decided that I’m not that tight after all and perhaps I would like a tablet computer thingy.
Budget up to £200 which allows for iPad Mini or any number of Android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy tabs.

I already have a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini smartphone, so adding what is basically a bigger version of the same thing ought to be quite seamless.
But I’m strangely drawn to the iPad Mini, despite having always been firmly in the “no Apple product, ever” camp.

so my questions are (a) is the iPad mini any good and (b) should I stick to what I know & get an Android tablet?

a yes
b yes

🙂

It really depends. Chez Nem, we have only android tablets and phones and the integration is great and getting better. It’s the same for people with all Apple. IMO mixing means you compromise on that to some extent but then it really depends how you use them all. If you’d use the tablet standalone then it’ll be lovely (though I find Apples restrictive in being able to use them how I like rather than how they’ve decided I must but YMMV).

it would be standalone

I pad. Purely for face time. None of the other video calls are as good.

Whilst I have bad opinions of android tablets (phones are fine, just total lack of decent tablet software) I also have to say don’t even consider the standard iPad mini. Consider the mini 2 (used to be the retina mini) as the base model.

Seriously, the CPU in the mini is basically the ipad 2 and is ancient, likely not supported that well into the future and lots of stuff will be crap on it and some games etc. plain won’t work.

For that sort of budget, either push it for a mini 2 (retina) or if you must stick to budget the latest nexus 7.

I don my flameproof suit* in anticipation.

*it’s made of facts and personal experience.

As an all Apple person I’d say iPad as it’s the best 😉

The counter argument is you have an Android phone and if you want the bigger screen then go Samsung

does that fence you’re sitting on hurt? only joking. I’m sat on it too

Stick with android for the apps compatibility IMO. If you are happy with Samsung then its an OK option. I didn’t get on with mine. Much happier with my LG. Hudl 2 is worth a look too.

Stick with Android and also consider the Tesco HUDL2 which is a decent tablet and superb value for money.

Setting up an Android tablet is a simple case of adding your gmail address and password it then does the rest for you and gets all the apps you have on your phone.

If you really want apple then as per IA get at least the Mini 2 as the first one will become useless fairly quickly.

If you want to get into the Apple ecosystem then Apple is the only choice, as IA said don’t get the original mini though get Mini 2, the original was rubbish when it first launched and age hasn’t been kind.

If all you want to do is consume media a bit of web surfing and the odd game then Android is the obvious choice, at £200 the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 is probably the pick of the bunch. If you’re into gaming and push the budget a bit further the Nvidia Shield is an interesting proposition

apps compatibility

FWIW whilst I think there are reasons to go Android (budget, gmail-junkie and, err…budget?) app compatibility isn’t one.

Whilst it’s true all the exact same apps will run on the tablet, that’s not a good thing. Most will look crap and make bad use of the space as they’ll not be designed specifically for the tablet.

If you just want to browse the web, watch the odd video and do email though there’s not a lot in it, pick your favourite. Though consider screen aspect ratio, I find I prefer 4:3 portrait to 16:9 portrait for web page reading. There are android tablets with both ratios, tho 16:9 is sadly more common. Better if you’re mostly watching video though.

If you want it for games, iOS no contest.

the original was rubbish when it first launched and age hasn’t been kind.

No it wasn’t – we bought one for my daughter when it first launched and it was fine then and still works fine now. Runs iOS8 with no problem.

+1 muffin man. A mate of mine hs one and it’s still going strong. That being said OP if you get one get the latest version.

No it wasn’t – we bought one for my daughter and it was fine then and still works fine now. Runs iOS8 with no problem.

It may run ok but the screen was absolutely bobbins, Apple dropped the ball on that one.

nickjb – Member
Stick with android for the apps compatibility IMO. If you are happy with Samsung then its an OK option. I didn’t get on with mine. Much happier with my LG.

I had a fiddle with a Samsung tablet and it was OK, but seemed quite pricey for what it was. It was new out though, so perhaps the prices have come down.
After quite a lot of trying out in-store and reading various online reviews, I got an LG GPad 8.3 and am very pleased with it.

I wouldn’t bother with a 7″ tablet. Just too small. The 8″ tablets are a good compromise between fairly small and portable, but with a decent size screen so you aren’t constantly zooming in and scrolling around web pages.
But, you might find a 7″ tablet perfectly fine. Go to somewhere like John lewis or a large Tesco with an electronics department and try a few out. See what works for you and what doesn’t.

I had the 1st gen iPad and then got a Mini-retina. I much prefer the size of the mini and gave the larger one to the FIL…..

Whilst it’s true all the exact same apps will run on the tablet, that’s not a good thing. Most will look crap and make bad use of the space as they’ll not be designed specifically for the tablet.

Is that an apple thing. I’ve never found it to be the case with any of the android apps I use. I quite like being able to play a game on my phone then carry on on the tablet. Can do the same with documents. I’m sure this is possible with an android phone and apple tablet but its a breeze with two android devices.

Seriously, the CPU in the mini is basically the ipad 2 and is ancient

Technically yes – reality its a fine device. My mum has been running an ipad2 since release and it is still doing just fine, I don’t even notice its older when using it compared to my ipad3 mini.

I’ve never found it to be the case with any of the android apps I use.

Do you have some examples of good android only tablet apps then? Serious question, I’m only slightly trolling 😉 Used to be the only such examples were 1st party google ones (and if they’re the ones you use, fair enough) but even there the wind is starting to blow the other way – e.g. the new design google maps has rolled out on iOS first etc.

Seriously, the CPU in the mini is basically the ipad 2 and is ancient

Can’t say it seems slow at all. Wife has a 1st gen mini and it still runs absolutely fine.

thanks folks, that’s made it a lot clearer 😯

I’ve heard quite a few good opinions of the Hudl so that might be worth looking at.

I’m not a gamer so that’s not an issue (at the moment). Lost interest in computer games when I couldn’t get past the oilfield stage on Sonic The Hedgehog 2 on MegaDrive, all those years ago!
Never really got back into gaming since, and my desktop is ok but its graphics card isn’t up to the task. Could never justify spending extra hundreds on a console so it’s all passed me by

wouldn’t be without my iPad mini.

But then in our house we’ve an iPad 1, an iPad 2 and a Mini 1 and Mini 2. So we’re kind of committed to the Apple system. No long term experience of non-iOS but the iPads 1 and 2 have been in daily use since they came out with complete lack of fuss or bother. The 1 stuggles with some games according to the kids but for web / netflix it’s perfectly serviceable. Seem to be pretty much bomb-proof and the key apps just keep working, if either of the iPad’s pack up tomorrow we’ll have more than got our monies worth…

I’m an apple Fan Boi but have a Galaxy Tab S and it’s a really nice bit of kit. Android with the samsung stuff on isn’t as nice as naked android but once you’ve removed most of the rubbish it’s pretty good.

Browsing the web and multimedia stuff is good and the screen on the Tab S is pretty good!

Don’t get a hudl great device but google ‘faulty charging port’ we had two both now knacked & from what I hear still not resolved with hudl 2 .

We’d had our iPad screen fixed a number of times so I sold it and got the 8.4 Galaxy Tab S. The one with the amazing screen.

I added a 64GB memory card so, in effect, the whole shebang cost me £300.

I couldn’t be happier. It’s a lovely thing.

Bought my lads a Galaxy Tab 3 each.
They are great.

+1 muffin man. A mate of mine hs one and it’s still going strong. That being said OP if you get one get the latest version.

No don’t get the latest one unless you want to spend £80 on fingerprint recognition and NOTHING else at all. The second generation Mini is utterly identical otherwise to the newest one. I know, I’ve just updated my 1st gen Mini and this was the main question I asked in the Apple Store. They admitted there were no other differences. That said, you’d be mad to not spend the extra £40 and get the 2nd gen retina model. It’s quite an improvement for the money.
My old one was running iOS 8 fine though.

If you want a good android vs iOS tablet comparison, from the point of view of an android fan, this is worth reading:

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/11/11/nexus-9-vs-ipad-air-2-a-mostly-subjective-comparison/

It’s the two current top end tablets, but a lot of the comparison holds down the line too.

It’s worth checking the reconditioned section of the Apple website too, I got a 128gb iPad Air with £110 off recently.

I bought a Nexus 7 a year or so ago and it drove me potty with its inconsistent and sometimes bizarre behaviour. Wife bought me an iPad mini this year and its VASTLY better to use. Nexus has not seen the light of day since.