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Ipad questions
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We are saving to purchase a tablet. I want an Ipad (I have a Mac desktop) and hubby wants something cheaper (Android or similar). I’m trying to determine my uses for the tablet. I’m only at the beginning of our hs journey so my list is rather short. I’m wondering what you use your tablet for? Here is my list of uses:
educational games (especially for daughter with special needs)
ebooks
videos (are you super limited with ipad due to no flash player?)
I’m rather limited in my tech talk but I imagine I could link to my desktop much easier to share photos, etc.
Do you have any cons to your tablet?
Thanks for all your input.
My vote is iPad. It works seamlessly with Mac. I have an app that allows flash. We use it for all of the things you mention and more. Sometimes when each kid needs a copy of a book, I’ll buy the kindle version and put it on my kindle app and their kindles. My dad has a less expensive tablet, I forget the brand, and I wasn’t impressed personally.
Besides the importance of looking at what meets a particular need, you can also consider whether you want to or should buy into a vendor’s “ecosystem.” If you are a Mac person and use other Apple products, then an iPad might be your best bet and provide a seamless experience. If you rely heavily on Google’s services (mail, calendar, Android phone, chat, etc.) then an Android tablet might provide a better overall experience. Personally, I find Microsoft’s software and services to be the most compelling. I still use other services (e.g. Gmail), but I appreciate the consistent and modern experience I receive across my Windows desktop, tablet and phone.
As to your specific questions, I can only speak for Windows 8 tablets:
- Flash support is built-in to the browser for sites that use modern implementations of Flash (e.g. YouTube)
- There is a decent number of educational games although probably not as plentiful as the other two operating systems (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/apps#Cat=t6)
- There is a Kindle app available for Windows 8
Tim’s point about a vendor’s ecosystem is very true. I have had a Mac laptop for myself for many years now so the obvious choice for me was to buy the iPad. It’s been very useful in my house and we use it for all of the reasons you do. Plus it’s great to bring out with us so that if we see something interesting and want to learn about it we can just pull it out and do some research. The one downside is not having a USB port, but I haven’t been in a situation when I felt I really needed it.
I’m very happy with my Kindle Fire. It does everything described, and more. However, I am not a Mac person, so I can’t comment on those questions.
I have an iPad Mini and love it… I use it for the same things, perhaps it would be a good compromise? It’s a lot cheaper than a full-size iPad! It’s also a bit more portable and easier to hold and use (in my opinion, having tried out a friend’s full-size one).
A word of advice–whatever you get, invest in a GOOD CASE. My Survivor case has been worth every penny.
My DH works in IT, and we’ve had the opportunity to “test drive” several tablets through his employer, and even I, the Mac user, chose a non-Mac product. I actually sold my iPhone to add to our tablet budget 🙂 I’m currently typing this from a Nexus 7 that we’re test driving, and I really like it. Samsung is my first choice though.
OHmom10, why didn’t you choose the iPad? I thought the new microsoft tablet has flash, no?
Thanks for the replies so far.
Somewhere online I found a quiz where it asks you all your needs and preferences and then matches you with the right tablet, and it turned it that the best choice for our whole family, for schooling, etc. was not the iPad. If it was just me buying for me I think the result would’ve been way different, but it is something that we all have to share (at least for now).
@OHmomIO, Just curious, was an iPad in the mix of the tablets you tested?
@mrsmccardell, Yes, the MS tablet has some form of Flash. But it’s really a non-issue. There aren’t too many sties that use Flash anymore. Most of what you would miss without it is ads dancing around your screen. Flash has also been one of the number one carriers of viruses and other malware, so I’ve even turned it off on my computer.
Yes, we’ve used and are quite familiar with iPad’s, too. My parents also have an iPad and a Kindle Fire, and we’ve tested iPad, Kindles, the Nook, and a Transformer first generation. And I was a iPhone user for the last couple of years. I go back and forth pretty easily between Apple and Android products, so I don’t always understand the dichotomy.
Re: Flash (Adobe Flash, not Flash memory), streaming sites (Netflix, YouTube, etc.) have moved away from it, so for homeschooling purposes like watching documentaries and such, it really is a non-issue, like Doug said.
Really for me, it was comparing the specs on a chart. Resolution vs. screen size, memory, processing speeds, size/portability, weight, prices, and what we plan to use it for. Those are the actual cold, hard facts about the product that you have to live with until you can afford to buy a new one. That said, we still haven’t decided which one to buy. I discovered some glitches with the Nexus 7, but the resolution is beautiful. Which would I rather live with? Unfortunately, there is no perfect tablet.
And I can’t say that what’s right for us is right for everyone. At the end of the day, it’s just a tablet, and something newer, better, shinier, etc. will be out right after you buy the one that you researched so long and hard on in the first place. A family in my homeschooling group has all Apple products and they are happy. We have Android products and are happy.
@mrsmccardell – If you are only familiar with Apple products, there is a learning curve to an Android device, but it’s not terrible. However, saving some money won’t be worth it if you’re not happy with what you bought.
I often jokingly tell people that they’ll be happy with anything they choose, as long as they don’t try an iPad. I say that because I think iOS offers the smoothest, most intuitive, and consistent experience. However, as you can see from @OHmomIO’s helpful posts, this is highly subjective and personal. The important thing is to find some place where you can get your hands on them and see what fits you the best.
One thing often overlooked is the screen size and how that relates to the types of documents you use. If you buy books from the Apple, Kindle, or Google stores, those books will usually be in a format that reflows the text to fit your screen.
But PDF documents can’t reflow like that. If you load a PDF book or document on your device, the page will shrink to fit the screen instead. If you’re dealing with a book that is normally an 8.5″ x 11″ page, then it will be too small to read without zooming and scrolling on the devices with smaller screens. You really want to have something with a 9″ or 10″ inch screen for that.
So will that matter to you? It depends on the kinds of documents you want to use. For something like sheet music it’s essential. Books with pages best viewed all at once are much more convenient on a large screen, such as those with full page maps or diagrams.
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