I HATE the Apple Cult.

anybody have both an ebook reader and a general purpose tablet? any benefit to having a separate, specialized device?

-- for mass transit riders who may need to hustle off the train or bus when it reaches the right stop the ability to stuff a device into a coat pocket, even for a few minutes can be handy. points for seven inch displays.

-- mobile hotspots can be handy for wifi only device owners who need occasional 3g or 4g access. available on a pay as you go basis from several providers.

-- not a recommendation as such, but just wanted to call attention to archos, who has been making tablets for ages, first as a niche product with a custom OS, now with android. several sizes. worth a look.

I would highly recommend the Google Nexus 7. I just it yesterday in the mail and it works very well with all the Google apps and the battery life is great. It is very easy to use and they are tons of apps you can download from Google. Find the 32GB Nexus 7 on www.ebay.com at great prices.

@ George:
Depends what you will use it for. If you want to use a lot of music/video/ebooks then expandable memory is for you. Thus Android.
Avoid no name brands its that "you get what you pay for situation." They may be cheap but limited functions. I like Samsung but Surface looks good.

iPad is a better solution for college I believe, I can read college book and take notes using a bamboo stylus, this helps me consolidate all my class material in one place

As a professor, I can tell you that most e-textbooks for college are still not much more than fancy PDF docs with online links. Not many bells & whistles.

Bought my wifa an iPad mini for Christmas, but it's not 3G. Will this be a big drawback?

What about the Barnes and Noble Nook? Is that as good as the Kindle Fire? I've heard it's good b/c each member of the family can have their own 'account' so it's easy to share.

What about Google's Chromebook? It's only $250!
But it's not a tablet.

-R

1) Please project the longevity of the tablet. Are laptops really going obsolete? 2) Which IPad apps are so great that I'd choose the IPad over other tablets/

I prefer Android. They tend to have expandable memory. I have an Samsung Galaxy Player which is an Android version of the itouch. Available in 4" or 5" thus fits in one's pocket. This device accepts microSD card to 32gb and has a radio.

Surface can run Office; iPad cannot and its comparable doc is lousy.
Surface is slow and less crisp!

Please explain the differences between the ipad mini and the ipod touch - is it just screen size? Would be used mainly for apps and listening to music.

The iPad has all the features, but it's also got the highest price.

The way to buy is twofold:

1. If you're on a budget, you buy a tablet with only the features you need;

2. If you have the money, you buy the high end so it's got ALL the features and will serve you for a while.

Every tablet I've seen EXCEPT the iPad is missing features, but the iPad has some proprietary idiosyncracies that are typical of Apple.

Good luck!

I pad is a leisure device. It can't do multiple things at once like a desktop os...

Please have your guest recommend a good/best textbook tablet for college students. Tablets don't all render textbooks equally.

Just got the ipad mini - love it. At 7", it's the perfect size for a tablet It has no retina display but, if you never had it, you won't miss it. The quality of apps, especially on the non-kindle android platform, are too inconsistent and Windows does not have enough apps - yet.

Is a table with expandable memory a good buy?

What is the best Android tablet available?

What is the worst tablet on the market that consumers should avoid?

I hope you guys discuss more then just Android and iOS tablets. Try to remember the Blackberry Playbook (it's super affordable for its features, can run some Android apps, syncs perfectly if you have a Blackberry aka using the BB internet on your tablet without paying extra, and has well reviewed upcoming version 10), Windows tablets (would like to know more about), and the Amazon Kindles (super affordable). Everyone always talks just about the big 2. Some of us are not happy with just Android and iOS. #justsayin