Buying a -Pad for the wife

[John Reynolds]

OK, let's keep the mini or maxi questions to a minimum here.

We've been a single computer household for a few years now and she's after either a laptop or something like the iPad. Our daughter is turning 8 this summer and the device is likely to be somewhat shared between the two. Which means dad will be playing tech support, and this weighs heavily toward my final purchase decision. So I am leaning toward a Dell laptop for this reason alone, but I also think a iPad would be cool for my daughter to play around with (so long as she keeps it out of reach of her 3.5yo brother and his lightsaber he got for christmas).

 

[Mize]

iPad lacks a webcam for video chat so it was off my list from day 1. I'm liking the new Motorola Xoom and the new 10" Galaxy Tab. Both are pricey ($600 for Wifi only). Viewsonic makes the inexpensive, Tegra 2 based G Tablet, but it's display is not great and it runs like shit until you flash a custom ROM from XDA Developers (at which point it is a great tab with a poor screen).

Anyway, I'm in the market and pretty sure I'll be going with either the Xoom or the iPad2.

 

[Arwin]

iPad would in fact be awesome for your 3.5yo to play around with. My 2.5yo son has been playing with our iPod and iPhones since we got them when he was 1. He has his own folder which he can find effortlessly, then boots up the application he feels like, say DoodleBuddy, and then he starts fingerpainting (just one of many things). It is awesome to see.

My wife does a tonne of forum posting herself, so she'll not part with her regular keyboard and sticks to her desk most of the time. But for everything else she does, the iPad would be more than enough, and more convenient to use almost every time. Personally I have decided early on I wouldn't get a first generation device, but we'll definitely have another hard look when the iPad2 arrives. if you can afford it, get both, but start with an iPad and see how far it gets you. If you want to play it safe and are sure you only want to buy one of them, then definitely a laptop will still be able to do a lot more than just the iPad.

But a multi-touch device is hard to beat for a great many things, in my personal experience as well as from hearing from others.

But yeah, like Mize says, it makes sense to wait a little while.

 

[John Reynolds]

I've heard rumors about the iPad2, so I might wait for it. I just need to get her off my computer (the wife, not the kid).

 

[Mize]

Xoom preorders start on 2/20.
iPad2 is probably out by April.
HP's webOS TouchPad is slated for "Summer" - this one looks great as I really like webOS and they have confirmed Skype video will work on it.

 

[Squilliam]

+1 on the webos pad!

 

[Mize]

+1 on the webos pad!

It looks great IMHO. I especially like email on the new webOS - you can have multiple drafts open using the card-stacking feature. I just wish they had an SD slot on the thing. That's nuts to not have one. Also, no word on and cellular capability as far as I know.

 

[John Reynolds]

Heh, I took a look at Apple/AT&T's 3G monthly service. Are they out of their f'n minds? $15 for 250mb, $25 for 2gb????

 

[Mize]

Heh, I took a look at Apple/AT&T's 3G monthly service. Are they out of their f'n minds? $15 for 250mb, $25 for 2gb????

Seriously?
I was mainly interested in a Wifi model, but I have an AT&T smartphone plan from years ago where I pay $35 or maybe $39 for unlimited data (corporate) so I figure I can use that SIM

There's a good reason I only buy unlocked, non-subsidized phones: so I never have to deal with the "new" data plans out there.

Also, my current phone (Nokia E72) turns into a Wifi hotspot that's pretty decent...

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Have you considered a Win7 slate? The HP Slate 500 is pretty nice. I would have gotten it instead of my ExoPC due to the active digitizer, but it was too small for my needs. One caveate is that it's targetted at the business sector so it's not nearly as polished of a consumer experience as something like an iPad for media, UI, etc...

It isn't as good of a portable media player as the iPad, but it is a full Win7 installation. Most pop-cap style games work just peachy with finger input (Playing through Puzzle Quest 2 right now on my Win7 slate). Pen input is there for the pesky small buttons some PC applications have.

Throw in a USB or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and it doubles as a netbook.

Personally if looking at Win7 slates. I'd probably wait a few months for Oaktrail and/or Fusion slates to hit the market if battery life is important. If battery life isn't as important, then some Core i3 (Clarkdale and eventually Sandy Bridge) slates will also appear.

Most especially something like the Asus Eee Slate EP121 is very nice for budding graphics artists (all kids like to draw right? ) as well as being a more full feature PC (Core i5 470 UM, 4 GB memory, etc.) versus a netbook like PC. Of course, size and battery life make it not nearly as convenient for media on the go as an iPad, Android slate, or even Atom based Win7 slate. It does make a fantastic laptop replacement, especially for artists and graphic designers however.

Oh and One Note in conjunction with a Slate/convertable tablet with Active Digitizer absolutely freaking rocks.

Regards,
SB

 

[digitalwanderer]

Hold off a couple of months John, a whole slew of iPad imitators that will be cheaper/better are coming. I want an android tablet!

 

[Mize]

Heh, I took a look at Apple/AT&T's 3G monthly service. Are they out of their f'n minds? $15 for 250mb, $25 for 2gb????

I just went through their site and they don't even offer and unlimited data smartphone plan anymore!
Wow.

What a rip-off!

I guess my poor wife is going to have to go without an iPhone 4 or 5 when she upgrades because you can't buy them unlocked through a third party so she'll "have to change" her plan per AT&T bullshit. I hope she likes Android.

 

[John Reynolds]

Apparently to Apple/AT&T bandwidth is the new crude that ships in barrels.

Yeah, I think I'll wait until May or so, check out the imitators and compare.

 

[BRiT]

There's always Verizon for iPhones/iPads, no?

 

[Mize]

There's always Verizon for iPhones/iPads, no?

Verizon sucks too:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobilebroadband/?page=plans

Now as far as coverage domestically, Verizon is #1 by far, but $20/GB - ugh.

 

[Mize]

I'm not sure how you'd swing it with an iPad as they use those weirdo mini SIMs, but Cincinnati Bell has unlimited data for $30/month.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

BTW - something to put the EP-121 in perspective. Many are comparing it to the Wacom Cintiq as a cheaper way to pen and ink. It's obviously not as specialized with dedicated buttons and whatnot to facilitate the process as well as not having as fine a claimed resolutioin (5080 lines per inch for the Cintiq!), but doesn't require a computer since it IS the computer.

http://www.slashgear.com/a-real-tablet-has-a-stylus-17126654/

It's odd that this article is claiming Asus is shooting for 8 hours when previously they had reduced expectations from 4 to 3-3.5 hours. I wonder if they decided to include a larger battery?

IMO, a slate without a pen is a castrated device useable for only the most basic of tasks, and that points out some of the reasons why. And a pen without an active digitizer is the most painful thing in the world to use.

Regards,
SB

 

[Mize]

The new HTC Android (Flyer?) tablet has a stylus.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I'm waiting to see how Android based slates evolve. Right now it's far too limited like iOS for me.

I also keep hoping Apple will release an OSX based slate. I'd be willing to give that a try.

Regards,
SB

 

[Squilliam]

It looks great IMHO. I especially like email on the new webOS - you can have multiple drafts open using the card-stacking feature. I just wish they had an SD slot on the thing. That's nuts to not have one. Also, no word on and cellular capability as far as I know.

It looks like a really good tablet but the question remains whether as a device it will be better than the next generation iPad out this year. I heard that 3G models would come later...

Hold off a couple of months John, a whole slew of iPad imitators that will be cheaper/better are coming. I want an android tablet!

Eww Android... You're better off with a clip board and a pen.