Ipad or alternative recommendation?
muddipaws
Posts: 3,300 Forum Member
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I am looking for a wireless medium sized portable gadget where I can pick up Wifi, drop onto the net, surf, email etc and read books and so on or play music and video from the confort of my sofa instead of up and downstaris to PC
I tired out a Tablet Archos which was useless and too small (sent it back)
The Ipod not sure its a bit on the expensive side and possibly a bit too big? The problem I had with the Archos was it wouldnot bluetooth to my blackberry or wifi to my router so it did nothing at all.
Or should I wait 4 weeks and go for an iphone, or continue with my blackerry and pick up a decent Tablet
Can you guys recommend what would be best to look at
I tired out a Tablet Archos which was useless and too small (sent it back)
The Ipod not sure its a bit on the expensive side and possibly a bit too big? The problem I had with the Archos was it wouldnot bluetooth to my blackberry or wifi to my router so it did nothing at all.
Or should I wait 4 weeks and go for an iphone, or continue with my blackerry and pick up a decent Tablet
Can you guys recommend what would be best to look at
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Comments
Most devices are WiFI finicky to some extent and almost always easily solved.
I do not think Bluetooth is restricted on 2.0+ Android devices.
It was from a high street store archos 32a or something like and after two days of unsuccessful wifi or bluetooth connection I gave up and the support was poor and really it was too small. So was thinking of ipad but not sure if that's possibly too big and worried it won't wifi to my router given the trouble I had with the archos :-(
I would avoid the Archos 70 or 43 then in that the same problem might exist for your connections. Unless firmwares are specifically updated.
The Archos 605 (4.3" 800x480) and the Archos 705 (7" 800x480)
The 605 had 4GB(flash with slot for SD card) or 30GB (1.8" HDD) which were quite small (about 15mm thick, 80mm X 120mm) and could stream video/audio via WiFi and also (with extra software) a Web TV/Radio thingy.
Also 20/40/80/160GB Archos 605 but they were a lot heavier and thicker.
The 705 was of course a lot bigger with it's 7" screen.
2nd hand on Ebay a 605 4GB for £60. 30GB for £70. Archos 705 (unsure of capacity) about £80
But it seems when ever you ask for advice on internet forums all people want to do is start arguments about ,well the ipad is crap, or well android is crap, and thats not telling me which one is right for me.
Google them. They're tiny little laptops. 10 inch widescreen, proper keyboard. Runs windows. Doesn't have the ' cool ' factor, but does so much more than any tab does.
However if you're going to find not being able to browse flash sites or restricted by not having a proper keyboard then you might be better with a small netbook. They're not quite as portable but do have greater flexibility.
It just depends on what you want it for.
I have a main computer, a mac, a laptop, iphone, netbook and now an ipad. Im a bit of a freak for gadgets, all are at different stages in terms of being modern etc but i would say ive got a helluva lot of use out of the ipad already despite not having had it for long.
Its not a computer replacement but at the moment i use it for -
email
surfing
betting
reading books/newspapers/magazines
the odd game
watching movies
watching sky sports via the sky app
watching tv through tvcatchup
I have it sitting in a stand acting as a clock/alarm when its not in use. I also have the apps to allow me to access files on my computer, use it as a mini monitor for my computer and log me in lets me control my computer from it.
Thats only really scratching the surface.
Does that justify the price tag? Probably not. Will i get my monies-worth out of it? Definitely.
When is that out? I havent actually updated it since i got it.
In practical terms what does it give you? I get the concept of the multi tasking but how would i use it?
I know that sounds breath-takingly stupid!
The release was supposed to be last week but apparently WiFi issues have delayed it. There's no current date but it should be here in the next couple of weeks. I've got a limited release beta version installed.
Ah i see what you mean, actually that would be really handy!
Im no Apple fanboi or anything and i tried to avoid the ipad for ages despite loving the iphone, tbh now that i have it i think its absolutely brilliant!
Yeah, it is very useful especially for me as I like to pop in and out of apps all the time. It was always frustrating that if you just wanted to go check your mail or change a song playing that you couldn't pick up where you'd left off. Its much better now you can. People have said that this may cause it to become unresponsive due to memory limitations but I've not noticed any problem so far.... can't say I've noticed wireless issues either... there's also supposed to be a built in option to connect to network printers which is missing too.
Ah right cool. The printer option wouldnt really be much use to me as its not really what i use it for however i could see why people would want it.
While it isnt and never will be a laptop, anything that crosses over and blurs the lines between the two may increase sales i guess.
Personally, for me its only an issue in one respect and thats in playing music. I love Grooveshark and its annoying not to be able to access it on the iPad.
Apart from that one aspect, I don't miss it. More and more video sites are using flash alternatives - YouTube, Vimeo, iPlayer etc.. and flash only web sites are generally frowned upon from an accessibility point of view so they are now less common. Not really into Flash games either.
It works amazingly well - it's very fast and no drivers to install etc.
ie via a PC connected to the printer.
I think is for the iPhone plus Android.
It hasnt for me. However that is maybe more due to how i use it. There has been a couple of times when ive thought "ah damn" but really no more than that.
Its really down to personal useage to decide how much of an issue it is.
If it was my main device or only device i guess it would be a problem.
With larger size devices a dual core CULV netbook like the HP DM1 is always an option.
At £300 on offer direct from HP it has plenty of advantages but with more bulk.