Which tablet should I buy in 2014?

[JakeH90]

Hello everyone,

I currently have the nexus 7 2012 and I love it. However, I feel I need a bigger tablet for doing work etc. I am a first year biology PhD student and I would love to be able to go totally paper free and download and annotate all my papers etc on a touch screen. My demands for a tablet aren't huge, apart from playing The Simpsons Tapped Out I am not a big gamer. I watch video and play music from my tablet and my main use is just browsing online and taking notes at work. I've had a look around, the nexus 10 appeals to me but its getting a little old now and so I would rather pay more to get a more future proof tablet. I'm planning on using it for the next 2-3 years. My price range is up to ?500 but obviously cheaper is better. I'm also intrigued by the Samsung range with the stylus. What are people views on the usability of the stylus? Should I buy the new Samsung Galaxy note pro 12.2? Is it worth the extra money over one of the older 10.1 models? I'm also fairly happy to wait a few months if there is something on the horizon worth waiting for, I just really want to make sure that I'm buying something future-proof.

My laptop is also coming the end of its life and since I have a PC at work I am not going to replace it, so this tablet needs to be a replacement laptop.

Any thoughts, advice, tips would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Jake

 

[Golfdriver97]

Hello everyone,

I currently have the nexus 7 2012 and I love it. However, I feel I need a bigger tablet for doing work etc. I am a first year biology PhD student and I would love to be able to go totally paper free and download and annotate all my papers etc on a touch screen. My demands for a tablet aren't huge, apart from playing The Simpsons Tapped Out I am not a big gamer. I watch video and play music from my tablet and my main use is just browsing online and taking notes at work. I've had a look around, the nexus 10 appeals to me but its getting a little old now and so I would rather pay more to get a more future proof tablet. I'm planning on using it for the next 2-3 years. My price range is up to ?500 but obviously cheaper is better. I'm also intrigued by the Samsung range with the stylus. What are people views on the usability of the stylus? Should I buy the new Samsung Galaxy note pro 12.2? Is it worth the extra money over one of the older 10.1 models? I'm also fairly happy to wait a few months if there is something on the horizon worth waiting for, I just really want to make sure that I'm buying something future-proof.

My laptop is also coming the end of its life and since I have a PC at work I am not going to replace it, so this tablet needs to be a replacement laptop.

Any thoughts, advice, tips would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Jake

Welcome to the forums.
First off, there a number of new devices coming out this year, and like you said the Note Pro is one line. I have personally found that tablets larger than 8" get to be pretty awkward when it comes to holding them, especially for longer periods of time. Also, along with size comes weight.

Counter question: Can you easily do what you need to do at work with your tablet? The reason I ask is that since you are taking notes, I assume you will be typing or using a stylus. I type a little better with an actual keyboard than I can with a tablet and my thumbs.
I am not trying to talk you into a laptop, just trying to get you to think about all pros and cons.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! How about a Chromebook, since you mostly need a device for note-taking and browsing? Full keyboard, lightweight (although obviously not as light as a tablet), and the latest ones with the Haswell CPU are pretty fast. I assume you'd have wi-fi in most places where you take notes.

 

[rmacklyn]

Go for ipad. Other than that I don't personally prefer neither recommend anyone to go for the same.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Welcome to Android Central! How about a Chromebook, since you mostly need a device for note-taking and browsing? Full keyboard, lightweight (although obviously not as light as a tablet), and the latest ones with the Haswell CPU are pretty fast. I assume you'd have wi-fi in most places where you take notes.

I was thinking of suggesting the same thing in my post. Decided against it, and can't remember why.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[B. Diddy]

Well, Simpsons Tapped Out isn't available on Chrome OS, as far as I know. And watching videos and playing music would be limited to online sources.

 

[JakeH90]

Thanks guys

Yeah when I say note taking what I mean is using a stylus to annotate PDFs. I use evernote to type up notes, and I agree with the thumbs over keyboard view. I'm not too bothered about the weight as for casual stuff I will use my Nexus 7. Apple is out of the question I'm afraid as my whole ecosystem is google.

What are the tablets to watch out for that are coming out this year? Has anyone used a stylus for work stuff? Is it any good?

Cheers

 

[Golfdriver97]

Thanks guys

Yeah when I say note taking what I mean is using a stylus to annotate PDFs. I use evernote to type up notes, and I agree with the thumbs over keyboard view. I'm not too bothered about the weight as for casual stuff I will use my Nexus 7. Apple is out of the question I'm afraid as my whole ecosystem is google.

What are the tablets to watch out for that are coming out this year? Has anyone used a stylus for work stuff? Is it any good?

Cheers

If you can, hold off for a little bit. The new Samsungs aren't released yet, and I am sure that is not the only new tab for the spring.

From a Sprint Moto X using AC Forums app

 

[rindonas]

I use "Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700", its big enough and easy to work with especially with the keyboard that you can buy with it.

 

[JakeH90]

If you can, hold off for a little bit. The new Samsungs aren't released yet, and I am sure that is not the only new tab for the spring.

From a Sprint Moto X using AC Forums app

Cool, yeah, I may hold off. What time frame to Samsung work on? Am I looking at 3 months, 6 months? I'm very tempted to just go for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014). Would that be foolish? Would I regret it in 6 months or a year?

 

[Golfdriver97]

Cool, yeah, I may hold off. What time frame to Samsung work on? Am I looking at 3 months, 6 months? I'm very tempted to just go for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014). Would that be foolish? Would I regret it in 6 months or a year?

Check this out. Pre order only, but obviously that means available soon: The Next Level of Productivity and Performance

 

[JakeH90]

Check this out. Pre order only, but obviously that means available soon: The Next Level of Productivity and Performance

Ah ok cool. But, is there a difference between the Tab Pro and The Note Pro? I think I read about the Note pro having an S pen and the Tab Pro not. To be honest, its so confusing with all the tabs, pros, notes and all their various sizes and year editions!

What is the difference between the one you have shown me a link to (Tab Pro) and the note 10.1 2014 edition?

 

[Golfdriver97]

Ah ok cool. But, is there a difference between the Tab Pro and The Note Pro? I think I read about the Note pro having an S pen and the Tab Pro not. To be honest, its so confusing with all the tabs, pros, notes and all their various sizes and year editions!

What is the difference between the one you have shown me a link to (note pro 10.1) and the note 10.1 2014 edition?

I think you are right on the SPen as a difference.

As for the other differences, offhand I am not sure.

From a Sprint Moto X using AC Forums app

 

[JakeH90]

I think you are right on the SPen as a difference.

As for the other differences, offhand I am not sure.

From a Sprint Moto X using AC Forums app

Cool. Thanks for your help anyway. I think I'm going to have a look into it and get one of the Samsungs that come with an S-pen.

Cheers

p.s. Also... as a final point. The pro 12.2 is ?450 in the US and ?650 here in the UK. Why are they allowed to do that?!

 

[Golfdriver97]

Cool. Thanks for your help anyway. I think I'm going to have a look into it and get one of the Samsungs that come with an S-pen.

Cheers

p.s. Also... as a final point. The pro 12.2 is ?450 in the US and ?650 here in the UK. Why are they allowed to do that?!

Not sure about why there is a price difference. Legal reasons/ taxes perhaps?

From a Sprint Moto X using AC Forums app