Best Tablet for Traveling
Replies: 8 - Last Post: Dec 19, 2012 10:51 AM Last Post By: Angllama
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Best Tablet for Traveling
Hey,So at some point I am going to want a tablet to use while living at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. I might buy one before I leave the US or I may order one from Amazon from the Lake.
In either case I am trying to determine which would be the best tablet for a life in Central America.
The two main ones I have been considering is the Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7.
I chatted with an Amazon custome service rep and she informed me that there will be several limitations for the Kindle Fire when I am in Central America. I will not be able to purchase movies or songs. However, I can purchase songs using a computer and then transfer them to the Kindle. I am not sure if I will be able to do that with movies. One concern I have with the Kindle Fire is that it only has 8 gigs of storage and is mainly intended to be used with the Amazon Cloud. This means I will need to be at a wifi location to access the Cloud content.
As far as the Nexus 7 goes: I tried one out and loved it. The screen is fantastic. However, I read on the internet that there are some major limits in terms of using Google Play overseas. And the Nexus 7 is based on the Google Play store. So that gives me some pause as well.
Anyway, any thoughts, suggestions would be great. Perhaps there are other tablets I could consider in addition to the two I listed above. I am certainly open to tablets less then $200 if they are not junk.
1
In either case I am trying to determine which would be the best tablet for a life in Central America.
I think the first question is what are you going to use it for? This will probably be the biggest influence on what you buy. If you're going to be living somewhere, rather than constantly moving around, have you considered a laptop/netbook?
2
Both those devices are basically 7" Android tablets Wi-Fi only, no significant storage, and no possibility to expand them. They're really the same thing. The Nexus 7 is the more capable of the two and a tad more expensive. I carried a Nexus 7 for a couple of months and I've given it to my daughter, 'cos it's not going to replace my 11" Netbook (email, surfing, photos, movies, working on the move) and my 3G WiFi Kindle - monster battery life - any book, anywhere, any time.As #1 says you need to decide what you want to use the thing for - a netbook is more versatile.
4
Lots of older books that i would like to read are not available for Kindle, so i don't bother to get one.
so are those older books available in Central America while travelling? Of course there will be books that are not available through the Kindle. But given that there are more than 1 million titles to choose from (including many, many that are otherwise really hard to find in paper copies) the chances of you finding something to read with Kindle while staying in Central America are many times bigger compared to finding those books locally.
5
I am actually weighing up these two (or something similar) for a 6-8 week trip through Europe myself. I have a laptop but want to travel light.I would like to know if these tablets worked well for web browsing - my main needs would be to book hostels, use trip advisor and so on - without having to search down increasingly rare internet cafes.
Could anyone who owns the Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire tell me their experience? Thanks,
6
I do not own one yet, but am purchasing the Nexus 7. Much faster quad processor, and many rave reviews. There are now 16 & 32 GB options. The most common negative comment regarding the Nexus 7 is no expandable memory, no rear facing camera, and no HDMI (or other) video out. I was looking for a highly rated, small tablet to take with me to Belize. I personally only want it to check my e/mail, web surf, read books, & watch pre-downloaded movies @ the airport. I want to carry a smaller and less expensive tablet than my iPad 3, which I don't want to keep with me all the time. And, it is not important to me to be able to use the tablet to take pictures.If you want to take pictures with a tablet, you probably don't want the Nexus. If you want to play music from it directly or it is important to you to have better sound, the Kindle Fire supposedly has better sound. If you want a tablet to store a large volume of music & videos you may not want the Nexus unless you spring for the 32GB model. I don't really fully understand the
HSPA technology, but it sounds like a good addition & well worth $50 more.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/nexus-7s-new-pricing-is-official-16gb-for-199-32gb-for-249/
http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/google-nexus-7-16gb/4505-3126_7-35338334-2.html?refresh=1353167189454#postComments
http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/google-nexus-7-16gb/4505-3126_7-35338334-2.html?refresh=1353167189454#postComments
7
After doing more research, I decided since I also want this tablet for travel, having the mobile network option is worth the (currently) $50 more. The Nexus 7, 32GB with HPSA/mobile data comes with an unlocked SIM card (AT7T or T-Mobile). This makes it much more versatile for travel, IMO. This is what helped to convince me:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407896,00.asp
http://www.hardcorpstravel.com/2011/07/how-to-use-cell-phone-while-traveling.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-gsm.htm
So, I can attempt to use my Verizon MiFi when traveling, or if this is not functioning, use a preloaded, "pay as you go" AT&T plan. Now, to try to find one of these bad boys in stock somewhere........
8
Cheers. It could be a challenge finding one at this time. I think I will go the Nexus, its more designed for a variety of applications, whereas the Kindle is mainly a platform for media consumption. I don't care for the cameras they have in these things, I think if you want to take photos, buy a real camera. Storage doesn't worry me much either, it will be all in the cloud soon.
