with a 7 inch screen that runs on android. I think I like that screen size best, to be honest.

Funny you mention the 7" screens.  I've had two people in the past week tell me that they regret getting a 7" screen because it's too small.  I'm now looking at the Kindle Fire 8.9" screen. 

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Nov 14, 2013 14:53:03 GMT -5 justme said:

I believe a Kindle Fire does all those things. Internet surfing/email wouldn't need much storage - for iTunes it depends on how much music you have. If you have 10Gigs of music you don't want to buy the Kindle Fire that only has 8Gigs of storage.

A better question re: iTunes is what kind of material do you purchase & download?  I'm not a big music person, so my entire music library takes a small space on my iPod.  But I'm a heavy video user, so I had to get the largest memory capacity.  I generally have the equivalent of 1-2 seasons' of tv and several movies on my iPod.  Video takes a lot more space than books or music. 

[kcladyjane]

Well so far I haven't ever downloaded a movie or book.  Just music...I would probably stream movies.  I will go to a store this weekend and ask them more dumb questions.  I feel so out of touch.  Like I assume that streaming is different then downloading right?  If I download I keep it forever, but streaming is just watching it once and it is gone right? LOL.  What sites do you download movies from?

[reader79]

I have a Kindle Fire HD, I downloaded Hulu plus, and Netflix but both require subscriptions. I mainly bought it because I had a $275 voucher from redeeming coins and I didn't want to put out the extra for an iPad mini. Neither one plays dvd's. I would suggest buying a new laptop, I also have a netbook, but get frustrated because it can't play most games, not even The Sims. I am waiting for the ones with the new Haswell chips that are coming out, but I also want a Blu-Ray drive, and for it to only be 14".

ETA: Streaming is near-impossible when you're on the go unless you have a data plan. I wish I had an iPad for that, but then I remember that I would get robbed on the train, whereas no one seems interested in my Kindle. I have wireless at work, but if you start using it too much for non-business related video you get a talking to. At home it's great, I can sit in the yard and catch up on Law & Order.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Nov 14, 2013 15:22:33 GMT -5 kcladyjane said:

Well so far I haven't ever downloaded a movie or book.  Just music...I would probably stream movies.  I will go to a store this weekend and ask them more dumb questions.  I feel so out of touch.  Like I assume that streaming is different then downloading right?  If I download I keep it forever, but streaming is just watching it once and it is gone right? LOL.  What sites do you download movies from?

You are correct about streaming and downloading.  I have an iPod, so I usually purchase on iTunes.  I've also downloaded a few movies to iTunes via the "digital copy" they sell with the physical discs these days.  However, I'm looking at moving toward the Kindle Fire partially to access their library.  I don't know how it will all work if I do that. 

[reader79]

I started downloading the digital copies into my iTunes, until they started jamming up my computer. The files were usually a few hundred MB each. I find that the selection of movies isn't usually as good (on any of the sites,) as the television episodes. With the Kindle though, I download hundreds of the free books. These are easier to find on the computer than through the device, and you can sort by genre.

[Chocolate Lover]

I have a Kindle Fire, non HD, 7 inch. I've watched movies, read lots of library books (even bought a few ), the kids play games on it. Memory isn't huge, but I have a good chunk of music in my Amazon cloud that I can listen to. You can surf & check email, get on PB, all that. Mine is wifi only. I seem to recall there were ones that could link up via 3G/4G but since I didn't get one, I couldn't tell you the details. Wifi is everywhere anymore, unless you're in motion.

ETA:I'm half blind and don't have an issue with the screen size. IDK that I'd use it for reading if it was much bigger, it can get heavy as is.

[sarcasticgirl]

Nov 14, 2013 15:16:15 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

Nov 14, 2013 15:00:52 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Honestly, I would go to a store and see if you can test drive some tablets.  Besides the different brands, there's also different size screens.

I have an iPad from work, and I really do love it.  I didn't think I would.

DH has a tablet with a 7 inch screen that runs on android. I think I like that screen size best, to be honest.

Funny you mention the 7" screens.  I've had two people in the past week tell me that they regret getting a 7" screen because it's too small.  I'm now looking at the Kindle Fire 8.9" screen. 

My tablet (google nexus) is 7" and i think it is the perfect size for me.  But I use it on the train and on planes etc and anything bigger would just be cumbersome/create a lack of privacy. Also, i have carpel tunnel syndrome and certainly wouldn't want to hold anything bigger.  

[kilroy]

My husband has an iPad mini and it's a great size for him (fits in a pocket & he can read easily on it).  But for your sanity, get a really good case for whatever you buy; he has one of those lame iPad cover things & when he dropped the iPad last week the screen totally smashed to bits

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I've got a regular iPad, a 32 GB and have used up well over half the memory. I've got books and music loaded onto it, no videos though.

For reading, it is not the most comfortable reader. It's heavy and you can't read in the sun because of the glare of the screen. I have a bluetooth keyboard for it, but it feels really weird so only use it when I need to type out something long and I am not near my laptop. I'll probably have it charged up when I travel, as I do have a wireless plan for it.

I also just bought a battery for it. When I got my iPad, it had a 10 hour battery life. But I've noticed that over the last few months, it's probably decreased to about 6-7 hours.

[ZaireinHD]

here is a commercial that plays in my area. very good commercial and the ending ...well the ending is very important. but I would suggest to get a second Laptop after reading your interests. also to complete your interests it wouldn't be a top of the line with all the bells and whistles laptop. you know the kind of PC that does all this extra stuff that you don't want, need, or would use. so you can purchase an HD Laptop to fit only what you want it for.

[kilroy]

Oh, and to underline what I said earlier, definitely get a good cover; DH found out yesterday that it would cost $229 to get the stupid iPad fixed, which is only $100 less than he paid for it.  He's decided he can live with it for now. 

[Chocolate Lover]

Wrongside and I bought our Kindles at the same time

Since Mich brought up not being able to read outdoors on the iPad, I wanted to mention that you can adjust the brightness on the kindle to adjust for sunlight glare. I've used it waiting in the car for kids to get out of one activity or another and been able to both read and play games. 

[Deleted]

We have an interesting mix of devices and let me say first of all, there is no one device that does everything.  The "mobile OS" 10" tablets like iPad and Android devices are not comfortable to read with one handed for a long time.  The 7 and 8" models are much better for this.  The 10" Windows 8 devices can do more "PC" things, but are either heavy (i5 processor models) or underpowered (Atom powered).

What I have in my house:
17" screen laptop - heavy but powerful
Surface Pro with Type keyboard - nice, but heavy to use as a true tablet
Samsung 10" Android tablet - Mostly used by my wife to play games
Nexus 7" Android tablet (new, updated version) - I'm using this a lot now.  Perfect for reading and light email/web browsing..

So what I have decided is 2 machines will fit me needs:

1.  Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga - This has just hit the market, but it is a convertable Laptop/Tablet.  I'll mostly use it as a laptop, but sometimes I like to draw on a big tablet screen during presentations and this will be perfect.
2.  Nexus 7" - This is my light, great battery life, device for reading and light web surfing.

[ZaireinHD]

Nov 14, 2013 15:22:33 GMT -5 kcladyjane said:

Well so far I haven't ever downloaded a movie or book.  Just music...I would probably stream movies.  I will go to a store this weekend and ask them more dumb questions.  I feel so out of touch.  Like I assume that streaming is different then downloading right?  If I download I keep it forever, but streaming is just watching it once and it is gone right? LOL.  What sites do you download movies from?

sounds like a plan - best of luck and not get talked into something too expensive. I do have to admit on making a purchase of a laptop or any device that does so much more that your expectations.

Example: I was talked into getting a smart phone by my AT&T CSR. I told her I was looking to only call and text, I don't do internet on the phone! That is what I have a computer(s) for! She said that's because your current phone (at that time) has very limited access to internet. she eventually (which didn't take too long) talked me into getting a smart phone instead of the generic cell I wanted. and she was correct. my smart phone is very needed and wanted and I couldn't go back to a generic cell!  for only talk and text. also she was right because I didn't have other features and thought I would not use them because I didn't have access to them, now that I can have access to apps and additional features - ok yea I use them.
but currently NO way! iPhone or GalaxyS4 way far too much extra I will never use!

therefore; I suggest that your wants, AND needs should be the foundation of your purchase. then limit yourself to the additional options the device can do to keep your cost down / lower
 

[TheOtherMe]

I have both an iPad and a Kindle Fire.  I enjoy video and internet on the iPad and pretty much only use the Kindle for reading books.