Tablet buying help

[fastbilly1]

Ok folks, my old sales reps chipped in and got me some Gamestop giftcards since they all waited until after Christmas to get me a gift. They were going to get me a Asus Transformer or a Transformer Prime, but they were sold out everywhere. So instead I have a chunk of giftcards. A tablet would be a nice upgrade from my dying netbook so I figure its a decent purchase. What it comes down to is this, the ones I want, the Transformers, are sold out currently. Knowing Gamestop, who knows if they will be back in stock. However they have refurbished Ipad 1s and Acer Iconia 7 and 10 inchers in stock. So my question is wait for a Transformer to be back in stock, or buy one of the tablets currently in stock?

I am kind of adverse to buying an Ipad (not an Apple fan), but they are certified by my company as usable on the job, and you can buy adapters for them everywhere. The Iconia seems soso compared to the Transformer, but I formed that opinion after watching and reading a handful of reviews. I love the Transformers keyboard dock, but Logitech bluetooth keyboards are cheap enough on their own.

Thoughts?

If I cant figure it out, Ill probably just buy an arcade stick or two and several games and call it a day.

[gtmtnbiker]

Personally, I'm very happy with my iPad 2. I wanted to get one based on Android but I wasn't happy with the user interface of those devices. That is, I don't find them as responsive/snappy/friendly like the iPad 2. This is coming from a developer who works on Unix/DOS bat files/C++/etc.

Yes, the iPad is overpriced but they do hold their resale value well. Android devices will improve down the road but I think iPad is the best device for today.

[fastbilly1]

Thanks for the input, gtmtnbiker. Do you use a standalone keyboard?

I should have added in that resale value means nothing to me. I will run the device as long as I physically can. ie my old Palm 3 is held together with ducktape.

I am planning on using the device for heavy web browsing, heavy writing, heavy music playing, moderate video playing, and random system admin uses. Gaming is on the secondary tier of uses.

[gtmtnbiker]

Thanks for the input, gtmtnbiker. Do you use a standalone keyboard?

I should have added in that resale value means nothing to me. I will run the device as long as I physically can. ie my old Palm 3 is held together with ducktape.

I am planning on using the device for heavy web browsing, heavy writing, heavy music playing, moderate video playing, and random system admin uses. Gaming is on the secondary tier of uses.

The reason the resale value can be important is that it gives you the option of selling it a year from now to buy the next tablet and have it pay for a good chunk of it.

No, I don't use a standalone keyboard so heavy typing is not ideal. I check my emails, read news (mostly through apps such as LA Times, USA Today, BBC, etc), read eBooks/PDFs, play some games (Plants vs Zombies). The best part of the iPad is being able to quickly search or lookup something on the web. With a laptop, I have the issue of waiting for it to come out of sleep, logging in, waiting for it to connect to wifi and then doing the search/lookup.

There are a couple of writers at my company who use the iPad for their work. They have some sort of case that holds the iPad upright and provides a keyboard. They seem to like it.

[deathsled]

Having used ipads, android tablets, and actual windows tablets all I can say is if you're even remotely planning to "type" on a device at all you should just get a netbook/laptop. I know the Transformers have keyboard docks and you can always pair a bluetooth keyboard to anything, but the fact of the matter is tablets are tablets and are not ideal in any way for word processing of any sort.

I hate writing out emails on a tablet. If I need to send someone a message more than a sentence or two I put the tablet down and get to a PC.

you said you plan to do "heavy writing" and "system admin". to me that says you need a real computer.

[gtmtnbiker]

Having used ipads, android tablets, and actual windows tablets all I can say is if you're even remotely planning to "type" on a device at all you should just get a netbook/laptop. I know the Transformers have keyboard docks and you can always pair a bluetooth keyboard to anything, but the fact of the matter is tablets are tablets and are not ideal in any way for word processing of any sort.

I hate writing out emails on a tablet. If I need to send someone a message more than a sentence or two I put the tablet down and get to a PC.

you said you plan to do "heavy writing" and "system admin". to me that says you need a real computer.

Totally agree with your advice. I think too many people try to use it to replace their computer/laptop.

[irixith]

The advice that's been given so far is quite sound.

A tablet is an extra device. Convenience for functions when you're not at a PC, but by no means equal to a PC. Sure, you can pair a keyboard, or have an official one like the transformer, but the transformer is still running Android. Heavy writing? I can't think of a task that an Android tablet would be worse at. These things are made to consume light web content and small chunks of entertainment. They aren't designed as PC replacements, because they aren't.

I'm a pretty big fan of netbooks myself, do all my daily computing with one, and own 3. There's no way any tablet on the market can come close to the versatility or price-for-what-you-get. I say use your giftcards on an iPad, flip it, and get a fancy netbook.

[Lokkenjawnz]

I'd say wait for the Transformer, either the original or the Prime, or maybe even the just announced TF700T Prime, which is slightly higher-specced (as far as the display anyways), and apparently fixes some of the WiFi and GPS issues that the Prime has been dealing with. Personally, if you're not going to be playing super top of the line games, I'd recommend just the normal Transformer. It's not quite as powerful, but it also has rock solid WiFi and GPS, and ASUS has been very good about updating it, in fact it shold be getting ICS shortly after the Prime does, most likely this month or next.

I've had my Transformer since soon after they came out, and it's been fantastic to use, I used it as my daily laptop for class notes, and writing essays, and it's never let me down. Go for the Transformer, you will not be disappointed.

This was all typed out on my Transformer by the way, keyboard works a treat.

[Edit] Just wanted to add, that this Transformer replaced an (admittedly old) netbook of mine, which worked OK, but there's really nothing that I'd need a super portable device like this to do that the Transformer can't. There's even an implementation of an IDE which I know can compile Java, though to what extent I don't know. Plus if you feel like tinkering, you can put Ubuntu on it as well. I hate to be that guy, but I think the vast majority of anti-tablet sentiments come from lack of experience with them, and specifically with Android. It's definitely not for everyone, but you seem to have done your research, and understand what you want a tablet for. Go for it!

[fastbilly1]

Thank you all for the advice. Let me address several of the comments.

The reason I stated heavy writing is that I write both fiction and scripts as one of my side jobs. I have talked to alot of writer friends in both journalism and Hollywood and most of them have swapped to writing on a tablet of some sort with a keyboard - editing is still done on a desktop or laptop but the initial writing is tablet. They have given me many good reasons, instant on and battery life being the two biggest (instant on has NEVER worked for me on a netbook - my 900a took 3 seconds less to boot an instant on OS than to boot Ubuntu). I wrote the first thing I ever sold on a Palm IIIc with a fold up keyboard, which was not a writing device either, but it worked just the same.

Most of the System Admin work I do is done via web interfaces, so I could do it on a smart phone if I really wanted (I have a dumbphone). If push comes to shove, I can use VNC to log into a desktop, or pull out a netbook. This is wont be a big deal at all.

I own several P4 laptops and two netbooks. But the netbooks are an EEE 900 and a EEE 900a, so I am right about where I am in need of an upgrade (the 900a has issues with flash videos now and the 900 has the flawed storage medium). I have used the 900a as my primary internet device at home for three or four years now and am fine typing on a smaller keyboard. I love my netbooks, but I recently realized that alot of what I thought I would use my netbook for, I could easily accomplish on a tablet. I am not planning of getting rid of any of my pcs, but I would probably drop them down to staying in the car or office unless needed. So I would be using it in addition to a netbook, and kindle, it would just be an easier device for internet consumption and fiction creating.

That all said, irixith makes a very valid point of flipping an Ipad...thats tempting. The backup plan was to just buy Skylanders, but flipping an Ipad for a better netbook is a good idea too.

Let me reiterate, I am not selling my current netbooks, this is just a upgrade for what I use them for the most often. I also do not sell my equipment unless I have to. I dont do incremental upgrades (unless it is a desktop pc).

Edit:
Ipad just got one major benefit. Pcam is iOS only.

[pakopako]

I say use your giftcards on an iPad, flip it, and get a fancy netbook.

May I suggest a netbook tablet if you want a lightweight solution?

The Asus EEE PC T101MT, Asus Transformer, Fujitsu U820 (more affordable than their T580), the Pandora, even the Dell Inspiron Duo are neat choices.

(instant on has NEVER worked for me on a netbook - my 900a took 3 seconds less to boot an instant on OS than to boot Ubuntu)

Care to elaborate on that? You loaded an instant-OS onto your netbook? Is that possible?