Nexus 7, LG G Pad 8.3 or Something Else For Entertainment?

[AgentSmith88]

I am looking to buy a tablet before Christmas, and I have only a few days to decide. I am going to use the tablet for entertainment, mainly when I am not at home in front of my PC. So that means:
- watching movies
- reading ebooks (are they any good for that compared to the Kindle?)
- games
- browsing

So I have narrowed it down to Nexus 7 or the LG G Pad 8.3 (not the google play edition unfortunately, still unavailable where I live). They are almost the same price around here, so this is not a factor to decide by.

I have excluded the iPads. While I love my iPhone, I prefer more freedom on my tablet, like not to have to change the format of my movies in order to watch them on the tablet.

I would love to hear any other suggestions too, because it is my first tablet and I am not quite sure what I really need/want. Thanks!

 

[g-unit1111]

How much do you want to spend and what is your preferred operating system? Are you set on Android or do you want Windows 8.1?

 

[AgentSmith88]

I can spend as much as the price of an Ipad Air 64GB WIFI. (I am not putting a specific number for my budget, because prices are a bit different around here).

I am very open to the idea of Windows 8.1 too, but after I looked around, there were some concerns:
- the resolution on most 8.1 tablets is not FullHD. I do not know if this really is a problem.
- most of the models are 10 inch-ers, which might not be comfortable for reading books, playing games, and watching movies because of the size and the weight. I played around with some 10 inch Androids and although I appreciated the bigger screen, it was more difficult to hold with one hand. I am pretty sure it would not work for reading ebooks for prolonged periods, meaning I should invest in an ereader and carry around two devices.
- how is the situation in terms of gaming on the 8.1, especially if I do not have a keyboard?

 

[g-unit1111]

I can spend as much as the price of an Ipad Air 64GB WIFI. (I am not putting a specific number for my budget, because prices are a bit different around here).

I am very open to the idea of Windows 8.1 too, but after I looked around, there were some concerns:
- the resolution on most 8.1 tablets is not FullHD. I do not know if this really is a problem.
- most of the models are 10 inch-ers, which might not be comfortable for reading books, playing games, and watching movies because of the size and the weight. I played around with some 10 inch Androids and although I appreciated the bigger screen, it was more difficult to hold with one hand. I am pretty sure it would not work for reading ebooks for prolonged periods, meaning I should invest in an ereader and carry around two devices.
- how is the situation in terms of gaming on the 8.1, especially if I do not have a keyboard?

Well the Dell Venue and Microsoft Surface Pro both have full 1080P resolutions (I think the Dell has 1900 x 1200) and both have Intel i5 processors as opposed to the Atom so they'll definitely game better than Android and you can play your full library on these tablets.

 

[jaguarskx]

8" Windows Tablets will only be using the Bay Trail generation Atom CPU which is much weaker than the Haswell generation Core i3/i5/i7 CPUs used in laptops. You will find playing games to be very limited since the Atom's integrated graphics core is also much weaker than what's in Haswell. It is the weakest "Intel HD" generation graphics core.

http/www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-Bay-Trail.103037.0.html

It is not suitable for modern PC games at all. However, some older PC games from 2006 and before should be playable as long as there is no compatibility issues with Win 8 and it is not a very graphics intensive game. You will likely need to use a keyboard and mouse to play these older games which could you need to consider those as part of the cost plus a USB hub as well.

However, there should be games available that is designed specifically for Windows tablets which the Bay Trail generation Atom CPU can handle.

 

[jaguarskx]

Additionally, Win tablets only have 2GB of RAM at the moment. Newer models should have 4GB of RAM once the drivers for the 64-bit tablet version of Win 8 has been finalized.

Note that you cannot upgrade the RAM in tablets.

 

[milky289]

Nexus 7, positvely the best.

 

[AgentSmith88]

So I looked at some Win8 tablets, like the Acer Iconia W3. I did not like the fact that it weighted more than similar sized Android tablets, or at least this is how I felt it. Also, on the 8 inch ones it was kind of hard to hit some of the Windows shortcuts and menus without the stylus. It kind of felt like when I had Windows Mobile 6 phone back in the day. So, I think I will be sticking with the Android ones for now, but I am also staring to think about the iPad.

 

[g-unit1111]

So I looked at some Win8 tablets, like the Acer Iconia W3. I did not like the fact that it weighted more than similar sized Android tablets, or at least this is how I felt it. Also, on the 8 inch ones it was kind of hard to hit some of the Windows shortcuts and menus without the stylus. It kind of felt like when I had Windows Mobile 6 phone back in the day. So, I think I will be sticking with the Android ones for now, but I am also staring to think about the iPad.

The Acer Iconia is probably the worst of the bunch - most of the reviewers (I'm citing professional reviews not Newegg) said that there's a huge lack of accessories and the quality of the LCD included is horrible. The Dell Venue is probably the best of the bunch but Lenovo also has the Ideatab MIIX 8" that's brand new and similar in style and quality.

If you want an Android tablet the EVGA Tegra Note is less than $200 and is definitely worth a look: http/www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-tegra-note-7-evga-tablet-review,3668.html

 

[jaguarskx]

Acer Iconia W3 = CRAP

The Dell Venue 8 Pro, 8" Lenovo MIIX and the 8" Toshiba Encore are currently the only tablets (to the best of my knowledge) using Intel's recently release Bay Trail Atom CPU and is significantly more powerful than the older Cdear Trail generation Atom used in the Acer Iconia W3. It seems that of the 3 the Dell Venue 8 Pro is by far the most popular Windows 8.1 tablet. New tablets using the Bay Trail Atom CPUs are coming out next year like the Acer Iconia W4 and Asus VivoTab Note 8.

Windows 8.1 tablet are more expensive than Android tablets, but they also have better capabilities like the full version of Windows 8 which means you can install just about any programs on it as you would on a Windows 8 laptop / desktop. They generally have an active digitizer used for writing, drawing and paint; something that Android tablets generally do not have. You also get the student version of MS Office for productivity purposes and it something I would use.

However, the perceived benefits of a Windows 8.1 tablet does not appeal to everyone especially if the price is higher than an Android tablet which can meet their needs.

 

[AgentSmith88]

Thanks for taking the time, guys. It is nice to be able to discuss Windows tablets as an option too, because the main advice I get usually is "Get an iPad". Anyway, the Dell is still not available around here, nor the Tegra 7 tablets. Are the Lenovo MIIX and the Toshiba Encore any "lesser" options than the Dell?

Would the lower resolution affect me when watching movies in 720p?
Win 8 might not be the greatest option for gaming as of now, but is it true that you can also install Android and have dual OS? This might be the best of both worlds.

 

[blademaster123]

Nexus 7, is pretty awesome. Will browse and game pretty well, and it is something to behold when watching movies. The full HD screen is amazing, and is sharp enough for e reading as well. The LG gpad is a bit better at gaming, and will probably browse a bit better. The bigger screen will be a bit more immersive, however I don't know how good the colour reproduction is though. It's not as sharp but still pretty sharp. Either will do you well.

 

[jaguarskx]

Thanks for taking the time, guys. It is nice to be able to discuss Windows tablets as an option too, because the main advice I get usually is "Get an iPad". Anyway, the Dell is still not available around here, nor the Tegra 7 tablets. Are the Lenovo MIIX and the Toshiba Encore any "lesser" options than the Dell?

Would the lower resolution affect me when watching movies in 720p?
Win 8 might not be the greatest option for gaming as of now, but is it true that you can also install Android and have dual OS? This might be the best of both worlds.

Dell is simply the most popular of the three. You should search Google for review of the MIIX and Encore. I know the MIIX accepts two micro SD cards as opposed to just one for the Venue 8 Pro, but the speaker is not a good.

Lower resolution should not be an issue when watch high resolution movies on a tablet. I watch 1080p movies that i encoded and some youtube videos on my 2012 Nexus 7 which has a resolution of 1280x800 and I have no problems with it. When the 2013 version came out with a 1080p I had zero interest in upgrading to it. I plan on keeping my 2012 Nexus 7 until I decide to upgrade to a Windows tablet with a more powerful Atom CPU and at least 4GB of RAM. I will probably wait until 2015 unless i have a pressing need to get a tablet with a digitizer before then.

I do not believe you can simply install Android OS on a Win 8 tablet. However, you can install a program called BlueStacks so that you can run Android Apps. People are also looking into replacing Win 8 with Linux.

http/www.tomsguide.com/us/how-to-run-bluestacks,review-1912.html