Replacing iPad Mini

[Soapm]

I dropped my iPad mini and the screen cracked so I'm looking to replace it.

I am a preacher and mostly use the tablet for meeting notes, some over head projecting (during meetings), a bible app for bible study and I preach from my sermons located on Google drive. I need something with little to no lag and that won't lock up in the middle of bible study/preaching and I need about 6 or 7 hours of battery time in the event I preach 3 times on a Sunday.

I would also like to add about 7 email address (between mine and the churches) along with contact's and sync's to 2 Calendars. I use Evernotes and like to do voice dictation (just my thoughts) and every now and then I may record another preacher's sermon (never mine). I would also like it to seamlessly connect to my Windows 8 machine for file transfers...

Any reason I should need anything newer than a Nexus 7?

Can someone recommend another economical tablet that might do well at the job?

If I go with the Nexus 7, should I upgrade it to Lollipop or will that slow it down (cause other problems)?

 

[Aquila]

Nexus 7 is good, NVIDIA Shield is better. Honestly your use case is pretty close to the pitch for the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro series. But for 99% of people my opinion is that the NVIDIA shield tablet is the best purchase available - I'd recommend checking out the Shield and the Note Pro series.

 

[Soapm]

Thanks, I'll do just that but let me add that I would like to keep it about iPad mini size (7.9 I think). I don't like carrying large devices...

 

[Soapm]

Nexus 7 is good, NVIDIA Shield is better. Honestly your use case is pretty close to the pitch for the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro series. But for 99% of people my opinion is that the NVIDIA shield tablet is the best purchase available - I'd recommend checking out the Shield and the Note Pro series.

Love the spec's but a bit over my budget. I'd like to keep it around $150 if possible...

 

[Saeed Okoroji]

Then Nexus 7 it is. I have mine on 5.1. 1 lollipop and performance is great. But there have been 2 rare instances where the tablet rebooted itself. You can also look into an HP Stream if Google drive is your driver software. But I'm not sure abt battery life.


Are u saying is more than $150 to fix an ipad mini screen?

 

[Soapm]

Then Nexus 7 it is. I have mine on 5.1. 1 lollipop and performance is great. But there have been 2 rare instances where the tablet rebooted itself. You can also look into an HP Stream if Google drive is your driver software. But I'm not sure abt battery life.


Are u saying is more than $150 to fix an ipad mini screen?

Can't remember but I think they wanted $200 for the exchange but I do remember thinking I'd do better going with better screen resolution if I was going to pay that amount... I was also getting tired of the mini being single threaded. Can't really run apps in the background. Whenever I switch from one app to another, it refreshes the app that just became active. So if I'm putting notes in a bible verse for instance, and need to google some info, I return to the bible and it refreshes so I lose my place.

It also may refresh sometimes in the middle of bible study or a sermon if I forget to turn off the screen lock.

I am hoping Android doesn't have this problem??? I understand it's multi threaded and I can get a 2nd generation Nexus 7 for about $150 which I'm hoping has better screen resolution and good battery life...

 

[Soapm]

Yep, it was $200...

Out-of-warranty* cost:
iPad mini: $199
iPad, iPad 2, iPad mini 2: $249
iPad 3rd generation, iPad 4th generation, iPad Air, iPad mini 3: $299
iPad Air 2: $379

 

[YAYTech]

You may want to check with some other shops on glass replacement. I've done replacements on full size iPads for $100. I haven't priced the replacement glass on the mini, but if the quoted prices are Apple's, I would be money that another shop would do it cheaper.

That said, the Nexus 7 would probably meet your needs.

 

[Soapm]

As another example, I was about to check this site for updates so I grabbed my iPad sitting by me and when I made the browser active it refreshed and went back to the homepage... That refresh thing it does is very irritating because you lose your place...

 

[Eaton Scrapple]

Have you ever considered a Microsoft Surface ($$$$) or a Dell Venue 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet ($$). They make tablets galore now that run Windows 8.1 as the native operating system. Some include Office for free as well. They work like a mini laptop. You can have as many apps open as you like (windows really) just like on a laptop. They have mini HDMI jacks and touch screens and USB ports and SD card slots for external storage, and do bluetooth for external keyboards and so on. Check it out. $250 buys a lot of tablet in the Windows 8.1 marketplace.

 

[Soapm]

Have you ever considered a Microsoft Surface ($$$$) or a Dell Venue 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet ($$). They make tablets galore now that run Windows 8.1 as the native operating system. Some include Office for free as well. They work like a mini laptop. You can have as many apps open as you like (windows really) just like on a laptop. They have mini HDMI jacks and touch screens and USB ports and SD card slots for external storage, and do bluetooth for external keyboards and so on. Check it out. $250 buys a lot of tablet in the Windows 8.1 marketplace.

Being honest, I never considered a Windows tablet. Don't know why, just never gave it any thought.

 

[YAYTech]

Honestly, if the iPad met all your needs and didn't leave you wanting, I wouldn't go to a Windows tablet. The interface needs a lot more polish, and the app store a LOT more apps to be a competitive option compared to an iPad. Windows tablets have a place, but they serve different purposes than an iPad for the most part.

 

[Soapm]

I pulled the trigger on a Nexus 7 but thanks for the 411. I figured an older tablet would work for me but I wanted good screen resolution. These old eyes don't see like they used to ROFL

I looked at the other tablets and they're more like desktop/gaming machines. Most i'll have open is my bible, Web browser and maybe the notepad.

The one thing I didn't like about the iPad is that it always refreshed when I make a window active. So if I make the browser active, it refreshes and goes back to the home page.

Hard to copy and paste back and forth with everything refreshing...

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