What Are People's Thoughts on 2013 Tablets?

[onthecouchagain]

Just curious.

Feel free to mention what you're using now and what you might stick with and/or switch to. Also don't hesitate to detail what smartphone and computer you use, too, just to see how things mesh.

I, myself, have an iPad 3rd Generation. I use it mainly for games, web browsing and content consumption on the go. I find myself using it less and less, however, and I also find myself desiring a smaller/lighter iPad.

For 2013, I'm looking at two things: the 2013 Nexus 7 and the iPad Mini 2. Very curious to see what these two offer. I could sell my iPad 3rd Gen and then, I imagine, pick up the new Nexus 7 fairly easily. The iPad Mini 2 would probably require throwing in some of my own money to get. May be worth it depending on if it'll have Retina display and depending on iOS 7 .

Or I may also just stick it out with my iPad 3rd Gen for another year. Will have to wait and see.

What are y'all's plans for tablets this year, if any?

PS. My smartphone is the HTC One, and my computers are an iMac and a rMBP 13".

 

[MRU]

I'll be getting an iPad mini 2 (retina)

I use my iPad everyday. Its my portfolio for work, I have FileMaker installed for updating project databases. Its great for showing off websites to clients, books I've designed and typeset, illustrations and other art work.

I use it daily for sketches, and notes, and such.

For productivity if you can work within in its limitations and look for solutions to some of them, then I find the iPad a fantastic productive tool.

Its also my main goto for Internet browsing, Netflix and podcasts when in bed. I game very little on it. I read a lot on it too with both iBooks and Kindle. In the years I've had an iPad (1, 2, 3 & mini) I've bought and read around 100 books ....



The other household members use theirs for writing and accessing their script for a radio programme they host on the main local radio station here each week. They also use it to actually broadcast an internet radio show now and again where in the iPad does everything. Its the music player, the server, the microphone, the mixer... Everything.


There are some fantastic uses for them, its up to the individual to get as much out of them.

 

[Twixt]

I need big screen and also high storage capacity with phoning feature, ideally all these things in one phone.
I am probably going for Note3 but this Note8 that should be released with 4G stack later could be of interest, it all depends on storage capacity.
I mind about bezel size though (SGS4 is great to that regard).

 

[Internaut]

2013 is a good year IMHO

If your focus is mostly entertainment, there are some superb tablets out there, from the store subsidised models like Nook, Kindle and Nexus, to the top of the range from Samsung and Apple. For doing stuff, Apple still has an edge but the Samsung Note devices are also very appealing.

Me? Just bought an iPad Mini in addition to my Nexus 7. I'm also interested in getting a bigger tablet later in the year. That could be a gen 5 iPad, or it could be the next full sized Google Tablet running Key Lime Pie.

 

[300pete]

If you're looking for something more than a toy, I think the Samsung note 10.1 is pretty hard to beat. The stylus alone wins it for me. I originally bought it for personal use to do a bit of couch surfing and keep up with social media, take when i travel etc, but i've found it invaluable for work and use it every day.
I dont carry paper with me any more. I just grab my Note10.1 and hit the road.
Definately worth considering.

 

[nickchallis92]

If you're looking for something more than a toy, I think the Samsung note 10.1 is pretty hard to beat. The stylus alone wins it for me. I originally bought it for personal use to do a bit of couch surfing and keep up with social media, take when i travel etc, but i've found it invaluable for work and use it every day.
I dont carry paper with me any more. I just grab my Note10.1 and hit the road.
Definately worth considering.

Hasn't that only got a 1200x800 screen though?

 

[AppleRobert]

Hasn't that only got a 1200x800 screen though?

Resolution is a downer on lots of tablets except the later large ipads but the cost really is too high imho for lots of folks to go that route. The large kindle fire and nook hd+ have very good resolution and the new addition for Gapps for the latter coupled what a price that may even go lower is indeed a bargain.

I may go with a Mini 2, need to see specs along with its weight and size first.

 

[b166er]

I currently have an iPad 2 and a Nexus 7. Whenever the next iPad comes out I am going to get one (the full size), space maxed out, with cellular. I find myself relying on my iPad 2 a lot for school but I always have it maxed out with space and wifi only is kind of dangerous territory these days for me. So my next tablet will for sure be a maxed out iPad.

Nexus 7- I use it daily, mostly for reading... I am curious to see what the next gen does, but I'm not sure I'd buy another one right now. I bought it last year to check out Android to see if I like it. So now it has basically become a Kindle. I think I'd rather just get a newer real kindle and give the nexus to someone who can use it.

Really interested to see iOS 7 and what the new iPad offers, but being that I'm in need of a refresh I'd likely buy one either way.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I might purchase a Nook HD that is currently on sale for my son who turns 13 in July.

 

[spinedoc77]

I've got a Windows tablet, I can't even begin to express how awesome it is to have a real computer in a tablet form factor. I realize saying it's a real computer will rub some the wrong way, I don't mean it to be derogatory and I also admit the disclaimer that it works for MY needs and uses, before anyone gets bent out of shape.

I think that MS made some pretty big mis steps with releasing windows tablets. If it wasn't for those mistakes I think Windows tablets could have taken a serious bite out of the tablet market, but with those mistakes they will remain a niche product in 2013. Now if MS can turn on a dime and fix those mistakes I think 2014 will be a huge turning point for them.

For me there is no going back to a non windows tablet, not ever, for any reason or feature, ever again. It's just incredibly liberating. As another disclaimer I use an Atom powered windows tablet, I think the surface Pro is flawed, and surface RT is completely dead on arrival.

 

[siurpeeman]

i'm currently using an ipad mini, and i love it; it's completely replaced my laptop for casual computing around the home. the weight and the battery life are incredible, and i'm not nearly bothered by the lack of a retina display. i won't upgrade to another tablet until the mini goes retina, and i don't see myself being swayed by any android offerings this year.

 

[ijohn.8.80]

I had an iPad 3 and never used it much. I decided to get rid of it and go with a 15" MacBook Pro instead as I want to use it for various digital photography stuff. I edit on my 27" iMac and import onto my MBP first to go through the culling stages with Photo Mechanic. Looking at a picture on a 15" screen is a hell of a lot better than looking at the back of a DSLR.

I have no need for a tablet and can't see that changing in the near future.

 

[watchthisspace]

I've got a Windows tablet, I can't even begin to express how awesome it is to have a real computer in a tablet form factor. I realize saying it's a real computer will rub some the wrong way, I don't mean it to be derogatory and I also admit the disclaimer that it works for MY needs and uses, before anyone gets bent out of shape.

I think that MS made some pretty big mis steps with releasing windows tablets. If it wasn't for those mistakes I think Windows tablets could have taken a serious bite out of the tablet market, but with those mistakes they will remain a niche product in 2013. Now if MS can turn on a dime and fix those mistakes I think 2014 will be a huge turning point for them.

For me there is no going back to a non windows tablet, not ever, for any reason or feature, ever again. It's just incredibly liberating. As another disclaimer I use an Atom powered windows tablet, I think the surface Pro is flawed, and surface RT is completely dead on arrival.

I've played on a couple of atom powered Windows 8 tablets, and I think they're delightful. One was an Asus, another I think a Samsung or Acer. Either way, it was surprising to hold a Windows device that isn't bulky and is particularly well built.

Maybe the one I tried a more in depth play around in had been altered with my someone, but what really ticked me off was that I opened up internet explorer, tapped on the address bar, nothing happened. I was expecting the on screen keyboard to instantly pop up, but no.. After a few min I decided to flick upwards and then the keyboard appeared. Just an annoyance I found.

Anyways..

I haven't really read much into this years tablets, the iPad updates will happen later in the year. I have sort of stopped taking a huge interest in rumours. I'd imagine the iPad Mini will gain a spec bump, going to go on a limb here and say it won't get a retina class display this year though.

The rumoured updates for the Nexus 7/10 are sounding good. Myself I have a Nexus 7 on the way as a late birthday present. Very excited for it to arrive!

 

[Chundles]

My 3rd Gen iPad is gathering dust. I'm on my mini all the time now.

Next time around (next year probably) I'll sell both and get the biggest capacity mini if they throw a retina display and capable processor into it. For now though the regular mini is bloody sweet.

 

[mtenuta]

I have been in the search for a good tablet and to be honest there are really not that many options yet.

Ipad is a gorgeous device bit ios is so limited im so tired of it I really wanted to venture to android. After lots of debating and researching I looked into the Nexus but found it too pricey for a 16g with no expandable storage.
I then went and tried the Asus infinity a beautiful piece of hardware but it stopped working right after i upgraded to 4.1.
I then brought that one back for a new one the upgrade went smooth but I had terrible wifi issues.
I finally went for the note 10.1 . Its an amazing device just wish It had a better screen.
The point is there is still no percfect tablet out there right now. Yes the note 10.1 works perfectly and is great for productivity but at the cost of a lower res screen which is okay but not great in certain situations.

 

[spinedoc77]

I've played on a couple of atom powered Windows 8 tablets, and I think they're delightful. One was an Asus, another I think a Samsung or Acer. Either way, it was surprising to hold a Windows device that isn't bulky and is particularly well built.

Maybe the one I tried a more in depth play around in had been altered with my someone, but what really ticked me off was that I opened up internet explorer, tapped on the address bar, nothing happened. I was expecting the on screen keyboard to instantly pop up, but no.. After a few min I decided to flick upwards and then the keyboard appeared. Just an annoyance I found.

Anyways..

I haven't really read much into this years tablets, the iPad updates will happen later in the year. I have sort of stopped taking a huge interest in rumours. I'd imagine the iPad Mini will gain a spec bump, going to go on a limb here and say it won't get a retina class display this year though.

The rumoured updates for the Nexus 7/10 are sounding good. Myself I have a Nexus 7 on the way as a late birthday present. Very excited for it to arrive!

Yeah MS really needs to put ALL of their muscle into making windows 8 viable for tablets. They have a good start, but IMO the whole Metro thing was a mistake. Instead they should have really focused on making the windows desktop more user friendly, no brainer things like taskbars and buttons more geared to fingers, etc etc. The keyboard is functional but not great, although there is a swype type program for windows but I forget the name off the top of my head, it has swype, transparency, etc etc.

I can't wait to see the 7" windows tablets, although IMO it will be a massive mistake if MS does not optimize windows 8 for it. Win8 on a 10.6 screen is VERY usable IMO, but anything smaller and I think it will heavily backfire on them. I'm not sure what the disconnect is at MS and why they haven't just totally revamped things like this.

 

[0dev]

I'm looking forward to seeing what Google will do with the new Nexus 7 but I'll probably hold on my OG N7 for a while yet regardless.

 

[Fynd]

Waiting to see what the new nexus 7 looks like... id love an 8 or 9 inch screen with the bezels chopped away and keep the same overall size.

Otherwise ill wait for the nexus 10 update... or just get the current one.

 

[sentinelsx]

I want an ipad with OS X and i will be good!

 

[SMDBill]

I want an ipad with OS X and i will be good!

LOL!!! Who doesn't?

I want a Nook HD+ with the confidence Barnes & Noble will actually keep the OS, since it's modified Android, up to date. With the recent inclusion of Google Play and only $179....wow. Just not sure I want to buy into the B&N system till I hear from others about their results. A retina-quality display, large screen like full sized iPad and all Android apps available...for less than $180? Hmmmmm

 

[0dev]

I want an ipad with OS X and i will be good!

Boom.

 

[cynics]

I have a Xoom and a iPad 3. I had a Nexus 10 I sold on Craigslist. I'm kind of disappointed with the iPad 3 because of its performance so I'm hold out to see what the next iPad has to offer just because I can't justify going to the iPad 4.

 

[Night Spring]

I have a Xoom and a iPad 3. I had a Nexus 10 I sold on Craigslist. I'm kind of disappointed with the iPad 3 because of its performance so I'm hold out to see what the next iPad has to offer just because I can't justify going to the iPad 4.

What kind of performance issues are you having with the iPad?

Me, I'm just looking forward to iPad 5. I hope it gets significantly lighter, as rumored.

 

[cynics]

What kind of performance issues are you having with the iPad?

Me, I'm just looking forward to iPad 5. I hope it gets significantly lighter, as rumored.

It's just not as smooth as my iPad 2 and a lot of games have special effects that are left out on the iPad 3 that are on the iPad 2 because the device can't handle the graphics. I think I just upgraded without doing enough comparisons and have buyers remorse. Lol

 

[jrswizzle]

I'll be torn between the mini 2 (with retina) and the iPad 5.

Currently love my mini - the form factor and all. But with carrying two phones (iP5 and HTC One), and having a messenger bag with me MOST of the time, I'm not as concerned with the size of the mini. AND, having had all iPad iterations as well as an iPhone since the 3G, I notice the "lag" and inferior display of the mini - at the time though, the form factor trumped those downgrades (I sold my iPad 4).

But if Apple can successfully trim down the iPad 5, I might go for a 128 GB version - I expect it will still have a faster processor (A7X) while the mini goes with the A6 and for what I use my iPad for (second "TV" screen on my table, web browsing, movies etc...), I think the 5 might be the better device.

Then again, I'm also torn on whether or not to go for a laptop again and get a Haswell 13" MBA......if I did that, I'd probably stick with a retina mini - but in 64GB so I can store more movies.