When you’re a gadget lover, it seems every day presents you with the next got-to-have-it item. There are so many categories of gear – bags, smart phones, computers, media players, and tablets – that you can’t afford to try them all. For example, we just had to buy a new laptop for our daughter to use for the new school year, so I don’t have much money left in the new gear budget.
I was interested in trying out one of the new 7″ tablets, like Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, perhaps. I think a 7″ tablet would be great to throw into my purse to take with me everywhere. The Nexus has everything I’d need to keep myself entertained: high-resolution 7″ 1280X800 screen that will make ebooks, magazines, and movies sharp, clear, and easy on my eyes; a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and 1GB of memory to make everything lightning fast; 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth to keep me connected; Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) for access to all the latest features; and a 4325mAh battery for 9 hours of HD video playback or 10 hours of reading or surfing. But even the $199 for an 8GB Nexus 7 isn’t in my new toy budget right now.
There are ways to expand your tech budget so you can buy more of the things you’d like, such as buying used or refurbished gear, if you can wait until someone tires of it and wants to unload it. You can also try an auction site like HappyBidDay, where you purchase bids and use them to earn the right to buy tablet computers, TVs, vacuum cleaners, MP3 players, gift cards, and a variety of other products for amazingly low prices. Go check them out to see what they have to offer and decide what your next new toy will be.
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Janet, I have to say that I am quite fond of the 7 inch tablet format. I had an HTC View and recently ordered a Nexus 7. The screen is generally big enough and the package is generally small enough that the portability/usability ratio is really good.
Also, at just a touch over half a pound it feels MUCH lighter than the iPad…
You may have to wait a bit to find a Nexus7 on the used market though!
I was just wondering what is the life span of the battery in tablets and how hard is it to change them.
Unlike smart phones that have a battery you just pop out to replace, tablets are very very different- I’ve seen where you had to take a blow dryer to get one opened.
So actually once the battery dies in a tablet, so does the tablet.
That is why I am looking at the Galaxy Note. A Phonenote or a Notephone I guess you’d call it. Anyways Samsung should be coming out with a newer version soon… and I can’t wait 🙂
Aren’t penny auction sites largely scams where you pay even if you don’t get the item?
@Bob You are right that replacing any tablet’s battery can be difficult, but that assumes you are going to do it yourself. At least for the iPad you can take it to the store and have it replaced for $99. Considering an equivalent laptop battery is about the same plus the fact that when you go to the Apple store what they do is just give you a replacement iPad so you get a new battery, back case and glass screen. If your iPad is a bit dinged up that’s a bonus. Hopefully other manufacturers will support their machines as well.
@Bob I’ve never needed to have a battery changed in a tablet. The original iPads we had are still being used by nieces and a nephew with the same batteries in them.
Thanks everyone.
It was just something that was bothering me. My iPad is still running on the same battery.
Apple says that the batteries are good for 3years… Hopefully that $99 replacement is correct.
Do we know of anyone who has recently had this done to their iPad?