Are Windows Tablets Ready for Prime Time?

Started by cooltouch, January 20, 2014, 12:37:35 AM

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cooltouch

#25
If I might revisit the subject of iPads again. I've been thinking very seriously about Elantric's suggestion that I consider buying a clean used iPad 3rd Gen with 32GB of memory, which I should be able to find for around $350. I checked on eBay and this seems to be about right. 

There's a problem going this route though: paying for data access. I can get a used 3g with wireless and no 4G data capability or a 3g with wireless and 4G data capability. Just wireless is okay as long as I'm within range of a hot spot.  Around the house is fine and if I were to use the 3g iPad around the house only, then it might be a better deal over the long term -- the very long term. Also, as long as I have my cell phone with me, I can use it as a hot spot. But! In order to do so, I have to subscribe to T-Mobile's 4G mobile hotspot service. Gone are the days of being able to use your phone as a hot spot for free.  Taking a look at the iPad 3g's with 4G data, all the ones I could find had data through AT&T or Sprint. T-Mobile capable ones are from scarce to non-existent. I suppose I could get it unlocked so I could sign up for T-Mobile service so I can keep it on our plan and thus save some money, but even if I did, I'd be paying somewhere around $350 for the iPad and then I'd have to be paying for the service on top of that -- whether it's service for the tablet or the hotspot service.

But if I go with the T-Mobile deal, instead of a 3G I can get an iPad Air with the nice Retina screen and A7 chip. The Air with 32GB is only $200 -- with a 24 month contract agreement of 22 bucks a month (plus taxes and fees of course). But even with the contract, it's a better deal than buying a 3g and signing up for data service. Or so it seems to me. Also, right now, T-Mobile has a "free 4G LTE for life" deal going on. I'm not really sure if that's just a marketing ploy or what, cuz it seems to me that, these days when you sign up for cell phone service 4G LTE is part of the deal. Right?

Besides -- and this is important to me -- going with this $200 iPad deal still leaves me with most of my spending money left. So I'll still have enough left over for a Fishmann Triple Play -- or a YouRock YRG-1000 v2. Hrmm. Or -- more useful for the iPad, a good audio interface.
Best,
Michael

Elantric

#26
I have three ipads - two which have provision for optional AT&T Data Access  -

Never found a need for this, as I always have free Wi-Fi available where I use these iPads, and never have a need to access Internet data at a Gig. 

I do use an Android Galaxy Note2 on AT&T 4G at all times as my cell phone. Cant wait to replace it with a 5" iphone  - due May 2014
Edit: December 2014 I updated to iPhone 6 Plus on AT&T 4G
QuoteI'm not really sure if that's just a marketing ploy or what, cuz it seems to me that, these days when you sign up for cell phone service 4G LTE is part of the deal. Right?


Wrong  - Here in California. A Data plan for Internet access is always extra charge.

Also where i reside  - AT&T or Verizon are the only carriers that cover the areas where i go.
T-Mobile is worse - very spotty coverage, Sprint is non existent here.

And yes I know all about Virgin, Boost Mobile, Cricket virtual fixed cost carriers who use other carriers towers.

cooltouch

Well, that's good to know. But if I go with the T-Mobile deal, I'll be getting the data model since part of the deal is the $22/mo for the data access. For me, it still seems the best way to go: $200 plus $22/mo for 24 months, or $350 total. True, the difference in price amounts to seven months of service, but I'm also getting a 35GB Air, and not a used 3g.

I'm kind of curious why you own three iPads. Did you just decide to hang onto the old ones as you upgraded?

Best,
Michael

Elantric

#28
$22/mo for 24 months = $528 + $199 paid upfront = $728 for a 32GB iPad. Thats a tough choice to be stuck with for 2 years before you are eligible to upgrade

Do you not already have Wi-fi at home / work?

Ipads do so many things remarkably well - that i never sell the old ones  -I re-purpose them as dedicated MIDI controllers, or Synths.

Search fpr iPads here first before you buy
http://bensbargains.com/search/ipad/?sr=1

cooltouch

Yeah I can do the math, too. And I expect there to be some sort of finance charge. But guess what? The iPad Air with wifi and data sells for right at that $728 price. Some I found were higher and a few slightly lower, but all of the Airs I found with 32GB were over $700 cash money.

Yes, of course I have wifi at home and I work from home. But as I mentioned before, because this is a T-Mobile deal, of course the pads are gonna have data lines -- 4G LTE at that.

Now, I probably won't use it all that much, but then I don't use my cell phone all that much either. But it sure is nice to have when I need its capabilities.

Best,
Michael

gumtown

The iPad Air i have is a WIFI only, i have several WIFI access devices, so i opted to buy a mobile internet access point, which is a GSM mobile device which provides WIFI internet access to several nominated devices, iPad or Android.
That means i can run many devices from the one account, when out and about out of free WIFI range.
(so the Mrs can keep up her facebook on the go)

I recommend too having a physical storage, like a USB or Network external storage device.
The "Cloud" concept sounds all nice, but one day that cloud may dissappear, and to download 1Tb+ of backup data would be painfully slow.

Having a seperate partition on the same hard drive is not that good either, it is still the same physical hard drive.

At work, that data backup scheme is quite good, a network server which my laptop automatically syncronises to, which the server has a SCSI array of hard drives with atleast 2 carbon copies, then in the evenings the server is backup to a remote tape archive (i think it's still tape?).


Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

cooltouch

Gumtown, your mobile internet access point is basically what I can turn my cell phone into -- it's a Samsung Galaxy S4 -- I would just have to pay an additional charge for this service. I've seen the little modules that Verizon has, which amount to the same thing -- a moveable wireless access point -- but that's all they are.

Around here, our broadband router handles all the wireless chores for the laptops and cell phones, which are set to use the router's  when in range of it. Sure, I could get an iPad with wireless only, but as soon as I'm out of range of our network, it will have the same connectivity as my iPod. At that point, my iPod makes a nice mp3 player, but that's about it. The iPad will make a nice mp3 player and drawing tablet and music production device. Which most likely will suffice. But I still get back to the fact that I can get a nicer tablet for less initial outlay, the only qualifier being that I am committed to a 24 month contract for a minimal amout per month. Hell there's people you and I probably know who might use a Starbucks hotspot while they spend more money on their half-caf lattewhatchamacallit per week than I would per month for the 4G access.

Yeah it's always a good idea to have external storage. My problem is mine is full. Time to upgrade.  ::) Yeah, I don't much care for the idea of backing up to online storage either. A few years back my domain hosting service had a complete server hard crash and they lost ALL my data. I had to start all over again. What a pain. But now you got heavyweights moving in, like Drop Box, who have taken over the large file moves from major players like Yahoo, for example. I use Yahoo mostly for my emails and just recently I've gotten messages that a file I'm sending is too large and that Drop Box will handle it. Crap. Instead, I upload the files to my website and tell whoever it is to go visit the URL and get 'em.

Yeah, I understand how partitioning hard drives work. But when I have a really big drive and I know the OS is gonna have to be installed on it, I create a modest-sized partition for the OS and then leave the rest for data. What else can you do? With a large drive, you're stuck having upper partitions that can be at risk if the OS's partition gets corrupted.   I guess this is where those new SSDs shine, eh? Have one of those for the OS and the old-school drives for data.


Best,
Michael

admin

#32
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?posts/24953133/



Installed the Spider drivers and update util. Saw the Spider Remote for Win 10.. Very cool. Anyway everything worked great on the tiny PC


https://www.staples.com/Intel-Compute-Stick-STK1AW32SC-Intel-Atom-x5-Z8300-Quad-Core-32GB-SSD/product_IM12U4784?cid=PS:GooglePLAs:IM12U4784&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=IM12U4784&KPID=IM12U4784&cvosrc=PLA.google-SALES.Computers&cvo_crid=39506888262&cvo_campaign=176606622&gclid=CjwKCAjwu7LOBRBZEiwAQtfbGNwIH8g36oyg2-wKDZHcPJC_GoGSL52zuHUlrswOkmOXvTOlKf427RoCuDQQAvD_BwE

QuoteProduct Details

The Intel® Compute Stick single board computer features Intel Atom x5-Z8300 1.44 GHz quad-core 2MB cache processor that allows you to multi-task with ease. Featuring 2GB 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM and 32GB eMMC flash solid state drive, this single board computer offers ample space to store your valuable data without compromising system performance. It has Intel HD graphics controller for enhanced gaming experience. Enjoy hassle-free computing experience with pre-installed Windows 10 Home x86 32-bit operating system. It has one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0 and HDMI ports.
Intel Atom x5-Z8300 1.44 GHz quad-core with 1.84 GHz maximum turbo boost, 2MB cache processor
2GB (One 2GB)1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM standard memory, Maximum memory bandwidth: 12.8 GBps
32GB eMMC flash solid state drive drive
Operating system provided: Windows 10 Home x86, 32-bit
Graphics: Integrated Intel HD graphics, HDMI 1.4b graphics output
Connectivity: Intel dual band Wireless-AC 7265 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and integrated Bluetooth 4.2
Ports: One USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, HDMI
Dimensions: 4.8"H x 0.5"W x 1.5"D
Number of internal drives supported: 1, Number of displays supported: 1
Form factor: Stick, Color: Black, Socket: Soldered-down BGA, Lithography: 14 nm
Removable memory card slot: microSD, microSDXC with UHS-I support
Power supply: 5 VDC input power adapter
Audio: High Definition audio, built-in microphone
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) advanced technologies, Intel AES instructions data protection technology
Application/usage: LCD display
including Rocksmith and Youisician. Very low latency ASIO, sound from little PC direct to Spider V 60 via USB sounded great thanks to the FR speakers in the amp. Almost HIFI quality (compared to most budget combo amps it's fantastic). I have a little wifi keyboard remote that uses wifi and a built in motion sensor instead of a mouse, using the Spider Remote was pretty simple with it.

So now I have a great living room setup, really love the amp all over again. The editor makes a big difference for me because even though the interface on the amp isn't too bad. I really disliked the mobile app clumsily wired. The micro PC has the USB permanently hooked and routed around the furniture.

Looks like line 6 listened and fixed the one thing that marred the experience. It's a really nice wireless setup if you want as little clutter as possible.[/i]

admin


NextBook
Don't know if this has been posted before, but had been looking for alternative solution to bringing my macbook with me to gigs/church to make adjustments to my AFB. I don't know about you but it makes me nervous taking an expensive laptop around, potential for damage/theft too high for me, but not being able to get in and make adjustments to IR's, presets can be a problem too.

Someone on another forum suggested a Nextbook which works great with the AFB software. I found a used one on ebay for $55 and it works great, it's a little 10" laptop/tablet with Windows 10, small and portable and if something happened to it I wouldn't lose any sleep.

You can find them easily on amazon or ebay for under $100.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nextbook-NXW116QC264-Flexx-11-6-2-in-1-Tablet-with-1-83GHz-64GB-2GB/123191785447