I've been thinking about getting a tablet for the longest time. Researching tablets. Playing with tablets at Best Buy and Office Depot. (But as you can see from the picture, I haven't even mastered the computer yet...ayayay. I can't get the picture to turn sideways!).
Anyway, I checked the ads this morning and saw that Office Depot had 10" Lenovo tablets on sale for $229 so I broke down and bought one.
I had a number of concerns about getting a tablet:
- Cost was a big factor. I have been really wanting a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 but they are close to $400(!). Apple tablets are even more (but I am not an Apple fan so this is kind of a non-issue).
- Then I was worried that I wouldn't use it. In theory, I will take it everywhere with me and be able to work anywhere. In theory.
- Plus it is one more gadget to keep track of.
- I was also wondering if I could ditch my cell phone all together and use this tablet. It doesn't have a 3g or 4g connection but it does get wifi and most places I go have free wifi...but not all.
- I was even hoping that I could replace my laptop with a tablet. That would be great!
And after playing with my tablet all day, I have found that:
- You get what you pay for. While the price was very reasonable and the tablet itself is pretty good, I found that some apps are not configured for Lenovo tablets (I'm guessing I wouldn't have a problem loading these on a Samsung tablet).
- I love the fact that it is so small and portable but it's still big enough so that I can easily read stuff on it.
- It doesn't multitask and nearly all of the work I do on my computer (as opposed to reading the news or using social media) requires both writing and research at the same time. I also do a lot of formatting documents and I am not sure how feasible this would be on a tablet.
- Ditching my cell phone all together probably won't work that well. I did put a texting app on it as well as Skype but there will be times (like when we are driving or in the mountains) where if I needed to make a phone call I would be out of luck.
In conclusion:
- I can return the tablet within fourteen days if I don't like it (this may, in fact, happen).
- On the other hand, I have wanted to get hubby a tablet so he may get this one if I decide I want to pay more for a better tablet and decide to buy the Galaxy.
- I will play with this tablet for a couple more days and figure out if there are any good ways to really use the tablet for work.
- I will also consider getting another type of tablet (like a Surface or an Envy which I understand can multitask and use MS Office programs, etc) which is a little more "computer-ish" and a little less "tablet-ish".
I have an iPad and although I really like it, they certainly have the limitations you mentioned. It won't be replacing my laptop anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the fence about tablets. My daughter has an ipad but my husband is the one who uses it the most. I'm always on my desktop. The tablet was great when we traveled because we would buy airtime as we needed it to get internet access wherever we were because we don't have smartphones. It was lighter than lugging around a laptop and it was great for playing solitaire on the plane. But like you said, it's limited as to what you can do with it. You can't put a memory card or a flash drive into an ipad, which I think is a big downside.
ReplyDelete"You get what you pay for." - Certainly. I was hesitant to buy one at first since I already have a laptop. My mom insisted since they already have one. I bought one and found it quite convenient for me. I can bring it anywhere and use it anytime. - Betty
ReplyDelete