Which Tablet Size?

[TromboneAl]

My Google Nexus 7 (2013) has been great, but now, despite a reset, it's too slow.

I suddenly realized that I should get a new tablet.

Because I have a smartphone, the tablet never leaves the house (and doesn't need to fit in my pocket). I use it around the house for recipes, Google searches, checking news, etc.

My eyes aren't what they used to be.

Would you recommend an 8" or 10" tablet?

 

[timo2]

I have a samsung 7" that I used for ebooks. It is great for that, but not really anything else. for looking at graphical media like videos my lg 10" is a good size.

 

[REWahoo]

My eyes aren't what they used to be.

10" definitely.

 

[Rustic23]

I just got the Ipad 6th gen 9.7 inch. $329 for 32 gig. I also have a Mini 4. I like the Mini 4, but the 9.7 inch is easier to read. However, if you are an Android house, would recommend you stick with a common operating system. 9 to 10 inch

 

[Sunset]

Bigger is Better

 

[Freedom56]

My Google Nexus 7 (2013) has been great, but now, despite a reset, it's too slow.

I suddenly realized that I should get a new tablet.

Because I have a smartphone, the tablet never leaves the house (and doesn't need to fit in my pocket). I use it around the house for recipes, Google searches, checking news, etc.

My eyes aren't what they used to be.

Would you recommend an 8" or 10" tablet?

I just replaced my Nexus 7 about 3 weeks ago with an 8" ASUS Zenpad Z8 (Verizon). I use the Nexus 7 now as a internet radio streaming device. I bought the Zenpad on Ebay. I don't use the SIM card for Verizon and use it with Wifi only. This tablet is fast, updates to Android 7, and has a long battery life. The display on it is fabulous. I installed a 32 GB high performance micro SD card to extend the memory to 46 GB for apps and storage. I also have a 10" ASUS transformer. I find that the 10" tablets are too big to carry around. I take the tablet with me when we travel to perform all our banking, investments, email, monitor our home security cameras, home thermostats, weather stations, and home sprinkler systems.

 

[Hermit]

I bought a Samsung Tab A 10" tablet and a Moto G cell phone the same day. There is quite a bit of commonality between them in the software, but they are not identical. I would not want to try to tackle two totally different operating systems at the same time. I like the tablet for use away from the house/computer but where I don't have to carry it. It is easier to see and read. I like the cell phone to carry because it is convenient for carrying even if it is harder to see and read using it. I currently keep the tablet at my house which is under construction and use WiFi there. The cell phone connects to whatever is available. I do use the tablet for WiFi phone calls when I am up at the house. I gave one of the smaller format tablets to one of my kids because it was too hard to read.

 

[W2R]

10" definitely.

Definitely. I got a 9.7" iPad on Black Friday, and it has been great. I prefer it to a smaller tablet because of my aging vision.

Like you, I never take my iPad anywhere. So, I got the cheapest (32GB and "wifi only") version they had at the time, for $249. Cheap is good, for me, since I only use my iPad for frivolous games.

 

[Jerry1]

Bigger is Better

I thought that too, but when I went and looked at the iPad Pro 12.9", it was just too big. I got the 10.5" and I like it. I wish it were a bit lighter though but other than that, I'm happy with the screen size and the purchase in general. Unfortunately, they upgraded the regular iPad (the 9.7") and I probably would have gone for that to save some money. About the only major difference now is the amount of memory. I got one with 256GB but probably could have easily got by with 128GB.

 

[Koogie]

You'll definitely need 10 inches to be satisfied....

 

[Midpack]

Depends on your budget. I wouldn't have less than a 9.7" iPad, and like the OP, mine rarely leaves the house - so I'd consider a larger 10.5" or 12.9" iPad. But they're much pricier, so if you want to keep cost down I'd buy a 9.7" iPad.

It also depends on what you use a tablet for. If you're just surfing, eBooks, email & basic tasks there's probably no need for a pricier tablet, 8" might be enough. But if your tablet is slowly replacing your laptop/desktop, a larger more capable tablet with more GB storage might make sense. Good luck.

 

[bloom2708]

Get at least 32gb of storage. I upgraded from a 10.1" 16gb Samsung Galaxy Tab A to a 9.7" 128gb iPad.

Both are very usable. I was limited on Apps and movie downloads with 16GB + SD card. Only certain apps can move to the SD card.

9.7" or 10.1" are both "right sized".

 

[MissMolly]

I have a Kindle Fire HD 8. It's the perfect size for me. I use it every day for crosswords, card games, puzzles, word games, email, Facebook, web surfing, recipes, etc. I wanted a smaller tablet since I travel frequently and wanted something easier to carry around. I download movies from Netflix or Amazon Prime to watch on the plane. I don't read on it as I prefer my Kindle ereader for that since the Fire is backlit and harder on the eyes. I have a desktop in my office when working from home and I also travel with an Asus Zenbook for working while on the road. But my Fire is for sitting around and playing in the evening. I love my Fire.

 

[Janet H]

My Google Nexus 7 (2013) has been great, but now, despite a reset, it's too slow.

I suddenly realized that I should get a new tablet.

Because I have a smartphone, the tablet never leaves the house (and doesn't need to fit in my pocket). I use it around the house for recipes, Google searches, checking news, etc.

My eyes aren't what they used to be.

Would you recommend an 8" or 10" tablet?

10 inch. Pay for as much storage as is available as this is the thing that will limit the life of the tablet.

Also - make sure if you stick with an android product that it comes with Android 8 (oreo) or later or is up-gradable to 8 . This is important because older versions are becoming unsupported and things stops working as expected and you will experience slowdowns.. The good news is that 8 will be much easier to update than older versions as there was a major rewrite that affected how this occurs.

Costco often has some great deal on tablets - just be sure to check the android version.

 

[TromboneAl]

10" it is, with or upgradable to Android 8.

Costco—good idea.

 

[kcowan]

You'll definitely need 10 inches to be satisfied....

Yes don't try flipboard with anything less.

 

[Koogie]

Yes don't try flipboard with anything less.

 

[TromboneAl]

By mistake, I ordered the 8" Galaxy Tab S2. Since I got it on Costco.com, the return was super easy.

But then I had the choice:

1. Tab S2 on Costco, returnable: $320
2. Tab S2 on Amazon, not returnable: $289
3. Refurbished Tab S2 on Amazon, third party, returnable: $254.

Went with option 3.

 

[Bamaman]

I bought 4 Fire 8 tablets on sale for $40 each and one Fire 10 for $99. The 10 is much better for around the house jse. The 8s are great to travel with.

I seldom even use my laptop any longer.

In our travels, I see virtually every person of all social classes constantly pecking away on their cellphones. I wonder how their eyesight will be in 10 years with such micro fonts? And I see social skills deteriorating fast. Since ER, I chucked my cellphone and am much happier not talking or texting on the phone any longer. But the tablets are great for fast checking of social media and email.

 

[brett]

I use an 10" ipad at home and for travel. If Apple eventually release an ipad 5 I will buy it. I want something smaller and lighter for travel.

My ipad is 5 years old and cannot be upgraded to the latest version of the OS. This caused me issues this winter while travelling. One airline site in Asia did not like it. I had never had a problem until this winter.

 

[Marita40]

Love my Ipad mini. I travel with it and read with it all the time.

 

[bUU]

I bought 4 Fire 8 tablets on sale for $40 each and one Fire 10 for $99. The 10 is much better for around the house jse. The 8s are great to travel with.

I don't mean to take the thread off-track, but I have to ask: Do they really not support Google Drive, Google Docs and Google Sheets? I can live without YouTube, but I have far too much invested in Google Drive to consider a tablet that (seemingly out of spite) won't allow me to install a competitor's apps.

 

[bUU]

My ipad is 5 years old and cannot be upgraded to the latest version of the OS. This caused me issues this winter while travelling.

I've got a different set of problems. My 10" tablet is a Google Pixel C, which was such an embarrassment that it was discontinued after two years without a replacement. It has a very nasty bug - every so often it stops accepting your PIN code or pattern to unlock it. The original run of the Pixel C had another bug on top of that: When that unlock problem happened, hard reset would fail. Effectively, your device was bricked. The "fix" was to make it so, when the unlock problem happens, you can now do a hard reset and start over with factory settings. "Thanks." I just had to reset it last week. I would hate for the problem to happen while traveling. It costs several GB of Internet to restore it to useful working order.

My 7" tablet is almost six years old. As such, it is beginning to exhibit some problems, coincidentally also on the lock screen, but really it goes deeper than that. It seems to occasionally get caught up in "doing something" (no idea what) and apparently freezes. If you just leave it alone for a few hours, everything seems to be fine. If you try to reboot it while it is "doing something", that bricks it. Like with the Pixel C, while it is bricked like that, hard reset is not possible. The only way I've managed to get it back to working order is to let the battery run down (showing the "Google" screen), leave the device without power for at least two days (one day does not do the trick), and then power it back up and do a hard reset then.

So I have two devices, both in a condition that I cannot rely on them. Luckily, I have both of them. The chances that on a trip they will both die is lower than either one of them alone. Still.

 

[pb4uski]

I don't mean to take the thread off-track, but I have to ask: Do they really not support Google Drive, Google Docs and Google Sheets? I can live without YouTube, but I have far too much invested in Google Drive to consider a tablet that (seemingly out of spite) won't allow me to install a competitor's apps.

I dunno the answer to your question but we have 3 Kindle Fire's and I'll probably never buy another one.... I will go with plain Android tablets so I can cast to my big screen which I can't do with Fire since it doesn't play well with Chromecast. Also, many apps are not easily available.

My phone is native Android and I prefer that much more than the Fire's neutered OS. The only good thing about the Fire for me is that they are cheap.

 

[ejman]

I don't mean to take the thread off-track, but I have to ask: Do they really not support Google Drive, Google Docs and Google Sheets? I can live without YouTube, but I have far too much invested in Google Drive to consider a tablet that (seemingly out of spite) won't allow me to install a competitor's apps.

I bought 2 of the Fire 10's and installed all of the Google apps with no problems. A little hacking is required How to Install Google Play on 2017 Fire Tablets in 5 Minutes (Video) | The eBook Reader Blog