Help choosing tablet?

[ThingsGottaChange]

I know absolutely nothing about tablets. Have only used desktops, I do have WiFi at the house. I'd like to find something with a 10-11 inch screen and removable keyboard. I can to up to around $200. I don't want bargain basement. Would like a good processor with decent size RAM. I don't even know which brands are best. It would be for occasional use, especially when power is out. This hit home last night when we were out for about 4 hours. ~stares at walls~

Don't know if any setup in involved, either. Oh, decent battery life too. And no lighted keyboard.

Would be used mostly for surfing and smallish games. Don't need all the bells and whistles. No camera, bluetooth, etc. Just to surf at a decent speed. Can any of you recommend something? Any help is truly appreciated!

[kimbutgar]

1. I brought my husband a Lenovo Tab 2 A-10 tablet which was under $200

I personally have an IPad but this Lenovo does a good job. The only negative is a 16GB storage if you can get the 32GB then it would be sweet.

[justhanginon]

2. If your electric goes out and your WiFi is through your desktop

computer wouldn't you lose your internet connection as the desktop computer would not be working? You could still use it with pre loaded programs but not surfing.

[PoiBoy]

3. Yes... you can't get loose without the juice...

If the desktop or router are plugged into an outlet, they won't be working if there is no electricity...

In that event, it's time to switch to your cellphone's 3 or 4G service if their servers haven't been affected.. but then you're surfing on your data plan...

You can use a tablet.. for the bigger screen and the keyboard accessibility... the Lenovo mentioned above is a good unit, and tether the tablet to your phone to get online, but remember that you would be using your cellphone data plan at this point, so make sure you have a big enough data plan.

[ThingsGottaChange]

4. Not too bright, am I?

Guess I was thinking there would be a hot spot just hovering nearby. Cripes...

And you were assuming I had something like a smart phone? Plain old dumb phone, too. Suppose I could get some games on it for the 'just in case'.

[Sunlei]

8. If you have a wired landline, to router /w wifi- I'm pretty sure some router/motems have batteries b

backup-for when power is out.

wired landline phone is gold when there is no power, a regular old phone will even ring using the tiny bit of power in those landlines.

[justhanginon]

5. Don't feel bad and please don't ask me how I knew that. :-)))))))

I have a low end Lenovo tablet and it is pretty good for casual use.

Sorry, I was replying to your post above mine.

[Egnever]

6. Anything in the 10 inch range

Is going to be bargain basement for under $200...

Or it will be used.


A decent 10 inch tablet runs minimum $300 these days. That is before a keyboard.

if you are looking for something for when the power goes out I would suggest heading to your cell phone provider and asking them what they offer in tablets that come with a mobile connection.

They may offer subsidized tablets the data connection will cost you though.

Anytime the power goes out your internet in your house is going to go as well as the modem and router used to connect to the internet run on the same electricity as the rest of the house.

You can solve that with a tablet with a mobile connection or by sharing your phones mobile connection with a tablet but both of those solutions require either a phone that can share its connection or a tablet that has a mobile connection internal as part of its hardware.

None of these things are cheap solutions for internet connectivity when the power is out.

For the best price on a decent tablet I would take a hard look at the Amazon tablets. They are solid Android tablet with an Amazon skin on them but are typically cheaper than similar hardware because Amazon can advertise to you on them. Probably the best bang for your buck you will find in the price range you are trying to hit.

[ThingsGottaChange]

7. Thanks much for the info nt

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

9. Here's what I found

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=34-735-145&utm_medium=Email&nm_mc=EMC-SD072017&cm_mmc=EMC-SD072017-_-SD072417-_-Item-_-34-735-145&et_cid=35493&et_rid=126129&et_p1=&email64=cmtpYzFhdGlzc0B5YWhvby5jb20=

Microsoft Surface 3 LC5-00015
Intel Atom x7-Z8700 (1.60 GHz)
4 GB Memory
64 GB SSD
10.8" Touchscreen 1920 x 1280
Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit

Regular $369 Now $289 until 11:59 PM Pacific Time tonight.

[ThingsGottaChange]

10. Thanks

Don't get my SS check until next week, of course. Appreciate your help

[ucrdem]

11. You can get a newish Surface 3 with 4 Gb memory and a 128 Gb SSD for $199.99 on ebay

with a 1.6 Ghz processor, free delivery, no sales taxes unless you live in TX, and no auction:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Surface-3-1285GB-Wi-Fi-4G-10-8in-WINDOWS-8-1-Silver-New-Open-Gift-Box/182686106254?_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D1432a6fcd5e640ef88bbfaaa7ddc8538%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D292193120242&_trkparms=pageci%253Aedb5e70f-7318-11e7-b702-74dbd180dba7%257Cparentrq%253A861d578f15d0aa4735c47096ffeb231b%257Ciid%253A1

And you can get a new bluetooth keyboard + stylus for it for $16.97:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EEEKit-Smart-Wireless-Bluetooth-Keyboard-Stylus-for-iPad-Pro-10-5-Surface-Pro-4-/191746023770?var=&epid=1548999940&hash=item2ca4f4215a:m:mxn2X4jbuS04qSX9JcbAUAg

The Surface isn't brand new, but tablets are easy to drop/dunk etc, and would you rather lose a $200 "new other" device or a $1,200 new one?

Surface vs. iPad: the Surface is like a small PC, and an iPad is like a big phone, if that helps!

p.s. I bought a used Surface Pro 3 last week for $320.00 and it's awesome -- big screen, thin and light, very elegant, super fast!