Need tablet advice

jenniewb

I'm trying to find a tablet mainly for watching downloaded TV programmes (iplayer, Netflix...etc) I'm looking for a friend who is going into hospital so apologies if I'm not so full of all the details and apologies if this isn't the correct board to ask.

As far as I know, the tablet needs to be able to have enough space (or expandable space) AND decent graphics to watch a good few hours of TV programmes at a time (someone will be able to take home the tablet at least once a week to update and add more).
I've tried a Samsung Note 8.0 (2013?) tablet before and wasn't impressed with the graphics as they looked faded and almost pixilated.


Ideally games such as card games, candy-crush, nothing that demands too much of a battle though! (eg it wont be solely used for more demanding battle games)


Reading things like downloaded magazines and papers if possible. I know Flipboard exists but having no lag and having quick loading times is important (I've tried phones that lag when you do things like turn pages and it's really irritating when they do)


I know Apple are seen as "the best" for all of the above, but she has an android phone and AFAIK and Microsoft PC would rather have something that doesn't force up future prices and delete music...etc, unless there really isn't anything on comparison.


Does anyone know when a new batch of tablets are going to be released? Is it any time soon? I'm wondering when prices will drop on current models or if anything really amazing is on it's way out. It wont need to be purchased until September.


Ideally something not to obscure as I know she'll want a case and screen protector and I know that more obscure brands wont have these options or they're hard to find and replace.


Oh and budget; a budget of £350 max for anything. Thank you very much for any suggestions.

Atasas

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/tablets/best-tablet-best-tablets-best-tablet-2016-20-best-tablets-2016-uk-3265725/

Neil49

Samsung galaxy tab s2. You have a choice of screen sizes (8" or 9.7") so try before you buy to see which would be more suitable.

jenniewb

Atasas wrote: »

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/tablets/best-tablet-best-tablets-best-tablet-2016-20-best-tablets-2016-uk-3265725/

Thanks for the suggestion of the top rated tablets, but I'm not sure which is best suited to the needs of the person I am trying to help. I know that tablets are used for people playing heavy fighter games, for children with grubby fingers who drop and smash things, for people who like to listen to their music....my friend isn't looking at all of those things, it's really mainly for watching old TV shows previously downloaded with the occasional magazine.


It's difficult to decipher which tablet to go for when there are so many features which wont get used and so are possibly a waste of money. It's also not clear which will offer a better screen (brighter colours, best pixal density) and things like the least lag time and more importantly, which will slow down at a slower rate (if that makes sense!) over time- I know all tech does this!



I did start off looking at lists and lists of top 10 tablets on just about every site Google showed me, but I'm just getting more and more confused with conflicting reports and bad experiences in forums; my friend was doing most of this (I tried but got nowhere either) and it caused her so much confusion I said I'd try to help, hence my question here. We've both looked at the top whatever on so many sites and it doesn't really answer the bulk of questions on what was best for what she needed the tablet for.

jenniewb

Neil49 wrote: »

Samsung galaxy tab s2. You have a choice of screen sizes (8" or 9.7") so try before you buy to see which would be more suitable.

Thanks for this- can I ask you a few questions on this (I'm assuming you own this- sorry if that's wrong!)


Do you find it's gotten slower over time? (ie after 6,12,18 months sort of thing)


Do you find that watching TV shows (downloaded) is any match for the screen you see on a basic TV or PC screen? (I've used an Samsung Note 10" 2014 before and wasn't impressed by the screen which looked faded and not precise enough, and I'm wary of what suggesting something I'd not find great myself). How does it compare for example to a the screen on a mobile phone?


And lastly; do you find the battery lasts long enough to watch and entire film (1-2 hours) or few TV shows (maybe longer) without needing to recharge halfway through?

JJ_Egan

>>Do you find it's gotten slower over time

Thats just the user installed junk .
A factory reset cures that problem.

>>I've used an Samsung Note 10" 2014 before and wasn't impressed by the screen which looked faded and not precise enough

Suggests to me something wrong .

jenniewb

JJ_Egan wrote: »

>>
>>I've used an Samsung Note 10" 2014 before and wasn't impressed by the screen which looked faded and not precise enough

Suggests to me something wrong .

That's what I thought and I returned it. John Lewis however disagreed with me, compared it to a model which was on the stand and showed it equally showed a watered down picture that was no match for my current Galaxy S3 mobile phone. They refunded me anyway but it left me being a bit wary of Samsung Note tablets.