Looking for a 10 inch tablet...

[wabbitslayer]

getting ready to get a 10 inch Android tablet, looking for most bang-for-buck. Will be used for internet browsing and movie watching, not really used for work or gaming. Only need wi-fi, don't need 4G connectivity. Would like to have at least 1080p display. Would also like to spend as little as possible.

I know great deals can be had on refurbs, I've gotten refurb phones before and been happy, have also gotten refurb stuff that looked in horrible shape when opened. So I think I am only considering new, a refurb would have to be an incredibly awesome deal on an in-store model I could look at before purchase...

The Asus TF701 has great specs and can be gotten for less than $300. The Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 is on sale at BB right now for $349. The Note 10.1 looks like it is a minimum $430 anywhere, with the Tab S starting at about $450. Rumor has it Samsung's new tablets will be introduced shortly and prices will fall, but I'm really not inclined to wait. I've been waiting and waiting and I'm sick of waiting and want to buy now. I'd like to get the Note or Tab S but that would max out my budget and I'd like to get a case and some bluetooth headphones (which would have to wait if I spend >$400 just on the tablet).



So what do I get?

 

[bradly1101]

I have the Tab S 8.4 and it has a stunning display.

 

[lopri]

Take a ride to a local Bestbuy or Microcenter? I am not trying to be rude - I just think you might find something you like that way faster. There may be a bargain you were not aware of. For video and web, you probably want a decent screen and a decent speaker and those are when in-person evaluation is more useful than specs or theories.

 

[Mopetar]

Unless you need 10", the Nexus 9 is a reasonable purchase. It has a 64bit SoC which should make it more future proof than some of the alternatives. I imagine that some future version of Android will use 64-bit as a cutoff point, so the Nexus 9 will have better support options going forward than some of the other tablets.

 

[kmmatney]

I just bought a 10" Winbook Win 8.1 tablet from Microcenter and love it. It was $149 open-box, but is $200 new. I also own an iPad4 and 9" NookHD+ running Cynogenmod. So but so far a really like having a Windows tablet - I now feel trapped in Android or iOS.

The resolution,at 1280 x 800 is lower than the other 2 tablets, but is great for movies and web browsing, and a decent IPS screen. The resolution feels about perfect to me, for movies and browsing. The Microsoft App store isn't quite up to par, but it's full Windows 8.1, so you can install anything. Non-touch Apps are fairly easy to use - much better than I expected. And it has a full USB port to hook up a keyboard or mouse i you want, but generally that is not necessary. You can run Movies right from a USB stick, or from any media server,without needing any Appsto do it, since this is built into windows.

Windows 8.1 has some quirks for sure, but it does run nice and smooth. One of the weird quirks is that built-in internet explorer is not "touch" enabled, meaning you need to bring up the on-screen keyboard manually. However Google chrome is touch enabled and works great, and has gmail and you-tube shortcuts. You get full Flash and Java support, just like a windows desktop. Windows 8.1 with Bing, is standard Windows 8.1, no differences that I can tell at all from the "non-bing" version. Plug in a keyboard and mouse, and this is a windows laptop. It has a HDMI output to to use external monitor as well.

After using a Windows tablet, I can't see myself being locked into Android or iOS. Best of all, it was half the price of the other tablets.

 

[wabbitslayer]

The Nexus 9 has the price and the specs....but why oh why did they make is a 4:3 tablet? Ugh. That would have to be a hands-in review for me...I may very well be wrong, but seems like that one inch less of screen would seem be compounded by the letterboxig of 16:9 and 21:9 content

BB dropped the price on the Tab Pro to $329. I think that's my too-good-to-pass up point and may get one when I am in civilization towards the end of the week (I live in the boonies).

 

[Commodus]

Original iPad Air? It's $399 new, which isn't cheap but beats the heck out of paying $450. It's still very fast for browsing (faster than a lot of newer Android tablets, even) and otherwise checks all the right boxes.

 

[Buttercream]

Tab Pro 10.1. At $329, it's very attractively priced, and I don't think you could get a better screen at the price point.

I had a Tab Pro 8.4, and now a Tab S 10.1. The Pro 10.1 is nearly identical in weight to the S 10.1 (470g vs 465g), but slightly thicker (7.7mm vs 6.6mm). From my experience with the S 10.1, I can tell you it handles very nicely, touchwiz is kinda annoying, and it chugs along from time to time, but it is what it is.

Yes. that amoled screen is pretty, but I'm not sure is worth the $170 premium.

 

[aranatecharete]

The Asus TF701 is the best available option if you ask me, all others are good too but you would achieve more cost to performance on the Asus

 

[wabbitslayer]

I was going to get a TF701 a few months ago b/c of the ridiculous price difference between it and the Samsung when every review I read shows it compares very well with the Pro/Note, I held off b/c I was going to see if there was a good BF deal (there wasn't or I missed it).

Anyway, just pulled trigger on the Pro at BB. Nearest one is about an hour away, I'll go tonight or tomorrow and pick it up. :awe:

 

[OBLAMA2009]

I just bought a 10" Winbook Win 8.1 tablet from Microcenter and love it. It was $149 open-box, but is $200 new. I also own an iPad4 and 9" NookHD+ running Cynogenmod. So but so far a really like having a Windows tablet - I now feel trapped in Android or iOS.

The resolution,at 1280 x 800 is lower than the other 2 tablets, but is great for movies and web browsing, and a decent IPS screen. The resolution feels about perfect to me, for movies and browsing. The Microsoft App store isn't quite up to par, but it's full Windows 8.1, so you can install anything. Non-touch Apps are fairly easy to use - much better than I expected. And it has a full USB port to hook up a keyboard or mouse i you want, but generally that is not necessary. You can run Movies right from a USB stick, or from any media server,without needing any Appsto do it, since this is built into windows.

Windows 8.1 has some quirks for sure, but it does run nice and smooth. One of the weird quirks is that built-in internet explorer is not "touch" enabled, meaning you need to bring up the on-screen keyboard manually. However Google chrome is touch enabled and works great, and has gmail and you-tube shortcuts. You get full Flash and Java support, just like a windows desktop. Windows 8.1 with Bing, is standard Windows 8.1, no differences that I can tell at all from the "non-bing" version. Plug in a keyboard and mouse, and this is a windows laptop. It has a HDMI output to to use external monitor as well.

After using a Windows tablet, I can't see myself being locked into Android or iOS. Best of all, it was half the price of the other tablets.

yeah man, windoze ftw

 

[JamesGrin]

I've bought Logitech Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 recently at goodguyselectronics. It is great. It has 2-sided protection: Durable, water-repellant case protects front and back of Galaxy Tab. I am really satisfied.

 

[Mopetar]

The Nexus 9 has the price and the specs....but why oh why did they make is a 4:3 tablet? Ugh. That would have to be a hands-in review for me...I may very well be wrong, but seems like that one inch less of screen would seem be compounded by the letterboxig of 16:9 and 21:9 content.

Personally I prefer 4:3. It's better for practically every other use-case outside of viewing 16:9 video. Most web content is still designed around a 4:3 layout due to that being the predominant screen size for many years. 4:3 is also approximately the aspect ratio of an open book which makes landscape reading more natural. It's also incredibly close to the ratio of U.S. letter paper once you account for the standard 1" margins (16:9 is closer to A4)

Also, if you're into older TV shows a lot of those are going to be 4:3 which fits perfectly with the screen. Letter-boxing 16:9 isn't as terrible as displaying 4:3 on a 16:9.

Otherwise the only thing that I find 16:9 useful for is watching television shows shot in 16:9 aspect ratio. A lot of films aren't 16:9 so those are going to get some letter-boxing anyways unless you get one that's been adjusted to fit 16:9.