My Next Tablet: IPad mini or Kindle Fire

I love my PlayBook but am using it now only to play movies while travelling. Also, although 4G LTE it now only functions on WiFi and there seems no fix. I have Z30 which is fantastic, but I like magazines like National Geographic and Discover and would like to read them electronically in a larger PlayBook size format. I do a certain amount of text editing, so may do some of that, though rarely. So, what new tablet to get? IPad mini: but I'm not an apple fan (remember when Jobs said the PlayBook, b/c of size was DOA); or Kindle Fire? Or something else?

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Having both in the family, based on user satisfaction, the Fire wins, hands down. Our son as the Mini, it was issued by the school, brand new. It is functional, and useful, but does have its limits.

My mother-in-law has the Kindle Fire HD. She absolutely loves it, and uses the HDMI to stream movies to her TV, and a host of other things, and it has given her zero problems with reliability.

Kindle fire HDX 8.9 wins as Mt next purchase

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I'm not in the US (Canada). Does that make a difference?

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No question about it both the Amazon Fire HDX 8.9 and the Apple Mini iPad (and the 9.7" iPad air) are really good tablets. Depends on whether you want to be in the Apple garden or the Amazon enclosure. If you are not in the USA the choice may boil down to which serves your country better for your needs. With Amazon prime (currently $99 per yeear) in the USA one can get a lot of streamed content at no additional cost.

None of the above. Go for a Windows 8.1 tablet. Full blown computer in a tablet. Sold my Ipad and picked up a Dell Venue 8 Pro. No regrets. Micro SD slot. Micro USB.

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Originally Posted by moegumby

None of the above. Go for a Windows 8.1 tablet. Full blown computer in a tablet. Sold my Ipad and picked up a Dell Venue 8 Pro. No regrets. Micro SD slot. Micro USB.

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Yes there are several available . The 8" ones include the Toshiba Encore ( which I have also has an HDMI slot) , Lenovo Miix and Acer version. The latest Intel Atom processor is the Baypath in the 3700 series which is better than the 2500 series. The 8" tablets which now are shown on Amazon (USA) at about $200 generally use the 3740 processor while larger ones may use 3770 which is somewhat faster.

Thanks for the advice. Amazing. I updated the operating system on desktop and it restored my LTE connectivity. My son recommended nexus 7 or10. Because of my main uses I'll think I'll probably go Kindle Fire.

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Fire HDX is great for quickly viewing Amazon product (movies music games etc) and also checking Amazon orders and for awhile I loved it just for that, how clear the screen looks and the great sound and how smoothly it functions. But after that wore off, I noticed, looking at certain sites occasionally when one is in a hurry (without an app) is a pain--ie just tried browsing ebay quickly for something and it is hard. Dumped most of my office apps once Office came out for the iPad. No way to transfer files directly back and forth to mac when connected via USB without buying special software. Also there is one website I use a lot and on the fire, I have to download a file to read the url and then find the file and open it etc. Just enough hassle to have me limit my usage of the Fire. Clearly Amazon makes it easy to view their product and much harder to do other things. Bottom line--after 3 months I still loved it but after 6 months, sometimes I love the fire and sometimes i hate its limitations.

Ipad--got the office 365 subscription and the apps finally have enough links to the cloud I use (pogoplug which connects to my hard drive) that I get productivity out of it and Ok way to transfer files. I use the browser a lot on the iPad also as there are a lot of websites with iPad friendly versions and I like the iPad screen. I don't like using apps when I can use the browser but I like the fact that there are all the apps for any functionality I need (is shazam, a good voice recorder etc). The Air is light and I can open a certain amount of tabs on the browser, after that it crashes. So bottom line IOS has its limits but still the most trusty of the tablets when I have to accomplish something, especially as I dont travel with a mac.

Dell Venue 8--Tried it and it worked fine and certainly had powerful desktop features. But I had to relearn too much about windows to get the most out of how to use it as it is a full windows tablet. Ive been on a mac for some years and I just did not want to maintain windows and learn all the quirks about how to adjust power settings, try to view something that was small type or had small menus on a larger screen, constantly download the windows updates, figure out troubleshooting like why some icons were returning blank pages instead of icon pictures etc. I was worried also about warranty issues as dell support was slow and cumbersome ( once office 365 came to the iPad, I was fine with iPad and then using the odd windows program via virtualization on the mac so I gave up the Dell)

Blackberry playbook--Got a 64GB for way under $100, the screen cracked accidentally but honestly worth the size now to store and watch movies, or create home made vids in sunlight which it does beautifully (shooting footage indoors is more washed out but sunlight is beautiful) and for the occasional flash viewing of a website or viewing of content via hdmi in a hotel room. I never worry also about it being stolen when I travel. I dont regret the purchase for the price but I can see why people who paid much more are upset.

HP Touchpad--was my first tablet and I'm hanging on because I love webOS and would like to see what happens to the OS if the LG webOS tvs that are in the stores this month catch on and the webOS phone finally gets introduced (by webOS ports or whoever). I fire it up once or twice a month when I need an additional 10 inch screen besides the iPad. It plays movies fine and has a sound hound clone so works OK, I don't try to do much else with it as the browser is too old (I have android on it in case I need netflix or whatever in a pinch but I don't like android so rarely boot to that side)

One of the distinctive features of BlackBerry PlayBook is its browser i.e. similar to desktop... it was even highlighted by some PlayBook users (during old days) to justify the lack of apps... and this is where Dell Venue Pro 8 stands out from the rest... not to mention the full functionality of MS Offices...

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Originally Posted by joshua_sx1

One of the distinctive features of BlackBerry PlayBook is its browser i.e. similar to desktop... it was even highlighted by some PlayBook users (during old days) to justify the lack of apps... and this is where Dell Venue Pro 8 stands out from the rest... not to mention the full functionality of MS Offices...

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The other Windows 8" tablets with the Atom 3740 processor.also use Windows Explorer 11 and would be expected to have about the same browser speed and they also have the Home and studentversion of Mictosoft Office.

My wife has just got the Sony Experia Z2 Tablet. Completely awesome 10 inch Superbitude! And waterproof too!

Z10STL100-2/10.2.1.2141 O2 UK

I'd lean towards the Dell Venue 7 Pro. Read today there may be more Window 8 mini tablets coming shortly, so hopefully more options are coming .

For me, I bought a Dell Venue 7 and Asus Memo Pad HD 7 for my wife who browses and plays a few simple games. The Dell is much smoother but the Asus has a better camera which matters to her, so she's deciding what she wants. For a productivity tablet though, I wouldn't consider anything other than a Windows 8 or even a surface.

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Hmmm. I have an office laptop and a home 'laptop' which is really a transportable ( Dell Precision 6500). I really want this for books, magazines and movies. Only occasional editing of word documents. The z30 is my most time browser. So productivity is really my office laptops job. Which is why I lean towards Kindle. Am I wrong?

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Since you are more inclined in reading books, magazines and watching movies, I guess, Kindle is the right choice... not because you cannot do that in Dell Venue Pro 8 but because Kindle is made for that purposes...


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Ordered the Kindle. Still love my PlayBook tho!

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Time has come for me as well, unfortunately!! I tried windows tablets, surface 2 and Dell Venue..windows 8 is a maze..just to turn the dimmer down is hassle...thought about the Kindle and I am watching the Tegra Note 7 closely for a price break. Hate the idea but work is demanding me to make a move.. Chen, BB10 tablet, come on!

Have the kindle. Arrived next day. Only wifi available in Canada. Amazing screen and very responsive. Netflix works great. And has my favorite magazines. Interface will take a while to get used to. My thoughts: PlayBook with its HDMI out was ahead of its time. Sigh.

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I also bought the Kindle Fire HDX when my PB died a few weeks ago. I am impressed with the speed and screen quality. I find myself reading more and enjoying Netflix. I'm not using the Kindle for business as much as I did the PB, but I'm okay with that. Still rockin' my Bold 9900 though. I don't ever see switching from a BB phone unless the company goes under.

Originally Posted by greenpoise

Time has come for me as well, unfortunately!! I tried windows tablets, surface 2 and Dell Venue..windows 8 is a maze..just to turn the dimmer down is hassle...thought about the Kindle and I am watching the Tegra Note 7 closely for a price break. Hate the idea but work is demanding me to make a move.. Chen, BB10 tablet, come on!

Very true that Microsoft has had problems to overcome with Windows 8 but they seem to be making progress. Perhaps a relook at it with the latest additions and features is worth while. It still requires a learning period and attitude adjustment.