Can anyone recommend a good *reasonable* tablet for apps?

[fordpony92]

Because its notably better than other tablets.....

We have iPhones, so it's economically sensible for us to stick with apple to have app sharing built in between devices (3 iPhones, 3 iPods, 3 iPads for our family of 4). Schools also use apple iPads - mostly minis - I think the most educational apps and the least buggy apps exist in apple platform (still buggy apps, but apple versions seem less buggy than android). Groupon frequently has iPads as well at a discount but we usually buy from apple refurb. The target deal is pretty good though!!

Keep drinking the Kool-Aid.

 

[leebee]

I was going to recommend the iPad mini from Target too. We had a Nexus 7 and I hated it. Soooo not user friendly. Plus, the charge ports go out on them regularly.

For those who say it won't replace a laptop, maybe not 100%, but I rarely touch my laptop now. I do 99% of my computering on my iPad.

I touch-type (can even type while watching TV) so typing on the iPad makes me crazy; the hunt-and-peck, one-finger typing really slows me down. Just something to think of if you're considering replacing a laptop with an iPad.

 

[MomToOne]

Another Nexus 7 user here....LOVE IT

DD has an iPad Mini (and iPod...) - she likes the Nexus 7 better too

If you already have a large investment in Apple product and esp. iTunes stuff, then a Mini might be the best decision. BUT..if you don't already have an investment in that stuff, then I think investing in Android is a much better deal these days. Most apps that you would actually want are available on both platforms, and the Android hardware is much cheaper and the software is just as stable these days. (Apple is actually playing catch up to Android in many ways - the latest iOS release has a bunch of "new" features that Android has had for quite awhile. Apple has lost it's position on the leading edge...)

But all that said, I would never look at a tablet as a replacement for a laptop/desktop, no matter which vendor. The experience is just much different, and not nearly as efficient in many, many ways. Even when you add external keyboards and such - apps still just aren't geared for quick and easy data entry.

 

[boltfan]

I like my Nexus 7 but I guess it depends on what apps you want and what you consider a "reasonable" price.

I agree with the Nexus 7. For $144, I consider that very reasonable.

 

[MomToOne]

Schools also use apple iPads - mostly minis - I think the most educational apps and the least buggy apps exist in apple platform (still buggy apps, but apple versions seem less buggy than android).

Depends on your district. Our district has gotten big on Google Docs and Chromebooks. The only thing my daughter has used the iPads the school has is for making a few random student videos - they are using the Chromebooks for everything else in their classes. Google has also just started making a serious push for their tablets in school too - at the significantly cheaper price point, and with apps designed just for classrooms, it is likely to be enticing to more districts than Apples. (See http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/13/go...lay-for-education-now-shipping-on-new-tablets.)

As far as buggy apps go, I've only ever had a problem with 1 app. And I have both a Google phone and a Google tablet. According to a recent study, Apple apps are actually more buggy: http://www.minyanville.com/sectors/...Apps-Still-Crash-More-Than/3/31/2014/id/54402

 

[My3Princez]

Our family has Kindle Fires and the original Nexus 7 tablets. We definitely like the Nexus tablets better than the Fires. BUT - my son won a Asus Memo Pad HD7 ME173X from school yesterday, and I have to say I am really impressed with it. Essentially the same as the Nexus 7, but it has an sd card slot. Awesome. Charge port is on the top instead of the bottom - good idea. If I were to buy another tablet right now, that's what I would recommend.

For those who miss using the keyboard when using a tablet --- I use a bluetooth keyboard from ebay for my Nexus - pretty cheap, and makes typing a breeze.

 

[MomToOne]

Our family has Kindle Fires and the original Nexus 7 tablets. We definitely like the Nexus tablets better than the Fires. BUT - my son won a Asus Memo Pad HD7 ME173X from school yesterday, and I have to say I am really impressed with it. Essentially the same as the Nexus 7, but it has an sd card slot. Awesome. Charge port is on the top instead of the bottom - good idea. If I were to buy another tablet right now, that's what I would recommend.

For those who miss using the keyboard when using a tablet --- I use a bluetooth keyboard from ebay for my Nexus - pretty cheap, and makes typing a breeze.

You can actually connect a SD card or USB to a Nexus 7 - I do it all the time. It's not as pretty as devices that allow you to just insert an SD card into the device because everything is external, but at least for me, that's not a big deal given what I use the SD/USBs for (a store of movies, pictures, etc. - I don't need to keep apps or app data on them. If I need to use something that is on the USB/SD, such as a movie, I just copy it from the USB/SD to my Nexus 7, then delete it off again when I am done to free up the space on the device.)

To make it work, get the app "Nexus Media Importer". You will also need a USB OTG cable (USB 2.0 Micro B Male to A Female OTG cable to be exact) - you can pick these up for a few bucks on eBay or Amazon. If you want to use a SD card instead of a USB, you will also need a SD card reader - you can also pick those up cheap on eBay or Amazon.

There might be a setting you need to enable to allow writes to the SD/USB, if you want to do that - if I remember right, the default is that only reads are allowed. But just go into the app settings, and you'll see what you need to change. (I use that feature to keep a backup copy of pictures as I am travelling - I copy pictures off of my camera nightly to the Nexus 7, then move them from there to a USB for a backup in case my camara card goes bad.)

[Note I suggest buying a multipack of the OTG connectors, and more than one SD card reader because they all tend to be cheaply made, and go bad easily. Whenever I've had problems with the Media Importer app not working, it's actually been a problem with either my cable or SD card reader, not the app itself. I also suggest using a USB instead of a SD card whenever you can because SD card readers just seem to be fussy in general - but I do use a SD card reader to import pictures from my camera to the device, so I know it can work when the SD card reader cooperates.]

One of the biggest advantages to the Nexus 7 is that you get Android updates faster than anyone else. Other manufacturers overlay stock Android with their own stuff, so it takes them longer to push out updates. As with all hardware, the Nexus 7 will become desupported at some point and will stop receiving updates, but I expect that the life of the Nexus 7 will be longer than similar devices from other manufacturers because of this overlay issue.