Recommend a Tablet for €350ish (not Nexus)

SachaJ

I've been asked to recommend a tablet for a budget of between €300 to €400. If it was for myself I'd happily go with the Nexus but in this case, they'd like the reassurance of a shop where you can bring it back to if something goes wrong (which is probably not the case anyway with return to manufacturer).

Obviously the iPad 2 is an option at €399 but I'd like to see what's good from Android.

Primary use will be a university student taking notes and doing assignments when away from the PC (ie. to burn the hours between classes). I'm thinking a big-ish screen. 9" or over.

How do the Android tablets compare to the new Windows ones (not looked at pricing of those yet)?

Twiki

It may be over-priced (399ish) and under-sized (8") but the Galaxy Note 8 would be worth a look especially from a note-taking and portability point of view.

AlmightyCushion

If I were you I'd get a Surface RT. Good battery life and has office built in. The keyboard cases are awesome (the type one will bring you over budget though). There is a lack of apps but that should change over time and in fairness for a lot of things you can just use the browser. It has a USB port as well which is handy for memory sticks and it'll let you connect up to a lot of printers too.

SachaJ

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

If I were you I'd get a Surface RT. Good battery life and has office built in. The keyboard cases are awesome (the type one will bring you over budget though). There is a lack of apps but that should change over time and in fairness for a lot of things you can just use the browser. It has a USB port as well which is handy for memory sticks and it'll let you connect up to a lot of printers too.

Not a bad idea. €329 for a 32GB in PC World

AlmightyCushion

SachaJ wrote: »

Not a bad idea. €329 for a 32GB in PC World

To be honest, the keyboard cases are what makes the surface. The ultra slim touch one is €80 and the type on is €130. You might be able to get them a bit cheaper in a bundle. The type is the better case especially on uneven surfaces but it is a bit thicker.

MiCr0

You can buy the nexus tablets in shops, with none of the rubbish of ordering the phones

SachaJ

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

To be honest, the keyboard cases are what makes the surface. The ultra slim touch one is €80 and the type on is €130. You might be able to get them a bit cheaper in a bundle. The type is the better case especially on uneven surfaces but it is a bit thicker.

PC World do a bundle for €379 with the "Touch Cover Tablet Keyboard"

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/MICROSOFT-Surface-RT-106andquot-Convertible-Tablet-32-GB-with-Touch-Cover-Tablet-Keyboard/314086/104.11

SachaJ

Just seen the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 for €358 on Elara. not a bad price

Alpha Dog 1

MiCr0 wrote: »

You can buy the nexus tablets in shops, with none of the rubbish of ordering the phones

Not sure you can get the nexus 10

timetogo

SachaJ wrote: »

Just seen the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 for €358 on Elara. not a bad price

This. I bought the Note as I gave up trying to jump through the hoops for the Nexus.
The Note was my second choice. I didn't think I'd use the pen but I've had it for about 6 months now and use it every day. If / When I upgrade the tablet I'm afraid I'll have to get one with a pen now. I'm spoilt.
Not everyone will use the pen though. If it's just for surfing, games, movies etc. the pen is pointless. If you might use it for work at all the pen is great.

Everything else is good too, the processor never lags and is very responsive. I would like the screen resolution of the Nexus but I've never had a problem with the Notes resolution. Having a microSD card too is very handy. It makes it very cheap to upgrade the storage space.

Vikings

http://www.pcworld.ie/Product/SAMSUNG-Galaxy-Tab-2-GTP5110-101andquot-Tablet-16-GB/313108/2.9

€300 in pcworld, get a decent €30 case with bluetooth keyboard from amazon and this will do everything you need and more. Can add a large microsd card to increase capacity if you wish.

And you can also pick up a usb and SD card adapter on amazon for €10 which allows it to do even more.

SachaJ

We went to PC World and had a play with a few devices.

She liked the Microsoft Surface RT the most as it came with a keyboard, had Microsoft Office installed and the full USB port for her pen drive. She got very familiar with it very quickly.

Unfortunately PC World didn't have stock (only on Navan & Sligo) so trying Harvey Norman today.

Thanks all for your advice.

timetogo

Might not be a bad idea for a uni student. You can use the onscreen keyboard during lectures and plug in a large keyboard for normal work back at home.

If she's storing documents on it make sure she uses something like skydrive or dropbox to back up her documents. You don't want to spend 2 months working on a project and then losing your tablet.