Best Tablet? - Hardware & Software

I have an iPhone 4 but I don't really care what type of tablet is. I want a quality tablet, I don't really mind sacrificing the ability of connecting it to my phone for some more of dat quality. I'll probably get a Samsung galaxy phone sometime in the future so I'd probably prefer a Samsung one anyway. I'm not going to put a budget because it doesn't really matter at the moment. I want to see the best one and compare prices later. It would be used for browsing the internet, playing games and maybe even calling people from my house. Please use Amazon. I have prime on that site and I pretty much use it for everything. If a iPad is really worth it for the cross between my iPhone and my iPad then please explain why, but, I'd still prefer a [whatever tablet is best.] Thanks! P.S it would be a nice bonus if it could also be used as a graphic tablet, but, it's not a requirement.

I have a Nexus 7, it's bloody amazing. It's small enough to take everywhere (which I do), it's big enough to watch video content on, websites and such content (cough Reddit) is amazing on it in portrait. Only problem I have is that typing is a pain in the ass in landscape, but you only use landscape on the thing when reading comic strips (I've been eating through Dilbert, I think I've read every Dilbert made in the last decade and a half) and watching videos. And since it's a Nexus device, you can root it in 5 minutes, install Xposed Framework and get shitloads of OS-level customizations, or you can use a custom ROM, but honestly, I was addicted to custom ROMs but I've been using the stock shit from Google now, with Xposed, and it's great.

For how many tablets are floating around in the market, the ones that are actually good are markedly low in quantity. Your choices are basically iPads, Nexus 7/10, and any Samsung Note tablet, probably in that order. Anything else from Samsung is literally garbage and the Nexus 7 is dirt cheap for what it is. iPads are pretty self explanatory, the Nexus 10 is the only no-bullshit competitor in the 10 inch range, and the Note series have dat stylus for awesome writing capabilities. If you're feeling adventurous with your money, there are full blown Windows 8 tablets running full Windows 8, not RT. That means if you really want, you can install Photoshop or Steam or whatever you please. Choices in this category are the Dell Venue 8 Pro for an 8 inch tablet and Asus T100 for a 10 inch tablet. But the new UI handles like a dream on a touchscreen and the app splitting is one of the better stock multitasking features in any mobile OS.

[QUOTE=Protocol7;43368716]For how many tablets are floating around in the market, the ones that are actually good are markedly low in quantity. Your choices are basically iPads, Nexus 7/10, and any Samsung Note tablet, probably in that order. Anything else from Samsung is literally garbage and the Nexus 7 is dirt cheap for what it is. iPads are pretty self explanatory, the Nexus 10 is the only no-bullshit competitor in the 10 inch range, and the Note series have dat stylus for awesome writing capabilities. If you're feeling adventurous with your money, there are full blown Windows 8 tablets running full Windows 8, not RT. That means if you really want, you can install Photoshop or Steam or whatever you please. Choices in this category are the Dell Venue 8 Pro for an 8 inch tablet and Asus T100 for a 10 inch tablet. But the new UI handles like a dream on a touchscreen and the app splitting is one of the better stock multitasking features in any mobile OS.[/QUOTE] If you had to do a comparison of the galaxy note and the iPad which do you think would come out top? I'm having hard time deciding.

In a Galaxy Note 8 vs iPad mini, the iPad would win out in my opinion. Mostly because the Note 8 is running dated hardware and the stylus is a bet crappy. But the Note 10.1 has that awesome 3GB of RAM, the new stylus, and basically massively updated hardware all around. But it also runs Samsung's neutered ugly version of Android, so that's a miss. So for the 10 inch tablet space, it's really down to "use one in store and pick whichever one you prefer," but if you go 8 inch, the Note 8 is just not worth it when the iPad mini is the same price and packs serious hardware under the hood. Just make sure you buy the newest versions of each - the new Note 10.1 has the pleathery back and the new iPad mini has the Retina display.

To be honest, 10 inch tablets have no real advantage over 7 inch tablets, you're paying a hell of a lot more for a much smaller selection of good tablets just for the bigger screen They're too big for most uses, since they're more of a pain to take around places If I was buying a new tablet, I'd get a Nexus 7

I disagree with that. 10 inch tablets are certainly much better to sit down with, especially for long periods of time. But if you're on the move a lot, a 7-8 inch tablet would be pretty good, and has an added bonus of being able to fit in one hand.

I got a Nexus 7 recently. Best decision ever. Unlocked bootloader in 5min, installed a custom ROM, and runs as smooth as butter. Battery lasts well over 3 days with average use. Also, since I own a Chromecast I love laying in bed and choosing Youtube videos to stream to my TV. And Netflix. Saves me the pain of going through Xbox's horrid controls. Nexus 7 IMO

[QUOTE=ClaBrendon;43370694]I got a Nexus 7 recently. Best decision ever. Unlocked bootloader in 5min, installed a custom ROM, and runs as smooth as butter. Battery lasts well over 3 days with average use. Also, since I own a Chromecast I love laying in bed and choosing Youtube videos to stream to my TV. And Netflix. Saves me the pain of going through Xbox's horrid controls. Nexus 7 IMO[/QUOTE] Same here. I put the latest Cyanogenmod on there and now I feel like there's no limit to what I can do with this thing. As an IT guy it has infinite uses.

[QUOTE=Protocol7;43369151]I disagree with that. 10 inch tablets are certainly much better to sit down with, especially for long periods of time. [/QUOTE] That's netbook time.

It really depends what you're looking for. There's no real "best" tablet right now, it depends on your specific use-case.

Really, the Nexus 7 is the one you should get. The screen is great, and performance is p. good. If you have a bit more money to burn, and if you'd like an Apple product (pretty much if you want to game on your tablet), the iPad mini retina is definitely the way to go. Don't even consider the normal mini, it's inferior to the Nexus 7 in basically every way. Personally I haven't found Samsung's tablets appealing, and they're pretty expesnive all things considered. The ASUS Fonepad could be a fun combi if you're looking into upgrading your phone anyway - it's pretty cheap last I checked.

The only thing I don't like about the nexus line is the aspect ratio seems incredibly narrow for the size of the screen. Just compare the size of them between other tablets at a best buy or something - its so narrow. Honestly as much as I really don't care for iOS at all, the one thing that is so much better about the apple line of products for tablets is that they all are running on a much more ideal 4:3 aspect ratio. I had an asus transformer and hated how narrow the thing was for tablet usage - and that was a 10.1" tablet, where it is less of an issue due to more screen real estate. Seeing a nexus 7 in a store amazed me just how tiny and narrow it looked thanks to the 16:10 aspect ratio. I wish android would just go ahead and make 4:3 tablets. I'm not a huge fan of apple's products especially for the price, but the fact that they are the only tablets on the market at the only aspect ratio that is ideal for tablet usage (as well as having an extremely strong ecosystem) would make the choice of what tablet to get being between not buying a tablet at all, or getting an iPad mini.

Well that's what they wanted. a portrait aimed tablet. it works well for the nexus I think. allows me to do shit in portrait when I want, and still have the ability to be really nice in landscape for videos ect.

For casual Android use, the Nexus 7 is pretty great. The Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 is the tablet you want if you're looking for a graphics tablet running android, with the Cintiq Companion being the expensive professional counterpart. For most uses, just get a normal Wacom tablet for drawing. For more productive (but slightly more clunky) Windows use, the Transformer T100 is also pretty great.

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;43381459]Really, the Nexus 7 is the one you should get. The screen is great, and performance is p. good. If you have a bit more money to burn, and if you'd like an Apple product (pretty much if you want to game on your tablet), the iPad mini retina is definitely the way to go. Don't even consider the normal mini, it's inferior to the Nexus 7 in basically every way. Personally I haven't found Samsung's tablets appealing, and they're pretty expesnive all things considered. The ASUS Fonepad could be a fun combi if you're looking into upgrading your phone anyway - it's pretty cheap last I checked.[/QUOTE] iPads are way better for native gaming, but it's way more fun to play games like zelda a link to the past on a SNES emulator than to play fruit ninja, and you can't do any emulation on iOS without jailbreaking.

[QUOTE=Kaabii;43382149]iPads are way better for native gaming, but it's way more fun to play games like zelda a link to the past on a SNES emulator than to play fruit ninja, and you can't do any emulation on iOS without jailbreaking.[/QUOTE] That's a point of course, but for most users I've encountered, the App Store is the way to go. But this is facepunch, maybe I should have considered that use case.

[QUOTE=KorJax;43381865]The only thing I don't like about the nexus line is the aspect ratio seems incredibly narrow for the size of the screen. Just compare the size of them between other tablets at a best buy or something - its so narrow. Honestly as much as I really don't care for iOS at all, the one thing that is so much better about the apple line of products for tablets is that they all are running on a much more ideal 4:3 aspect ratio. I had an asus transformer and hated how narrow the thing was for tablet usage - and that was a 10.1" tablet, where it is less of an issue due to more screen real estate. Seeing a nexus 7 in a store amazed me just how tiny and narrow it looked thanks to the 16:10 aspect ratio. I wish android would just go ahead and make 4:3 tablets. I'm not a huge fan of apple's products especially for the price, but the fact that they are the only tablets on the market at the only aspect ratio that is ideal for tablet usage (as well as having an extremely strong ecosystem) would make the choice of what tablet to get being between not buying a tablet at all, or getting an iPad mini.[/QUOTE] I've used a Nexus 7 2013 and typing in landscape mode feels crowded

xperia tablet z, assuming the rumours of a tablet z1 being released soon aren't true one of the few tablets in existence with a warm screen colour temperature and not 8000-9000k blue tinged horse shit like everything else plus until the latest ipad it was the thinnest and lightest 10"

[QUOTE=garychencool;43393045]I've used a Nexus 7 2013 and typing in landscape mode feels crowded[/QUOTE] But typing in portrait is so spacious

[QUOTE=Darkimmortal;43398338] one of the few tablets in existence with a warm screen colour temperature and not 8000-9000k blue tinged horse shit like everything else [/QUOTE] Too bad the display sucks at everything else which is why Sony has to include a way to toss on a heap of post processing garbage with their Bravia Engine. iPads and the new Nexus 7 pretty much all ship somewhere between 6500K and 7000K which isn't that off target and it's preferable to a display below 6500K to the same degree.

the nexus 7 fits in your pocket so there's that (unless you wear hipster pants)

[QUOTE=meppers;43426296]the nexus 7 fits in your pocket so there's that (unless you wear hipster pants)[/QUOTE] That's some pretty big pants you've got. I suppose it could fit in a back pocket, but that's just impractical.

I wear regular wrangler jeans

If I did some pocket modifications of Romanian origin, I could fit a Nexus 7 in there, but it would feel like shit to walk with. I prefer keeping it in my jacket.

Get the nexus 7 2013, it's good

[QUOTE=meppers;43426296]the nexus 7 fits in your pocket so there's that (unless you wear hipster pants)[/QUOTE] is that a nexus 7 in your pocket or are you just happy to see me

I just bought my misses a Nexus 7(2nd gen). I've got to say it's pretty funking awesome. You get a lot of bang for your money. Full hd screen with a dpi higher than the iPad air! Got all the usually stuff, wifi, BT, NFC etc... Comes in a 32gb model. It also has a tegra 3 gpu, which gave outstanding results in 3dmark when I did some tests, it actually only scored a few hundred points less than the iPad air! So, all in all, I'de say go for a Nexus 7.

[QUOTE=Meekal;43431196]I just bought my misses a Nexus 7(2nd gen). I've got to say it's pretty funking awesome. You get a lot of bang for your money. Full hd screen with a dpi higher than the iPad air! Got all the usually stuff, wifi, BT, NFC etc... Comes in a 32gb model. It also has a tegra 3 gpu, which gave outstanding results in 3dmark when I did some tests, it actually only scored a few hundred points less than the iPad air! So, all in all, I'de say go for a Nexus 7.[/QUOTE] The first gen Nexus 7 is the one with the Tegra 3. Second gen's got the Snapdragon S4 Pro with Adreno 320 graphics.

[QUOTE=Protocol7;43431265]The first gen Nexus 7 is the one with the Tegra 3. Second gen's got the Snapdragon S4 Pro with Adreno 320 graphics.[/QUOTE] Ah. My bad. I got confused for a while when looking into the tablet. It was a bit of a an impulse buy when I bought it.