An Interesting Tablet Purchase

[Ben]

So one of my long, drawn out prefaces to the actual subject:

I'm not a big fan of tablets, at least as laptop replacements (especially for typing). So far I have only owned an original Kindle Fire, which works great with Amazon stuff, but not so much for other stuff. It is currently relegated to sitting on my stand up desk next to my chess set, and is my nightly chess opponent.

What I want a tablet for is for things like having with me outside if, for example, I'm doing something on a vehicle and want to check procedures or a youtube video or whatever to doublecheck what I'm doing. Also, for after I turn the computer off for the day, I often end up wanting to quickly look something up, don't want to fire up the computer again, and I just don't like reading stuff on my small phone screen if I have a choice.

So, to get to my point, I found a cheap 10" tablet on a lighting deal at Amazon the other day. An off brand called Npole. Reviews were that it was good for kids or a second tablet or whatever. Mediocre speed, but decent screen and capabilities. For $60, it sounded just right for me to take a chance. So I got it.

The interesting part was that though it came in what looked like brand new packaging, when I fired it up, there was someone's gmail account active on the tablet. I'm guessing what happened was that someone returned theirs and the manufacturer/seller repackaged it but didn't do a system reset first. While one can argue that it should be the user's responsibility to get rid of their data before they returned it, it was kind of a fail for the seller not to doublecheck. Not to mention selling it as brand new.

I ended up just doing a factory reset. I probably should have sent an email to good old Fahreed, letting him know I got his old tablet. 

If it was a more expensive item, I would probably have complained to the seller, but at the sixty ducats, and for what I'm using it for, I'm not going to bother. It's actually working out well so far for what I bought it for. I'll probably leave an Amazon review that mentions the situation. It'll be interesting to see if the seller responds.

[lee n. field]

And the other lesson is, wipe your stuff before you toss it.

[MillCreek]

You missed your chance to send many exciting emails under Fahreed's name, and then checking for any drone strikes in his area.

[T.O.M.]

That's funny.  I can only imagine how the owner would have reacted to you signing him up for a bunch of email subscriptions, etc.

Your description of a tablet is pretty much what I use mine for.  Mine is an older Samsung...I think it's a Tab3.  Bought it new when Staples found it on a shelf in storage.  I bought it as an e-reader, and use it to surf the web, read and post here, and play a few online games.  It is very helpful on my workbench, watching a YouTube video and copying it on my own project.

[freakazoid]

I had bought a tablet and found it very useful when I was doing my week long vacation to Japan. Loaded up an app called Orux Maps and used that for offline maps and GPS of places I wanted to go to. Easier to use than my phone because of the screen size, plus the battery lasted longer.

[Hawkmoon]

I periodically contemplate getting a tablet, but I really don't know what I'd use it for. To me, a computer without a keyboard and a real mouse is useless. But I should probably get a tablet just so I can see whatever it is that I might be missing.

Then the issue is -- what size? There's no sense getting one that's only a teensy tad larger than a smart phone, but if I go to a 10-inch it's going to be almost as big as my Acer Aspire One netbook.

Dilemma.

[zahc]

I still don't understand why I can't have a netbook or even full size laptop form-factor that boots as fast, sleeps as well, and lasts even longer on battery than tablets. Use the extra room for battery. But no, once it becomes "a laptop", then it needs a super mega ultra processor, "real" OS, and miniscule battery life.

[mtnbkr]

I still don't understand why I can't have a netbook or even full size laptop form-factor that boots as fast, sleeps as well, and lasts even longer on battery than tablets. Use the extra room for battery. But no, once it becomes "a laptop", then it needs a super mega ultra processor, "real" OS, and miniscule battery life.

You're buying the wrong laptops.  I got a Lenovo T460 through work.  It has two batteries (one user removable and another internal), SSD, and a 14" 1080P display.  I'm not sure about the processor offhand, but it's plenty fast for my needs.  It has 12gb RAM, which I've yet to max out.  It's very thin, about .75", light, and will go upwards of 7hrs on battery (display brightness is the biggest determiner of battery life).  Specs say up to 18hrs, and it might with the right power settings, but I've only gone 7, with capacity to spare.  I was in all day meetings Monday and Tuesday of this week and ran the laptop the entire time off battery without ever charging it.  I did keep the screen brightness turned down low most of the time.  It boots up fast and is quiet due to the SSD.  It goes from fully powered off to ready to login in about 10 secs, not including the time it takes me to type my bitlocker pin.  Once I enter my password, it's another 2-3 seconds before I can start firing up apps.

Chris

[mtnbkr]

I periodically contemplate getting a tablet, but I really don't know what I'd use it for. To me, a computer without a keyboard and a real mouse is useless. But I should probably get a tablet just so I can see whatever it is that I might be missing.

I use my 7" Windows tablet (old HP Stream 7) as an ultraportable computer for surfing the web, media consumption, and light duty tasks.  I'd never use it as a full PC replacement, but it is far more portable than anything other than a cellphone.

I don't know about Android or IOS tablets, but the Windows tablets can accept wireless keyboards and mice, so you could use it more like a laptop if you needed to get "real work" done.  I don't bother with that, but it's possible.  Heck, you can even connect external hard drives to them.  Mine has a micro USB port, but with an adapter, you can use just about anything.  It has an internal Micro SD slot and will take up to 128gb cards. 

Then the issue is -- what size? There's no sense getting one that's only a teensy tad larger than a smart phone, but if I go to a 10-inch it's going to be almost as big as my Acer Aspire One netbook.

I don't like the large tablets as they lose the ultraportability factor.  I think something in the 8" range is probably good enough.  However, a 10" tablet is going to be thinner and lighter than your netbook.

To me, the netbooks are the devices that are in that uncomfortable middle ground of uselessness.  Too small and slow for work, too bulky and too little battery for extended use while out and about.  My new Lenovo, while having a larger footprint (thinner and light though), lasts longer than any netbook I've used and is more powerful.

Chris

[K Frame]

A little over a year ago I was considering getting a WiFi enabled TV for my bedroom when Mtnbkr suggested I look at getting a tablet instead.

I ended up buying an HP Pavilion 10" Windows tablet/netbook with Windows 8 (since updated to Windows 10).

It came with the keyboard cover, which is a really nice feature, and has a USB port into which you can plug a mouse. Unfortunately during an update the wireless mouse I was using softwared out, but so far I've not seen any need to replace it.

For less than $200 it's a nice piece of kit, allows me to do nearly everything I can do with my desktop, and it's got a very good screen.

It only has wireless, though -- no other connection ports. Not a big deal to me.

[Ben]

To me, the netbooks are the devices that are in that uncomfortable middle ground of uselessness.  Too small and slow for work, too bulky and too little battery for extended use while out and about.  My new Lenovo, while having a larger footprint (thinner and light though), lasts longer than any netbook I've used and is more powerful.

Chris

I think it depends on your definition of "netbook", and I don't even know what the definition is anymore as related to things like "ultrabooks". I consider netbooks similar to the older Asus eee that I used to own. It was small, but thick, and so small that the keyboard was fairly useless to me. On the other hand, I currently have a Lenovo 11" Yoga with an i5 as my travel laptop. I love it. Very thin, great battery life, and the screen is of a size that text is easy to see without going to 'superduper" size, or scrolling all over the place. It also has the first useable (to me) keyboard of any of the small laptops I've owned over the years*.

For me, tablets are "touch and browse" only. I've never run into a virtual keyboard that I've liked on a tablet. I actually do much better with the tiny swype keyboard on my phone than I do with any tablet or laptop virtual keyboard.


*Other than the very first "laptop" I ever owned, purchased in the dark ages of the early 90s at a computer show. It was a no name heavy brick, grayscale monitor, but it came with that cool "clicky" IBM style keyboard of yore. I loved that thing. :)

[mtnbkr]

My definition of Netbooks is like your Asus EEE.  However, unless Acer kept the Aspire One line and improved it over the years, it's the same type of device as your Asus (I had an Aspire One, Mike Irwin has it now I think).  They were nice in the days before tablets, but only barely more useful for "work" than a tablet today.  The low rez screens and cramped keyboards really impacted functionality.

Chris

[French G.]

I am still looking for a cheap phone or tablet with decent processor speed that supports USB OTG. I bought a cheap Lenovo but it is at its limit to run my USB borescope. Runs the Seek Thermal cam okay. Once I find the right display I also want a USB microscope.

[K Frame]

I thought I had that purple Dell netbook?

I thought it was a Dell...

In any event, I don't think I've powered it on in well over a year.

Damned thing is so SLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

[lee n. field]

To me, the netbooks are the devices that are in that uncomfortable middle ground of uselessness.  Too small and slow for work, too bulky and too little battery for extended use while out and about.  My new Lenovo, while having a larger footprint (thinner and light though), lasts longer than any netbook I've used and is more powerful.

Chris

I've pretty much given up on my netbook.  Even with the most lightweight Ubuntu it seems ponderously slow.  the usual 2GB RAM, 1.6GHz Atom.  I won't take it out without my home directory encrypted.

[mtnbkr]

I thought I had that purple Dell netbook?

You're right.  The Aspire One was the predecessor that was stolen.  Similar spec though.

Chris

[K Frame]

You're right.  The Aspire One was the predecessor that was stolen.  Similar spec though.

Chris

Oh yeah... I haven't turned that one on either.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[RevDisk]

Have a Samsung Tab 7 inch tablet. Mostly don't use it much because it's a bit old in the tooth and uses the funky Samsung charging cable. I picked up an Amazon Fire tablet for $30. New. Four commands stripped off the ads.

Runs OTG accessories like Seek Thermal camera or my USB microscope. Internal storage is tiny but it has a MicroSD slot. All and all, good spend. I treat it as disposable but it's still working fine.

[Hawkmoon]

My definition of Netbooks is like your Asus EEE.  However, unless Acer kept the Aspire One line and improved it over the years, it's the same type of device as your Asus (I had an Aspire One, Mike Irwin has it now I think).  They were nice in the days before tablets, but only barely more useful for "work" than a tablet today.  The low rez screens and cramped keyboards really impacted functionality.

Chris

I'll have to check what the screen resolution is on the Aspire One. As for functionality -- it has Windows 7 Starter Edition (which generally wasn't available in the United States), and it runs the full Microsoft Office 2003 suite, and even AutoCAD LT 2000. That pretty much covers my needs.

[zahc]

I'm sure there are nice laptops out there, but what's missing is the cheapskate factor, plus I refuse to run Windows.

I'm still running my old aspire one from 2009. It has Debian on it. I have reflashed the bios 3 times and replaced the wifi card once. I have large hands, but I actually type on it really well because the keys are so close and have good action. I use it for portable hacking. I thought about upgrading to my wifes 2011 model, which has a bigger screen, but the keyboard, despite being bigger, has worse action.

I bought a Chromebook once the used prices came down to replace both, figuring I would put some Linux on it, but my wife stole it instantly, so I will have to try again for me. I figured it must be the modern cheap linux-capable hardsare. I like how it's thin and cheap, but it has too little storage, I don't like the keyboard not having a delete key, and chrome OS is just a bit too much of a toy for me to keep.