Tablets. Still Not Right for Me.

After I had my iPhone for a few months, I wondered if I might prefer something just a bit bigger..... not so big that it wouldn't still fit in my shirt pocket, but maybe even a half inch bigger in width and length would be nice. 

I read a lot of novels on my iPhone. A slightly bigger screen would be nice. I also check email and Facebook on my iPhone (especially when I wake up in the middle of the night). Typing on the small screen is pretty hard, which helps explain why some of my email correspondence is so brief or non-existent. 

And so I wondered about whether I might like a tablet. In the end, though, I'm not at all enthused with tablets, even though I have two of them. Details:

About 7 months ago (early summer, 2011) Ms. Eclectic bought us both iPad2s. She absolutely loves hers. I'm okay with mine. I love the "Wow!" factor. And it is sometimes easier to read novels on it than on my iPhone -- but not always. Unfortunately, the iPad2 is just too big and bulky for me to carry around all the time, whereas my iPhone is in a pocket whereever I go. If I'm waiting somewhere, I can whip out my iPhone and read. That's not so easy with my iPad. So size and convenient portability are issues for me.

But so is extendability/expandability. I would love to have a tablet that has easy access to my files via an SD or micro SD card, something not available on an iPad or iPhone.

Also, initially we tried to use the iPad2s as substitutes for our laptops by trying various cases that had keyboards. None of them was satisfactory -- several had keys in the wrong place, and others had poor typing response. After trying quite a few, we just gave up on this idea. An iPad is not a substitute for a full-featured laptop. Typing on an iPad is easier than typing on an iPhone, but nowhere near as easy as typing on a laptop. So I try to avoid doing much email work or Facebook typing on even the iPad; and I never try to write a blog post on my iPad (much less my iPhone!).

Other than these three drawbacks, I quite like both my iPhone4 and my iPad2. But these drawbacks are enough to keep me looking.

At times I have thought I might really like a 7" tablet. It would fit in my jacket pockets, and it would fit in the extra pockets of most cargo pants/shorts. I'd be especially tempted if it had a slot to take an SD card.

Over the holidays, I gave some consideration to getting a Kindle Fire, but I am not at all keen on storing my files in Amazon's cloud: I don't always have wifi access, and I have some files that I consider private.

A few weeks later, when RIM's Playbook went on sale, I nearly bought one. Then I learned that there was no Kindle app for the Playbook. Huh? Since reading is one of the things I like to do with my toys, the Playbook is out for now.

Shortly after Christmas, my son and I each got 7" tablets by PanDigital. These tablets are at best quasi-Android, difficult to load apps on (I never figured it out), and extremely slow. I loaded quite a few books in epub format onto an SD card and used that card in the tablet (a nice potential feature), but quickly discovered the reader was bogged down with so many books there. The PanDigital is a convenient, almost okay tablet that has slow access to the internet and FaceBook, but it's just too slow and incompatible (or at best inconveniently quasi-compatible) with other programmes to suit me. Also, it might be possible to load a Kindle app on the PanDigital, but I never figured out how. Thank goodness they were quite inexpensive.

Next, I might look at the Samsung Galaxy 7. It looks to be a full-fledged, fast Android tablet with the Kindle app pre-loaded, and it accepts a micro SD card (only up to 32gb, however). Judging from the specs and the reviews, it should be pretty much what I'm looking for. But given that I already have two tablets (one and a half, really), I think I'll hold off for now. Also, I'm not terribly eagre to try to work out synchronizing my iPhone with an Android tablet, and I'm not ready to move completely to Android with everything either.

I understand that Apple is bringing out an iPad3 soon. I'm sure it will be very nice. But I also fully expect it will not have a 7-inch version, nor will it have a card slot for loading extra music, videos, and books.

So I'll wait and keep looking. I think what I might like is something like a Macbook Air or a Toshiba Portege with a touch screen (maybe in a swivel lid?) for a laptop. However, I'm still not sure I want that AND a tablet to carry around. If you have any suggestions, I would appreciate them.

Comments

[Bill]

With a Kindle fire you can download books (and movies) and view them without wifi access. Also you can copy private documents from your computer to your Kindle (via USB) without them being uploaded to the Amazon cloud. I have enjoyed mine so far though I basically use it around the house. I very much recommend a cover that lets you prop it up so you can read while sitting at the table eating.

[Jennifer]

Thanks for posting your experiences with various tablets. I've held off on getting one for many of the same reasons you mention in your post. What I really need is a lighter, more portable tablet PC to carry around. As fast as technology is advancing, it is frustrating that we do not have a tablet with laptop speed/memory/SD slots/HD or VGA output, etc. yet. It might be nice to have one for entertainment purposes, but I won't buy one until I know I can also use it in the classroom. I will definitely check out the Lenovo Yoga when it is released later this year. Regarding your portability problem, well, us women have solved that with the purse, but I'm not sure if that would be suitable for you, ha, ha.

Also, I've been reading your blog for sometime, and I appreciate your posts--I often find material I can use in my courses.

[Jennifer]

Oops, I meant "I've been reading your blog for some time..."