Which Tablet?

[DoomBot]

I have the ipad 2 -the best tech gadget i ever bought. ever. Until i bought my wife the ipad mini. People moan about the resolution of the mini but they,re missing the point. Retina display on the mini would have meant bigger processor, therefore bigger battery which all means more depth, more weight. And mini is all about lightness and portability

The mini may not have the best resolution out there, but the display it has is still bigger than most if not all 7in tablets and very sharp and clear.  The weight or lack of it and thinness are just mind blowing. Totally recommended.

[oshii]

Stupid question:

How does 3G work on iPads? I've noticed that 3G iPads are more expensive, but do you also have to pay monthly for the 3G usage on top of this?

Yes, as far as I know, you have a monthly contract just like a mobile phone with 3G.  Most people I know just got the wifi one and tether it to their 3G phone if they're somewhere without wifi coverage.

[radiator]

Ah, cool. Cheers.

I take it the 64GB version is the one to get for comics? I imagine comics especially take up a fair bit of storage at high resolutions.

[SuperSurfer]

Didn't realise the iPad mini doesn't have a retina display. I've been thinking of buying one as I have a desktop computer and often find it's minor hassle to turn on the computer and sit at the desk to go online. Lazy I know but I end up doing a lot of surfing on my phone.

I recently checked out the mini in an Apple store and really liked the size, weight and feel of it. I do find the regular iPad a tad heavy.

[IndigoPrime]

I take it the 64GB version is the one to get for comics? I imagine comics especially take up a fair bit of storage at high resolutions.

It depends very much on the publisher and their output. But, yes, if you're planning on storing a ton of comics locally (either through paid-for apps or things like Comic Zeal), get the biggest device you can afford. Additionally, you being into gaming adds to this—Retina-supporting titles look pretty but they're also pretty huge for mobile games. The new Need for Speed title unpacks to a whopping 1.7 GB on the device (the App Store sizes are download sizes, not how big apps are after they're unzipped).

2000 AD's pretty good size-wise, for what it's worth. I've 16 issues nestled in the app, which now clocks in at 433 MB. By contrast, I have a single issue of Empire in that app, and that's a whopping 899 MB!

[TordelBack]

My turn, my turn!

This is great stuff, don't mind me if I insert my wheedling ignorance.

(Context of query is presented below):  Most of my family's current entertainment is based around camping, sea swimming and walking, and the journeys in between, so WiFi is seldom available except at home, where the laptop generally lives.  So what's our best option for tablet Comms away from civilisation? 

How essential is online connectivity to the use of a tablet, and how much kid-distracting functionality can be pre-loaded?  I'd like to be able to check weather and tides while out and about, and not having a smartphone between us, I'd hope to be able to do that on a tablet.  Or am I deluding myself.

Portability obviously a factor, so 7"-or-thereabouts seems best for me (the wife's got other ideas, b'dum tish).

Finally, I can't abide a machine I can't take apart, even if it's only the software.  What flavours are most receptive/least hostile to tinkering, opensource, emulators etc.?

Your wisdom: bring it over here.


CONTEXT (no need to read):
To my surprise I've just been paid for a small out-of-hours job I did over a year ago,while in what I now understand to be the honeymoon phase of hope prior to acceptance of becoming an increased leisure citizen.  I'm apportioning half the money to tackling debts (although technically all should go to my many creditors, I have responsibilities to my family too), and half to 'household improvements'.  I had planned on insulation (so very, very old) but it's been nagging me that I have two kids with a big interest in computers and they've never used a touch-screen device or smart phone, or ever even played with a single 'App'.  With the imminent death of the home PC as the primary source of people's interaction with things computational, it feels like I'm stunting their education through my fecklessness.  Hence my tentative interest in a family tablet device.

[Link Prime]

Ah, cool. Cheers.

I take it the 64GB version is the one to get for comics? I imagine comics especially take up a fair bit of storage at high resolutions.

You'll be happy to hear Radiator, when it comes to Comixology (the main global digital comics App)- SIZE DOESN'T MATTER.
Any comic you purchase from Comixology will remain in your 'purchases' list, and can be downloaded / deleted from your 'downloads' list as often as you please.
There isnt a tablet on Earth with enough memory to hold all the digital comics I've bought over the past two years, so I'd be in serious trouble without this functionality.

This principle generally works for all other Apps / games too. If you dont have enough space on you device- delete a game you're not playing. If you fancy playing it again a few weeks later, just re-download it.
No hassle really.

[Link Prime]

(Context of query is presented below):  Most of my family's current entertainment is based around camping, sea swimming and walking, and the journeys in between, so WiFi is seldom available except at home, where the laptop generally lives.  So what's our best option for tablet Comms away from civilisation? 

Id recommend cancelling your current household Wifi subscription and going with Three.ie- they have a portable Wifi modem available for 20 Euro per month (15Gb allowance).
Its smaller than most mobile phones, and you can use it anywhere in Ireland without  incurring additional charges.
Essentially- it's portable Wifi (with a pretty decent connection speed).

Finally, I can't abide a machine I can't take apart, even if it's only the software.  What flavours are most receptive/least hostile to tinkering, opensource, emulators etc.?

Android.

[TordelBack]

Id recommend cancelling your current household Wifi subscription and going with Three.ie- they have a portable Wifi modem available for 20 Euro per month (15Gb allowance).

Does anyone need that much porno?   

That's a pretty cool deal, Link.  Assuming that I do that (and sell enough of my bodily fluids to gather E20 a month!*), does that essentially free me from the usefulness of 3G?  I like. 

The one thing that bothers me with the Nexus 7 (now shaping up as my fave) is the lack of microSD expansion.  I've been living off the same cheap 1GB Sansa MP3 player for years now thanks to the ever-plummeting costs of microSD (up to 32GB now).  How do tablet users feel about this limitation?  Does it make customising difficult, and does it essentially limit future usefulness?  All that said, I am a heavy user of Cloud-based storage.  Does Android support UbuntuOne and Dropbox and all my regulars?

Jovus wept but I feel ignorant.


*The 'broadband' at home comes essentially free with a basic TV package due to bizarre UPC takeover of a local operation, so there's not much financial merit in shelving it.

[IndigoPrime]

So what's our best option for tablet Comms away from civilisation?

Anything with 3G.

How essential is online connectivity to the use of a tablet, and how much kid-distracting functionality can be pre-loaded?

In terms of things like games and entertainment, it's much like a PC, and it depends on the content you're wanting to access. So you wouldn't be playing Netflix or social games, but you could easily enough watch iPlayer downloads and other downloaded video, and play any one of tens of thousands of 'local' games/children's educational apps/interactive books. There are tons of the things (at least on iOS—as far as I'm aware, kids aren't nearly as well catered for on Android).

I'd like to be able to check weather and tides while out and about, and not having a smartphone between us, I'd hope to be able to do that on a tablet. Or am I deluding myself.

And you're back to 3G—Link Prime's advice there makes the most sense.

Finally, I can't abide a machine I can't take apart, even if it's only the software.  What flavours are most receptive/least hostile to tinkering, opensource, emulators etc.?

In which case, your only option is Android, although that's providing a platform for you more than a platform for your kids. On emulation, though, you'll really need additional kit to make the tablet work well in that field, such as a controller. Old games generally suck on tablets (on any platform—and I've played a LOT of them)—really very few developers have made them work. However, there are plenty of retro-oriented games built for the touchscreen and I'd argue they're a much better bet on tablets. (I'm thinking of games like Minotron, Saucelifter, Bit Pilot, Space Invaders Infinity Gene, Forget Me Not, and so on.)

it's been nagging me that I have two kids with a big interest in computers and they've never used a touch-screen device or smart phone

You might find this blog by Fraser Speirs interesting from the perspective of kids using tablets: http://speirs.org This guy works at a school in Scotland where they rolled out iPads on a 1:1 basis in the classroom, and he also has two young children himself. He's a pretty level-headed guy and so is exploring every platform and device as it becomes available. Right now, for kids he favours the iPad (and, interestingly, NOT the iPad mini, which he reckons could cause smaller children with less honed motor functions frustration), and argues from an education/learning standpoint that Android currently has some way to go.

Really, when it comes to kids, it's all about the apps more than anything, and iOS leads in terms of ecosystem. For adults, the decision is totally different, usually coming down to individual biases and requirements. (For me, I'm sick of dealing with crappy PCs and Macs and so the robust 'take it or leave it' nature of iOS suits me fine. Also, the sheer number of really good productivity apps means my iPad can be used for work, not just consumption. However, it's totally not the right device for someone who demands the ability to tinker with the system itself, or who wants the ability to load anything they want, at any time, through any interface.)

On the downloads point Link Prime mentioned, the 2000 AD app does the same, as do most digital services these days (Kindle, iTunes, etc.) You need the bandwidth to redownload, but that's all. Note that this isn't always the case for games, though: delete a game and the data is often also deleted. You can reinstall for free, but unless the dev's enabled cloud storage for the game's data, you'll often be starting from scratch. (That said, it's very easy on iOS to save/sideload game progress using a free PC/Mac app, iExplorer. I imagine that must be even easier on Android.)

[radiator]

Thanks again for all the help guys, really appreciated! 

I was originally planning to ask my girlfriend for a lower-end tablet for Christmas, but it looks like the iPad 32GB is the one for me, which kind of puts an end to that notion!

Just to be clear, there are 4 models of iPad now, right? How do I know I'm buying the latest one? Apple's insistence on just calling each iteration the 'new' iPad rather than naming them numerically is extremely confusing!

I take it it's this one: http://store.apple.com/uk/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad

I don't see the tablet entirely replacing my beloved trade paperbacks, but what I'm really excited about is the chance to cheaply try out new comics that I otherwise wouldn't take the risk on - I have far too often bought trades on the strength of reviews/recommendations that I ended up disliking - kind of frustrating at £10+ a pop! There's also a lot of comics that I want to read, but don't want to have to buy a whole series of physical books to do so. There's also a very real chance that I'll be moving abroad next year, meaning I'll need to switch the prog to a digital sub (tbh I may well go digital anyway).

[TordelBack]

In which case, your only option is Android, although that's providing a platform for you more than a platform for your kids.

Was I that obvious?   

Thanks a mill for all that Indigo, that's a load to chew over.

Yeah, it is definitely for the kids' entertainment and education ("we bought it to help with your homework"), barring the benefits of access to information while roaming,  but I do like pulling things apart (not so hot at putting them back together) and over the past year have been having a wonderful time converting my work and leisure computing over to opensource, so a return to locked-in supplier-mandated function would drive me mad.  The first thing I do with any gadget is scrounge around for homebrewed/crowdsourced firmware and add-ons, and a command line interface if possible!  That said, if we do take the plunge I'd have to try to keep my metaphorical wrench under control. 

What spurred me to this line of consumer envy is the situation with computers in my son's school.  At present (he's 6) they have online reading or maths for homework 4 nights a week, which is great, but generally means he has to be home (or in the library) rather than at his Nan's or (grud forbid) sport at a reasonable hour to do it.  His class rep (a parent) mentioned dissatisfaction from other parents about the requirement to have a computer available and I duly agreed, yes it was very unfair on those who couldn't afford home internet or whose kids didn't go home straight after school.  But no, this was not the issue - the problem was that people only had tablets, and the online applications wouldn't run.  Made me feel like a right bloody dinosaur.  Seeing as my parents once spent money they didn't have on an Acorn Electron for me because they felt the same way, I feel obliged to do something about it.

[IndigoPrime]

Just to be clear, there are 4 models of iPad now, right? How do I know I'm buying the latest one? Apple's insistence on just calling each iteration the 'new' iPad rather than naming them numerically is extremely confusing!

The 'new iPad' (aka iPad 3) was immediately discontinued when Apple announced the 'iPad with Retina display' (aka iPad 4). If you buy new from Apple, you will get the latest iPad, and if you're feeling particularly paranoid, check it has a tiny Lightning connector, and not the old, much wider Dock connector. The link you provided is to the current full-sized iPad, yes. Note that if you shop in places other than Apple, you might need to double-check what you're buying, but iPad 3s should largely be out of the channel by now.

I don't see the tablet entirely replacing my beloved trade paperbacks, but what I'm really excited about is the chance to cheaply try out new comics that I otherwise wouldn't take the risk on

That's what I've done now and again: bought the odd comic in digital and then gone for a trade when I know I like it. Interestingly, the iPad's also obliterated by interest in one-off throwaway magazines. I still subscribe to paper mags I collect (Retro Gamer) or read every issue of (MacUser), but for one-offs, I'll now just buy an issue in Newsstand, read and delete.

That said, if we do take the plunge I'd have to try to keep my metaphorical wrench under control.

To be honest (and I know this is going to sound a bit 'made of money'), but it really sounds like you should buy an Android device for you, for tinkering with, and an iPad for your kids to use. (That said, on a tinkering perspective, you might be surprised how many techies I know are delving heavily into their iPads. They dislike the closed nature of the device itself, but love the tools available on the App Store, for programming and creating stuff. As ever, it's a trade off.)

One thing, though: on whatever the school is using online, you need to know what the tech is. If they're living in 1999 and using a lot of Flash content, that won't run on the iPad and nor will it run on recent Android for long (since Adobe canned development, on account of Flash for mobile browsing being horrendous). If it's just standard website stuff, though, any tablet will do the job.

[Link Prime]

Id recommend cancelling your current household Wifi subscription and going with Three.ie- they have a portable Wifi modem available for 20 Euro per month (15Gb allowance).

Does anyone need that much porno?   

That's a pretty cool deal, Link.  Assuming that I do that (and sell enough of my bodily fluids to gather E20 a month!*), does that essentially free me from the usefulness of 3G?  I like. 

The one thing that bothers me with the Nexus 7 (now shaping up as my fave) is the lack of microSD expansion.  I've been living off the same cheap 1GB Sansa MP3 player for years now thanks to the ever-plummeting costs of microSD (up to 32GB now).  How do tablet users feel about this limitation?  Does it make customising difficult, and does it essentially limit future usefulness?  All that said, I am a heavy user of Cloud-based storage.  Does Android support UbuntuOne and Dropbox and all my regulars?

Jovus wept but I feel ignorant.


*The 'broadband' at home comes essentially free with a basic TV package due to bizarre UPC takeover of a local operation, so there's not much financial merit in shelving it.

Get rid of UPC- its keeping Craig Doyle in work!

IndigoPrime seems to have answered your questions more eloquently than I, but two further bits of info from me;
- The Three.ie portable Wifi modem has negated the need for 3G in my life. Recommended!
- As far as I'm aware, cloud storage Apps are available via Android, I personally use Dropbox on Android and iOS.

[IndigoPrime]

- As far as I'm aware, cloud storage Apps are available via Android, I personally use Dropbox on Android and iOS.

To clarify on this, because I wasn't clear enough, I was talking about automated game-save data, rather than manual storage options when saving something like a text document. I also use Dropbox, which integrates nicely with plenty of iOS apps, and GoodReader for iPad makes a pretty good system for storing documents and sending/receiving to/from various online sources (including Dropbox but also FTP). But when Brand New Game saves, it generally won't give you an option of where to save the data, and on iOS, deleting an app nukes any data stored within the app itself, so everyone should be wary of that.