Rento_VW

I'm sure you guys get tons of these questions, however I can't find anything this in-depth...

The tablet is actually for a friend of mine, a college student. I tried to save her laptop, but to no avail, it finally died a month after (which was yesterday) I did what little I could do for the poor laptop.

So she's in the market for a replacement. The budget is under $600, preferably $400.

I instantly thought BAM! Asus Transformer! So I headed over to my buddy's house who has followed Android everything since he first got a Droid Bionic.

He told me about the Nexus 7 being the absolute best tablet currently on the market and half the price of the Transformer T300 (I didn't even know they had a T700...)

Now. Here's the question.

This thing will be complete replacement for a laptop. Meaning she will need to write 3-10 page essays on it and have to print them out... I personally own a Droid RAZR Maxx and with my somewhat newer printer (Kodak ESP 9) it can't print off it.

I know she doesn't even have a network capable printer and from what I hear, the Nexus 7 has a single USB 2.0 input. All I can find for answers on tablet printing is using cloud-printing or airprinting... This won't be an option for her.

She loves Netflix, and I gave her my account for when she gets a replacement. She loves games and I know most of the apps will be good enough. I still don't know if Tetris on Facebook will even run on a Droid Tablet, I assume it will as we got Flash, I may try it on my RAZR Maxx in a bit... But I don't know how much different Jelly Bean is compared to 4.0 ICS in terms of browser capability...

However, i'm mainly concerned about productivity, what can and can't she do?

TD;DR: Friend's laptop broke, she needs a replacement. College student.
- Budget is roughly $400
- Thinking of Asus Transformer T300 due to it's 15 hour battery life, but Nexus 7 is better than a Transformer T700 at a fraction price
- Needs mouse and keyboard (I know you can do bluetooth Keyboards, but what about a mouse? There's no docks for the N7)
- Needs to be able to write 3-10 page essays and print from it without the use of cloud services
- Productivity is the main goal.
- Can external HDD or flash drives work with either tablets to expand storage?

I really appreciate the help guys... She wants to order the N7 on Monday otherwise she's just going to get the Transformer T300, but I want to save her money... I think a tablet would easier for her maintain, her laptop went through hell... I don't know people kill laptops so easily... Had mine for nearly 4 years.

Last edited by Rento_VW; September 8th, 2012 at 12:39 AM.

tube517

You can get a decent new laptop for $300. I wouldn't limit choices to a tablet. A laptop would be better for a student IMHO

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Rento_VW

That's what I was thinking... But somehow her computer got all jacked up with tons of viruses, and hardware failure, i'm guessing from improper use of laptop and not good enough air ventilation.

I was thinking of a Netbook... And Asus has some good deals for entry/student laptops for under $400... I just don't know...

Tablets are just more sturdy and less prone to fail... I mean laptops are more power user friendly, but I mean $400 goes a LONG way in the tablet world whereas $600 just barely scratches the laptop world.

Last edited by Rento_VW; September 8th, 2012 at 02:07 AM.

tube517

I got a new asus laptop for $309 at Best Buy. I don't need a laptop for gaming and I can watch Netflix just fine. A student will need to be able to print easily and you can do it on a tablet but it would be cloud printing, and that isn't 100% reliable.

I took classes last semester and a tablet is not a replacement for a laptop for academics. It's a good supplement but not a replacement.

Unless you really need the games, you don't need to spend $600 on a laptop. However, it's your choice what you want to do.

mikedt

Sounds like your friend almost definitely needs a laptop for her uses, especially given that she's got a USB printer and cloud or network printing is not an option. About viruses, tell her to be careful what she downloads and what sites she visits. Maybe Linux is a good option for her.

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Bob Maxey

My favorite working device is a tablet. I edit technical documents and write new ones using my iPad. It gives me mail and web access. I need nothing else. What you need requires evaluation. for example, pictures are easier to edit on a PC/Laptop. At least in my view.

streetkilln

tablets dont do everything a windows labtop would do.

id get a windows tablet. expensive. but if you like the portable design of tablets then go for it.

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