<p>My 2cents is I think the Fire is kind of crappy, from the screen quality to the software and to the way Amazon ties it to Amazon like the thing is meant for shopping. I like the new Google tablet, both in design and software, and trust that Google will keep the software up to date. </p>
<p>I have an iPad and love it. It is my my favorite device ever. I would also consider whatever Apple is releasing in October - latest rumor is after the new iPhone. That is supposed to have a larger screen in the same basic physical size as a 7 inch tablet. </p>
<p>On campus, wifi is fine. I would not do without cell but it isn’t necessary at a school and you’d end up paying for the data plan each month.</p>
<p>The 3G plan on the iPad is optional - you can turn it on and off at will so it is nice for a vacation or other trip but the additional cost of the device with 3G does give you pause - especially when the hardware to add 3G might not actually cost more than a buck or two. If Google does add 3G at no extra cost or at their cost, then it might be worthwhile just to have the feature just in case.</p>
<p>On Google updating versions - I’ve read in forums that Google isn’t particularly good at that. It seems that nobody, except for Apple, is good at providing software updates. Apple seems to go with three versions. I think that Google has done one or two in the past and the carriers are generally worse. There’s no incentive for companies to provide updates - they just want to sell you more hardware.</p>
<p>Apple seems to do a better job at this as they appear to want to keep you as a customer, even if you’re using older products.</p>
<p>I do like Ice Cream Sandwich and JellyBean though.</p>
<p>I know some are fearful of buying Samsung, but Costco has the Galaxy Tab 2 7" for $249.99, but in the store I saw a student version which includes a case with wireless keyboard and I think a USB drive for around $320. The 10" version is on sale for $229 or $239; I can’t remember which. The 10" is not showing online anymore, but there were plenty in my local store the other day, as well as the 7" student. Oh, and the student version was white instead of black which I thought was interesting.</p>
<p>** I wanted to add that the Samsung has a micro SD card slot which allows you to add another 32GB of memory. Would be great for movies and what not. If I wasn’t an Apple person and really want 3G for travel, I would get the Samsung!</p>
<p>Ran out to Staples to take a look at the Nexus 7. It is about half the size of my iPad, so it was actually bigger than I thought. It is pretty neat. I am waiting to hear whether DS thinks it would work for him. The Samsung Galaxy was also available at Staples, but it was $50 higher than the Nexus for the same memory.</p>
<p>I checked the local Staples and they don’t have them in stock but they can get them in two days. This was true for the stores within 50 miles. They probably have demo models in the stores though.</p>
<p>The Samsung has a slightly better camera and an SD slot. I’d actually like a really nice 8MP camera so neither tablet is a camera replacement. The SD slot gives you the potential for a total of 40 GB of memory but I find that SD cards are usually a lot slower than internal flash. There are high-performance SD card but I don’t know how they compare to internal flash and it’s an extra cost. The Google model is that you store stuff in their cloud so that you don’t need to store a lot locally.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the 7", but the 10" Samsung tablet comes in both 3G and wifi-only versions. With the wifi-only (which costs less), you don’t have to wait for your carrier to update the OS, just Samsung. The 10" wifi-only did not originally come with the SD slot, but the newer version (as well as the 7") might.</p>
<p>With a tablet, not only can you read Kindle books, but you can also read ePub books - the format used on a Nook or a Kobo. Many public libraries now lend electronic books out. Nice, because you don’t have to visit the library to pick up the book or return it.</p>
<p>BC - someone mentioned to me that they think you can just go to amazons website on the android devices, log in, and stream your prime movies from there (though they will not be in HD). Have you, or anyone you know, tried this?</p>
<p>I was waiting as I was trying to decide on the Google Galaxy Nexus to go with it and decided to go for the iPhone 5 instead - that is if I can get one soon. I can always get the Galaxy Nexus if it’s impossible to get an iPhone 5. by the end of the month.</p>
<p>I like the form factor and the performance and the build quality but it takes a little effort to get Apps as iOS gives you more stuff pre-loaded. I was able to find what I needed to get it working reasonably well at no extra cost but I did have to do a bit of research to find what I needed. I ran into a glitch with downloading things from the Play Store - it didn’t work - just gave me a cryptic message. I looked on the web and found that I needed to delete my email account and then add it over again so that I could access the Play Store.</p>
<p>I would have purchased an iPad Mini if they were out as I think that I prefer the Apple Ecosystem overall but this is a pretty good device - it just helps to be a little nerdy to set it up.</p>
<p>One other thing that I found is that Android apps generally only come in mobile versions. The apps that I use don’t come in tablet form-factors which is a bit of a disappointment. My guess is that tablet apps will eventually get there but it may take a few years. The big boost in Android tablet sales, I think, happened this summer with the release of Google’s and Samsung’s tablets.</p>
<p>I was playing around with the Nexus 7 and have my Apple Bluetooth keyboard, trackpad and mouse hooked up to the device right now and am using the Apple keyboard to type. So basically I have a keyboard, mouse and a computer/screen. It’s quite similar to a regular computer except that it boots much faster, is much lighter and has a smaller screen.</p>
<p>I can also VPN into the office and connect to my development box using a terminal shell. I wasn’t able to get VNC (desktop mirroring program) to work but someone at the office has it working and I can ask him for help to get set up. This means that I don’t need a laptop on the road. Just the tablet, a keyboard and a mouse.</p>
<p>If you don’t have wireless Bluetooth devices, another way to hookup a keyboard and mouse to the Nexus 7 is to get a USB hub. You connect the source to the Nexus 7 and then plug in mouse and keyboard into the USB hub.</p>
<p>So DS hit the jackpot this weekend and got the iPhone. His phone got soaked last week in his back back and I am still trying to figure out if it was intentional. I caved.</p>
<p>Funny MD Mom, my daughter always seemed to break cell phones or other items shortly after asking for a newer model in high school and college. Funny now that she is on her home that she has never destroyed a phone Did she become less clumsy and grown up, or now that her own money is involved did she change her ways? I will never truly know, but I have my suspicions!</p>
Did she become less clumsy and grown up, or now that her own money is involved did she change her ways? I will never truly know, but I have my suspicions!</p>