So i find I'm going to be in the need to use a tablet as a demonstrator for an online application in the near future. As it's going to be used for sales demonstrations i'm looking for one with a good screen. At the moment, the current contender is an iPad however i'm more of an android man and wondered if there were any alternatives on the market? Any advice welcomed.
It's been a short while since I last looked, but the Android tablet market is kinda poor these days. I've got an ageing Sony Tablet Z, and I couldn't find anything worth the upgrade. The best I found was a Huawei tablet, with the majority of the competition being no-name China specials. Personally, if you've got the budget and the software you're demoing works on iOS, I'd go for the iPad. Just be aware it's a 4:3 display, not 16:9 like most Android tablets.
Android tablets are pretty much universally terrible in my experience, though the newer Samsung effort are pretty decent I hear. Tbh if it's for a PWA or the like... just buy an iPad.
Guess it depends on what your online app is what about an Spectre X360 13.3 or 15.6, can flip around and be a tablet, also a useful PC that will plug into all sorts of projectors and use remote pointers etc. Unless you are demoing solely Android/Ios stuff, then probably get an ipad but even this can be done via dev tools at good speed on Windows.
This. I've been a fan of android since my HTC Magic, and wouldn't consider anything else for a phone. Even with a free iPhone from work, which I desperately tried to like, I ended up picking up my own Android handset after just a few months (and now have a very fancy dedicated Roon remote in the guest room) ...but the tablets are another story, trash in comparison to Apple. After multiple flavours of budget and very much not budget android tablets over the years, I couldn't be happier with my iPad Mini. In comparison to laptop/tablet convertibles in an iPad sort of price range, go for the iPad if it will do what you want it to without caveats or limitations. There's an argument to say a £1200+ convertible would be a good alternative, but then it should be at £1200+.
Another vote for Apple. I'm no fanboy, but they really are ( at least in my experience) the only tablets actually worth their salt at present
Not trying to nay-say, but what is wrong with the existing android tablets? Is it the hardware vs. cost argument?
Convertible 360 costs are comparable to an iPad or good android tablet with reasonable memory. 700quid for a ryzen x360. I think dell also do them, they are heavier, so depends on how interactive your demos are but I always found my radius convertible easy to hold due to tent fold, I really like the tent option, I am thinking of switching back to it as I miss that on my new laptop. The highend Samsung androids tablets are great especially for showy stuff as the screens are superior to Apple, so if you were to get an Android I'd go for one of those, even my old first gen tab s( 10.5 2560x1600) is better screenwise on colours and brightness than my missus iPad pro 12 inch. Performance is another matter... but 1st gen ipad is unlikely to hold its own these days. The large Ipad Pro is a good size by the way, if you were to go ipad for demos its might be a good option. Latest samsung Tab S6 has 8gb ram and an 855 snapdragon so should be one of the fastest things out there. Downside with Samsung is lack of updates after a few years, Apple seems better in this regard.
I think it's just software, unless it's just a fundamental flaw of how vendors put together the tablets - I expected the cheap android tablets I've had to be rubbish, but I've had a high-spec Asus Transformer and Nvidia Shield K1 and they've both been great for a year, and then just gone a bit janky. You know you can get an iPad for £400, right?
The bulk of the problem is android... for the most part it seems to just treat tablets as a scaled up phone and that ultimately creates a awful experience.
ftfy... The Nexus 7 was not a good tablet, it just wasn't as bad as the alternatives... it was popular because it was cheap.
You can all manner of things cheap, you can even get convertibles cheap, whether you should is another matter, a cheap android where you can add storage via SD cards fine but the Apple tablet with 32Gb is not really much cop, unless you it has just one job.
If all you're doing with it is firing up safari and demonstrating a PWA, the storage or lack thereof is a non-issue.
So after a few days of shopping around, it seems the iPad is going to be the best option. The screen quality and build quality and visual looks are certainly much better than the competition in this sector.
I might hijack here, to take the reins anyway since it looks like @WarrenJ has it sussed. Does anyone have an opinions on second hand iPads, particularly with regards to battery life? I'm getting frustrated discovering that my daughter's fire tablet has decided to un-download something, or simply remove an application, and it's inability to download certain things to the SD. Usually in really convenient places like 40,000 feet in the air half way across the Atlantic. So I want to replace it with an iPad of a reasonable capacity, but she's also 6 so want to replace it with a non-new iPad of reasonable capacity. How long is it reasonable to expect the battery to be serviceable for? Would a s/h Mini 4th gen in good nick be a decent buy in theory?
The quality of battery life on second hand devices can be wildly different from device to device. It's wholly dependent on the usage of the iPad over the time its been used. From a quick Google iPad batteries are expected to perform correctly for approximately 1000 charge cycles. Which for most people would be several years. Personally, if i was to purchase second hand. I wouldn't mind buying one up-to 2 years of age as there would be another couple of years usage left in it.
Apple do have a refurb site, so might be worth looking there https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished Kimbie
