I'm thinking of buying my mum a tablet for her birthday in august but i'm not sure which one to go for since she hasnt ever really used a computer. The only time she uses one is at work and if she needs anything done online my brother or i do it for her.

I've decided to get her a tablet but i want to get her one that will be relatively easy to use. I was hoping that the kindle fire would be available by then as she has used a kindle before and it would be familiar to her. But since it probably wont be released by then i'm thinking of an ipad since that looks relatively easy to work.

I'm not really clued up on computer stuff so i'd really appreciate some opinions and suggestions

You will get all the usual crap about how brilliant iPads are and how they just work and will even make you a cup of tea in the morning from the Apple fans and you will also have the Android fans saying about how much better they are than Apple, personally unless you want it to be a surprise for her I would take her to PC World or Comet and let her have a play with both operating systems and see which one she likes best

I bought my mom an Android one just before Christmas , bearing mind she can't even use a DVD player she has managed to get to grips with Android very easily and now uses it most days for browsing , using iPlayer or watching videos I have loaded on for her

Forget advice now, wait till late July.

All the next generation stuff will be out which will mean current generation stuff will become very decent starter commodity.

I've got an iPad and an Advent Vega - the main advantage the iPad has over pretty much every other tablet I've tried - and I would love to hear different because I'm in the market for a reasonably priced Android tablet that I can leave on standby for a week without completely draining the battery - is standby battery life. You put the iPad to sleep, leave it down and provided you have all the notifications nonsense turned off you can come back days later wake it up and there's still a load of charge available. I charge my iPad about once or twice a week - my Vega gets charged every couple of days minimum and I've given up using the sleep function.

Second hand original iPad probably around two hundred quid on Ebay and will be better than most Android tablets costing twice as much - PROVIDED all she's doing is a bit of browsing.

I have an iPad 2 and a Motorola Xoom and an Archos 101,,and I can catagorically say the iPad is much more user friendly than Android on the Xoom and the Archos.

.... obviously "in your opinion"

Id thoroughly recommend the Asus Transformer as a starter tablet. Either the original - or if you are feeling more flush the newer models.

The fact it has a keyboard dock means its a much better way (imho) of moving from the laptop to tablet concept as you basically have both options.

Drag and drop functionality
Card reader/expandable memory (eg for copying files from a digital camera)
You can even charge your phone off it (14-16 hour battery when tablet and keyboard are combined !!)

Some things to check, probably not a full list though:

Price.
Whether this model or a new version of is likely to still be around in a year's time (with implications regarding support and repairs).
Build quality (is it likely to survive casual knocks, etc).
Screen size.
Screen display quality (resolution, contrast, brightness).
Responsiveness of the screen (do you need to press hard, or use a stylus?).
Ease of connecting other devices if there's any requirement to do so (external speakers, a printer, a USB memory key, etc).
How long it runs after recharging the battery.
Whether the battery can be replaced when it no longer holds its charge.
What range of programs (apps) are available for it that are likely to be of interest to the user.
If the user wants it, can the device run Adobe Flash Player?
General ease of use.
More advanced ease of use (file management, etc).

Some tablets score well on some of those factors, some on others. So far I haven't found any which tick all the boxes.

And I would suggest anyone that finds Android difficult to use also has difficulty in walking and breathing at the same time

Praps if your reading was a bit better you would have seen that I said one was "more user friendly" than the other,not any particular one was difficult to use.

It wasn't meant as a dig at you sorry if you thought so but its just all this bull about Apple just works that gets me, so does Android , at least with Android you also get expandable memory with a lot of tablets better connectivity, without adapters , better prices and deals bluetooth and Flash, taken by themselves not a major issues but when they are all added up they make a big difference also name one thing that Apple does that Android doesn't ?

No problem,it's what ever suits you best.

it depends on your budget really

if you have the money then an ipad is probably the simplest to use. you could get a second hand one for about £200 for the first model

android is a lot harder to get to grips with, especially for older people. you haven't said how old she is. if she's off a generation not used to computers then android may take some getting used to

the blackberry playbook seems a reasonable price for a reasonably well made product, but the software isn't the best. personally instead of a cheap android or playbook i'd get a second hand ipad. i doubt your mum will be looking to expand the memory or care about flash etc, but you haven't said what she wants to use it for

What a load of crap my mom is 76 never used a computer in her life and can't use the DVD player but has managed very easily to get to grips with the Android tablet I bought her, you just click on the icon you want , it very simple even an Apple fan has the intelligence , though limited I agree to use it

I disagree, yes I could give my Mum my android phone and she could probably work out how to run applications and perhaps even make phone calls but if she had to go into the task manager to close a rogue process or app she would be totally lost. And when a non technical person sees a setting option like 'enable USB debugging', it may as well be written in martian. The Apple devices are much simpler to maintain for non techie people in my experience.

It took around 10 minutes to teach my technopohic dad how to use an android tablet so its not exactly difficult.

However I have got to ask OP what is she going to be using this tablet for and what is your budget. It does not seem she is asking for this device ?

If you have an unlimited budget then either iPad or Transformer can do 99% of tasks without problems but it really boils down to what she is going to be doing with it.

You can get the Xoom for £250 now and it's fantastic, does everything I need and more, can't be without it.

Excellent advice IMHO.

Just as well you don't need to then....only time I can recall killing processes is to save a bit of battery.


They're also only visible to people poking around in something called "developer options", which, certainly my mum, would never bother with.

Yes I'd call it more of a work horse,paid £320 for mine,praps a bit over priced at that money,but a good solid tablet,but if I had to pick would def be my iPad 2.

Hi, no she's not asking for a tablet but she has been doing more internet shopping and stuff lately via my brother or i so think that she would enjoy having her own access to the internet and while i dont mind doing stuff for her, my 14 y.o brothers gets a bit snarky with her.

My budget is about £600 maximum and she'd really only use it for browsing and perhaps playing some games occasionally.

The point is any old fool can pick up an Android device and click on an icon to run a program, but I don't consider anyone who can't do the basics like manage applications, install, delete apps, copy files etc as someone who actually knows how to use that device.

so you disagree that android has a steeper learning curve than IOS?

To start an app is pretty much the same between iOS and Android.
To install an app is pretty much the same too.
To browse the net. the same.
To play a game. the same.
To take a picture. the same.
To listen to music. the same.
To change wallpaper. the same.
To send/receive email. the same (if not easier on Android if you are using your Gmail maybe ?)
GPS/Navigation - easier on Android ?

To load video/music. Drag and Drop on Android or the hell of itunes with iOS (note the smiley )

I think thats all you can do on iOS ?

To customise your home page (widgets). simple on Android. non-existant on iOS so cant compare.

What else ?

I really dont know what people think is complex about Android Maybe its because you have the ability to do more intricate stuff if you want to .......

In that case it would be vital for the virtual keyboard to work accurately, not only for selecting items but also for entering details such card numbers and the delivery address. If shopping is going to be major use then it might be worth considering a netbook with a physical keyboard as at alternative.

You seem to be under the impression that apps need more "management" than "go to store, click install on app".