7" vs 10" ?

I prefer the 7" form factor.

Large enough for media, but small enough to still be portable if you feel like taking it along.

And I'll always recommend a nexus (typing from mine now)

4.3 makes this thing FLY. Its like a whole new tablet.

A 7 inch tab is actually preferable in most cases. The only time I hate on mine is when my textbooks are in PDF and in double column format, making reading more difficult on the smaller screen. But for other purposes the 7inch is fine.

I've used both sizes and I can't say it makes much difference, I strongly recommend the Nexus over the Galaxy tablets as well. Good luck.

I like the 7" tablet also. Alot easier to handle. The N7 specs are some of the best but it didn't sway me from getting a deal for the Galaxy Tab 2 at the time. The keyboard dock, USB adapter, and expandable storage, this made me pick the SGT2 over the N7.

I opted for a 10". The only device I'd looked at before deciding to go that way was my mother's Sony PRS-T2 which has a 6" screen which I find too small for comfort when viewing a web page and I couldn't see an extra inch making that much difference.

Perhaps another factor is that I like larger monitors (my desktop is a 27") but it's probably a lot more significant my short range eyesight is getting worse as I get older.

i'd opt for the 7 inch all day long. yeah, the 10 inch is bigger, blah blah, but you get a bad case of gorilla arms.

unless reading good pdf renderings is the goal, in which case the bigger tablet is necessary imo.

i have a transformer prime sitting un-used. haven't touched it in months. i prefer my lousy 7 inch nook color.

I have terrible eyes too and have no issues with watching media on the N7.

I had the original Transformer for a while, I was convinced I'd preferred the 10" even before trying the N7. I wouldn't get a 10" tab again (unless it was mega cheap).

chanchan05 said:

A 7 inch tab is actually preferable in most cases. The only time I hate on mine is when my textbooks are in PDF and in double column format, making reading more difficult on the smaller screen. But for other purposes the 7inch is fine.

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This is very interesting. How bad is it reading PDF docs on the 7 inch? I ask because when I have the N10, it is quite difficult to handle when I am out and about. And, usually I am reading a lot and most of my materials are in PDF form.

pdf on a 7 inch is difficult. it is easy on a 10 inch.

On my work iPad (9.7" according to wikipedia) in landscape the virtual keyboard is made of full-sized keys with almost full spacing, and I can type accurately on it at my normal real computer keyboard speed without looking*. That is hugely important to me when web browsing or taking notes. I wouldn't be able to get 8 fingers onto a 7" (wait, that sounds dirty), let alone type like that.

*: I feel like I'm Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation when I do it, which is actually a pretty awesome feeling. My fingers make a nice "thump thump" sound as they land on the display too.

I guess gaming would depend on what kind of gaming you do. For me, my Venture's tiny 2.8" screen is fine for half of the games I play, and a 4.7 would be plenty for all of them.

Audio obviously doesn't need a big screen, and I think video would work fine on 7"...it's tolerable on 2.8" for me and plenty luxurious on the iPad's big display.

Another thought: The iPad is huge, takes up a lot of space, is heavy, bulky, cumbersome, and generally in the way...a 7" would certainly have those advantages.

I in no way am recommending iDevices. I feel the same way as you. It is provided to me by my work. For free I am happy to use it for what iStuff does well and not use it for the rest. I am only talking about it here because of its size.

I was at the doctor's office a few months back and a guy had an iPad...man did that thing look huge compared to my 7" Tab2. It looked big & bulky is all I can say. Do most all 10" tabs look that big?

kristalsoldier said:

This is very interesting. How bad is it reading PDF docs on the 7 inch? I ask because when I have the N10, it is quite difficult to handle when I am out and about. And, usually I am reading a lot and most of my materials are in PDF form.

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It's not actually bad. It's more of the annoyance having to scroll around. It depends on the format of the book you are reading. I usually read textbooks with pictures and two columned text per page, which makes it harder to use when you can only see part of the text and not the picture it is describing. A larger screen would allow display of both descriptive text and diagram or picture.

Of course this depends on the type of book. If you are reading a novel, text reflow would work awesome for you. But for textbooks, especially in my case where this means medical textbooks, it's difficult.

chanchan05 said:

It's not actually bad. It's more of the annoyance having to scroll around. It depends on the format of the book you are reading. I usually read textbooks with pictures and two columned text per page, which makes it harder to use when you can only see part of the text and not the picture it is describing. A larger screen would allow display of both descriptive text and diagram or picture.

Of course this depends on the type of book. If you are reading a novel, text reflow would work awesome for you. But for textbooks, especially in my case where this means medical textbooks, it's difficult.

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Thanks. I don't know if you can answer this, nevertheless, here it is: how does the reading experience compare to the iPad mini? While I am loathed to buy any Apple products - primarily because of my ecosystem choices - to gain a better reading experience, I may have to....though it would be a damn expensive reading device.

kristalsoldier said:

Thanks. I don't know if you can answer this, nevertheless, here it is: how does the reading experience compare to the iPad mini? While I am loathed to buy any Apple products - primarily because of my ecosystem choices - to gain a better reading experience, I may have to....though it would be a damn expensive reading device.

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Depends on what exact device you would be comparing. I have a Galaxy Tab Plus P6200 running on stock Jellybean ROM by Samsung. For starters, its quite a bit heavier than the iPad mini, a full 33g. Although of course this is an older (2 year old) model, and the more recent versions like the Tab 3 7inch is lighter than the iPad mini.

It does have a slightly crisper screen due to a higher pixel density (170ppi vs 160ppi). The PLS screen on my P6200 is also brighter and has increased viewing angles and better picture quality than the IPS screen on the iPad mini. I have no idea what type of LCD is on the Tab 3 though.

With those in mind, the answer would be, for my specific device, it would probably be the same. The iPad mini is wider and taller, making it more unweildy, but at the same time, my Tab is heavier. So we'll call it a tie in terms of handling. I have a better screen, but it's an inch smaller diagonally than the iPad mini's so again maybe we can call it a tie.

In terms of handling, the bigger bezels on my device lend it to better one handed handling while reading, as your palm covers less of the screen while allowing a secure grip. The thin bezels on the mini makes the grip less secure as you try to keep more of your hand away from the front of the device. So this gives the Tab a slight edge, although this is heavily dependent on one's reading habits, and it may not matter at all.

However, I'd say that the best reading device for this category (7-8inchers) would be the new Nexus 7. The high res screen would simply blow you away, and the letters would be so crisp that reading would be a joy.

I like the 7" at the telescope. Easier to hold with one hand. But I needed larger storage, so bought the Acer A500 which is 10" What's nice about that, is you have a storage card, and HDMI out and a decent USB that takes regular sized USB. The smaller tablets don't seem to have some of this.

I started off with the 10" tablets and they're great visually but very uncomfortable to use, also playing games on them is a struggle because your fingers just don't reach across the screen and huge bezel.

No such problems with the 7" tablets, plus their allot more portable.

funkylogik said:

Tbh i like reading on my old dumb-kindle. Theyre so cheap that id recommend that for reading as well as a tab. Wonder if Play books can be put onto it?

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right on, brother. i use a nook simple touch for most of my reading. best device ever.