Tablet purchase advice

[nevada51]

I'm looking for advice on purchasing a new tablet - the reason being that I'm looking to have the tablet handle 2 specific requirements (possibly more in future).

1. Is This Your First Time Buying A Tablet? Yes

2. Do you already have an operating system in mind? If so specify (iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, Windows RT, Windows 8, etc) Android (Have Android 5.x Smartphone)

3. What screen size do you have in mind? And your preferred resolution (not required but helps)? 7 or 8 inch. Not sure about resolution, as long as watching videos and reading e-books are crystal clear then not too worried.

4. Preferred Brand(s) - (ex. Microsoft, Samsung, Asus, Apple) Samsung, Asus (I have a Samsung phone, partner has Samsung phone + tablet, my PC has a lot of Asus kit in it and always try to stick to makes I have had good experience with - but would not dismiss something else immediately)

5. Brands Not Preferred (specify why) (ex. Hannspree, Acer, etc.) Apple (Cost primarily - also I'd like the same OS as my Smartphone so I can offload apps to tablet if required)

6. How much do you want to spend on your tablet? Up to £350 GBP (although less is preferred)

7. Do you have cellular service? Or do you want the tablet to be WiFi only? WiFi only, I can use my phone as mobile hotspot in theory if absolutely necessary.

8. If you do have cellular service, who is your provider and how much data are you allowed per month? My provider is EE and I have 250MB data per month (Can be increased)

9. Do you want the tablet to be a full laptop replacement? No

10. What existing apps do you use? What do you intend to do with this tablet? Standard phone apps (Messaging, Contacts) - I use my phone as a phone, despite the fact I can do more with it.

I'd like the tablet to allow me to watch videos locally (or stream if WiFi available) and read e-books. Perhaps take over some apps and the odd game that is on my phone but I prefer my technology to have multiple uses and have some overlap. So I have an old S3 which was my phone but is now my MP3 player, but if my S5 failed or had issues, I could use the S3 in a pinch.

I have a visual impairment, so whilst I could use my phone as an e-reader and watch videos, my eyesight doesn't really make this practical on a small screen, so am thinking I could consolidate my library and get a tablet to handle it + store some videos locally as well as stream.

I've looked at the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Tab S 8.4, these seem great but very expensive for what I need. I've also considered a Kindle Fire but I'd like access to Google Play store and a similar experience with my tablet that I get with my phone.

I was thinking something with 32GB internal memory + 64GB SD but my phone is 16GB + 64GB and I've used around 50% of its' internal memory but I anticipate that I should have less on the tablet - does that make sense?

Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[hang-the-9]

Google Nexus 9, about $300. Don't rule out used tablets also, many are kept in great shape due to cases and since they are often impulse buys, when people realize they need to pay rent or get new ones as gifts they go up for sale on craigslist.

 

[nevada51]

Thanks for that hang-the-9. I hadn't considered Google at all, some odd reason I didn't think they made tablets. Used tablets leave me a little on edge, only because I prefer to buy all electronics (and similar) new, simply because of warranties and the fact you know what state it's in when you buy it. Although I'll look around on ebay - not sure what craigslist actually is. Thanks though, appreciate the info.

Edit: Just looked at Google Nexus 9, it has no MicroSD card slot so unfortunately that rules it out.

 

[hang-the-9]

Thanks for that hang-the-9. I hadn't considered Google at all, some odd reason I didn't think they made tablets. Used tablets leave me a little on edge, only because I prefer to buy all electronics (and similar) new, simply because of warranties and the fact you know what state it's in when you buy it. Although I'll look around on ebay - not sure what craigslist actually is. Thanks though, appreciate the info.

Edit: Just looked at Google Nexus 9, it has no MicroSD card slot so unfortunately that rules it out.

A warranty on a new product is often a year. Not a lot of things break after the first year, and if you test it first there are not a lot of issues. I don't remember the last time I bought something new. TV, used $170, still using it after over 3 years. Soundbar, used in a trade for a PC, used for 2 years, wife made me toss it due to a flaky optical port, so basically free for 2 years of use.
Used gaming PC for my son, 1 year of use, still going strong.

Odd that you never heard of Craigslist, it's basically a swap meet online. Probably the biggest source of used stuff in the US outside of eBay. Everything is on there, from TVs to Cell Phones to couches to jobs ,cars. I actually got at least one contracting job though craigslist, figure I made over 100,000 from poking around there. I sold a ton of computers on there, several of those people were repeat customers and referred me to others and other jobs. Since it's person to person you can arrange to meet and test the product also vs ebay where you wait for it in the mail before you can try it.

 

[nevada51]

Appreciate the additional information, wasn't aware of Craigslist, only eBay/Amazon and Gumtree.
Will look at it in due course.

My concern about used electronics is only that you can't be 100% certain of what you're buying - especially things where getting them repaired or replacing batteries (tablets) can be expensive.

Just a thought, I may not have heard of Craigslist as it's probably not as popular here in the UK as it is in the US.