help or advice on tablets please

happyhero

Hi I am no mastermind but I am usually the PC fixer and adviser for my family and friends and a couple of them have asked me what PC to get now as theirs is old and slow and they want to upgrade. They are both keen to switch to laptops.

So I thought tablets may be an option but did not know so much about them. My stepfather is one of the people who wants to upgrade and he is 82. He is not fantastic with the mouse or double clicking so I thought touching an icon on screen might actually be better for him although I know the idea of switching to something so new as a tablet would worry him.

I have a HTC desire Android phone which I am pretty good on and correct me if I am wrong but the tablet will be similar to use.

I looked at some online videos of huge screen tablets coming which are supplied with an optional seperate keyboard to plug in and use. I think my stepfather would actually be ok with the onscreen keyboard although he will doubt that to start with.

Anyway I looked on Amazon and see there are not many "big screen with seperate keyboard" tablets available yet so possibly they will be the thing to get in a year or 2 but maybe not now.

Now I have some questions anyway to ask even if we dont go down the tablet route.

This one was sent to me by Ebay as something that might interest me, not that I am interested in that one but maybe its a good example for my questions.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110743743719

If I were getting one for myself I think (and thats with out being that clued up on them at the moment) that I would want a big screen a seperate optional keyboard and a big hard drive or what ever the equivalent is, memory chip etc.

What happens if you want to use something like Microsoft Office, is this available on the tablets?

What happens with the memory I don't see any big figures like 300Gb like you get with a PC so what storage does it have, surely not the 16Gb I can see?

What are the negatives about a tablet, things that say you could do on the laptop but cant on the tablet?

Obviously I am thinking to get one instead of a laptop to do the same things is that possible?

Any other things I should know about tablets?

Any hep or advice appreciated.

leemoss

I don't have time at the minute to make a full reply to all of your post but here's a couple of points.

happyhero wrote: »

What happens if you want to use something like Microsoft Office, is this available on the tablets?

Microsoft Office itself is not available on tablets unless its running Windows which very few do and I wouldn't really recommend a Windows tablet for casual use. You can get compatible software for Apple and Android tablets but neither is as good as Office itself.

happyhero wrote: »

What happens with the memory I don't see any big figures like 300Gb like you get with a PC so what storage does it have, surely not the 16Gb I can see?

The 16Gb you see IS the storage. Some can be upgraded with larger memory cards, some are limited by the hardware.

Yolina

Tablets are not a replacement for a computer (yet)... They are good for what I'd call "consuming" - web browsing, email, videos and whatever apps you want to run from the market but that's it. The storage advertised is what you get though some (not all) have a memory card expansion slot, typically up to a maximum extra 32GB. They are basically just big screen smartphones without the mobile phone functionality. There are no USB ports to connect peripherals though some will have USB host support through the micro-USB port (you'll need an OTG adaptor for that) so that you can for instance connect a USB memory key or whatever else, some will let you connect a Bluetooth keyboard.

If you want a small computer, get a netbook though they do have some limitations in terms of processor and RAM compared to laptops/desktops so aren't good for running resource-intensive software but are perfectly fine for things like Office - they are far cheaper than tablets too. If you want a nice gadget, get a tablet but the good ones are expensive and other than a bigger screen it can't really do more than what a smartphone does.

edit: forgot to add that things might be different next year with Windows 8, however it will also depend a lot on the hardware (the very few tablets currently running windows aren't particularly great) If a manufacturer comes up with a win 8 tab, processor and RAM at least equivalent to a decent netbook, a clip on keyboard like the Transformer (which also extends the battery life), reasonable on-board storage and USB ports for peripherals then I might consider ditching my netbook and TouchPad (got a 32GB in the firesale last month - nice toy but still can't see what all the fuss about tablets in general is about)

Humphrey10

Yolina wrote: »

Tablets are not a replacement for a computer (yet)...

Mine's replaced my computer for home use - since getting an iPad, I only use the computer to back up the contents of the iPad.

You can get 64gb storage, that's what my iPad has, yes it's less than a PC but at least it's better than 16gb.

But I have no need of office type programs at the moment (I don't work or study from home), so I've no idea if you can get decent word processing or spreadsheet for it.

cyclotron

I bought the iPad 1 (refurb) from Apple as the iPad 2 was released, and do use it as a perfect living room computer - which being flat and open involves the family in a way that a traditional laptop wouldn't...
The new Amazon tablets look like I won't even have to use my USA proxy shopping service as the prices seem reasonable also in UK

closed

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2436849