Tablet, iPad, or iPhone

[PureFire]

Hey guys...

So im due for an upgrade, and im trying to do research...
I actually need to upgrade my laptop, a Dell Vostro 1310 Notebook, but its holding out still!
I only really need to replace her battery, but ja, not quite ready to do it yet... she must maar hold out. lol!

Anyways, because of my dance studio, and guitar interests, im looking for something else maybe...

Ideally, im looking for a tablet, that i can link to my external hard drive to play music off of.
Now call me stupid, but i can only find an acer iconia 500 tablet thats able to support USB hosting.
And then im not even sure if i would have to first copy the songs to the device to be able to play, or if i could just play it directly?
Are there any other tablets that can do this?
Size, preferably something larger screen size, so no dinky tabs...

Otherwise, an iPad or iPhone might be nice... Also because of the different guitar software available (amplitube)

The external usb capability is a must for me though, the music collection for the studio is around 30GB alone.

Otherwise, maybe a new laptop is in order??

And i want to keep my outlay on contract, and the pay in as minimal as possible.

Suggestions???

[rustypup]

tablet!=laptop... ignore the marketing hype...

if you're looking for something to browse documents/forums.. fine

if you're looking to be productive, forget it...

<appletard conniptions in 4....3...2...>

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Don't buy the Acer. A friend of mine has one, so I've used it quite a lot, and it's really not a great experience. The USB Host capability is awesome, but that tablet is slow. It's less than 2 weeks old and he's already got Force Close issues and other stupid problems already. Don't do it.

With regards to what Rusty said - I think you can totally be productive on a tablet. Obviously not as productive as on an actual PC, but you can still get a whole lot done. I have an iPad, as well as the wireless keyboard for it, and those two combined with the right apps gives me a whole lot of power.

Also, there's a 64GB iPad. Your music is 30GB. Just saying

But I'm not trying to sell you a tablet. A new notebook might be best for you, and if it is, buy one of those instead of a tablet

[rustypup]

i am some way from being convinced that tablets are anything other than redundant media devices...

nobody i've challenged on this has produced a single convincing proof that their tablet serves some function not yet met by their smart-phone/laptop.

[PureFire]

See, the ipad would be really nice for the amplitube software.
and the usb host functionality would be great on it as thats all im really interested in!

Im not as keen on the iphone as i am on the ipad, because of the bigger screen for the guitar software, and the pc version of amplitube is not as user friendly as the ipads.

i just dont feel comfortable paying SO much for an ipad when i can get a laptop for the same price!
And i dont really need a new phone, im still very happy with my Nokia E75.
If it had a touchscreen, i would be very happy!

So maybe i should get the Nokia E7 and update it to symbian belle instead...

its really only the guitar software and easier interface i would like on the ipad!
now if only the camera kit didnt just transfer video and pictures...
Maybe if it CAN do music too, i will get that instead!

The other reason for using a tablet at the dance studio is that its easier to hide a tablet than a laptop with an open screen!
And i wouldnt really like to play music from a smartphone! Otherwise i could just do that now!

Maybe im just being gadgety?! ai...

[KALSTER]

If you absolutely have to go tablet, wouldn't an Android option be better, pared with a wireless keyboard?

But I echo Rusty: I would go for a laptop or even a netbook instead of a tablet. Just way more functionality, screen size etc. etc. to be had.

The E7 is great (have one), though the processor might be limiting for any large programs though.

[PureFire]

If you absolutely have to go tablet, wouldn't an Android option be better, pared with a wireless keyboard?

But I echo Rusty: I would go for a laptop or even a netbook instead of a tablet. Just way more functionality, screen size etc. etc. to be had.

The E7 is great (have one), though the processor might be limiting for any large programs though.

The problem with ALL tablets i have at the moment, is that very few, i have only found 2 so far, that have usb host functionality.
and even then, i dont think they work for music, or that they can just read off the external and not have to copy it to the flash memory to use the file!

i dont need a keyboard btw

The E7 would be nice... it has USB host functionality! and angry birds! lol!


But ja, maybe i should just upgrade my laptop instead... just trying to get opinions on this!
Cheers!

[KALSTER]

The E7 would be nice... it has USB host functionality! and angry birds! lol!

Yep! It is pretty much perfect for what I want in a phone for the foreseeable future (I require a qwerty KB).

The iPads still lack multi-tasking and flash, no? Insane.

[Sojourn]

Don't be sucked into marketing hype and try to be "progressive" with a snazzy tablet.
Get a laptop from a reputable brand and don't look back.

[rustypup]

(I require a qwerty KB).

that, and the native VPN functionality, make it a winner...

[PureFire]

The E7 would be nice... it has USB host functionality! and angry birds! lol!

Yep! It is pretty much perfect for what I want in a phone for the foreseeable future (I require a qwerty KB).

The iPads still lack multi-tasking and flash, no? Insane.

For a phone, the E7 is what i want... big touchscreen full qwerty.
I cant do touch screen qwerty, it doesnt feel right to me!
But other than the E7, i dont know what else has a full qwerty thats actually nice?!

Thats why i considered a tablet as well!

Don't be sucked into marketing hype and try to be "progressive" with a snazzy tablet.
Get a laptop from a reputable brand and don't look back.

Look, if i get a laptop, it will probably be a Dell again!
XPS prices have dropped considerably, but this time, i wont get a 13".
Its lighter, but damn, the keyboard isnt full, and the screen could be bigger!
So a 15" minimum for me!

But alright, looks like the tabs are out, the nice ones dont support usb hosting yet.
So i will now need to decide whether to get a new phone, or a new laptop...


Any new phones, other than the Nokia E7, with full qwerty available?
i would consider android, windows mobile 7 too. iOS doesnt have a similar device.
But it does have a couple of nice apps just NOT available for symbian. which sucks.
I would love the N950, Keyboard version of N9... but support wont be great

(I require a qwerty KB).

that, and the native VPN functionality, make it a winner...

Nokia still have the features... just no love for them anymore feel like im supporting a losing side...
Maybe if i get the E7, i can then get a nice nokia windows mobile device in a few years time!

[PureFire]

dos the E7 have multitouch btw Kalster??

[PureFire]

and what about autofocus? i cant remember seeing anything about autofocus on the E7, which is a pity as my E75 has it!

[KALSTER]

It does have multi-touch, but not autofocus. The autofocus was maybe sacrificed to accommodate the slide-out qwerty hardware KB, not sure, but in my book a hardware keyboard > autofocus any day. The camera is still pretty good, though macro images are a bit of a let down.

One thing about the E7 also is that, brilliant aluminium frame aside, it is a bit slippery in the hand. I ordered a TPU case on eBay for R25 odd (delivered in two weeks), which fixes the problem and makes it more drop-proof. It is a bit uglier now, but I am not too worried about that. Functionality > looks.

I was very disappointed when the N9 dropped without a hardware KB. Would have gotten that in a heartbeat.

I couldn't find a better phone with hardware KB when I did research for a new phone. The Sony Ericsson Xperia pro is coming out soon here I think, with Android Gingerbread and 1GHz CPU, 3.7" LED screen. Looks really nice.

[PureFire]

Are you going to be doing the Belle update?
Are you already on Anna?
Did you first have vanilla symbian ^3?


Cheers!

[KALSTER]

Will probably go Belle once it gets released for my device. Haven't updated to Anna yet.

[PureFire]

Any reason why you havent updated to Anna?

Where are you based Kalster?

[KALSTER]

I'm in Welkom, so pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

No reason really. Have been very happy with the phone so far, but I should upgrade in any case. Busy updating OVI Suite to have a look. I friend told me about a custom UI that works pretty well as well. Will find out about it.

I have to say, one thing I was disappointed with is Quickoffice and the PDF reader. Quickoffice is still difficult to work with, doesn't show images and graphs and is very slow in comparison with other offerings. I won't use it often though (if at all, will be getting a laptop before the end of the year). The PDF reader is the basic version and doesn't come with text auto-flow and a few other features, which is very frustrating. The upgrade is pretty expensive AFAIK. Will have to look for an alternative.

[PureFire]

Thanks Kalster...

A freind has an ipad and the usb adapter... he will let me know if music can be played off the device!
If so, i might get that instead of an E7!

I just hope Belle comes out soon! It looks awesome!

[KALSTER]

Dude, before you do anything, look at the Dell Inspiron 1090 Duo 10.1" Intel Atom Tablet. I think you might like what you see.

LINK.

[PureFire]

I know about the Inspiron duo...

Thanks Kalster!

Bit if im going to get a laptop, i might as well get something better!

Oh well, back to the drawing board!

[KALSTER]

Cool. Was just thinking that if you were seriously looking at a tablet, then nothing will beat the duo as a pure tablet that I know of. Plus you get the added benefit of being able to turn it into a netbook whenever you feel like it. Basically you have two products for the price of one. It certainly comes cheaper than a 64GB iPad 2, plus you can get the docking station and still not come close.

[Anakha56]

This looks like a neat laptop...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4691/raze ... ing-laptop



BTW I echo the sentiments of everyone else. A laptop would suit your needs far more than a tablet.
You could also look at the ASUS Transformer with the k/b dock which might give USB host not sure...

[Anakha56]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/22/tosh ... ve-review/

Toshiba Thrive review
By Dana Wollman posted Jul 22nd 2011 6:00PM

This isn't the first time Toshiba has showed up fashionably late to a party. Back in 2009, long after most every other consumer electronics maker big and small had jumped on the netbook bandwagon, the company belatedly released its first mini, the NB205. And it was fantastic. So we were optimistic when the outfit finally got around to releasing the Thrive, its first Android tablet for the US market. Surely, we thought, it's learned a thing or two from everybody else's mistakes.

And in that regard, at least, this 10-inch tablet doesn't disappoint. It has full-sized USB and HDMI ports, an SD card slot, and a removable battery -- all features you'd sooner find on a laptop. It comes with a raft of practical apps already installed, so that you don't have to go hunting for them in Android Market. It's one of the first out of the gate with Android 3.1, an undeniably improved version of Honeycomb. Oh, and it starts at $429, undercutting many of its competitors. Right there, in less than a paragraph, we've laid out why you might want this over any of the other umpteen tabs crowding the market. But should you get one? Well, folks, we'll need more than a paragraph to tackle that. Join us after the break, won't you?

You could always get that tablet...

[PureFire]

Cool thanks... will check it out!