Android-Apple-Microsoft

[tmmar]

Looking to get a tablet for the wife and am not sure which way to go. I see many Android tablets that look fairly decent but haven't tried any. I used an Apple for a while but found the operating system not that intuitive. Tried the Microsoft Surface 2 and liked the Windows 8 operating system and the fact that it had a version of Office with Word/Excel but can't find anyone who discounts it from the $449 price. She likes to down load books from the local library and will also use it to access the internet.
Any help and guidance is appreciated.

[cleo43]

Apple hater here.
But I currently own an iPad3, and a Retina Ipad Mini is on xMas wishlist.:B
A MacBook ? Never.

[FlatBroke]

Said it before, Had a Galaxy 10 III for less than a week. Drove me nuts. Bought an iPad 4 and have been extremely satisfied. Only thing I like better with the Galaxy is the numerals on top of the key board. Apple with iOS may have only 20% of the market but considering it is only one that uses iOS compared to a gazillion manufactures using Windows I think that is a pretty good percentage.
This coming from a long time Window fan that now loves Apple.

[Bill_Satellite]

n7bsn wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:

Not really. If Apple was really that good they would not only have a 20% market share. The Windows platform is excellent, dependable, easy to learn and use and has more software available than any other platform. Only if you drink the Apple Kool-Aid can you not acknowledge this.

So by your line of reasoning, market share trumps quality?
So, GM is better then Mercedes?
Fleetwood is better then New Horizons, Excel, etc

Yes I intentionally listed companies that had a large market share and went bankrupt or had to be bailed out at large expense.

No, my reasoning is some want to pay the ridiculous price for a Mercedes when a GM will get them back and forth to work just as well and cost them less at purchase, less to maintain and is 100% as dependable.

[rockhillmanor]

n7bsn wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:

Not really. If Apple was really that good they would not only have a 20% market share. The Windows platform is excellent, dependable, easy to learn and use and has more software available than any other platform. Only if you drink the Apple Kool-Aid can you not acknowledge this.

So by your line of reasoning, market share trumps quality?
So, GM is better then Mercedes?
Fleetwood is better then New Horizons, Excel, etc

Yes I intentionally listed companies that had a large market share and went bankrupt or had to be bailed out at large expense.

[ReadyToGo]

I like it when Apple people post how windows gets virus but have no idea except to repeat this over and over again.
I have had 4 updates on my Ipad and 2 of them are security issues. That is since what? October? Plus you should see the number of problems users are having with the update not working at all.
I use the Ipad a lot, but you have to do everything Apple's way.
That is why the Android is much better for users to like to do things their way.
As far as the Surface goes, it is catching fast and is less expensive for what you get.
All will do the job depending on what you your job is.

[D_E_Bishop]

I am a lot like my RS 80, Old and Slow. I am not too happy with my Acer net book due to the short battery life and that replacing it (the battery) would cost half of what a tablet would cost. I have borrowed my DD's tablet and find it a little more difficult than a desktop or net book usable for us.

We, the DW and I want something small for use in our RV. Battery life is important because we are off grid a lot and charging every two hours is not practical.

My question has to do with the difference between OS's. The tablet from the DD I is a Toshiba w/Google, what are the others like?

We like the Yahoo home page. and the only software we have on the tablet is MSWORD and Word Perfect. We make reservations for campsites, tours and RV travel related stuff. I surf this site and my DW usually gets a lot of her quilt guild emails that's about it for our on road usage.

Any suggestions for tablets?

[strollin]

sch911 wrote:
The brand new Dell Venue Pro 8 has Windows 8.1 with MS Office. It is currently priced at $299 list from Dell, but it can be had right now for $240 from Microcenter. I have several tablets (iOS and Android) and am looking forward to evaluating Windows 8 on one as it's the only logical HW for that version of Windows.

I have an Android tablet (Nexus 7 2013) but just ordered a 64G Venue 8 Pro from Dell (arrives Monday) and am looking forward to trying a tablet with full Windows capability.

This tablet hits a sweet spot because it's not crippled like a Surface RT and not prohibitively expensive like a Surface Pro.

[sky_free]

For browsing the internet or reading books, any of them will do, but keep in mind that if you ever want to sell it, a used iPad is worth a whole lot more than a used anything else. Using a tablet for office productivity apps like Excel isn't that productive. There's a big difference between a keyboard and a touch screen.

Whatever you get, don't make my DW mad by taking pictures with it by holding it up like a camera. She hates that.

[n7bsn]

Bill.Satellite wrote:

Not really. If Apple was really that good they would not only have a 20% market share. The Windows platform is excellent, dependable, easy to learn and use and has more software available than any other platform. Only if you drink the Apple Kool-Aid can you not acknowledge this.

So by your line of reasoning, market share trumps quality?
So, GM is better then Mercedes?
Fleetwood is better then New Horizons, Excel, etc

Yes I intentionally listed companies that had a large market share and went bankrupt or had to be bailed out at large expense.

[Bill_Satellite]

n7bsn wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The Kindle Fire HD might be a good choice if you are doing a lot of book reading. My wife loves hers and she does her Facebook stuff and surfing as well.
If you see posts from someone using any kind of a take-off of the Windows names (Windoz, etc.) they are just likely Apple fanatics.

Or spent 30+ years working in the industry

Not really. If Apple was really that good they would not only have a 20% market share. The Windows platform is excellent, dependable, easy to learn and use and has more software available than any other platform. Only if you drink the Apple Kool-Aid can you not acknowledge this.

[Camp__Forrest__]

I use Apple, Windows, and Android devices. For browsing, videos, email, etc, any of them would work fine. I would focus in hardware. For Android, the Samsung products have a great reputation. I have used Polaris Oftice and been able to read and make small edits on Office files. I have a 2nd generation iPad which serves me very well. You can buy a refurbished one from Apple with full support and warranty for $200, but (and I can't say this enough) the productivity apps like Numbers and Letters (excel and word knockoffs) are no where near as good as the Microsoft originals. I can read anything with minor formatting, but editing is a real pain. I would be able to tell you about Microsoft tablets, but everyone was sold out by the time I got there today 😞 . However, the responses seemed to be pretty good when I asked about it on this forum.

[n7bsn]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The Kindle Fire HD might be a good choice if you are doing a lot of book reading. My wife loves hers and she does her Facebook stuff and surfing as well.
If you see posts from someone using any kind of a take-off of the Windows names (Windoz, etc.) they are just likely Apple fanatics.

Or spent 30+ years working in the industry

[Dutch_12078]

My wife and I both have NextBook Android tablets that we use for reading and Internet access, among other uses. I prefer Android so I can run the same apps on my smartphone. Our e-reader app of choice, for instance, is Moon+ Reader Pro, and we download mostly free or low cost books from Amazon and other sources, including our library service. I use a program on my laptop (Calibre) to convert book formats as needed, and then automatically send them to the tablets using DropBox. Moon+ Reader's DropBox support also automatically synchronizes my current reading position on the tablet with my phone, and vice-versa. Very handy...

[donn0128]

X2 Consider one of the Kindle E books first, then an Android based Tablet second.

[Bill_Satellite]

The Kindle Fire HD might be a good choice if you are doing a lot of book reading. My wife loves hers and she does her Facebook stuff and surfing as well.
If you see posts from someone using any kind of a take-off of the Windows names (Windoz, etc.) they are just likely Apple fanatics.