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Speak to me of Tablets!

The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry CorpseRegistered User regular
So, i wanna get myself a Tablet to use for various things. Beyond "NOt an apple" (Because fffffuck apple), i'm a bit unsure what to be looking into. So speak! speak to me o forums of this subject!

I'm looking for something i can use for reading comics/books (So ability to run the Kindle and Comixology apps is a neccesary), general browsing, watching (So Disney+ etcera) and most importantly: I wanna be able to write and or doodle on the tablet. Which means it needs to be able to use a pen and be responsive to such.

What are my options?

Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
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Posts

  • honoverehonovere Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    I'm a bit out of the loop with tablets but outside of ipads the market is a bit bare I think. So probably a Samsung TAB S7 plus or S6 /S6 lite for a smaller budget?

    Although it looks like Lenovo currently has a good offering with the P11 pro, too. Stylus is not included though, but supported.

    Tablet apps for Android compared to apple is the biggest downside I think.

    honovere on
  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    unfortunately, despite dislike... apple makes the best tablet by about a billion miles. I mean, I never say this. Ever, about any technology...

    ... I'm sorry, you're probably gonna have to suck it up and buy an iPad. If you don't want to give apple money then get one secondhand but like... seriously. Everything else is an also-ran. The app experience is uneven, or obviously worse, or even just unavailable. Drawing is ass, pens suck, build quality is flimsy and cheap... literally everything about the rest of the market is disappointing at best. If you're dead set against apple, you can get a Samsung Tab 7 plus or even a Surface but word of advice... never, ever look at the iPad or let anyone tell you anything about it after you make the purchase because you ain't gonna like what you hear.

    spool32 on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited January 2022
    There may be a high end Samsung, but yes the answer is likey an iPad.

    I'll say eink Kindles are terrible for comic reading.

    Here's a Wired article that covers the basics of the latest Ms Surface models:
    https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-surface-buying-guide/

    MichaelLC on
  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    I had an iPad 3 for four or five years, and now have a Samsung Tab S7 for...four years? ish?

    I don't doodle, but use mine for all the other stuff. Given the Tab S7 was several years more recent than the iPad 3, but was slightly cheaper, yeah, probably an iPad is better, but the Tab S7 has been fine.

    My only complaint is battery life on the Tab S7 has been probably 25% less overall than the iPad 3, and the gap is growing wider as it ages.

  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    For comic reading I recommend getting, at minimum, a 10" tablet

  • mRahmanimRahmani DetroitRegistered User regular
    edited January 2022
    The Surface Pro is really good tablet and probably the best non-Apple option out there. For a while Gabe was using one to draw the PA comics, it has an optional pen with really sophisticated drawing capabilities.

    It’s pricey and a bit overkill if your primary use is to read comics and stream movies, but my wife and I share a similar stance on Apple and she loved hers. She used one as her only device for 7 years (Pro 2 and later a Pro 5) with pretty similar use cases - streaming, comics, and doodling.

    mRahmani on
  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User regular
    Surface Pro is a great option if what you want is a Windows 10 computer with some tablet features! App store is of course hot garbage but it's a proper PC so your options are still good.

    The Pro 2 had a vicious wifi bug that ruined about 40% of all the devices they made, but they've sorted it out and it's probably the 2nd best mobile computing platform with a touchscreen around.

  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    I've hated every single tablet I've ever owned

    do yourself a huge favor and buy a small laptop with a touch screen instead

  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    I had a Lenovo two in one laptop, touch screen that folded around into a tablet. I liked it a lot at the time until I needed something a little beefier. It was dirt cheap, like 200ish usd

    Worked fine with a pen

    Local H Jay on
  • The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    So, looking at this so far - Apple's still right out for me. Dont really care how good ipads are, i refuse to give that company money if i can avoid it.

    Which leaves a Samsung of some kind - probably an S7, or a Surface Pro. Neither of which are cheap exactly, but it seems like for what i want, I'm better to invest the money in it than try and cheap out.

    Thanks all so far!

    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
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  • McFodderMcFodder Registered User regular
    I bought a cheap (like couple of hundred AU bucks) Teclast tablet probably 4 years ago from banggood or a similar site, mostly for comic reading and it has done the job fine. The screen is a really nice, it has had a couple of minor quirks (it seems to shut down if I leave it on charge too long once it hits full for some reason?) but I guess what I'm saying is I bought a brand I'd never heard of based on a few online reviews and it worked out pretty great.

    The only thing I found that might be an issue if you're looking at watching movies and stuff on is it was missing some certification or standard so netflix and I think other streaming sites wouldn't go above 720p, but on a 10" screen that wasn't a big deal for me.

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  • CornucopiistCornucopiist Registered User regular
    "I wanna be able to write and or doodle on the tablet. " basically limits you to the Samsung tablets. The only other big producer with a stylus is Xiaomi with their pad 5, and Xiaomi is an acquired taste. Several Samsung models support their S stylus.
    If you want to do serious drawing on a tablet, you might want to look at a tablet PC instead, of which there are several. Lenovo's Carbon series comes to mind, and there's Surface Pro. Both were mentioned here, the Lenovos have the advantage of having many iterations, all of which are cheaper second hand.
    I find a tablet PC (13") to be about the size for reading graphic novels comfortably, a 7" tablet would be too small for that but is infinitely more portable.

  • TuminTumin Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    I have the S6 lite and have been using an Ipad for work (non-drawing) and the difference is mainly software features, Microsoft apps in particular seem better on iOS than android and some apps are apple only (but this seems.more like an artist thing). The S6 is fine, plenty fast, the pen is really well thought out and included and has rich OS support, theres some annoying software to mess with to get the pen to do what you want, exactly, but once you're done the Samsung stuff is only what you leave enabled. Its an ecosysten to learn though.

    The Apple pencil 1.0 is a bit less.comfortable than samsung's for me, lacks the convenient magnet.

    I use mine to browse, take notes, watch stuff, it's fine. I have 0 interest in gaming or doing real work on my tablet, mainly use them both for note taking and reading, watching videos.

    Tumin on
  • BlindZenDriverBlindZenDriver Registered User regular
    spool32 wrote: »
    Surface Pro is a great option if what you want is a Windows 10 computer with some tablet features! App store is of course hot garbage but it's a proper PC so your options are still good.

    The Pro 2 had a vicious wifi bug that ruined about 40% of all the devices they made, but they've sorted it out and it's probably the 2nd best mobile computing platform with a touchscreen around.

    Agree on this. Or maybe a similar laptop from another company, one such alternative is possibly ASUS. Make sure to seek out reviews of the specific unit you go for.

    I've been using a Surface now for a new years, mostly as a laptop but on occasion just as a tablet and overall the experience has been pretty good. It must be said though that it is a company unit so not one I paid for, with the one I use having lots of memory and storage it cost like someones first born. However prices have come down and it doesn't sound like you need max ram and storage so that should save you lots.

    Bones heal, glory is forever.
  • The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    Thanks for all the feedback folks.

    At this point I think I'm aiming for something in the Samsung Galaxy S7 line - it's got the features I want, and it's conceivbly at a budget I could make happen with some serious scrimping and saving

    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
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  • Mortal SkyMortal Sky queer punk hedge witchRegistered User regular
    I wish Google still had some core Android device like the Nexus 7, that thing punched well above its weight class for a 2013 device but sadly mine is simply too overwhelmed by current software to function with all but the lightest apps

  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited January 2022
    Thanks for all the feedback folks.

    At this point I think I'm aiming for something in the Samsung Galaxy S7 line - it's got the features I want, and it's conceivbly at a budget I could make happen with some serious scrimping and saving

    If you buy stuff from Samsung.com and have a loose moral code like myself, the Employee/First Responder/Education discounts don't have any verification of your Employee/first responder/education status.

    Or sometimes they do but if you refresh enough it goes away.

    And once you've placed the order, if you cancel the order, samsung.com will offer you an additional 5% ($50 max) off the order to undo the cancel

    Burtletoy on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    Burtletoy wrote: »
    Thanks for all the feedback folks.

    At this point I think I'm aiming for something in the Samsung Galaxy S7 line - it's got the features I want, and it's conceivbly at a budget I could make happen with some serious scrimping and saving

    If you buy stuff from Samsung.com and have a loose moral code like myself, the Employee/First Responder/Education discounts don't have any verification of your Employee/first responder/education status.

    Or sometimes they do but if you refresh enough it goes away.

    And once you've placed the order, if you cancel the order, samsung.com will offer you an additional 5% ($50 max) off the order to undo the cancel

    Thank you for your service.

  • GiantGeek2020GiantGeek2020 Registered User regular
    edited June 2023
    Stupid butt posting

    GiantGeek2020 on
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