Tablets

[Karhedron]

I would give serious consideration to the HUDL2 if you are looking for the bets bang for your buck. Check this out.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/tesco-hudl-2-1267726/review

[BobB]

I recently got a 8 inch screen NetBook. Comparatively cheap (ZAR1500, less than GBP100) it came with windows 8.1 and office. I got rid of the supplied office to install an older version that's compatible with our other computers. It looks well made and now has Hornby's railmaster installed to run my next layout. It's so small and light I'm thinking of using it for work as well........

[CarriageShed]

I can say, don't buy a Dell.  I have just built one of these into a ruggedised system for a customer and have had no end of problems with it.  Despite that the customer has ordered another 10 systems with the proviso we use a different tablet!  We have a specific DC power supply consideration which is proving an issue but for 'useability' (given they need Win8.1) I have been looking at Lenovo, which look really robust, and the Microsoft Surface.
Apologies if this has added more confusion to your decision making process

I can second the warning about Dell. I use one of their high-end laptops for work and the build quality is poor. I've had no end of problems, especially with the dreadful low-quality hard drives they use. One motherboard and three hard drives later, it's the USB ports that are experiencing trouble now. I'm trying not to be bothered by that. In other words, 'Don't Dell on it'.

[d-a-n]

If you're not bothered about size or expandable memory, the Google Nexus 7 tablets are brilliant performers with an exceptional screen, decent speakers and fast processor. There is a newer version (the Nexus 9) which continues to deliver all the above.
I did look at Samsung Galaxy Tabs (and bought my Dad a Tab2 10.1) but for my use, the 10 inch ones were quite dear so I got an Asus Memo Pad 8" which was dirt cheap, it's given me no hassle and just works (the speakers are pretty poor though.) I am considering an upgrade as I do use it more than expected and will probably upgrade to a Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 or 10.1 as the screen is lovely and has the expandable memory I need to put films on to watch on long train journeys.

[longbridge]

I have been using my Samsung Tab2 10.1 Tablet quite a lot lately and it is driving me nuts, I hate touch screens so after my holiday Feb next year it is going to be traded in on a laptop computer.

I bought one of those pointy things to make life a bit easier but it hasn't, I get sick of touching a link half a dozen time to make this thing move, from time to time I touch something by accident and it goes where it wants, if I cant trade it I will most likely donate it to charity.

Thankfully I have a desktop PC which is somewhere I can relax and enjoy computing.

[Zakalwe]

been evaluating non IOS tablets at work:

hudl2 is seriously good value
nexus 9 has an amazing screen and has vanilla android
galaxy tab is good but i dislike the samsung android experience and updatesa re always slow (this is often a good thing)
Microsoft surface is good but lacking in app store content
nexus 7 version 2 is really goo but starting to show age
fire hd is good but has too much amazon linking for corporate use, but great if you have amazon prime etc. (wait for new one)

of all of them the nexus 9 was best but it's starting to edge into premium price, for best value the hudl was the winner, going to buy the little people one as it is almost disposable at this price point

[NeMo]

anyway, I'm thinking of buying a tablet for SWMBO for xmas, but I'm not buying an Ipad as I think they're completely overpriced.

While there is an Apple "premium" the iPad is still a very good tablet, and you do largely get what you pay for. The OS is well thought out and very stable, specification is generally very good, and servicing/repairs are as easy as visiting your nearest Apple Store (great if the problem can be fixed there and then rather than you sending your machine off for diagnosis and repair).

If price is an issue though, take some advice from a long-time (20 years!) Apple user... check out their refurbished machines. These are units sent back to Apple for one reason or another, rebuilt, repackaged, and then sold at a discount. You get the usual warranty, so there's minimal risk. If electronics are going to fail, they generally do so quite soon after purchase, so if the thing works fine for the first 12 months, it'll likely work fine for the rest of its reasonable life.

Over the years I've bought various machines this way, including a 1998 PowerBook 3400 that's still running! Apple shift a lot of stuff this way. Inventory comes and goes, so you need to keep checking in, but sometimes you can pick up real bargains.

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad

Cheers, NeMo

[Geoff]

Aldi have one in today and its only £150 quad core tablet 10.1" looks a bargain for the price.

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thursday-11-december/product-detail/ps/p/101-tablet-pc/

[Karhedron]

Specs look good for the price but no indication of who the manufacturer is. As always, the best way to tell if you are getting a bargain or a lemon is to read some independent reviews. I like the ones at TechRadar as they are quite thorough and seem unbiased. A good basis for making a decision.

http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets

[Geoff]

Specs look good for the price but no indication of who the manufacturer is. As always, the best way to tell if you are getting a bargain or a lemon is to read some independent reviews. I like the ones at TechRadar as they are quite thorough and seem unbiased. A good basis for making a decision.

http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets

All Aldi electrical computer products are Medion, I had a look at it this morning and it looks like a nice tablet.

[Bealman]

I'm on an Aldi Medion phone now and it's served me on two UK trips and a European rail jaunt. I have no problems with the device whatsoever.

I do agree with the advice about Dell, though. The major computer at work was said make and I lost count of the number of times it had to be rebuilt.

[red_death]

That Aldi tablet looks pretty good for the price and Medion stuff is normally quite good.

Cheers, Mike

[Geoff]

That Aldi tablet looks pretty good for the price and Medion stuff is normally quite good.

Cheers, Mike

And the best bit is it comes with a 3 year Warranty and if I was after a Tablet I would probably buy it.

[MikeDunn]

I'm always in two minds about Aldi electricals ... while I cannot fault the USB sticks I have from them, or USB disk (apart from being slow - but that's more the choice of USB version than the product), the items SWMBO has purchased (eg slow cooker) have all been unmitigated crap & returned within 24 hours ...

I would hope the tablet falls into the former category and not the latter ... but I won't be buying one (we have two tablets already - a Samsung Note 2 and a Kindle Fire HD - not really needing any more !)

[CarriageShed]

Whenever I see the thread title I think of tablet exchangers for single line working rather than 'devices'. Too much time spent in railway modelling perhaps?