Have any of you tried the Mini-tablets?

Parent Cafe
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<p>So my son needs to check e-mail often for something related to school and we are looking for something for him for his birthday the end of the month. He wants a smart phone, but none of our contracts are even close to being up for renewal and I am not willing to pay full price for a phone of I do not have to.</p>

<p>Anyway, I did a search for small tablets, and there are lots of them for less than $200, some less than $100. Would a mini-tablet be a good option to carry around in a backpack for checking e-mail and other light use?</p>

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<p>Are you planning on getting a data plan? Most of the tablets require a data plan or a wifi connection. Wifi could work if he is using it on campus or home only.</p>

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<p>It would be on campus, so my assumption is that he would just use wi-Fi.</p>

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<p><a href=“https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_7_8GB?id=nexus_7_8gb[/url]”>https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_7_8GB?id=nexus_7_8gb&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>$200 for 8 GB, $250 for 16 GB. WiFi-only. Quad-core processor. Great screen resolution.</p>

<p>Weighs 3/4 pounds and has a 7 inch screen. Great portability - more screen space than a phone.</p>

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<p>Well that is cool, BCEagle91. I had looked at some at Target and Walmart with less memory.</p>

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<p>I was actually considering one of those Google Tablets. I saw where the Kindle Fire was “sold out” so was waiting a bit to see what the Kindle folks come out with. Have you seen one of the Google machines, BCEagle?</p>

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<p>These are really small, sabaray. Perhaps less than half the size of the Kindle or Nook.</p>

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<p>A co-worker showed me his and I played with it for about half-an-hour. I was extremely impressed. I can hold it in one hand because it is smaller and it is so light. Performance is great. It doesn’t have a big screen but I think that a lot of people will like this form-factor. The iPad (we have two of them) has to be propped up or you need to use two hands and at 1.5 pounds, is pretty heavy to hold for a long time.</p>

<p>Apple is rumored to be coming out with their own iPad-Mini late this year and it should be interesting to see but I don’t see it coming in at the price-point of the Google Nexus 7. Google and Amazon are selling these products near or below cost as they have other models for making money on them besides the hardware sale.</p>

<p>I was thinking of buying one of these for my daughter for a trip and was going back and forth between this tablet and the Google Galaxy Nexus smartphone. I wound up buying the smartphone so that she wouldn’t have to carry two devices. I think that I’d use and carry this small tablet a lot more than the iPad though - even though I have a pocket in my travel vest that will hold the iPad.</p>

<p>So yes, I would buy this device though I really don’t need it given that we have two iPads. I’d prefer to wait to see what Apple comes up with later this year. I was considering getting the Google Galaxy Nexus smartphone for myself - the iPhone 5 launch in about three weeks complicates a decision.</p>

<p>I have a Verizon MiFi that I usually carry with me and it’s a mobile hotspot so I could use a mini-table like this on the go. But I would use it with WiFi most of the time.</p>

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<p>Thanks, BCEagle. I really need a new laptop more than anything else but every time I open my browser I get the “now available” Nexus 7 so it’s a constant temptation.</p>

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<p>I’ve seen the nexus and it’s impressive. I own a kindle fire and I am happy with it but if I did not have the fire I would buy the nexus 7 in a heartbeat. I am considering it for my daughter’s birthday.
As long as you have wifi it will work great</p>

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<p>The number of choices that will be out later this year are dizzying. Microsoft Windows 8 will be launched soon and with it a variety of convertible table/ultrabooks. Some, like the Microsoft Surface are tablet designs with a keyboard on the tablet cover. The tablet can be propped up with a kickstand and you can type on the cover though it’s a different experience compared to a normal laptop keyboard.</p>

<p>Some will have detachable keyboards, dual screens so that when you close the laptop, there’s another screen on the other side so that you can use it like a tablet. The Lenova Yoga-tablets allow the screen to bend all the way to the keyboard side so that you have a foldover tablet. These are all available for Windows so you can run all of your legacy Windows applications and use it like a tablet.</p>

<p>The downside of using Windows as a tablet is the lack of apps - iOS and Android are far ahead of Microsoft in terms of apps available - at least the kinds expected for phones and tablets.</p>

<p>I think that Google started advertising on their search page last week and maybe you have Google search as your default homepage.</p>

<p>If I were to get a new tablet right now, it would be the Google Nexus 7.</p>

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<p>Next week Amazon will announce the 2nd generation of their Kindle Fire. I bought one for wifey last year and she loves it. But the 7’ screen is too small for my fat fingers. I’m hoping the rumors of a 10" screen for the new version are true. I’ll know what to get her for this B’day.</p>

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<p>Wait a week and see what Amazon announces. I use an iPad but I’ve bought 3 Kindle Fires for family members and they love them. Another option is one of the larger cell phones- D has a Galaxy Nexus with a really big screen. She keeps that with her at all times and tosses her Kindle Fire (in its case) into her bag too so she’s always able to check e-mail or read in between classes.
For what it’s worth, S2 rooted his Kindle Fire and runs a different OS on it- took him about 15 minutes, and he’s really pleased with it.</p>

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<p>I have been eying up the nexus 7 as well… it looks pretty nice. i’d like to test one out at a store. My thing is I don’t know how much I’d use it since it’s barely bigger then my phone… </p>

<p>One question - my parents have a kindle fire and amazon prime - if i link my device up to theirs and use the kindle app on the nexus 7, does it let us share books with each other and both take advantage of the steaming video that comes with prime?</p>

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<p>They are only sold online. You’d have to borrow one from a friend to play with it.</p>

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<p>The Galaxy Nexus has a 4.65 inch screen vs a 7 inch screen for the Nexus 7 so the Nexus 7 is about 2.2 times the Galaxy Nexus screen.</p>

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<p>No. According to Amazon’s pages. Video can be seen on Kindle devices or iPads or other TV devices. Mobile isn’t consider a TV device. The free Kindle books only work on Kindle devices - not mobile devices that run the Kindle App. If you’re talking about sharing purchased books, I believe that works.</p>

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<p>Son treated himself to the new Google Nexus 7 (Wi-fi version). He loves it.</p>

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<p>bc - they sell the nexus 7 at staples. I just haven’t had a chance to get there yet.</p>

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<p>I just checked and yes they do. Thanks.</p>

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<p>Fendergirl, I can transfer books from kindle to kindle and to mobile devices(android phones) as long as they are registered under the same amazon account. I get Amazon’s free books all the time</p>

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<p>Just read a rumor that Google will be shipping a 3G version of the Nexus 7 in about 6 weeks. I think that I’d prefer the current one as I have a MiFi but there may be some that want the 3G.</p>