Help! Middle-aged PC User trying to find right tablet for his teenage son!

[jreads]

My son has decided he wants a tablet (mainly web browsing, facebook, sports, some games), and I have virtually no idea where to start. I'm hoping to stay around $200, but if it's really worth it to go higher, I'd welcome advice on that. He has a Droid phone (from Verizon), so does that make any difference as to what tablet he might buy? Can they connect to one another or can he use his phone to access the internet through his tablet when he's not near WI-FI?

Thanks for your help.

 

[brit5467]

Welcome! You sound like me (middle-aged & lost) when I first joined forum a few days ago But did lots of research on here, got lots of help and finally decided on Toshiba Thrive w/ Honeycomb 3.1 ($330) which I plan to check out before I decide to keep.

I DID learn the OS or Operating System is very important. The older the OS, the more outdated the tablet which means it won't be compatible with newer apps, i.e., newer games that come out. Also, the newer the OS, the more likely they are to keep updating it (same as with android phones).

The current OS is Honeycome 3.3. ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) is the newest OS, to be released soon but am sure that will be out of your (& my) price range.

Was also told to make sure it had DUAL processor and at least 1 GB of RAM.

There's also memory size to consider - 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB.

Also, display size. People have definite opinions between 7" & 10" (see my post - http://www.androidtablets.net/forum...gative-thoughts-10-vs-7-tablets-new-post.html )

As for your "Verizon" question - yes, he can use his phone to access his phone's data plan. There Wi-Fi / data compatible tablets which are more expensive that plain Wi-Fi. You'll see those advertised as being 3G or 4G as well as Wi-Fi and to use them, they require ANOTHER data plan on top of the one you already pay Verizon for for his phone internet access. This is called tethering. What Is Tethering?

There ARE ways around the extra charge by using free tethering apps. And you can use a 'cheaper' Wi-Fi only tablet (if both phone and tablet has Bluetooth). But I'm not sure it's 'legal' or can still be done, as you'll read in following link about Verizon tethering: Verizon Enables New Wireless Tether Block, Asks That You Purchase a Plan – Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog

Even I still have a question posted which no one has answered yet, so I'm no expert: http://www.androidtablets.net/forum...t-app-using-considered-illegal-providers.html

I CAN say....no one is happy about this double charge. Since we pay for our phone's data plan, then why do we have to pay MORE just to use it with our tablets?

The best site I found for comparisons and reviews is CNET. Before I found this android site, that was where I learned A LOT!!! It has its own reviews, links to stores with prices and then their customer reviews. It's a goldmine of info. Here's a link to their "best budget tablets": Best budget tablets - CNET Reviews From there, there are links to best 7", best 10", etc.

Maybe it's just me, but I find it hard to use their site search -- so I just use Google and put "cnet" in front of my search, i.e., "cnet best 10" tablets" or "cnet tablets under $2300" and a link to that page on their site will come up.

I'm sure you'll get more replies but was told it's hard for someone to recommend any one particular tablet since we all use for different things. How old is your son? Do his friends have tablets? Maybe ask him what kind they have and which ones they like best (unless it's a surprise??) If he's older and in middle or high school, he'll probably want to "keep up with the crowd" so to speak.

Hope I haven't thoroughly overloaded you with all these links or gave you info you already knew. Just trying to save you all the searches I've done to learn about all this stuff. With all the tech terms used on this forum, I had to keep another window open just so I could google what they meant....lol. Thought I'd save you the trouble.

DISCLAIMER: I'm a newbie so may have give some wrong info. Was just "proud" how much I've learned from this site.....LOL (I'm over 50 y.o.) and wanted to share it So please feel free to correct ANYTHING I got wrong !!!

BIG THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!
Bonnie (aka brit5467)

 

[Mountainbikermark]

Welcome to the forum.
For your described usage and price range , perhaps look at the Kindle Fire that is coming out Tues unless you are set on a larger than 7"screen.
If you can get his phone to " hotspot ", aka make his incoming 3g signal into outgoing wifi, any wifi capable tablet will work.

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Sent from an Incredible phone via Tapatalk

 

[SpeMall.com]

My son has decided he wants a tablet (mainly web browsing, facebook, sports, some games), and I have virtually no idea where to start. I'm hoping to stay around $200, but if it's really worth it to go higher, I'd welcome advice on that. He has a Droid phone (from Verizon), so does that make any difference as to what tablet he might buy? Can they connect to one another or can he use his phone to access the internet through his tablet when he's not near WI-FI?

Thanks for your help.

Hi jreads, welcome to the forum, so, how do you think about this Samsung based 7" one? 7 inch Capacitive Screen Google Android 2.3 Tablet PC with SAMSUNG S5PV210 Processor 3D Game WiFi - China Electronics Wholesale - Consumer Electronics Gadgets Dropship From China
and this one is comes with built-in 3G, so he can use the 3G to access the internet if he's not near the WIFI. Also, you can find more in our site, hope you enjoy your online tablet buying!