Tablet Advice

[Erin]

I'm about 2 years late (or more) but have finally decided to bite the bullet and get a tablet. At this point, I'm leaning towards either a Samsung Galaxy or an iPad. From my very simple point of view, the advantage of the iPad is that I would have easy access to all of my music that is stored on the iCloud and since I have an iPhone, I should be at least somewhat familiar with the set up and apps. The advantage of the Galaxy is that I should be able to access my ebooks, as I currently have a Sony e-reader and have a lot of books in epub format (mainly a factor because I like to re-read books). That said, I'm not sure how much I will use the tablet for music or for reading...all my music is also available on my phone and I doubt I'll go anywhere without the phone, so I can always use that for listening to music. For reading, I can always continue to use the e-reader I have, and may even prefer to do so since it has e-ink and is probably easier on the eyes.

So I'm back to having no real criteria to decide. Are there other factors I should be considering in deciding between the two? Price is not a big factor between the two - I'm more concerned with just getting the right one for my needs.

Also, how much storage space do people think is needed? I'm leaning towards 32GB, although I really have nothing to base it on at this point.

[Buzz]

If you already have an iPhone then it is probably best you get an iPad. It is easier to transfer your files to an iPad using iCloud. Apple's Eco system and customer service are great reasons to consider an iPad. Since getting my iPad I rarely use my laptop anymore.

[Aceon6]

Another iPad user here. I think it depends a lot on the ecosystem you prefer. If you have or are considering an Android phone, the Samsung would fit. Since you have an iPhone, you'll probably find the iPad easier.

[LadyNit]

Based on a quick search online, it seems you can get an iPad app that reads ePub format books. ymmv

[Prancer]

There is a Sony ereader app for the iPad: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2...r-app/1731463/

[Reuven]

It would depend on which environment you're' invested in. For example' I'm a Google user; gmail, picasaweb, Google drive, etc., so I got myself a Nexus, which I use a lot. It would be only logical for an Apple user to go with an iPad. Just my .02.

[Erin]

Thanks for the advice so far. I wouldn't really describe myself as an Apple user, as I only have the iPhone because it's what work gave me. And I don't have any files on the phone except for music, so that's not a huge issue. But since iPads can read epub books, I'll probably lean that way anyway. I had read so much about how Apple often doesn't work with other formats that I had just assumed that epub wouldn't work. I guess my information was out of date.

[MacMadame]

At this point, the digital world is much more compatible than it used to be. Not just with tables. I remember the bad old days in the 90s when transferring info was so difficult and I love how transparent most of that has become.

The main thing with the iPad is not being able to deal with Flash. However Flash is dying and that's become less and less of an issue for me. For me, I'm all over the iCloud and so staying with Apple makes a lot of sense. But if you don't make big use of it, then just go with the tablet whose operations seems more intuitive to you.

[modern_muslimah]

I'm glad this thread was created. I'm having the same dilemma. I have an iPod Touch and also have a lot of stuff in the iCloud. Most of my music is in iTunes as is the overwhelming bulk of mobile apps I've purchased over the years. I have a cheap Android phone that I'm looking to replace with the Google Nexus 4 (if Google/LG ever decide to restock it!). For a tablet, I'm looking at the Samsung Galaxy, iPad and Nexus 7. My mother brought a Galaxy over Thanksgiving that I played with. I liked it and I loved that it has expandable memory, something that neither the iPad or the Nexus 7 has. Beyond that though, there is nothing special about it. Since I'm already in the Apple ecosystem big time, the iPad mini is looking really good. The main negatives are 1) price (I can afford it but I don't understand why the iPad mini costs so much more than other 7" tablets, especially considering that its specs aren't very different from others) 2) lack of expandable memory 3) screen (it doesn't seem as good as some screens on other tablets or even the regular iPad). Still, I have previous experience with Apple products since I owned two iPods and overall, I like them. The Nexus 7 looks pretty attractive, especially for its price. However, like the iPad, the lack of expandable memory is a negative. Also, if I got the Nexus 7 or Galaxy, I would have to purchase apps all over again the in Play store. Plus, I know that some of the apps I purchased in iTunes aren't available in the Play store. There's also the issue of some my music that I purchased from iTunes before it started selling DRM-free music. I have a lot (including some of my favorite albums). Unfortunately that music is stuck in iTunes. So I'm leaning towards iPad mini but the Galaxy and the Nexus 7 look pretty attractive too.

[Reuven]

Again, if you're heavily invested in Apple, iPad would seem logical. And I'm speaking as a very happy Nexus 7 owner. The non-expandable memory isn't a big deterrent to me as I'm not a gamer. I keep most of my books in my Kindle Cloud, my music is stored in Google Play, and photos and other files in various sites like Picasaweb, Google Drive, Flickr and Nikon MyPicturetown. Even though this is an 8gig tablet, I still have 3.5 left out of the 5+ gig that was available.

[Aceon6]

I think the storage can be a factor for folks who aren't connected to wifi all the time. My employer prohibits use of its network for personal devices, so I can't go out to the cloud from the office. I have a 32g iPad and 20g of that is filled with my music library.