I would like to hear what you like or dislike about your tablet. I was thinking of getting one for my wife. She has never used a PC and I thought it might be easier for her to use than a laptop. What has been your experience using a tablet compared to a PC? Is it a replacement for a PC, or not? Is the 10" one OK or I guess the 12" would be easier to read and work on.

A tablet cannot completely replace a PC. However, for people who only need to surf the 'Net, read e-mail, read e-books, and need a few apps, a tablet could be a PC replacement. The larger the better in most cases, but I like 7" myself. Much better for reading books. Larger tablets are great for magazines and surfing the Internet. It's really just personal preference. A tablet is a computer. It's neither harder nor easier than a PC. It just depends on the person. I know people who take to tablets like they've been using them since they were born, and I know others who struggle with them. Take your wife to a store that carries several brands, including iPads. Let her play with them and see what she's more comfortable with.

We have a 10" tablet and the size works for us. Some use the smaller 7" tablet as it is easier to hold for longer periods or when reading in bed, but we prefer the larger viewing screen and the 10" is the sweet spot between the 7" & 12" for us. A tablet fits the niche between a smartphone and a laptop PC. It doesn't replace a PC, but has many of the same capabilities and is great for surfing the web, emailing, watching videos, photos and listening to music. Although we bring a laptop when RVing it sometimes doesn't even make it out of it's case as the tablet does all we need while on the road.

My husband is very clueless on a computer. He took over my iPad and it's his now, LOL. Now he wants an iPhone. I'm sure your wife would love a tablet.

I bought my wife a Samsung Tab 3 10.1 back in May for her birthday and she loves it. In fact I don't think she has touched our laptop since I got it for her. Works good as I use the laptop. She likes the mobility of the tablet over our 17" laptop.

I have an ipod 1, a galaxy 10" tablet, and a laptop. I do find that I need the laptop occasionally.The ipad is a bit more user friendly than the galaxy. But, the ipad was only 3 years old when apple stopped supporting it with updates. The galaxy was much more in expensive, so if it isn't supported past 3 years, I won't feel like I wasted a lot of money. I can do most of what I want to do on my tablet. Email, shopping, looking up different topics.I agree with those who said to try it out in the store first.

Galaxy Tablet | Good Sam Community

20 Replies

strollin
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
Campfire Time wrote:
... I have a 15" laptop, a 9" tablet, and a 7" tablet. They are all excellent for my needs in different situations and each has their strengths and weaknesses. My needs are different than everyone elses so I can't judge what's better for you, only share what I like or don't like.

I agree completely. I have a desktop with 23" monitor, 15" laptop, 10" netbook, 12" tablet and a 7" tablet. I even have a phone with a 5.2" screen. They are all used for different things and have different capabilities.

My 12" tablet is a Surface Pro 3, expensive but very much worth it. If I could only keep one of my devices it would be the Surface Pro since it's the most versatile of them all and I could see it replacing all the other devices except the phone.
Campfire_Time
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
7" tablet vs 17" laptop. Silly argument. Then again we tend to go through this same nonsense with 1/2 tons vs 1 ton dualies. One is not better than the other. Better is relative to its use and the needs of the person using it.

I have a 15" laptop, a 9" tablet, and a 7" tablet. They are all excellent for my needs in different situations and each has their strengths and weaknesses. My needs are different than everyone elses so I can't judge what's better for you, only share what I like or don't like.
Fizz
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
Bumpyroad wrote:
I'm typing this using a 17 inch screen. would I want to use a 7" toy, NO.
bumpy

You shouldn't judge others abilities by your limitations.

Typed on my iPad, sitting in my comfy chair, feet up on the coffee table.
Denny___Jami
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
Bumpyroad wrote:
I'm typing this using a 17 inch screen. would I want to use a 7" toy, NO.
bumpy

I'm typing this with a 7"Tab 2 :B great little machine.

Denny
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
I'm typing this using a 17 inch screen. would I want to use a 7" toy, NO.
bumpy
wcjeep
Explorer
Oct 01, 2014
Tablets have allowed our PC's to collect dust. Tablets use less power than laptops too. Decent screen resolution makes for a great Ereader. I like my 2013 7" Nexus. Samsung also makes great tablets. Go for the best in your price range.

Found a refurb for sale. I have no association with them. I watch the Android pages.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141420354472

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/09/29/deal-alert-refurb-samsung-galaxy-tab-pro-12-2-32gb-on-sale-for-339-99-on-ebay-daily-deals/
Vacay_Wheels
Explorer
Sep 30, 2014
The Verge has done the best all-around job of reporting on this topic, IMO. Check out The Best Tablet You Can Buy. Having used all of these, I completely concur with their findings. It's hard to beat the iPad Air, but for someone who wants something a bit smaller, then the iPad Mini is the way. If you must have an Android tablet, the Nexus 7 is the best experience, with the least stuff in the way, at a great price. Finally, for the Windows die-hards who want a tablet form factor and run all the old apps, Surface 3 is the top choice.
Davydd
Explorer
Sep 30, 2014
My iPad stays 100% charged when plugged into 12v when using the TomTom GPS app. The TomTom has its own built in map set so I imagine it doesn't have to work as hard to download cellular data. I haven't extensively tested it with Google Maps or Apple Maps that update maps as you go off cellular. Last week since I knew my route well I was using the iPhone with Apple Maps and it was keeping charge.
ng2951
Explorer
Sep 30, 2014
I love the Galaxy Tabs. They are not a replacement for laptop or desktop as there are many things they won't do.

Galaxy Tabs has Polaris which is a decent substitute for MS Office. With an external keyboard the office style environment can work well but is very limited.

The Zagg keyboards can be nice, but I have had problems with mine and due their price I am just not interested in getting another one unless they can prove it is problem free.

Best things about the Tabs are that they make a great Kindle reader. They work well as an Internet web browser and running some decent apps. If you have videos you can download, then they are pretty good as an entertainment center.

Where we use ours a lot is travel. If you install weather apps they make a great radar. It is hard to beat as a navigator since you have a huge screen for Google Maps.

The other thing that is useful is using YP to find the best fuel prices. I wish I could set YP to follow the Google Map route and find those cheap stations for me, but it is still quite nice.

Once I find candidate stations I can route through Google Maps and then use street view to check out the gas station approaches for RV friendliness. Cannot beat that with a stick in my opinion.

They also are great as a photo album when you want to bore people and the newer ones make for a decent camera. They are great for Skype too.

Generally if you upgrade your phone and buy the tablet, you can get phone and tablet for less than the cost of a tablet.

Biggest problem is battery life. Most do not seem to charge fully while you are using GPS and they tend to overheat and need some time to cool down and recharge. That takes most of the day to do so it is really just a nuisance.
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Sep 30, 2014
I see one on TV that can convert between a tablet and a PC. doesn't seem like apples to oranges to me. basically a tablet with a decent keyboard.
bumpy