What Tablet?

[Broin]

Title says it all... Wife wants a tablet Ipad thingy.  Suggestions and recommendations.

[likwidtek]

I'm assuming that your wife is a normal skilled user.  Meaning does not get her jollies by tweaking and overclocking.  So, for your wife, without a doubt an iPad.  That is unless you enjoy bitching and complaining and being oncall tech support.  

I do however have a rooted nook color running Cyanogen Mod 7 that works just find as an Android tablet I'd sell you for cheap.

[Pyroclasam]

Galaxy Tab 2 is also coming out (if it isn't already out) and that's supposed to be pretty good. Depends if she's familiar with Android or not. If she's got an iPhone then go with likwidtek's suggestion of an iPad.

[likwidtek]

As far as awesome geek toy though, I just played with an Asus Transformer.  http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/

Friggin cool!

[Revalis]

I just swapped out my iPad for a Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- and while I honestly wasn't expecting the battery life to be on par with the iPad, I am very pleasantly surprised with it. And happy.  Overall, I use the Tab much more than I used the iPad.

(But I had Codasaur for iPad and they don't have an Android version.  )

[Fuse]

As far as awesome geek toy though, I just played with an Asus Transformer.  http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/

Friggin cool!

I own one. It's awesome. Get this over the galaxy!!!! Reasons? Transformer can be a netbook, costs less, has the same hardware specs, has a microSD, is awesome. Galaxy has no SD slot, and in order to use anything like a keybard or SD you need an expensive adapter. My buddy bought a galaxy and returned it once I showed him mine.
Also, the new transformer slider is coming out soon. Would be worth a look.

[Mharz]

I knew Fuse would post and everything he said is spot on.  I'll give you my opinion for what it's worth.

Background:  I've been tablet shopping for 4 months or more and knew I wanted to pick one up.  I went back and forth about the "need" but in the end no one really "needs" one of these appliances but it makes your life so much more enjoyable.

Consider the user.  The most important points are who is using the thing and why.  If you're going to just read books you're going to make a different choice than the mobile business professional and different still than the hacking nerd.  That being said, like anything new the faster you learn to use it the faster you enjoy it and it makes an impact on your life.  If you've been using an iPhone for years you might pick up faster on an iPad.  If you're an Android phone user pick an Android tablet.  If you use Blackberry sorry about your luck you're screwed.  And finally if you don't have a smart phone the OS is more of a toss up.

Pick an OS.  There are two main tablet OS that are well developed and popular: iOS and Android.  Both have a huge selection of applications and both are going to be around for the long haul.  Are there other OS out there?  Sure but here's the cold hard truth:  If it isn't iOS or Android it's dead and a dead OS is worthless.  That said here's the breakdown from my shopping/research/use:

iOS - It's Apple and it's exactly what you expect from them.  Sleek, sexy, and easy to use for everyone from a grade schooler to your grandma.  There are some flaws though.  Pick this if you're using an iPhone and want to get up and running fast.

Android - It's based in Unix and very open.  A long while it was the OS that "had potential" but was so far behind it wasn't under serious consideration.  Now it's caught up and going strong.  Pick this if you're using an Android smart phone.

If you think there should be another OS here you've just not done enough research.  Windows is months (maybe years) away from catching up.  Blackberry (and Rimm sorry to say) is dead in this market.  HP closed up shop on their tablet line so web OS is done even though they sold a silly amount of tablets at the recent fire sale.

Features - You have to know what matters to the user.  Pick what matters and understand it.  I'll list a bunch of features I considered.  Some of them you might not see value in others you might.

Multi-tasking is poor in iOS in my opinion.  Not a true multi-tasking environment but it works fast enough you really don't notice that much.  Android is far smoother in my opinion swapping applications with ZERO delay.

Flash.  iOS lacks of Flash support.  If you want to see the entire internet you need to pick something else because Apple is not going to budge on Flash.  Why?  Your guess is as good as mine but I think it speaks to the company's overall lack of management vision and concern for consumers.  There have been claims of security issues and portability but I don't see it.  Android has a flash player and it works perfectly.

Applications  Apps in iOS are regulated by Apple so you're going to get decent quality but this closed model tends to slow development compared to open platforms.  In Android anybody can develop an app and put it up on the app store.  Here's the catch, if it sucks the community will rip it and the author apart.  Ratings and comments are your guide and you can get super high quality applications for FREE.  However you can also get junk for a fee.  Buyer beware.

To G or not to G (that's is the question.. not really)  If you have a smart phone and you can tether don't bother.  Why pay for TWO data plans when you can tether your tablet to your phone and use ONE data plan?  If you do need a data plan iOS and Apple will tell you who you can have.  Android is a little more open.  My solution is use the unlimited plan you have on your smart phone, tether up and go.

Storage  Apple gives you a fixed amount and that's all you get.  Want more?  Want to expand?  Too bad - go find some cloud storage.  Android tablets (like the Transformer) have expandable storage in the form of everything from micro SD cards, SD cards, USB sticks, etc.  If you want a 64 GB micro SD card to store every picture you've taken in life you can do that.  Want to carry around an entire bookstore worth of reading?  You can do that too.

Keyboard  The Transformer has one you can pick up for $150.  There are some after market ones for other tablets but none of them are all that great.

Cost  If you want the biggest bang for your buck (and who doesn't?)  The Asus is the clear winner (not including HP of course).  Apple is (as always) over priced because.. well.. they're Apple.  The 16 GB Asus is at $379 and dropping while the Apple 16 GB is still at $499.

I bought the Asus Transformer 32 GB myself about a month ago and I'm super pleased.  I'm picking up a micro SD card soon to pack on some pics and some movies for kicks.  My email goes there.  My calendar for work is managed and synched there.  Music, it's on there too.  Books.. yep.  YouTube.. yep.  Followthesignal..yep.  Flash support?  Yep.  JustinTV.. yep.  For me this was the best option.  Price, flexibility, apps, and price.  A clear winner.  Nothing was even close.

TL;DR version:  Asus E-pad Transformer - it's far better than anything on the market for less money.

[Fuse]

I should have just waited for you and said "What he said"...

[Saint]

ok on the transformer can you watch netflix? and can you use skype?    Also can you tether your smart phone to it?

[Mharz]

Netflix apparently now works.  http://www.droid-life.com/2011/08/23/asus-transformer-receives-minor-update-netflix-support-may-be-included-new-dock-software-too/

Skype voice works but not video at this point.  That being said I think Google's video chat works.

And while I generally don't do it you can Tether with Bluetooth.

[Fuse]

I wifi tether all the time. Usually while in the car on road trips.
I'm rooted, so I've had netflix on it for a while now. There is an official release now.
Don't use skype, so don't know.

Btw, streaming netflix on car rides on a fast 4g connection in hd and a 10.1 screen is awesome.

[Revalis]

I do wish the Galaxy Tab had an SD Card, but I'm not completely elitist, so I can do without it. I think all the computers I frequent are bluetooth enabled or have Dropbox installed, so it's easy enough to fileswap...

Also, Netflix runs fine on the Tab.

[Mharz]

So a little E pad transformer plug.  Two days on a single battery charge.

[Mharz]

If you can wait a little...http://www.phonearena.com/news/The-Asus-Padfone-Does-it-make-sense_id19274

[Broin]

Bah... Just ordered these today

http://www.amazon.com/Transformer-TF101-B1-10-1-Inch-Tablet-Computer/dp/B004U78JT8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1314925278&sr=8-2


http://www.amazon.com/Asus-Keyboard-Transformer-TF101-DOCKING/dp/B004U78628/ref=pd_bxgy_pc_img_b


When is that suppoused to come out?