CHEAP TABLETS FOR TRAVEL???

MikeinBaja

SatelliteGuys Pro
Sep 9, 2008
869
15
San Diego area (CA)
Are the cheap tablets you see advertised "generally" worth it for light duty while traveling? By light duty I mean Wi-Fi connection with a little bit of general browsing and Gmail access - every few days. We cruise, and it's a pain to drag the laptop. Are there features that are must haves as well as things to avoid like the plague?
 

pro96

You Member, Member ?
Supporting Founder
Jul 18, 2005
6,464
15
OC
check slickdeals for daily deals on practically all you need including tablets.
 

TheForce

SatelliteGuys Master
Supporting Founder
Pub Member / Supporter
Oct 13, 2003
41,404
16,959
Jacksonville, FL, Earth
Don't waste money on a cheap tablet. Get a good one that won't limit your experience. iPad remains my most fun travel computer but I did have to get a Surface Pro for those times the iPAD is limited. Get one with a broadband radio. I haven't dragged along a laptop for travel in 2 years.
 

navychop

Reunite Pangea! Stop overfishing Panthalassa!
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 20, 2005
63,219
32,027
Northern VA
I'm with Don if you can swing the freight. It'll be cheaper than buying cheap, learning you didn't buy enough, and paying again for a more capable tablet.
 

avg1joe

SatelliteGuys Pro
Oct 27, 2006
677
0
Southern Maine
How cheap is cheap. I have a nook tablet that was pretty nice by itself then I downloaded the files to run android off a sd card. $80 for a used ebay nook tablet + the cost of a sd card.
 

Stargazer

Supporting Founder
Supporting Founder
Sep 7, 2003
16,568
340
Western WV
Cheap, for example, the $50-100 tablets, JUNK! For the most part, you will need to spend north of $100 to get a decent tablet. Otherwise you are just throwing away your money. The cheap ones are so bad you can't really do anything on them, they are so dern slow.

Nook, kindle, Nexus 7 are good tablets. Those are in the $150-200 range. There might be something slightly cheaper out there that would do the trick.
 

lparsons21

SatelliteGuys Master
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 17, 2009
9,925
8,073
Herrin, IL 62948
I have to agree, the el-cheapo's aren't worth having.

I just got a Nook HD and since they've opened it up to the Google Play Store, it is a lot of excellent tablet for not a lot of money. $129 for the 7" version, $149 for the 9".



Posted Using The New SatelliteGuys Reader App!
 

BrianB

SatelliteGuys Guru
Jan 3, 2004
149
0
The nooks are being discontinued, so that's either an opportunity to get an even cheaper tablet or bad because you won't get updates.

In my opinion, the best tablet for the money is the Google Nexus 7. $199 for a pure google experience and access to the play store can't be beat. You could find one used cheaper I'm sure.
 

lparsons21

SatelliteGuys Master
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 17, 2009
9,925
8,073
Herrin, IL 62948
The latest word on the Nook tablet line is that they won't be making them but will be partnering with someone. Of course that could fall flat as they, like all but Samsung haven't figured out how to make a profit with Android devices.


Posted Using The New SatelliteGuys Reader App!
 

navychop

Reunite Pangea! Stop overfishing Panthalassa!
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 20, 2005
63,219
32,027
Northern VA
Wow. And I thought the Nook was a profit center for them, so much so they were considering selling it off. Wow.
 

lparsons21

SatelliteGuys Master
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 17, 2009
9,925
8,073
Herrin, IL 62948
I think the wink readers are doing fine for them, and they aren't looking discontinue them.

Android based hardware manufacturers other than Samsung are basically fighting over 1% of the overall market. Not a good position to be in.

My view is the Nook is excellent and I will most likely get a 9" one tomorrow just because. I'm not worried about follow on support as they are so cheap it isn't worth worrying about,IMO.


Posted Using The New SatelliteGuys Reader App!
 

tigerfan33

Pub Member / Supporter
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 12, 2007
7,241
582
Alabama
I just ordered the nook hd 7".

Are they shipping with updated software to access google play store?
If not how do you change the software?
 

Stargazer

Supporting Founder
Supporting Founder
Sep 7, 2003
16,568
340
Western WV
I recommend the Nexus 7 over any of the tablets. I believe it has the best bang for the buck with the quad core tegra 3 processor. 16 GB version is 199 and 32 GB version is 229 at Gamestop (free games there included as well).
 

navychop

Reunite Pangea! Stop overfishing Panthalassa!
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 20, 2005
63,219
32,027
Northern VA
So they moved up the funeral from 2014 to now?

I just don't understand it. And wonder how much say MS had in it. Hmmm- Do I see Slates reading Nook books in the future?


Posted Using The New SatelliteGuys Reader App!
 

Ronnie-

Member of the Year
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Aug 28, 2007
32,331
13,178
mississippi
I'll second (or third) the Nexus 7 as your best bang for the buck. There is a new model coming out soon, so the current should get a price cut. Hard to beat for the price (and even stacks up nicely against higher priced tablets).

I got mine used on ebay for $160-175 ish.
 

osu1991

SatelliteGuys Master
Sep 4, 2004
10,524
3,017
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
I'll second (or third) the Nexus 7 as your best bang for the buck. There is a new model coming out soon, so the current should get a price cut. Hard to beat for the price (and even stacks up nicely against higher priced tablets).

I got mine used on ebay for $160-175 ish.

I believe Staples had the nexus 7 new for $179 yesterday when I was in there

Posted Using The New SatelliteGuys Reader App!
 

Is my router dying?

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)