Totally OT - iPad or Humbl type thingy

[thescullster]

Hi all

Yes I know I can google this subject and get all manner of review material, but knowing the expansive knowledgebase here....

Er indoors is after an "iPad". By this I'm sure she means a tablet, not necessarily Apple's variety.

As I have only seen these things from afar, can anyone enlighten me on the following please:

If the device is used for email and on-line TV viewing, is the 16Gb version sufficient (the TV viewing involves downloading of multiple programs from iPlayer)?

Is there a marked difference in quality/stability of the Apple offering that makes it worth 3 x the price of the Humbl (bit subjective this one maybe)?

Thanks

Phil

[Bod]

[Lee]

Pre IOS 8, maybe :) :) Although turning off some of the new "features" seems to have taken my iPad back to nearly the same level of what it was like before...

Must get around to having a play with a Hudl2, as least it's got a reasonable screen which was my biggest complaint with the otherwise competent Android tablet I also have.

[newshound]

Not tried a Hudl but I like my Nexus 7 very much (price half way between Hudl and iPad). Had a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 before that, but got fed up with the bloatware and the fact that it wouldn't stream video reliably.

One of the decisions is between the 10 inch "group" and 7 inch "group". I find the latter fine for "personal" viewing, the 10 inch is perhaps better for two people looking at photos.

[Bod]

nb; NO, I don't work for Tescos.....thankfully :-)

[Roger Mills]

Are you a Which? subscriber - or do you have any friends who are? "These are both great mini tablets, but the Hudl has a slightly larger screen. As the cheaper of these models, it?s a fantastic choice for those on a budget to carry out everyday tasks. However, its battery life could be better, so the iPad mini with Retina display could be the option for those constantly on the move."

You pays yer money . . .

The iPad will be more solidly made and will have a higher screen resolution, but the Hudl is a perfectly adequate device. My wife's got an iPad Mini (not the latest model) and I've got a Nexus 10 (Android) tablet. It may be a personal thing, but I'm not an Apple fan - and I find Android systems far more intuitive to use than anything which Apple produces.

[Andy Burns]

I've prodded one in the shop, seemed good for the price, apparently the Tescoization is easy to remove if it annoys you

My original N7 is showing its age a bit, quite surprised that it will be receiving Lollipop next week

Very soon the N9 will be out, and sit in the middle size-wise, I might be tempted ...

[Bod]

[charles]

also, since a great deal the battery life is taken up by the display, a 10" machine will probably have a shorter endurance than a 7" one.

[Clive George]

Depends if they use the larger case to put a larger battery in.

[Dave Preston]

thescullster has brought this to us :

If I can sort of jump on this thread too....

I'm wanting recommendations for a 10" tablet (definitely NOT any Apple variety - Android is my thing) of up to about 350 quid.

I'll be working in Germany/Czech Republic for about three months and as much as I like my beer, I won't want to be out every night, so one use is possibly watching english TV either via the hotel wifi and a VPN back to the UK or pre-downloaded films/programmes on SD card so an SD card slot is a must.

Another use is that I'll have to Skype the missus on a regular basis too, so a tablet that's good for watching TV/Films and good at Skyping is needed.

Can tablets incorporate SIM cards? It would be a definite bonus if I could use it as a phone/access the cellular phone network when back here in the UK.

I've heard that Samsung are decent but something called Kies makes them s**te - is that true? And finally, I have about 350 quid to spend but if all that will cost more brand new then I don't mind buying a decent one secondhand.

[mike]

No doubt the Hudl2 and the iPad are great but when t'other half and I decid ed to dip our toes in the tablet market, we bought a recon Nook HD from Mor gan Computers on eBay for £80. That decision was based on the screen siz e and resolution, good reviews, the likelihood that there would be some for m of online user base for support (which wouldn't necessarily be the case w ith generic cheap tablets) and the fact that 80 quid wasted wasn't as bad a s the price of an iPad wasted.

Five months later we have one each and SWMBO often uses it in preference to the desktop.

I'd considered installing CyanogenMod but B&N's own version of Android seem s fine.

[John Rumm]

I can answer a couple of bits of this:

A few certainly do. My old GoClever 7" tab does - hence you can use it for turn by turn GPS apps without downloading the whole map etc. You can also make calls with it (although its a bit big and clumsy for the purpose!)

IIUC Kies is just a suite of software for the PC to do various things with the samsung phones / tabs. You can ignore it anyway since the phone / tab will know how to pretend to be a mass storage device and look like an external hard drive.

[Dave Preston]

Thanks John

[rick]

If it helps I bought SWMBO a Hudl - Tesco direct sell them for £59 on theist eBay store ... fully guaranteed. Or you can pay more and get the new Hudl 2 in store. Sold as refurb ... but most are unused .... the wife's was totally new ... not even a fingerprint on it.

Apple is way overpriced IMHO ... I don't own any Apple devices personally (one buisness unit)

The Hudl was ideal it uses same Android as my phone & daughters ... so it was easy to set up and answer the loads of "how do i do ..." Q's that came.

She loves the device .. and uses it frequently for streaming BT sports ... so certainly works well on that. Does all her on-line work using it, emails etc. .... very good product very good value.

Bought a folding case an USB keyboard .. all fits neatly in same case.

[rick]

If you want an independent review ... how about a review from The Independent ... (Hudl 2)

[Old Codger]

or when your eyesight is not as good as it used to be. :-)

Some time ago my Wife got a Hudl (with Tesco points) then I decided I would also like a tablet. Looked at the Hudl but decided the screen was a bit too small for easy viewing so bought the Nexus 10. Both tablets are Android and both do all we want and perform well. Would recommend either (and the smaller Nexus).

[spuorgelgoog]

you might wish to consider one with an output to a larger screen/monitor if required for TV viewing.

Owain

[GMM]

It's really just like any other such purchase: The important thing is to decide what you want it for, then choose the most appropriate device. If it does anything you didn't need when you bought it, but you find useful, then so much the better. I was looking at tablets for quite some time as what I wanted was a touch screen device to run presentations from. I didn't like the Apple range because of the constraints on memory, file transfer, etc. but I found it hard to identify an alternative that could be hooked straight up to a projector. Then Apple brought the new range out and the original Air came down by the best part of 100 smackers so I jumped in. The build qulaity is very good and it's very responsive. The display is defintely a cut above some cheaper ones (though plenty of alternatives match or exceed it) and it seems to have plenty of memory at 32 GB. It's not really that difficult to transfer files either. SWMBO has a mini and I wondered if I should get that instead but I'm glad I got the larger screen size, although a lot of apps don't make good use of it. Certainly, my laptop doesn't get as much use as it did (though I have yet to find a usenet app). I do, however, recognise that most people don't need to have video output and the display definition isn't always necessary, so set against the cost differences, there are likely many alternatives that could do the job admirably. It's a bit like buying power tools: The trick is not to buy something that's good enough to show that you need one, but too cheap to have the features you really need, so you wind up buying an expensive one after all, and spending more cash than if you had gone straight for it!

[polygonum]

That was not part of my original requirement so took no noitce when buying. But later tried it - it is a lot easier to use iPlayer on my Nexus 7 (second version) than the version on Virginmedia or built-in to the television.

That required an extra bit: VicTsing Slimport MyDP Micro USB to HDMI HDTV