need some opinions

[phuketrichard]

i want buy a tablet for the gf an am leaning towards the nexus 7 or Kindle fire hd

she basically wants it for skype, email, utube, movies

Anyone buy a under $250 tablet recently????

Buying in the states

Thanks

[NeverSure]

Kindle Fire. Should be more like $199 or less.

[guzzi850m2]

I bought an Onda 972, big mistake, the Wi-Fi is so bad that I can't use it in my house unless I can see the router.

The new Nexus 7 should be very good, I am very tempted to buy one when it reaches Thai stores in 1 years time, ha-ha.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7231/the-nexus-7-2013-review

Kindle don't use Android but are based on Amazon's own system so a no-no for me. I got 2 kindle readers which I love dearly but they aren't tablets.

[KittenKong]

I bought an Onda 972, big mistake, the Wi-Fi is so bad that I can't use it in my house unless I can see the router.

Try changing the wifi channel on your router. Not all devices like using all channels.

[phuketrichard]

yea i have a kindle reader an love it, best $79 i ever spent.

research online places the Nexus ahead of the fire an Samsung tablets for under $200

Thanks

[guzzi850m2]

Try changing the wifi channel on your router. Not all devices like using all channels.

I am not sure I want to play around with my router, I am no expert and was surprised I got it set up in first try when I bought it, LOL, my IQ4 phone and 2 Kindle readers can easily pick up the signal out on the patio but the damned Onda, no.

Router: D-Link model: DIR600

[THAIPHUKET]

I want a reader too. However, insecure because I like really old books. Which book publisher has the best collection?

[Clendenin]

If you're buying in the States, it'd be pretty hard to beat the Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ tablet. Price has been dropped to US$149 and the operating system opened up to full Android. Can be bought online or at B&N bookstores.

B Clendenin

[Chicog]

The cost of the device is a small portion of the overall cost if you are buying lots of books.

How do the B&N prices compare with Amazon?

[buenavad]

I use a Nexus 7, no complaints at all.

[Baloo22]

If you're buying in the States, it'd be pretty hard to beat the Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ tablet. Price has been dropped to US$149 and the operating system opened up to full Android. Can be bought online or at B&N bookstores.

B Clendenin

I just bought a Nook HD+ (HD Plus) about two months ago. Barnes and Noble had it on sale and they also had sent me a discount coupon so it was a good deal. I like it a lot. I'm still learning and exploring the things that it can do. Experimenting now with side-loading video (movies) files on it. But it does not have a webcam so it won't do the Skype that the OP wants.

[A1Str8]

I could recommend both of them. Kindle or Nexus both are very good.

And if she needs it for basic things..Kindle Fire should be fine.

Sent from one of my devices using the internet

[THAIPHUKET]

That´s exactly what I want, not a phone hidden in a surfboard, not a camera, I want access to the internet, reading on the net, doing emails, books not so sure of.

Thanks a lot, off to NY anyhow!!

Afterthought= for typing emails, which one is more convenient , 7 or 9 inch?

Edited September 1, 2013 by THAIPHUKET

[Baloo22]

The cost of the device is a small portion of the overall cost if you are buying lots of books.

How do the B&N prices compare with Amazon?

I don't have a definitive answer for that question. I just did a lookup on for "Dragon Tears" by Dean Koontz on both B&N and Amazon. $7.99 on B&N and $8.83 on Amazon but that is not a comprehensive survey. I have a suspicion that they are both pretty competitive and it may boil down to what kind of resources a person goes for and personal preference.

I'm getting the impression that the Kindle vs Nook arguments is sort of like the Mac vs Windows "wars". A whole lot of personal preference that gets obscured by vehement worship by the fans. I think each has it's advantages.

I noticed that the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 has a webcam, the Nook HD+ does not. The Nook HD+ has both 16GB and 32GB (internal memory) versions and also a microSD slot so you can add storage capacity with a microSD card. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 does not have a SD or microSD slot.

[Geoff plus 2]

I've been using a Samsung Tab2 7" tablet for about 6 months now and very happy with it. Does everything well and handles Skype video calls no problem.

For me having a microsd slot is a must have, I spend a lot of time comuting between Thailand and Australian on economy airlines and having movies stored on micro sd cards makes life easy.

Paid about $230 aud about 6 months ago so most likely heaps cheaper now.

Sent from my GT-P3110 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[THAIPHUKET]

That is another issue which someone pls explain.

My present HTC has a 12call pay-as you-go chip, for which I paid one a small token, once.

for the Samsung Galaxy a bigger sim card was required for which the monthly price was 350b.

Not that 350b bother me, I want to understand why I must pay for usage plus now a monthly fee for the tablet?

And if I buy the Nook, i.e. no phone, only internet, is that a different chip again?

[THAIPHUKET]

I've been using a Samsung Tab2 7" tablet for about 6 months now and very happy with it. Does everything well and handles Skype video calls no problem.

For me having a microsd slot is a must have, I spend a lot of time comuting between Thailand and Australian on economy airlines and having movies stored on micro sd cards makes life easy.

Paid about $230 aud about 6 months ago so most likely heaps cheaper now.

Sent from my GT-P3110 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

How much movie time do you get on one charge?

[scotsdude]

I have the Nexus 7 and more than happy with it..... Bought cheap tablet before and always had problems with charger and very low battery life (2hrs) whereas Nexus 7 has 6-7 hours. Bought a silicon case (protects screen and has bouncy corners) to go with it as well and the daughter has dropped it a few times with no damage whatsoever. Runs very smoothly and has all the apps Skype, Kindle etc and the app store Google Play is brilliant. And the games run smoothly as well with good quality screen for watching movies etc. I would say at least 4-5 hours playing movies...

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[anthrosciguy]

Just bought a Nexus 7 and I like it. But one to consider, IMO, is the Asus Memo HD, at about US$150. The resolution is like the previous Nexus 7.

Last year I bought my girlfriend an iPad and we both like it, but it's quite heavy compared to the Nexus 7. The bigger screen is nice, but the 7 inch is a good compromise. I'm sure the Asus Memo HD would be similar.

Oh look, this does one of those stupid "sent from my" messages.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Geoff plus 2]

THAIPHUKET wrote:

 

How much movie time do you get on one charge?

 

Getting about 5 hours, if I need more I connect a external battery / charger and the tablet is happy to continue playing movies / games while re-charging.

Sent from my GT-P3110 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[thaicbr]

I bought an Onda 972, big mistake, the Wi-Fi is so bad that I can't use it in my house unless I can see the router.

 

The new Nexus 7 should be very good, I am very tempted to buy one when it reaches Thai stores in 1 years time, ha-ha.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7231/the-nexus-7-2013-review

 

Kindle don't use Android but are based on Amazon's own system so a no-no for me. I got 2 kindle readers which I love dearly but they aren't tablets.

New 2013 Nexus 7 is here in Thailand already...

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[anthrosciguy]

BTW, the Asus Memo HD I mentioned has a slot for an SD card, up to 32 GB. Make sure it's the HD as there is a cheaper Asus Memo as well.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Digitalbanana]

You need opinions - I got opinions! Why not start with a more informative subject title

[THAIPHUKET]

You need opinions - I got opinions! Why not start with a more informative subject title

Well, your curiosity for what is behind that innocent question had been stirred up enough to read all of these 22 substantive answers. One reply had zero substance, would you guess which one?

[anthrosciguy]

That´s exactly what I want, not a phone hidden in a surfboard, not a camera, I want access to the internet, reading on the net, doing emails, books not so sure of.

Thanks a lot, off to NY anyhow!!

 

Afterthought= for typing emails, which one is more convenient , 7 or 9 inch?

I passed by this earlier, but since we're a 2 tablet family now I can say the 10 inch (iPad in our case) is definitely easier. But, and this is a big but, the 7 inch is pretty good. Even holding it in portrait mode, which I'm doing right now, is not all that difficult even with my fat fingers. Plus, with the 7 inch tablet - at least with the Nexus 7 compared to the iPad - it's easy to hold the tablet in one hand for extended periods while typing with the other.

Holding either in landscape mode makes for a bigger keyboard and of course that makes typing easier.

Neither is as easy as typing on a real keyboard, but it's far easier than I thought it would be when I bought our first tablet. I'd originally thought I'd need to buy a keyboard to use with it but after a bit of experience I found it wasn't really necessary. If you did lots of typing - quite a lot - you might want a keyboard, but since you can buy one at any time if suggest trying to do without for a while.

One thing that's usually good but needs to be watched is a tablet's autocorrection. Usually that's been great, very helpful, but it can throw some oddball stuff in there once in a while. For instance last week I was trying to type the phrase "competitive swimming" and the tablet interpreted wherever I'd mistyped as "combative swimming".

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app