Well I bought my first tablet, now why am I supposed to like it better than my net book?

Tablets are on the decline. Most people I know feel that a decent size phone is better than a tiny phone + tablet. I don’t tablet other than developing for them at work. You’re not missing anything.

This tablet was being blown out at a crazy price, if I don’t find myself in love with it I will just give it to a niece or nephew for a gift.
And thanks for the answer.

The iPad mini works really well for me for trips because I can read books on it and internet surf as well as checking e-mail, etc. When I lost my last one, I thought of just upgrading my phone but decided that the tablet is a better fit for me.

However, I have no need to convince you that it is good for you.

It really depends on what you do. If you are a relatively passive person who primarily uses a computer for just surfing the net, reading e-books, or watching videos, then the tablet is a good thing as it’s smaller, lighter, and has better battery life. Personally, I use my tablet for reading e-books and consider it superior to my laptop for that particular task. It’s also far easier to carry, and lasts a lot longer than 5½ hours between charges.

However, if you want to to more productive things, then tablets are inferior to netbooks in part due to the inferior keyboard that takes up a good percentage of the screen. If I wanted to make a spreadsheet or do something involving a lot of typing, I’d go with a full-on computer.

One other thing to keep in mind is that there are many apps for tablets that have no equivalent on laptops. I have yet to see a Windows or OS X equivalent of Angry Birds.

Thanks @jerv I do have another question this is an Android tablet, do I need to put an anti virus program on it????

I’ve owned no fewer than a dozen tablets over the past 5 years—both iPads and Android models—and wound up returning or selling every single one. I always get sucked by the advertised benefits and/or low price, and I always discover how little I like using them. My iPhone 6 Plus does everything I need.

Don’t want to take the wind out if your sails. Hope you enjoy your new toy.

Thanks @Pachy and this little toy was cheap,so I get to try it if I hate it nice Christmas present for a niece or nephew.

@SQUEEKY2, please let me know how you like it. I’m a gadget freak, in case you hadn’t guessed. ;-)

I run Avast! on my phone just to be safe. I’m not sure how necessary it really is, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.

Given that I personally don’t use my tablet for surfing the ‘net and transfer files over a USB cable, I don’t bother with that on my tablet though. If I actually ever connected the thing to the ‘net then I would, but I don’t so I don’t.

The main reason I have it at all is simply to read .PDF versions of RPG sourcebooks; as the dead-tree versions are usually 8½” x 11”, it’s not practical (or pleasant) to try reading them off of a phone-sized screen. Before tablets and smartphones were a thing, I had a first-gen Acer Aspire One netbook that I bought mostly for the same reason.

Amazed you bothered, considering the amount of vitriol you have spewed in the past about your “tablet hate”.
If it was so inexpensive because it’s a cheap-ass model with a lot of design flaws, you’ll probably hate it as much as you expect to.

Why should you like it better? You shouldn’t. It’s different. It fills a different set of needs.

I like netbooks as I like typing on a regular keyboard. Ironically, both of my previous netbooks ended up having keyboard problems. However, I’m not into apps, I’m just into a few sites like FB and Fluther and googling stuff. I occasionally watch a movie by hooking up the netbook to the TV with the HDMI cable – that’s about it.

I’m not familiar with tablets at all, but I suspect they must be quite useful, and my reason is that every young person and every person with an aptitude for technology swears by the things.

That’s your problem, no one forced you to buy the thing.

What’s a net book?

What’s with the hateful answers??

I honestly think many people tend to gush about how much they love XYZ, because everyone around them is gushing how much they like XYZ. They want to fit in with the crowd.
Once upon a time there was a discussion over my flip, dumb phone. I was getting ragged on because I didn’t have the newest smart phone. Someone said something about needing internet access when you’re grocery shopping.
I said, “Why would I need internet access when I’m grocery shopping?”
The only person who responded, did so with a condescending, “Oh, Val. I love you.” and a pat on the head for the silly girl.

I went to Radio Shack looking for a lens cap for my 35mm Canon Rebel. Believe it or not, Walmart didn’t have one. NO one had one. The gal at Radio shack said, “Well, cameras are just going obsolete. Everyone uses their phones now.” (Pat on the head.)
Well, yeah. For throw away snap shots. A smart phone can be compared to an Instamatic. I don’t think a phone could do this

@Dutchess_III: He’s made his disdain of these products pretty clear . That’s just one example.
I think you don’t give the general population much credit. Maybe people like stuff because they actually like stuff.

Boy did I ever make it clear I disliked them with that post..NOT I did say I couldn’t understand the craze over them and I preferred a keypad.
Boy am I glad you keep such a sharp eye on me @canidmajor makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

(Maybe people like stuff because they actually like stuff.)Or maybe they are sheep and with the right marketing you can convince the general public that Alpo is a high class beef stew.

I understand the “sheep” comment. So many people jump on whatever band wagon instantly and pretend it’s so GREAT, when it really isn’t.

I’ve shied away from the touch screen stuff since it came out, because it was just too damn touchy-twitchy. Some of them, you just hover over something and it goes there when you didn’t intend for it to. You don’t even have to touch it.
However, over the last year or so I’ve noticed that they aren’t so touchy-twitchy any more, so I’m warming up to them.

The more you use it, the more comfortable you’ll get with it, @SQUEEKY2.

And Kudos for asking even when a few folks were ready to jump down your throat about it.

If you bought an Apple iPad, I might have a few answers ;)

The only advantages I can think of are reduced price, smaller size/weight, and reduced complexity (for people who find computers complex).

@Dutchess_III Some smartphones have 16 Mega-pixel cameras that are pretty decent, and comparable to many sub-$200 cameras. While a smartphone camera won’t compete with a Canon of comparable cost, I doubt your Rebel has many apps available, and the call quality on it probably sucks.

As for needing the smartphone for grocery shopping, some stores have their loyalty/rewards program hooked to an app. You like coupons? Forget paper coupons as, when shopping at certain stores, fliers have gone the way of the 8-track.

Capacitive screens have varying degrees of sensitivity, and there are some that even I find a bit too touchy; my wife’s old Droid 2 was one of them. But the big thing is that, unlike keys or the resistive screens in cheap tablets/phones, a capacitive screen requires just a gentle touch. If you try pressing them, you’ll flatten your fingertip and it’ll be read as you pressing half the screen at once rather than just a specific spot corresponding to just one key. Just a gentle caress is enough; you’re trying to tickle it, not poke or scratch it!

It wasn’t a $200 camera, @jerv.
I never used coupons in the past, why should I hassle with it now?
I like the touch screen on the pad I got for free when I renewed my cell phone account. Much nicer than the old one my job provided for us, which I had from 2011 to 2013.

@Dutchess_III No, the Rebel costs about as much as a smartphone, but it has only one function. Of course, with the way most cell plans are, the phones generally cost $200 or less, and can definitely get more than half the quality of a Canon while also having other functions. While a smartphone camera will not ever be good enough for the avid photographer who thinks nothing of spending $800 on just a lens, for the majority of people they are far more than adequate.
As for not clipping coupons, I don’t have the cash flow to spend more money than I have to, so I don’t; I use the money I save to cover bills that would otherwise be unpaid. Meanwhile, even those people who do have the money could also benefit; rich people didn’t get and don’t stay rich by paying more than they had/have to either.
And yes, compared to the tablets and phones of even 2–4 years ago, the new ones are much nicer.

Well I have had the tablet for a few days now,and getting used to it, it won’t replace my net book but I feel it might have a space for it, smaller than even the net book to take on a trip,and less expensive if broken ,lost ,or stolen,seems to Skype and surf the web just fine.
Still I prefer a key pad over touchscreen, but it’s not bad.

@SQUEEKY2: I bet you can plug a keyboard into it and use it that way.

I have a bluetooth keyboard for my tablet, saving the whole “plug in” thing. I haven;t used it much though, and when I have it’s been mainly just messing around with various remote desktop apps to access my big computer from my tablet.

I prefer the key pad too. I type 56 WPM, but touch screen takes me down to about 15 and I hate that.

Yeah, you can buy tiny keyboards for it. I have one, but I hardly ever plug it in. When I use mine, it’s just for a minute here or a minute there and it’s resting on my legs.

You can buy any size keyboard you want – it’s external, so it’s whatever suits you.

I can’t stand typing on a touch keypad. I do it when I have to, like on a phone, but other than that, no thanks.