Tablet shopping advice

[Zork Nemesis]

I'm in the market to get myself a tablet of sorts to help out with school. While the specific idea is electronic textbooks, there's far more that I could do with one and it seems like a good idea, especially considering my current degree path (digital media technology). It seems like a good thing to have this semester as well as I have a class on Web Page Design. The problem is that I really don't know what to get or look for, there's too much out there and I have a bad habbit of springing on the first thing I see, a thing I did with my first laptop.

I'm looking to spend maybe 250-300 dollars, but if it comes to it, 500 is the absolute highest I could go and only if it's really worth it. Any advice or suggestions on what to consider would be great.

[Flash]

Well the first obvious suggestions seems to be the iPad. Have you already ruled this out for one reason or another?

[Zork Nemesis]

I've been told iPads are very expensive and my brother is trying to get me to pick up one compatable with Android software, he's mentioned Honeycomb or better.

[One_Medic_Army]

I have an iPad, for $500 you wouldn't get 3G or very much storage.
It is nice, but I'd say to go with an android device or something with fullblown Windows if you can find it.

Check how well they handle Pdf files, since you want to read textbooks on it.

[bluntspoon]

I have a nook color hacked with CM7 on it. (Android 2.3) It's very easy to put on, in fact I run it off a microsd card so that at any time I can simply remove the card and it becomes a regular nook again. I enjoy the heck out of it. Full access to the Android market so if you already have an android phone any apps will automatically download to it when you sign in. Barnes and Noble has great deals on refurbed nooks on ebay. They are indistinguishable from new.

Wife has a Kindle Fire and she enjoys that also. A lot more locked down but it's good for her.

[Zork Nemesis]

I've been refered to today's Woot deal as a potential option. What's the consensus on this one?

Toshiba Thrive 10.1” 16GB Android Tablet, says it was build on Honeycomb 3.1 and it's only $280

[OldMan]

Hey Zork,

Did you ever get a tablet?? I just snagged one off of craigslist. It's a viewsonic gtablet. It has a dual core processor and really nice graphics. The guy I got it from hated it and just wanted to get rid of it. Well, turns out the OS that comes on it is, how shall I put this, the worst bloody thing on the planet? Yea that sums it up. He found it slow and annoying to operate. So I read a few forums, got a hold of some new ROMs and after I loaded honeycomb on it, it's a blazing monster! I love it! I HIGHLY recommend finding one of these. It's a couple of years old, but at the price point, totally worth it. I got mine for $85. It's always had a screen protector on it and he threw in a really nice leather case/stand. It runs every app I have thrown at it so far. With the Tegra video chip, it plays HD movies like a champ. The version of Honeycomb that has been written for this tablet clocks the cpu in at 1.4 and the battery life is very acceptable.

Here's a link to the specs: http://www.viewsonic.com/gtablet/spec.htm

And it looks like there are a few on eBay right now for around $100!

[MrBlah]

Don't get an iPoop.

Asus, Samsung, Sony all have tablets in your price range. I like Asus's Eee line of computing toys.

To be perfectly honest, the Asus EEE pad transformer is pretty much awesome. It comes with a dock sort of thing that is actually a keyboard, so it's an Android netbook tablet. It won't run you more than $500, that I do know, but it won't fit your $300 range. It runs from $350-450 about.

[arfy4]

Asus eee pad transformer prime. Hardware wise the best tablet money can buy, though it is somewhat expensive, it has Android ICS 4.0.3 and a quad core tegra 3 processor. For an extra $150 you can get a keyboard docking station which also adds a few hours of battery life, a regular SD card slot, and a regular USB slot. It also looks nice.
If you're looking for something cheaper, galaxy tab 10.1 is a really nice tablet. Really light, dual core processor, pretty nice UI on it too. I've never really owned a tablet, so I can't really say what the best tablet would be, but as long as it's 10.1 inches and has Android honeycomb or ICS, it should be good, other than that one Sony one with the folding design, it was reviewed terribly by everyone.

[MateoTheBold!]

Whatever you decide to do, don't forget to factor in weight. It doesn't sound like it would matter much, but hand/arm fatigue will set in as you are laying in bed holding it above your head.

The ASUS transformer looks really interesting. There are sometimes when I will put my tablet down and go for the laptop and vice versa. It would be nice to have something that can pull double duty for both. Any villuns have it?

[Zork Nemesis]

I appreciate that people are still recommending tablets, but I did snag the Toshiba Thrive that popped up on Woot two months ago. No qualms with it, though I haven't found a practical application for it besides keeping myself up at night scouring TVtropes.

[Cpt._Keyes]

I appreciate that people are still recommending tablets, but I did snag the Toshiba Thrive that popped up on Woot two months ago. No qualms with it, though I haven't found a practical application for it besides keeping myself up at night scouring TVtropes.

and that has been my main argument with tablets since...forever. "wow i can do so much with it!" and you realize a laptop is much more convenient ...still

[Clay Pigeon]

I appreciate that people are still recommending tablets, but I did snag the Toshiba Thrive that popped up on Woot two months ago. No qualms with it, though I haven't found a practical application for it besides keeping myself up at night scouring TVtropes.

and that has been my main argument with tablets since...forever. "wow i can do so much with it!" and you realize a laptop is much more convenient ...still

Tablets are a solution looking for a problem.

[Cpt._Keyes]

exactly clay! They didnt catch on when they were first released...and the only reason they are selling right now is because of the multitudes of iPhans buying them (and their counterparts from Droid)

[Zork Nemesis]

My idea was to use it for school textbooks (those Algebra textbooks get heavy) but I wasn't about to buy digital textbooks when I was already halfway through the semester.