Recommend a sub $300 tablet | GTAMotorcycle.com

Recommend a sub $300 tablet

shanekingsley

shanekingsley

Curry - so nice it burns you twice
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I want to get a tablet for my girlfriends b-day coming up. Don't care if it's used or new, but not looking to spend more than $300 on it and it must be in mint condition. Also don't care if it's Apple or otherwise. I know almost nothing about tablets as we have both been using our phones and laptops for what we need. She has a iPhone 5 and a windows based laptop. Both of us are moderately computer illiterate.

She would be using it for browsing, some video streaming, some light picture taking and some light work. I'm getting it for her to try out and see if she likes it, so she doesn't have to lug her laptop around when she goes to meetings or for travelling. If I like it enough, I might get one for me to use at work for teaching purposes.

I have been looking at the iPad 2 as there are lots of them for sale in great condition for under $300. Any other suggestions?
Would like to buy it this week.

Thanks!
 
I have a nexus 7. My wife has an original I pad. Personally, I prefer the smaller tablet. Carrying around an I pad is a chore. I haven't had any problems with either. The nexus is easier to drop movies on, I need to transcode for the I pad (easy but really slow).
 
I have a BB Playbook and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. I use one or the other for travelling and some light work. The thing I like the most about them is the ability to be able to plug them into an HD TV if in a hotel for the night. The Tab has an SD slot as well as internal 16 gb so plenty of room for loading movies etc. Can do that with an Ipad.
 
Nexus 7 vote here. My wife has an iPad Mini and I despise the bs you have to go through with the iTunes app for transferring, synching, security measures etc. With the Nexus 7 I just drag and drop files at will, on any laptop or PC.
 
Wife is getting the iPad mini 2 for Christmas. I'm using a big one now.
The big one's better for movies or reading, but heavier and more pain to carry.
Just don't drop them, as it's a pain when the glass cracks.

The good and bad about the Apple is that everything gets vetted through the store.
So your less likely to get Trojans, but you don't have as much variety or customization.
Everything should pretty much port from her phone unless there's an iPad version available.
 
Since she has an iPhone I would highly recommend getting an iPad. Since it is the same OS it will be much easier for her to "figure out".
 
iPad Mini 2 (I like the bigger size, but it has a bigger price) Or Nexus 7 (don't waste time on the other Android tablets). You can get either brand new within your price range if you shop around.
 
Whatever you do, dont get a playbook. Its a joke of a tablet that offers 0 freedom and the app store for it is a mess full of indie apps that are subpar.

Go with an android or something.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. Although she has an iPhone 5, she has maybe one or two apps on it and mainly uses it for phone/text/email and light web browsing. For her windows based laptop, she also only uses it for web browsing, streaming vids, and documents for work - which isn't much. She is not a techy person at all and is not on any form of social media. She may get into using more apps down the road, but I doubt it because she is just not that kind of person.

While I dislike the whole iTunes thing, it seems like I will be leaning to either the Nexus 7 or the iPad 2. Her Laptop is pretty heavy and bulky, so this is meant to replace that for trips and maybe to use as a light e-reader and either will do that for her. I have read that the Nexus does not have a rear facing camera which would have been nice but isn't necessarily a deal breaker.

I'm just unsure whether she would be wishing she had a bigger screen than the Nexus, or a lighter and more portable package than the iPad 2....
 
shanekingsley said:
Thanks for all the suggestions. Although she has an iPhone 5, she has maybe one or two apps on it and mainly uses it for phone/text/email and light web browsing. For her windows based laptop, she also only uses it for web browsing, streaming vids, and documents for work - which isn't much. She is not a techy person at all and is not on any form of social media. She may get into using more apps down the road, but I doubt it because she is just not that kind of person.

While I dislike the whole iTunes thing, it seems like I will be leaning to either the Nexus 7 or the iPad 2. Her Laptop is pretty heavy and bulky, so this is meant to replace that for trips and maybe to use as a light e-reader and either will do that for her. I have read that the Nexus does not have a rear facing camera which would have been nice but isn't necessarily a deal breaker.

I'm just unsure whether she would be wishing she had a bigger screen than the Nexus, or a lighter and more portable package than the iPad 2....
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Are you referring to iPad Mini 2 or full size iPad 2? There's over a half pound difference between the two.
 
Full Size iPad 2. If I was going to get a smaller one, I think I would default to the Nexus for the ease of moving files around, but if I was going to go with a larger screen, then I think it makes more sense or it's cheaper to get the iPad 2 over the Surface or Samsung 10.1. The weight is a factor, because the smaller and lighter ones can be easily thrown in her purse, whereas the larger ones will need it's own travel case.
 
Smaller tablets are getting to be highly redundant with the rise of bigger screen smartphones.

Since I went with my 5" screen, and now my square shaped large screen phone, I just don't see the real need for a tablet anymore.....

It's a common trend and recent sales stats show the tablet market is in rapid decline.

IMHO, You'd be better off spending more and getting a Surface like tablet with keyboard, or a light powerful laptop like a Macbook Air.

Sent from my Passport
 
SunnY S said:
Smaller tablets are getting to be highly redundant with the rise of bigger screen smartphones.
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I agree. I got an iPhone 6 plus two weeks ago and I am finding myself just grabbing my phone for everything instead of my iPad.
 
shanekingsley said:
Full Size iPad 2. If I was going to get a smaller one, I think I would default to the Nexus for the ease of moving files around, but if I was going to go with a larger screen, then I think it makes more sense or it's cheaper to get the iPad 2 over the Surface or Samsung 10.1. The weight is a factor, because the smaller and lighter ones can be easily thrown in her purse, whereas the larger ones will need it's own travel case.
Click to expand...

In that case, I would definitely say Nexus. The non retina screen on the iPad 2 looks terrible in this retina world. It's heavy as a brick and the hardware is very slow by today's standards. I wouldn't get a full size iPad older than the 3. Even then, the Air dropped a good amount of heft making it a hugely more enjoyable experience.
 
Robp said:
I agree. I got an iPhone 6 plus two weeks ago and I am finding myself just grabbing my phone for everything instead of my iPad.
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Owned a Plus for a few weeks, cool experience but I wouldn't want to read books/magazines on it, will take my full size iPad instead any day. For browsing and watching videos it's fine. Even then, missed the one handed ease of use so dropped to the smaller (still too big) 6
 
regder said:
In that case, I would definitely say Nexus. The non retina screen on the iPad 2 looks terrible in this retina world. It's heavy as a brick and the hardware is very slow by today's standards. I wouldn't get a full size iPad older than the 3. Even then, the Air dropped a good amount of heft making it a hugely more enjoyable experience.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the opinion. I think Nexus it is. It will always be useful for either one of us, whereas the full sized older iPad may collect dust.
 
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