Which tablet is the best for studying?

binarysoul

I'm thinking to buy a tablet for studying. I have an iPhone and a laptop; one is too small and the other too heavy to carry around. I will be doing a lot of reading and watching training videos/YouTube.

I'm thinking about Google Nexus, but wondering what you guys recommend. I'm looking for something reasonably priced.

I'm gonna buy what this cohort is using!

chrisone

New Nexus coming out July 24.

New Kindle fires coming out in November

NetworkVeteran

binarysoul wrote: »

I'm thinking to buy a tablet for studying. I have an iPhone and a laptop; one is too small and the other too heavy to carry around. I will be doing a lot of reading and watching training videos/YouTube.

I recently acquired a Kindle Fire HD. They run $160 and in at least some reviews defeats the Nexus/iPad/iPad Mini for reading and video playback, besides supporting web browsing, social media, e-mail and games. If you need something more general-purpose now, my money would be on the iPad Mini. I would not buy an iPad just now, because its specs are in many ways inferior to a Mini, and an update is at least rumoured to be coming shortly. Chris also points out a Nexus update is coming shortly.

JustFred

I'm personally waiting for the new Nexus 7. But there are tons of tablets out there, it just depends on your preference

gc8dc95

I Have A Nexus 7. No Complaints.

paul78

I have a few tablets. My primary is an Android based Samsung tablet. I also have an Asus Android tablet but I use the Samsung more because the shape of the back surface makes it easier to hold for me. While I enjoy it for reading, surfing, and email, I find that the Android based tablets are not as good for studying - which I believe you indicated is your primary motive. For CBT's that I have access, it's hit or miss whether the CBT will work on the various Android browser. For example, Coursera.org, SANS, courses have not worked on the Android. Youtube videos usually are fine though.

I also use an iPad 2 - that does seem to be better for video based content - the video playback on the iPad is great. What it lacks is Flash support so - any Flash-based educational materials will not work.

What I usually use for studying is a Samsung Windows 8 based device. While the Windows based tablet is a bit more pricey, I was pleasantly surprised that the battery life was longer than I expected. The video playback for CBTs and all educational materials that I have tried (Coursera, etc. ) work without issues. However, for generally reading books, etc. I don't like the heavier tablet. Also - Windows 8 as a user-interface is a bit more clunky than the iPad or Android devices.

I suppose there is probably no perfect tablet - it will depend on the type of educational materials that you plan to study on your tablet. And it will depend on whether you intent to use it for other purposes - like email or web surfing.

For me - I have decided to give up on using a tablet and I've been in the market for an ultrabook instead - primarily because I want a keyboard. I think that an ultrabook convertible that also has the new Intel Haswell with wireless A/C would be ideal - but I have not found such a device. From other threads that I have read on this forum - the closest is the MacBook Air - but I'm not familiar with MacOS enough to make that leap yet.

Mrock4

I have the Nexus 7 and iPad mini. I prefer the Nexus 7 for watching study videos. Primarily because it's so easy to put videos on the tablet- plug it in, drag and drop, done..no messing with iTunes.

As a general purpose tablet I prefer my iPad, but for me, the Nexus 7 shines with regards to taking my videos on the road.

NetworkVeteran

paul78 wrote: »

I suppose there is probably no perfect tablet - it will depend on the type of educational materials that you plan to study on your tablet. And it will depend on whether you intent to use it for other purposes - like email or web surfing.

Great point! Before pulling the trigger, I ended up describing my use-cases. For me, my primary purpose was as simple as being able to as quickly and easily as possible study my eBooks and SafarBooksOnline books from as light a device as possible. I also wanted to be able to take notes and access training videos, sometimes from locations with shared/inferior Wifi. I was content that this "focused" device would best fit my needs for CCIE study, and don't mind that it might not fit all my needs in a year or two.

Changes to the requirements would have led me in a totally different direction.

tpatt100

The Nexus is easier for for putting videos on if that is your thing. I prefer Kindle and the app is available on pretty much everything. I still prefer my iPad for Goodreader though.

binarysoul

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I'm gonna go for a Nexus 7. Yes, I have a 'buy dinosaur era stuff' mentality Old is gold.

I can't put up with all headache that comes with new products.

zxshockaxz

I have a nexus 7. I love it. Its got great hardware and its pretty cheap. i think i paid about $250 for a 32gb back in january. IMO its one of the best tablets out there. apple products are way over priced. I use mine for reading, both textbooks and novels. Plus i added about 150gb of cloud storage for free.

NavyIT

I use a Kindle fire and have no complaints. Drag-and-drop video, and pdf/mobi files. Also you can e-mail youname@kindle.com and send e-books like that too. If you're just reading and watching videos for study I see no point in buying an iPad. Also, like others mentioned you can get a 16GB Kindle Fire HD for only 160. You could buy 2 of them vice one iPad mini.

gbdavidx

If you have lte on your phones with ATT you can tether it with your plan so you always have internet, lenovo tablet 2 will be the first windows 8 tablet that can do this

gbdavidx

the next nexus is rumored to have lte connection

NetworkVeteran

gbdavidx wrote: »

the next nexus is rumored to have lte connection

The iPad Mini and Kindle Fire HD both already support LTE, although this was not a purchasing consideration for me.

gbdavidx

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

The iPad Mini and Kindle Fire HD both already support LTE, although this was not a purchasing consideration for me.

im just saying if you wait you the next nexus will probably have lte

gbdavidx

Is the battery life good on the nexus?

Asif Dasl

I have a generic Android tablet which is OK for the moment but I'm waiting for the new Nexus 7 and iPad Mini 2 with Retina. Hopefully the new Nexus 7 has a higher resolution than the old one.

NetworkVeteran

Battery-wise, they're all about the same. You get a full day's use, or 2-3 days of partial use, and then need to recharge. According to CNN and Laptop Magazine--iPad hit 12hrs, iPad mini 10hrs, Kindle Fire HD 10 hrs, Nexus 7 10 hrs.

chrisone

binarysoul wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I'm gonna go for a Nexus 7. Yes, I have a 'buy dinosaur era stuff' mentality Old is gold.

I can't put up with all headache that comes with new products.

Wait 2 weeks , the new one is coming out on the 24th.

http://www.androidcentral.com/new-nexus-7-pics-video-specs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXrcUyCVA6c

higherho

Ipad 4 with retina display & LTE = my best friend. I use a goodreader app that connects to all my online drives (drop box, google drive, etc) I stream videos from them as well. Retina display makes reading and viewing much better than any tablet I've seen.

Mike-Mike

if you use Skillport for any reason, and have access to Books 24x7, I would recommend the Kindle Fire.

I have the non HD one I bought for my son, and it's great. I recently found some books on Books 24x7 while studying the CCNP. If you use it in a regular browser on a pc, it formats it pretty weird. On my wife's iPad, it wouldn't even launch Skillport.

But on the Kindle Fire it launched it and formatted it perfectly on the page. I have been using it every day, and of course you can use it for regular Kindle books

Macpro76

I have an iphone, Ipad 3, Ipad mini, and Surface Pro. I use my ipad 3 more than the others due to the fact I have all my books as PDFs. I sometimes use one of three (depends on what is available - family using or not) for all the training videos I have from A+ to CCNA. This reading then watching method works for me.

So, the iphone is to small to read for a long time. The ipad is light and very user friendly. The Surface Pro is heavier and the edges are not very ergonomic for my hands. I feel like I am holding a stone tablet (if you know what I mean).

So, you have to decide on any other types like the kindle fire or other tablet. It ultimately comes down to money and how much you want to spend and what exactly you are going to use it for.

hope this helps.

spicy ahi

I have a retina ipad, a lenovo ideapad, and a galaxy note 2. I primarily use the ipad at home or whenever I'm going somewhere that I know I'll have a comfortable place to sit and will be there for a bit of time. (like at my kids' sports practices, or waiting for the women in my family do their thing at the mall while I sit in the starbucks sucking up their free wifi) The one that has been the most flexible for me and gets the most use is note 2 because I always carry it (since it's my primary phone) I typically load all of my videos on it and carry some earbuds so I can watch them without bothering anyone else. The adobe reader app also renders pdfs well, and the zoom function makes looking at pictures and diagrams passable. Is it convenient? Not really. I do have to do a little fiddling with view settings and sizing to get things right before I can read or watch a video, but once I have it set up it just works (to steal a phrase from Steve Jobs) Comes in really handy when waiting for short periods of time like at the doctor's office or standing in line at the dmv. The lenovo sees the least of my attention and actually serves as a video player for my little ones when we're out and about.

Best advice I can give you is keep in the back of your mind times when you're idling and think that you could probably be studying or watching a video at that moment. If most of those instances are short periods (1/2 hour or less) you could probably do well with an ipad mini/nexus 7/note2/kindle. If you have longer periods of time, like long train rides or long breaks between classes, I think you'd be better served by a bigger tablet. Wifi vs. 3g/4g is also a consideration to be conscious of as being around a lot of hot spots would make the latter less important.

Ronikaw0826

Nexus 7 dude.. I have no complaints. I feel like my battery lasts longer than my iPad

Ronikaw0826

I think I want to get a surfacePro though

petedude

I'd say a mid-tier or better Android tablet. Cheap ones have very little memory and battery life, which are two things you need badly for lots of reading. E-reader apps on Android are fairly piggy with memory lately, so try to get lots of RAM. Starting point would be a $150 Lenovo tablet and up from there.

My old Kobo eReader has seen a lot of use a lot lately. I'd rather use a tablet, but for now there are decided advantages to an eReader. I bought it cheap off eBay. Days worth of battery life. Light and small. Probably few or no security vulnerabilities. Only big drawback is the lack of a backlight for night reading.

I'm thinking I'll spoil myself with a nice tablet after my wife's car is paid off in a few years. At that time, most of the hardware and Android quirks will have been worked out, and what's a premium tablet now will go for a song then.

NetworkVeteran

petedude wrote: »

Only big drawback is the lack of a backlight for night reading.

Kindle Paperwhite addresses this, with a higher-contrast screen, front lighting for no-glare night reading, and still preserves the light weight and long battery lives of reading-only eReaders. Now, a Kindle Fire/FireHD obsoletes this in most ways by adding HD multimedia and apps, but a few of us share such an e-Reader for when we're away from cars or wall-chargers for many days.

JustFred

New Nexus 7 is the only way to go

Legacy User

I have the samsung note 10.1. I think its great for studying and taking notes. I use it to watch training videos on udemy, youtube, etc. The pen works great when wanting to jot down notes while watching the videos. I loved my blackberry tablet since it was great to navigate window to window but lack of product support from developers leaves me yearning for more. Not sure how other tablets are with multitasking but the samsung note 10.1 isn't bad you can cascade windows move them around and have them side to side.

I bought it to have as a central hub for all of my school work ebooks, videos, .docs, pdfs, excel spreadsheets. I upload and download from dropbox my info is always on the cloud where I need it. I know the reviews were that it doesn't have the ultra hd like the ipad 3 but I'm not a stickler for things like that and frankly it looks nice to me.

binarysoul

Gracious God, some of you have multiple tablets!

So after reading all the responses I've also come to conclusion that at this point I'm 'tablet-deprived' so I better 'take' a tablet to release this pain!