Is this Tab worth getting for education use?

[aokusman]

Hi, im thinking of getting this tablet used on Swappa to use as a laptop / textbook reader / nursing school note taking etc. I have a desktop so this will be my only mobile device. Is the s pen as good as the one on the note 4?

 

[SpookDroid]

Yup. The only thing I'd be worried about is the battery life on an used unit. This tablet is 'old' now, so the battery won't last too long (and the screen isn't AMOLED, so that makes it more power-hungry). But as far as note-taking goes, this tablet is pretty good. I exchanged mine for a Tab S because of the slimmer design and AMOLED screen, but I miss the S-Pen dearly (and now without a Note phone to take over, it's even worse).

 

[nahoku]

Hard question because you're buying an unknown used tablet. My tablet still averages ~8+ hours screen on time, and that's with playing Riptide 1, 2, and 3... and general use like watching videos, surfing the internet, etc. Note that I don't play games or watch vids continuously, but this is my daily average. Like SpookDroid mentions, this has an LCD screen, so there may be light-bleed along the edges while on a dark screen, like when watching videos. You might inquire about this from the seller. In regards to the S-Pen... yes, it works just as well as on my Note 4, so note taking for you should be fine.

 

[aokusman]

Battery life could be an issue. Are there any apps that detect Battey health?

 

[nahoku]

There are many apps that can read battery stats put out by the phone, which is basically what the battery voltage is at any given time. There are no apps that can read the "health" of the battery because there's no way to look at the internal wear of a battery. Battery wear translates to current capability, or the amount of "run" time the battery can sustain while being loaded. Batteries can actually read the correct voltage, but at the same time, not be able to supply the required current to run the device. The symptom is normally seen as "my battery dies quickly".

There are a number of suppliers of 3rd party battery replacements for this tablet. Some may be better than others. So far, I've only read about them as I've not needed a replacement yet.

 

[aokusman]

I'll take my chances on a $160 tablet. The iPad pro is just too expensive for my use.

 

[dianehelen]

just carry a battery bank, or several of the small ones.

when i was traveling i carried 3 of these. each gave me 2 to 3 hours

Battery Bank

and Yes, the s pen is great

 

[SpookDroid]

The new Tab A is also about to debut in the US. Not as cheap, but not as expensive as other new tablets. The Lenovo one also looks very interesting, albeit a bit bigger due to the foldable panel, but should work as a nice notepad too.

 

[aokusman]

The new Tab A is also about to debut in the US. Not as cheap, but not as expensive as other new tablets. The Lenovo one also looks very interesting, albeit a bit bigger due to the foldable panel, but should work as a nice notepad too.

Just looked up the Tab A. It's screen is lower speced than the older 10.1

 

[SpookDroid]

Just looked up the Tab A. It's screen is lower speced than the older 10.1

Yup, which is why it sucks that the Tab S 10.5 never got a Note cousin So with the newer models you have to pick: better screen/outdated specs or lower resolution/newer hardware? If you want this primarily for note taking, you might not notice the drop in resolution, and that will only mean less power draw from the display.

 

[aokusman]

Yup, which is why it sucks that the Tab S 10.5 never got a Note cousin So with the newer models you have to pick: better screen/outdated specs or lower resolution/newer hardware? If you want this primarily for note taking, you might not notice the drop in resolution, and that will only mean less power draw from the display.

I just can't buy a sub 1080p tablet in 2016.