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Let it Snow iPads: The Tablet Invasion Has Begun

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Paul writes periodic travel and tech articles on Dappered.com. Follow his travel blog, drivinginertia.com, to read more about his other adventures.

If you don’t want a tablet, you’ve really missed out on a lot of expensive, targeted advertising lately. Everybody wants one. Why don’t you? Haven’t you seen the billboards and the display ads? Come on, you know you want one.

But first, let’s talk budget. Do you get a lot of $500 presents every year? If yes, can I join your family? I’d love a new iPad (the undisputed king of the tablets) or even a Surface tablet. I’d take either as a gift … but I don’t think I’ll receive either this year. $500 is way generous – like mobster favor generous. And I’d never ask somebody to be that generous during the expensive holiday season, much less to direct that generosity towards me. Couldn’t do it. Won’t be asking for either. But there are alternatives.

A couple inches smaller than an iPad.
A couple inches smaller than an iPad.

The iPad Mini ($330)

For $170 less than its full-sized brother, the iPad Mini is a bit of a deal. It’s not the cheapest Apple tablet (that’s the iPad Mini-Mini, the iPod Touch, $200), but $170 is a good chunk of savings. If you really want a larger-than-iPod, cheaper-than-iPad Apple tablet, this is what to ask for. You’re not going to bankrupt Santa.

But unlike its full-sized brother, there are compromises other than cost that you’ll have to deal with. Quibbles, really. While, it is super thin and sexy and cool, its thinness makes it a bit cumbersome to hold. It’s so easy to accidentally touch the sides of the touchscreen that Apple had to create a software fix to ignore those touch mistakes. Thing’s just too wide IMO. Others complain that the screen should have more pixels in it. Sigh. That’s going a little far for me. But if somebody else is buying, I’d be happy to receive it as a gift. And if you’re predisposed to like Apple products (Yaniel), you’ll love it. But then there’s iTunes and Apple Maps, but I won’t get into those.

Wallet and Amazon-friendly.
Wallet and Amazon-friendly.

The Big Kindle Fire ($300)

$30 south of the iPad Mini sits the big Kindle Fire, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″. It’s got a bigger screen than the iPad Mini, the screen has more pixels, and it comes with the Kindle lending library. It’s got a different set of compromises — Amazon has really locked the thing down, for example — but if you’re an Amazon guy, a Prime member, a one-click shopper, this is the tablet to get.

The Nexus 7 ($200)

Meanwhile, in the Android universe, there’s a $200 tablet that pretty much everybody loves, sometimes to their surprise. Google’s Nexus 7 is on my Christmas list. I want one. Badly.

Insert witty Android caption here.
Insert witty Android caption here.

First, the thing’s just less expensive. I feel comfortable asking for a $200 present. I do not feel comfortable asking for a $330 present. Those Lexus commercials always blow my mind this time of the year … a Lexus present? Are you kidding me? (Full disclosure: If you want to buy me a $300 present, get me a Nexus 4. Better yet, get me a Nexus 7 and donate the $130 you save to charity.)

Secondly, the thing just rocks. “The Google Nexus 7 … is the best small tablet available today.” “The Nexus 7 is still the best small tablet you can buy.” “This is the best Android tablet for less than $200 … ” And you get Google Maps. And you can drag-and-drop music onto it. It’s a very good tablet at an amazing price.

Of course, there are more options. I’m still a big fan of the other Kindle Fire(s) (the original is now $159, the 7″ HD is $199). Nook fans really like the new Nook tablets. You can’t really go wrong. The first tablet you buy just isn’t going to be the last tablet you buy. Whatever is on your coffee table this year will move to your bedside table next year and will move to the bathroom the year after that. Tablets are going to invade your home. Watch out. Ye be warned.

The invasion has begun. Santa’s in on it. Which one do you want?

Photo hat-tip.

Comments

  1. “It’s so easy to accidentally touch the sides of the touchscreen that Apple had to create a software fix to ignore those touch mistakes.”

    So accidental touches are a non-issue then? Nice brief recap! I own a N7, and while I do love it, the iPad’s ecosystem seems like an embarrassment of riches compared to Android’s tablet app scene :(

  2. Agreed. The Google Play store still looks like a 1.0 software version. If you like to try new apps, they almost always come out first for iOS. Maybe months later if at all on Android.

    But I say this as a person who is selling their iPad 2 right now after purchasing the Nexus 7. My first 7 inch tablet and it’s wonderful. The iPad 2 was great, but I can see the N7 and smaller tablets in general being the new constant companion like our phones have become.

  3. Sold my Nexus 7 (and iPad 2) for an iPad Mini and couldn’t be happier. The “accidental touches” are a non issue, like you said, so I’m not sure why it was even mentioned here. Plus, the build quality makes the N7 look like a happy meal toy. I also definitely prefer the aspect ratio and “wideness” of the iPad mini screen to the N7- it makes browsing & typing in landscape orientation worthwhile, whereas it was completely pointless to hold a N7 that way.

    But I think the main factor here, as usual, is apps. Android is more or less caught up in the phone space but they still have a long way to come with tablet apps.

  4. The Nexus 7 is great. With the price difference, t’s silly that there’s even a discussion. But I guess if I paid 65% more for a device that does the same things, I’d try to justify it by overlooking issues on my device and picking a few little nits, too.

  5. It’s funny that a few people have mentioned that the N7 is behind in terms of Apps. I have never encountered anything I wanted to do but couldn’t because the app was iOS only. I guess I don’t have as high demands of my tablet. For $200 I can do all the important stuff: books, movies, music, browse the internet (with flash if you are prepared to spend 5 minutes setting it up) and order food for delivery (I love the seamless app). I guess if you need the latest and greatest apps the iPad mini is a better choice.

  6. The point I was making was about the shape, not the software:

    “While, it is super thin and sexy and cool, its thinness makes it a bit cumbersome to hold. It’s so easy to accidentally touch the sides of the touchscreen that Apple had to create a software fix to ignore those touch mistakes. Thing’s just too wide IMO.”

  8. Nice article. All I can say is that you’re a brave man for continually wading into these Apple vs. other devices waters, Paul.

  10. Just a comment:

    A Honda Civic does the same thing that a Mercedes S class does, too. Similarly the Timex Weekender does the same thing that a Rolex does. Silly there’s even a discussion for these kind of things.

    As to which one in my examples is Google/Apple, I leave that up to your interpretation.

  11. I have the original Kindle Fire and am pretty happy with it. I know it’s more limited in terms of apps and functionality, but I guess I just don’t know what I’m missing. I can surf the web, watch movies, download books, music, stream Pandora and other music.
    My experience with a lot of apps is I use them once, think “cool” and then never use them again. The Fire does all the “workhorse” stuff pretty well. It doesn’t have a cell connection so you need a wifi signal to do anything – that’s the only drawback. But, I spend so much time at work and home interfacing with electronic screens that not being able to use it anywhere and everywhere is kind of nice. I use the lack of total connectivity as an opportunity to actually look at the world around me once in a while.

  14. Don’t feel too jealous of all these folks supposedly receiving $500 tablets for Christmas…. I suspect most people who buy tablets during the holiday shopping season are buying them for themselves. I remember there was some empirical data published around Black Friday that showed BF shoppers are mostly in it for themselves… looking for deals on new TVs and so on. No surprises there.

  15. If by a “few little nits” you mean a few hundred thousand more tablet specific apps, then yes, we agree.

  16. We’re actually looking at getting an iPad mini for our household. It’s small and light enough to fit into my wife’s purse, and it’s marginally larger than other tablets in its class. It’s more expensive, but it fits well into our household’s existing Apple ecosystem. The frame that they shaved from the sides makes a BIG difference on the overall size of the tablet. I have average-sized hands (for a guy) and I’m able to hold it completely in one hand. That’ll never fly with a full-sized ipad.

  18. Perfect. And surprisingly, I actually want to try a nexus 7, and own a kindle that I prefer to my iPad for reading. The mention managed to crack me up this morning, it caught me completely off guard.

  23. Thanks for your insights. My comment:

    I guess I’m not buying the Honda Civic then. I see commercials for them all the time and there’s so much hype every year when a new revision model comes out. They keep getting reviewed and reviewed and reviewed by JD Power, Car and Driver, etc.. And that price!! Way too overpriced for what you get. If I’m going to pay that much, I mind as well move up to the Benz where I get the quality that I pay for.

    Again, I’m not a fanboy of any platform. Interpret it as you wish.

  24. btw, thanks for the article. Great to keep it a fun read and yet balanced with pros and cons for each.

  25. It’s an interesting idea, but I can’t make myself pay $60 for a single notebook-sized sheet of leather with conveniently placed holes. It goes against my principles. I’m sure someone will inject a snarky comment about an Apple user not wanting to overpay, but whatever… We all have our different definitions of “value”.

  26. “Cue smug fanboy comments…” Just because you made mention of other people’s smug fanboy comments doesn’t make yours any less smug or fanboyish…

  27. Why can’t people have an educated discussion that doesn’t involve picking sides? The market has enough room for all of these products (and sales reflect that statement). Of course people will have their favorites. Why does that make the alternatives inherently bad? If there were was an objective “best tablet” then the others wouldn’t even exist.

    Instead, what we have (even though most people fail to recognize it) are “best for me” tablets. Different people obviously want different things, and that’s ok. What’s best for an Android tablet user isn’t best for me.

    The Nexus 7 has an objectively better pixel density. The iPad mini has an objectively better app store. The Nexus 7 has objectively better price. The iPad mini has objectively better cellular options. We can do this all day… The only thing that matters is which combination of objective qualities is SUBJECTIVELY better for each individual.

    Or to put it in car terms, my Ford F-150 will crush your Civics and Benz’s. Does that make it a better vehicle? Not if you subjectively value objective speed or luxury over objective utility.

  30. This might be the closest it’s ever been. You’re right, though. There’s no one-size-fits-all option. However, if you’re not wearing size 8.5 Allen Edmonds right now, you’re a moron because they’re the best. 9s are too big.

  31. For what it’s worth, I LOVE my 32GB BlackBerry PlayBook. No, seriously.

    The app system sucks, yes – but it’s the best tablet browsing experience and will be updated to BB10 OS for free next year.

  35. I agree with you: You can have your opinion but still listen to the opinions of others when you realize that their needs are different from your needs.

    Contrary to common belief, it IS rocket science and voodoo magic to think this way. VOODOO!

    Btw, Ford’s suck. Case closed, packed, taped, and shipped off.