Looking for a good Tablet for the price?

My wife enjoys her Amazon Fire HD6...and I like it too...

Microcenter Winbook TW802 with the default case + Logitech k830 keyboard

The one thing I would make sure to look for is that it's running on an ARMv8-A* processor. These will be more future-proofed and upgradeable in software, and will be useful for longer (and especially more useful when dealing with stuff like watching movies, which can be very CPU intensive unless there's specific hardware support for the video format being used). ARMv8 processors in general should also give much much better battery life, so that's another reason.

*also called AArch64, or if looking at more in-depth spec sheets, references to Cortex-A53, Cortex-A57, or Cortex-A72. It can get more complicated than that if you're only seeing the listed name of the company's processor branding (i.e. Qualcomm Snapdragon, Samsung Exynos, etc.), but you can usually find out what version of the ARM architecture it is somehow.

How affordable they'll be is a separate issue, but in the next year or so you'll be seeing more of them in the mid-range and higher area. I recently bought my first smartphone, an LG Volt 2, and it has a Snapdragon 410 in it (which consists of 4 Cortex-A53 cores, so it is what I was just talking about). It was on sale for $100 (normally $150). So extrapolate out for the price of a tablet compared to a phone. iPads and Galaxy tablets are at the high end unless you're looking at used ones.

Other things to look for are extra USB ports so you can plug in a keyboard, and whether you can connect the tablet to a television through either MHL or Slimport, which will make the TV into an external monitor and be a lot more comfortable if you don't want to stare at a small screen or be holding the thing awkwardly in order to watch it.

It was not in the question of the OP, but basically I suspect You can probably not run any Bible Study softwares with any of those devices mentioned, the limitations being You need an actual computer processor, and 3 GB (Accordance) or 4 GB (Logos/Verbum/Noet) to run those kind of softwares, even that amount of RAM is not that much with Logos/Verbum/Noet but I don't think there are any tablets yet with more RAM. So running Bible Study software is currently not cheap. Of course there are stripped-down versions of the softwares for tablets (Android and iPad) but those versions are very bare-bones. However, Accordance will run for example on the Microsoft Surface 3, that's the cheapest current option, try find a used one, it won't be fast. There are discussion every now and then on the Accordance forums about running the full software on tablets: http://www.accordancebible.com/forums and there's a blog-post with hints: http://www.accordancebible.com/Windows-Tablets

If you definitely want an iPad then try Apple refurbished products from their own website, I was almost about to buy an iPad Air until 1/3 was knocked off the price of the Nexus 9 recently.

MindforChristmomof3 said:

I am looking to getting a iPad or some type of tablet. I prefer a Apple but they can get pricey. I am just wondering what is best to go with for the things I want to do with it. I want something we a pretty good size screen to watch movies thru Netflix, to surf the internet, to use for homeschooling, and to load apps (preferably free apps). I would like it to have a keyboard which I know those cost extra and I would like to get a protective case like an otterbox. I am looking into the iPad or I can get a Samsung Galaxy. Which is better for the money?

Click to expand...

Samsung Galaxy Tab S is your best bet. Thinner, lighter, more damage resistant (from drops), more versatile, same screen quality/resolution as iPad with Retina Technology, similar electronics package/quality, and cheaper.

The only thing iPad has over the Tab S is the stylish real metal finish, and if you're tired of the Android OS, you may like the iOS. But it's significantly pricier (if the real metal finish matters to you, but sadly, the metal finish is more prone to damage than the Tab S's space-age polycarbonate exterior).

I also have Galaxy Tab S the 8.4 size. I use it often for reading documents in PDF, for example like tutorials in programming languages while I do the main stuff on my laptop. The excellent screen quality makes reading as good as reading it on paper. But the screen truly shines when watching full HD quality films. Trust me, it even looks better than Samsung's own Smart TV full HD tv's!


The only real (minor) disadvantage of Galaxy Tab S is the availability of accessories. Pretty sure the popular accessories brand will have one for the Tab S, just not as abundant as those for iPad. And if you have never used an android before, take note that you have to sometimes clear the memory of apps loaded in the background to save battery and prevent slow performance, only takes two press of the buttons though.

I love the iPad. You are right, that they are more expensive, yes. Be careful, if you decide to purchase a used one. This is what I did, last year, when my bag with my new iPad and laptop inside, was stolen. I met with this girl, from Craigslist, who was selling her iPad. It worked perfect. I played around with it, before buying it. I gave her the cash. She said she had deleted her content, but, to be sure, I did a factory reset. This is when it asked me for her Apple ID, and password. I didn't have this information. It doesn't show, the entire email, in the Apple ID. I would have emailed her, if it did. On Craigslist, an anon email is created, and it no longer works, when the ad is deleted. At least, for me, I got an error message. I had no way of contacting her. I asked for help, on an Apple forum. People treated me, like a thief. The assumption, was that I had stolen the ipad. I had not. I went to the Apple store. They said the only way, the ipad would work, is if I could track her down, get the Apple ID & password. I felt like a fool. The ipad, it doesn't work at all. Buying from a site, like Amazon, Ebay, that would have been so better.

Blue Wren said:

I love the iPad. You are right, that they are more expensive, yes. Be careful, if you decide to purchase a used one. This is what I did, last year, when my bag with my new iPad and laptop inside, was stolen. I met with this girl, from Craigslist, who was selling her iPad. It worked perfect. I played around with it, before buying it. I gave her the cash. She said she had deleted her content, but, to be sure, I did a factory reset. This is when it asked me for her Apple ID, and password. I didn't have this information. It doesn't show, the entire email, in the Apple ID. I would have emailed her, if it did. On Craigslist, an anon email is created, and it no longer works, when the ad is deleted. At least, for me, I got an error message. I had no way of contacting her. I asked for help, on an Apple forum. People treated me, like a thief. The assumption, was that I had stolen the ipad. I had not. I went to the Apple store. They said the only way, the ipad would work, is if I could track her down, get the Apple ID & password. I felt like a fool. The ipad, it doesn't work at all. Buying from a site, like Amazon, Ebay, that would have been so better.

Click to expand...

Sorry for your loss. That's the problem with the Apple concept, they assume everyone are thieves (when they are a big thief themselves by outsourcing their jobs to ill-compensated/ill-treated workers). You can't just copy videos to an apple device and play them even if they are legit, etc, etc. This is why I stuck with Samsung which has improved a lot in recent years to give serious problems to Apple.

timewerx said:

You can't just copy videos to an apple device and play them even if they are legit, etc, etc.

Click to expand...

The reason Apple devices won't play any random video is because there are stream compliancy issues at play in the hardware, or the file itself is locked down with DRM from whatever vendor you bought it from. This is actually the norm for hardware decoding, regardless of manufacturer or OS, because hardware can't do everything, and there are technical specifications the OS has to adhere to in order for the hardware to work as intended.

Both of which have solutions: ensure the encodes are compliant before trying to use them, and don't buy DRM'ed files (or decrypt them first, but forget I said that).

Qyöt27 said:

The reason Apple devices won't play any random video is because there are stream compliancy issues at play in the hardware, or the file itself is locked down with DRM from whatever vendor you bought it from. This is actually the norm for hardware decoding, regardless of manufacturer or OS, because hardware can't do everything, and there are technical specifications the OS has to adhere to in order for the hardware to work as intended

Click to expand...

I'm talking of mostly of home videos, and recorded videos from youtube not bought ones.

All of my video files played in my new, factory stock Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4. None of them played in my sisters's iPad mini. Most of them worked in iPad 1 (the earliest model of iPad) because most of my video files are in mp4. Most of these are home and music videos from old cameras, old nokia phones, own music videos, documentary of own scientific experiments etc.

I was thinking if some work you do requires you to make video recordings using other camera and need to preview it later on on your tablet, you might definitely have a clear edge with Samsungs..

I am a Kindle owner and I would use this for Netflix and other media, however my phone seems to load quicker.
My Mum has a iPad Air 2 which is very good for this type of material;I do understand what you mean about the cost.
I would recommend going into a shop and comparing them with the demo units.

timewerx said:

I'm talking of mostly of home videos, and recorded videos from youtube not bought ones.

All of my video files played in my new, factory stock Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4. None of them played in my sisters's iPad mini. Most of them worked in iPad 1 (the earliest model of iPad) because most of my video files are in mp4. Most of these are home and music videos from old cameras, old nokia phones, own music videos, documentary of own scientific experiments etc.

I was thinking if some work you do requires you to make video recordings using other camera and need to preview it later on on your tablet, you might definitely have a clear edge with Samsungs..

Click to expand...

Like I said, there's stream compliancy hardware restrictions involved. It's the user's responsibility to make sure the videos will work before you try playing them on the device, just like you wouldn't try to shove a VHS tape into a Betamax deck.

Because if the hardware cannot decode the file, you fall back to software decoding. If Apple doesn't do fallback with its internal Videos application, then just don't use the default video app - go install a proper media player from the App Store and play it with that. I'd be willing to bet that the (probably Quicktime-based) Video app on the iPad is strictly set to play back only H.264 Main or High Profile @ Level 4.0 or 4.1 at the highest (for maximum compatibility use Baseline, even though that will bloat the filesize for an equivalent level of quality), and encapsulated in only MP4 or MOV. Fall outside those specs, the default player won't handle them (and this would be just as true of Quicktime on a Mac, except it allows for a few more formats). If on a desktop you'd install VLC or mpv to play back a video, the same exact thing applies on a tablet or smartphone. This isn't because Apple thinks you're a thief, it's because their concerns about hardware compatibility trump the desired user convenience of a universal playback solution.

The only difference is that Android likely ships with broader software decoding ability in its default player. But no one says you have to stick to defaults. Android's Videos app can't handle 10-bit H.264 even in Lollipop, but Kodi is just fine with it (so long as the hardware in the device is powerful enough to play it back without lagging).

Qyöt27 said:

The only difference is that Android likely ships with broader software decoding ability in its default player. But no one says you have to stick to defaults. Android's Videos app can't handle 10-bit H.264 even in Lollipop, but Kodi is just fine with it (so long as the hardware in the device is powerful enough to play it back without lagging).

Click to expand...

I think this is an understatement. Samsung's decoding is way way broader than iPads. And I still on some occasion had to deal with AVIs and WMVs.

I did a google search and found very little options for iPad. In many cases, you are forced to convert some video files like avi (I never have to do this on my Samsungs). Conversion means you have to wait and expect some loss in quality. There's one video player I keep coming across but it's not free.

Lastly, syncing. Samsungs are simply drag and drop for both old and new. There were a few occasions in my previous job that I had to take some videos from someone else's computer for me to edit or convert right in the tablet or simply preview. A breeze to do with Samsung's drag and drop. Would be impossible or very difficult to do with the iPad.

I linked to VLC for iOS in my last post; it's available in the App Store. Generally speaking, anything that uses libavcodec and libavformat will do.

For technical reference, Android's media format support table:
http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/media-formats.html

And iOS' media format support:
https://developer.apple.com/library...honeOSTechOverview/MediaLayer/MediaLayer.html

But the above two pages only refer to the operating system itself providing those decoders (VC1 decoding is likely available on some Android devices because the GPU supports it, same with some configurations of MPEG-4 Part 2 ASP). Third-party media players based on libavcodec will play back almost anything using the CPU, whether you're on Android or iOS.

Qyöt27 said:

I linked to VLC for iOS in my last post; it's available in the App Store. Generally speaking, anything that uses libavcodec and libavformat will do.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't realize it was a link.

Anyway, thanks for that link! I didn't realize VLC came back. I thought they permanently gave up on iOS.

I'll go with Androids still, syncing is still hugely frustrating with iOS. Gets in the way of our work.

Don't buy iPad. Buy Microsoft Surface Pro 3.