Do I need a fancy tablet?

wallofbeans

Hello All,

I'm thinking about getting a tablet and am trying to figure out if there is something that will do what I need it to do, and whether that can be something cheap!

I want to be able to play video (Quicktime files mostly) and hear it but through headphones is fine. I'll need to be able to upload that video onto an SD card to play back from, or put it onto the tablet by connecting it to my MacBook.

I want to be able to read PDF files. Most of the time these will be black and text documents.

And that's it for the essentials.
I don't need the internet or email or games or apps.
Anything beyond those two things is a bonus.

Any ideas?

I've just seen a Nook HD+ for a good price and wondered if that would do the trick. I can't seem to figure it out...

[Deleted User]

As Quicktime plays several video formats, it's impossible to say if a particular tablet will play "Quicktime files".

What format are the video files in?

VLC Media player plays a great many formats, and there's a version for Android, so an Android tablet would likely be suitable.

I've got a Hudl2. It cost a very reasonable £99 from Tesco, and I'm impressed with it.

I'm not sure if you could connect a Hudl to a Macbook, but you could certainly transfer files via an SD Card, either by putting a Micro SD card in an adapter, or using a plug in Card reader.

Although you say you don't need internet or email or games or apps, they are of course available on the Hudl.

kwikbreaks

There is a review of the Nook HD here - http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/nook-hd-1114580/review

It will probably do what you ask and the review should make that clear. I only read as far as the fact it had a proprietary charger port which I'd find very inconvenient and lost interest.

wallofbeans

All sorts of formats. I teach and would want to watch student work. A mix of Quicktime player and VLC usually covers all bases.
Thanks so much for the advice.

I just don't know how tablets work. Can I just plug it into my macbook and transfer video files and pdfs and then look at them on the tablet when I'm on the train?

I don't need anything else but it doesn't hurt to have it. I just thought I get something basic and cheaper if I didn't need it to do those things. If anything else, looking at a Word document now and again might be helpful but it's not a deal breaker.

This is just so I can keep busy on my commute without having to carry around a laptop.

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

As Quicktime plays several video formats, it's impossible to say if a particular tablet will play "Quicktime files".

What format are the video files in?

VLC Media player plays a great many formats, and there's a version for Android, so an Android tablet would likely be suitable.

I've got a Hudl2. It cost a very reasonable £99 from Tesco, and I'm impressed with it.

I'm not sure if you could connect a Hudl to a Macbook, but you could certainly transfer files via an SD Card, either by putting a Micro SD card in an adapter, or using a plug in Card reader.

Although you say you don't need internet or email or games or apps, they are of course available on the Hudl.

wallofbeans

I've seen the Nook HD+ for £50 and thought it might be a good bet. I'm not sure it's Mac friendly and isn't it a Kindle type device above everything else..?

Thanks!

kwikbreaks wrote: »

There is a review of the Nook HD here - http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/nook-hd-1114580/review

It will probably do what you ask and the review should make that clear. I only read as far as the fact it had a proprietary charger port which I'd find very inconvenient and lost interest.

kwikbreaks

Android tablets and phones look just like a USB pendrive to Windows PCs so I'm assuming they would to Macs too although Macs do tend to be more locked down than Windows/Android devices.With a micro SD slot too you should have no issues just copying files across.

With Android there will be free apps that will display/play just about anything you throw at them unless DRM is involved (ie stuff you've bought from the likes of Amazon, Apple, etc.) in which case you'd be looking at some way to bypass that and we can't discuss that sort of thing here.

[Deleted User]

wallofbeans wrote: »

I just don't know how tablets work. Can I just plug it into my macbook and transfer video files and pdfs and then look at them on the tablet when I'm on the train?

Apparently It can be done.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/how-transfer-photos-from-mac-android-windows-tablets-3543689/

But, as I said earlier, there's always a Micro SD Card adapter, or a plug in card reader

If anything else, looking at a Word document now and again might be helpful but it's not a deal breaker.

The Hudl can do that.

wallofbeans

Thanks! That app looks like the perfect solution.

Is there a Word app for tablets? I use Word on my Mac but also Open Office is free and works perfectly with Word files so maybe I can get that for Android...

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Apparently It can be done.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/how-transfer-photos-from-mac-android-windows-tablets-3543689/

But, as I said earlier, there's always a Micro SD Card adapter, or a plug in card reader



The Hudl can do that.

wallofbeans

But is the Nook HD+ an Android device? It seems similar but maybe not quite the same... I've heard that they don't like macs but maybe that's just an issue of getting the right app.

Tablets are just tiny computers so I assume they all work roughly the same way. I'm not sure though...

kwikbreaks wrote: »

Android tablets and phones look just like a USB pendrive to Windows PCs so I'm assuming they would to Macs too although Macs do tend to be more locked down than Windows/Android devices.With a micro SD slot too you should have no issues just copying files across.

With Android there will be free apps that will display/play just about anything you throw at them unless DRM is involved (ie stuff you've bought from the likes of Amazon, Apple, etc.) in which case you'd be looking at some way to bypass that and we can't discuss that sort of thing here.

wallofbeans

So it seems the Nook is Android but not quite. This is what the Wikipedia page says, I'm not sure what it all means but some of it makes sense...

"While Nook is a variant of Android (runs the same programs) with a different user interface and bundled software, a more standard variant of Android (CyanogenMod) is available for the Nook and the smartphone/tablet version of Ubuntu operating system to run applications incompatible with Android.

On February 1, 2014, official CyanogenMod 10.2.1 ("Android 4.3 Jelly Bean") was released for the Nook HD and HD+. CyanogenMod versions for Nook HD and Nook HD+ are released for download under the hummingbird and ovation codenames respectively. CyanogenMod releases monthly M-builds ("rolling release") and no versions marked "stable" are to be expected after version 11.0 M6 Release ("Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat"). The latest version (4.4.4) is available for the Nook HD/Nook HD+ as a "SNAPSHOT" and "NIGHTLIES" versions.

Since August 2013, a developer preview of Ubuntu Touch 13.10 is also available based on the above ovation. Ubuntu Touch can be installed along with Android, allowing dual booting."

kwikbreaks

MS seem to have released a free Word app for Android...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.word

(????)