Need help with buying Tablet and Kindle

Hello, fellow B&B members.

I need some good advice on acquiring a Tablet and a Kindle.

I have accumulated a whole lot of books and articles on my home PC. Now came the time when I can no longer postpone things and have to read up on all this material.

It became very clear to me that a HUGE part of me having trouble to consistently read any substantial amount of material is the extreme UNCOMFORT of being bent up for hours in front of my PC. It's just killing my eyes, back, neck, etc'. It's a torture!

So the most obvious thing to do is to buy a Tablet or a Kindle. But I think I will have a use for both. A Kindle for just reading books, and a Tablet to also surf the net, listen to music, watch movies, use some programs on a big enough screen to enjoy it.

This is where I need your advice, as a complete newbie in this.

I am not a technology freak and don't keep with the latest and the bestest. But I also DON'T like cheap and appreciate quality. I need something decent, respectable, solid, with good reviews and no major flaws, and also a product that will hold its own and won't become a joke in a year or two. I don't switch to newer gadgets weekly/monthly.

Perhaps a few basic things to mention - I want a good quality screen for my poor eyes. And not too small. Decent battery life. Decent storage volume. Stable. Uh... don't know what else.

Sorry for being such a newb, any help would be appreciated.

It all depends. What's your budget? You described the intended use, but do you foresee using it for something else as well (ie games)?
Also, do you really need two devices? I haven't done much research, but I believe a tablet could take the role of the Kindle for reading. Any semi decent tablet can easily multitask ie read a document and listen to music. Also, do you have a really strong preference towards a brand?

Get a Kindle Voyage. it is physically the size of a paperback, but has adjustable text size and very easy on your eyes and killer battery life. It's the best of the best for reading. I have both an ipad and a kindle. You can get a kindle app for the ipad, but i find reading on a kindle much more pleasant and less fatiguing than an ipad.

For all the non-reading kind of stuff, an ipad will do you. Easy to use and very easy to find help for if you need it. I used my previous ipad for about 3 years before i felt that i wanted an upgrade, but it is still perfectly functional. It should last you for a good while.

Look into a kindle fire or ipad mini

Thank you for the guiding questions.

Budget? That's the question. I don't live in the US, but it seems that even with some import taxes it is still cheaper to order from US.
As I've said, I can't really give a concrete budget, cause I don't understand anything about tablets and all the differences, options and advantages/disadvantages. I would say somewhere around 300-400 dollars.

I doubt I will be using it for games, and especially not heavy ones. But who knows, I want to leave that as a possibility.

Actually, I think you might be right. A nice tablet will suffice, no need to buy both now.

I don't really have preferences towards brands, but I like to keep it respectable and avoid low-end manufacturers.

I'd suggest the Google Nexus 7, 2013 model. It's a 7" screen, about 9 hrs battery life, EXCELLENT display. They are about $200 here in the US. Many people think it is better then the Ipad Mini, for about half the price.

After searching a bit I came to a few notable competitors:

Apple iPad Air 2 and the Samsungs: Samsung Galaxy Tab S SM-T800 10.5 in. WIFI 16GB or Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 in. SM-T900 32GB WiFi

(Samsung has a lot of resembling models with slightly different specs, that makes me confused)

The cost it about the same where I live. So any thoughts on how these compare? Or any other suggestions of worthy competitors?

If price is no object, get an iPad Mini. Excellent screen, lots of apps, easy to use. It's easy to expand your options with a multitude of apps. Apple has the most sophisticated way of displaying books, and the approach to things like footnotes is faultless.

If money is an object, but you still want an outstanding table, look into a Google Nexus, with a 7" screen. Versatile, but not user antagonistic.

Kindle Fire HD has an outstanding screen, good performance, and competitive pricing. You might want to try out different size screens before you purchase a tablet.

I'm not a big fan of book readers, despite their attractive price. I don't like the gray-scale screen, and some models can be sluggish.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of trying out tablets in person. Most computer stores, and some stores like Staples have a selection of tablets for your sampling pleasure. You'll gain a great deal from trying out the different sizes of tablets, and being aware of other options (like magazine reading) may turn out to be a turn-on when you see them in person. You may not be into gaming, but you may like to play some games on a good tablet. (Many good games are free.)

Get an apple iPad or iPad mini.
IMO, It's the best tablet in the market right now.
Excellent hardware, excellent software, and lots and lots of quality applications!

You can always settle for a cheaper android tablet but don't expect it to perform like an iPad.

I've had a Kindle Fire HD for about a year and love it. It's the 8.9 I believe. If your reading content is mostly from Amazon, it would be a great choice. If you have a ton of content you would have to transfer via flash drive, you would probably best served with a tablet other than an iPad. I've heard great things about iPads, I just have minimal experience with them. A Kindle Paper White may be worth a look if you feel that you just want an e-reader. Again, I really dig my Kindle. Very cost effective, decent browser speed and user-friendly. The Amazon Prime membership lets me watch virtually any movie or television show I want in HD. Just my thought on the matter. Good luck.

I am surprised no one has mentioned Samsung tablets yet. I have a tab 4.0 7 inch model. It works smashing well. Samsung's interface is good and mine is fairly snappy. The 8 and 10 versions have better screens and the ability of connect to hdmi ports on tellys for a larger dislpay. I have looked at the iPad and Samsung side by side and I just don't find the former worth the difference in price. And I do use an Apple iPad daily at work. I do not find it especially better or worse than my Samsung.

socialjunk95 said:

Get an apple iPad or iPad mini.
IMO, It's the best tablet in the market right now.
Excellent hardware, excellent software, and lots and lots of quality applications!

You can always settle for a cheaper android tablet but don't expect it to perform like an iPad.

Click to expand...

I know this is a huge ymmv situation, but I will have to kindly disagree here. I have had an iPad for the last two years and loved it. However my wife went with a galaxy note 10.1 2014 as she didn't care for the iPad. I began to covet it. In the end I gave up the iPad and got a note just like hers. The note combines all of the utility that everyone else is trying to push in they're tablets all in one place. And the fact that it's built around a state of the art wacom stylus is the best part. THIS is the best tablet money can buy, and there are many many reviews that agree.

Again........ymmv respectively, but I do not miss my iPad

We have a Kobo e-ink reader in the household and it works well, but my wife and I both end up reading on our smart phones because they are always with us. She uses a Samsung S3 and I use a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 - my Note is a similar size to small ebook readers and I find it very comfortable to read with a good screen.

If you want something a little bigger, I would suggest a 7" Samsung tablet. I do have an 10.1" Acer tablet but I find the screen isn't as nice as my Samsungs and not as responsive.

The Kobo is sitting gathering dust at the moment...I just can't see carrying an extra device when my smart phone will hold thousands of ebooks.

Thank you for your advice. It looks like I'm going in the direction of a Samsung Tablet, which model is still a question.

Okay, I got it down to these three.
What I love in companies like Apple is that they have very few products, and it is very clear what is what.
I hate companies that offer a zillion almost identical products with almost identical names. Samsung seems to be like that. It's like the LORD blades with their unending weird assortment of generic wrappers and brands.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition)
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 SM-T900 32GB WiFi
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 T805 LTE

So... I don't think there's much difference between these three, but anyhow, which is a better choice in your opinion?

p.s

I happened to talk to my grandad, he's 80. And guess what - he has a tablet and uses it daily. His is also a Samsung.
I mean, ***... he can't find his way home, yet he is an avid and enthusiastic tablet user.

I would go for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 T805 LTE with the snapdragon 800 chipset. IT seems to me the best of the three.

Thanks, AvariCe.

I won't get into which tablet is the best as that is highly subjective. I can say that I have a current Tablet and a first edition Kindle. Kindle uses a proprietary screen that emulates paper as well as any screen I have seen. I read and write contracts for a living and after many years spent staring at PC monitors my eyes couldn't take it any more. The Kindle has been a God send for me. The screen makes such a difference for eye strain. I can read a book or contract (yes, you can download PDF files to a Kindle) for several hours straight on my Kindle and have zero eye strain. If I use the Kindle app on my iPad Air2 I am good for about an hour beofre it starts to bother me.

If I were 25 years old again and had no issues with my eyes I am sure just a Tablet would be fine. If you are having eye issues and do a ton of reading do yourself a favor and pick up a Kindle. You can get a basic paperwhite inexpensively.

Of course...the legal disclaimers....IMHO and YMMV. Cheers and happy reading!

socialjunk95 said:

Get an apple iPad or iPad mini.
IMO, It's the best tablet in the market right now.
Excellent hardware, excellent software, and lots and lots of quality applications!

You can always settle for a cheaper android tablet but don't expect it to perform like an iPad.

Click to expand...

I beg to differ.. I have the first Surface Pro to come out.

It will still run circles around a iPad

brianw said:

I beg to differ.. I have the first Surface Pro to come out.

It will still run circles around a iPad

Click to expand...

That's because it's basically a touch screen laptop. Not a fair comparison. Wasn't it like $800 as well? Hmm right in line with laptop prices....