Thinking of Getting a Tablet...and tethering to that tablet

[hennessy1]

I have narrowed it down to the acer a500(which I played with in bestbuy yesterday), the asus eee pad slider, eee pad transformer, and the Toshiba tablet. I know the slider and Toshiba tablet have not been released yet though.

Is the only different between the slider and transformer the removable dock. I looked at the specs and they seem the same. I had read some people's opinions of the acer tablet as to be more laggy then the asus ones and vice versa is that pre 3.1 update or that doesn't matter they are just laggy.

I am also unsure whether or not the Toshiba tablet will actually be worth the wait as I have read on Engadget that it won't be release until the fall of 2011.

Any help or direction I thank you for very much.

 

[Zen0]

iPaaaaaaad you

 

[Pliablemoose]

Honestly, I'd wait for the 2nd gen Android tablets if you don't have an overwhelming need to buy one right now...

It'll give HC a chance to mature, and the hardware only gets better.

 

[Bateluer]

What are you looking for in a tablet exactly? What do you want to do with it?

 

[senseamp]

Get the Transformer. It's netbook (with a nice IPS screen) and tablet in one.

 

[Zen0]

Get the Transformer. It's netbook (with a nice IPS screen) and tablet in one.

So is any Tablet with a Keyboard attached to it.

 

[s44]

Performance will be the same, they're all reference Honeycomb (Tegra2).

Asus has a better (IPS vs TN) screen, is lighter, cheaper, and has the keyboard dock option. Acer is easier to find and a more solid-feeling construction.

Asus if you can play the nowinstock game.

 

[hennessy1]

@ Bateluer-I am looking for a lightweight notebook. I have looked at the netbook segment and for what I want to do I don't think they offer that much more over a tablet. The apps for android are perfect for what I need and want. I've played with the ipad and am not interested at all. The keyboards on the 2 asus tablets are an attractive feature to me.

 

[CurseTheSky]

The ASUS TF101 is a great tablet, but you need to realize that it IS a tablet, not a notebook or netbook.

The keyboard dock goes a long way towards making it a viable productivity tool, but you'll still hit caveats that will limit you in one way or another. For example, common key combos like CTRL + S to save may not work in some applications, or ALT + Tab to switch windows (though there is a dedicated window-switching button built into Honeycomb). It's not that you can't do the specific task that you're looking for, it's the fact that you may have a common / quick way that you're used to doing it, and now you have to adapt.

Overall, I love mine. It's wonderful for writing emails, browsing the web, or even a quick SSH session. I wouldn't want to use it as my only computer though.

 

[hennessy1]

I have an android phone now so the transition won't be difficult. I like to read on my phone but sometimes I think it would be easier on something closer to a notebook. I did read though that there is a few issues with the docking on the TF101 so I was thinking that the slider would eliminate those issues if it was built in.

 

[CurseTheSky]

The issues with the keyboard seem to be firmware and software related, rather than a hardware problem. They JUST released a firmware update for the dock, and personally, I haven't had any problems before or after the update.

If you're mainly looking to read / watch videos / browse the web, a tablet would be perfect. After using it for a week or so, I can't stand using my phone for anything other than navigation (GPS) or looking up directions / store hours briefly.

 

[shortylickens]

@ Bateluer-I am looking for a lightweight notebook. I have looked at the netbook segment and for what I want to do I don't think they offer that much more over a tablet. The apps for android are perfect for what I need and want. I've played with the ipad and am not interested at all. The keyboards on the 2 asus tablets are an attractive feature to me.

It depends on what you want exactly but netbooks can offer a lot more than a tablet. VLC, MS Office, regular games, powerful photo and video editing, proper web browsing, etc.

I know people complain about Atom but with XP its more than fast enough to do all those things, at least mine is.
In fact I've decided to give up regular cell phones when my contract expires, and just tether my netbook to a Virgin Mobile phone.

Also for my small hands a netbook keyboard really isnt a bad thing, but I have not yet found a tablet keyboard app that I like well enough to use for long periods.

 

[Bateluer]

I know people complain about Atom but with XP its more than fast enough to do all those things, at least mine is.
In fact I've decided to give up regular cell phones when my contract expires, and just tether my netbook to a Virgin Mobile phone.

Hell, E-350 Fusion. Same portability, far better performance.

 

[hennessy1]

For anything power intensive I can always revert to my notebook. But if I was going to a netbook the fusion cpu would definitly be the way to go.

 

[hennessy1]

Does anyone that currently has an asus transformer know if the sd card slot accepts the sdxc size cards as well?

 

[Elganja]

So is any Tablet with a Keyboard attached to it.

Bluetooth / USB Keyboard is not the same as the Asus dock. The dock has 2 USB ports, a SD card slot (not mini), a battery that doubles battery life and is like a netbook in terms of form vs 2 separate pieces of hardware. When dock'd it is essentially one piece of hardware and is solid at the attachment point.

Does anyone that currently has an asus transformer know if the sd card slot accepts the sdxc size cards as well?

The tablet has a mini SD card slot, the dock has a full SD card slot

 

[hennessy1]

I currently use pdanet for usb tethering. Is there a way to do that with the transformer or via bluetooth or wifi?

 

[Elganja]

I tether to my phone by making it a hotspot. As far as ad-hoc network goes, I think there are issues with doing it.

It does have bluetooth and some people have had success tethering that way

You can read more here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1053752

 

[hennessy1]

Thank you. Do you also know if there is any good apps for parental control such as internet and for apps being installed?

 

[Elganja]

Thank you. Do you also know if there is any good apps for parental control such as internet and for apps being installed?

can't help you there buddy... maybe someone else can chime in about parental controls and android OS.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Thank you. Do you also know if there is any good apps for parental control such as internet and for apps being installed?

I don't know anything about the quality, but a quick search cam up with this product:

http://www.any-parental-control.com/tablet-pc-parental-control/BlackBerry_PlayBook.html

It's available for other tablets, too.

 

[corkyg]

How many tablets have ports for tethering? And, what is it you are wanting to tether to?

 

[hennessy1]

@corkyg I wanted to tether it to my phone while I'm away from wifi.

 

[CurseTheSky]

@corkyg I wanted to tether it to my phone while I'm away from wifi.

You're looking to use the 3G or 4G service on your phone for Internet access, right? If so, I have the TF101, like I mentioned, and an Atrix with a tethering plan. It works fine.

On the Atrix (or any Android phone with a tethering plan in general), you just got into Settings -> Wireless and Networks and turn on the Wireless Hotspot feature. Then, it'll show up like a WiFi router would normally when you try to connect to a network on your notebook or tablet.

A lot of people turned their noses up at me with their iPads w/ 3G or Xooms w/ 3G or 4G due to my Transformer not having WLAN access. I enjoy having one single bandwidth cap to monitor, rather than having to worry about if I'm running out of monthly bandwidth on my phone OR my tablet, and so far it has worked out flawlessly. *shrug*

Also, 4GB / month shared between the phone and any tethering for $45 / month from AT&T works out a lot better for me than "unlimited" (5GB) / month for the phone and 2GB / month for tethering for $50 / month from Verizon. I hardly use bandwidth on my phone, but I used tethering frequently, so the extra 2GB really helps. I would also hate to hit a point on Verzion where I've used up all of my tethering allowance, so I have to do everything on my phone from that point forward. Of course, if all you want to do is stream music and videos, the 7GB cap overall from Verizon would be more beneficial. For me, I just want to use it to get work done.

 

[Geekbabe]

I have the Asus Transformer with a dock, I use my Verizon wifi hotspot with it,no issues.I really likethe fact that when connected to it's dock, my Transformer folds just like a netbook. I'm not just leaving a bare tablet laying around anywhere.