Tablets - The computer kind

[mrs maggot]

never had a wifi issue with ours, ian, call them their customer support is amazing - they will probably have it back for testing

[Ian Mc]

Hehe, I never even though of that! I'd sooner sift through dodgey fixes on various forums and complain very loudly about it to everyone I know....

[mgibbs]

The Acer W500 doesn't look too bad - around £230 + VAT with their £50 cashback offer.

Its a Windows 7 Home Premium tablet so will run all of your usual programs and connect to your printer etc.

We've been testing out the Win7 Pro version (over £400) and it seems pretty good.

Mark

[JSR]

There's a number of 7" Android 4 tablets below £100 now (and 10" ones around £170). I'm thinking about one myself.

I have an iPad here (first gen) which I picked up last year from Apple refurb. Trouble is, the next version of the iOS to come out in a month of two time won't support the first gen iPad. A bit like Samsung and their Android phones. Such a shame because otherwise it's a great device.

That's why I'm looking at a sub-£100 Android tab. If these items aren't going to be supported for very long, then it's easier on the wallet to replace the cheaper item than the expensive one.

Expect to see quite a number of these on the market soon, to undercut the Google Nexus 7. (And, no, I'm not considering that.)

[gstk]

Well just an update - still getting on really well with it and in fact am buying a second one for my daughter as a present for passing her exams. She wanted a Kindle (she had the choice) but the Tablet does books better in my view with a lovely slick flick of the page (and I hate the old black and grey lcd screens) and she has the ability to read and do other bits. My father in law was here for the weekend and he always pulls things apart about what they can and cannot do and everything he said "I bet it can't..." It could Well worth money in my view and as JSR says - if its obsolete in a year then its a lot easier on the palate to ditch than an ipad!

[WorthDoingRight]

Well Kindles do not have an lcd screen, they have a weird screen using 'E paper' that actually uses a small amount of current to 'stick' the ink to the screen and then they use minimal power - hence why they have such phenomenal battery life compared to tablets. Once a page is showing the device barely needs any power and then when you switch pages it momentarily powers up to restick the ink in the new page layout.

I love my kindle, I do however also own a Motorola Xoom 10" pad with a bluetooth keyboard for when I am out and about and need web access.

The Kindle does what it was designed to do extremely well, but pads are a 'jack of all trades device' and can be a better bet for many.

[mgibbs]

E-Ink readers (Kindle, Sony etc) can't be beaten for reading outside - LCD screens just get washed out by sunlight.

Kindles have an internet browser built in so can be used for basic browsing (only greyscale though).

Mark