iPad vs Nexus vs Ultrabook for mum's 50th

[blizeH]

Hi guys,

I recently posted on here asking for laptop recommendations and got some great responses - thank you! It's my mum's birthday in a month and I really need to order something now, but after asking her a few questions I think she's leaning towards a tablet!

It'd be used for emails, browsing, YouTube, viewing photos etc, and I've just had a thought - they have the complete Sky package, but sometimes stream from their desktop PC in the office to the dining room TV or the living room TV with a ridiculously long HDMI cable and it's a real nightmare to get everything setup... with a Nexus 10 or laptop, she could watch the Flash stream a lot easier than she dos now?

iPad

+ Lots of apps, has the desirability factor, very polished interface

- Would need to buy an Apple TV also, no Flash, very limited

Nexus 10

+ Has HDMI output, Swype input which she loves, already has an Android phone, runs Flash?

- Not particularly polished interface, poor choice of tablet apps

Ultrabook

+ A proper keyboard is even better than Swype, perfect for streaming football

- Pretty sure she likes the idea of having a tablet since it's less clunky

Any thoughts? Thanks :)

[BGM]

iPad, just get an iPad.

The Sky Go application is very good and i use it often. You can even download specific Sky Movies or Sky Sports apps and get ALL the Sky Sports extra channels etc..

Unless she wants to watch QVC or whatever in the dining room, just go with that. Sky Go is limited to the Sky channels..

[LUTZIFER]

Well I'd say Ultrabook. Although I don't know what you really mean by Ultabook in your case, cuz the others you mentioned are cheapies compared to an Ultrabook.

Mine is an Asus Zenbook 11.6 inch, and not touchscreen, and I love it. Asus does make some really nice ones which are touchscreen and the keyboard detaches, which when together are pretty much the same as my Ultrabook for looks, just a tad thicker, and they have Win 8 so theres Apps, so that could be nice for her.

[123456789A]

Ultrabook that turns into a tablet!

[blizeH]

Thanks both, have to say I'm not sure Sky Go would be a lot of use to her though, since it'd mostly be used in the house and she already has Sky fed to I think 7 different rooms. Also Sky Go is available on all three devices I believe?

With regards to the Ultrabook, I think the overall budget is around ?600 (it's my nan that's buying it, and almost seemed disappointed when I mentioned getting a tablet instead of a laptop!)

Your Asus sounds amazing, if I could get something that doubles as a tablet and a notebook (ie Windows 8 touch screen with keyboard) for around ?600 I'd buy it in a shot, pretty unlikely though I guess.

[cyrl]

Why not a Windows 8 Tablet? Some of the Dell Tablets come with the keyboard so it can be used as an ultrabook + tablet.

[Egocentric]

I was in a very similar situation and decided on ipad. The overwhelming factor in my decision was that because they are so much "it just works" meant the number of times i was going to end up being 24/7 helpdesk support was minimised. :)

[blizeH]

Thanks - it's a really nice idea, but at ?999+ it's quite a bit out of the price range unfortunately

(edit) good point Ego! I almost gave my old iPhone 4 to my mum, but she decided she wanted Android for the bigger screen and Swype keyboard... but whilst setting up her new Android phone it did take a good couple of hours to get everything in order

[BGM]

let them set it up themselves or they'll never learn! :)

[peacemf]

depends on how tech savy your mum is

if like my mum buy the ipad........its easy to use, one icon for internet, one for email boom!

ultrabooks are nice BUT if they use glasses, mum will complain "I cant see"......

nexus is great, but too techy for mum.

again above is assuming your mum is like my mum......non-tech savy

[blizeH]

Yeah, very good points - thank you... although I'd almost argue with a bit of customisation Android can be better for people who aren't tech savvy, I know I mentioned it before but most people like that are blown away by Swype... my girlfriend absolutely loves it, and it was a deal breaker for my mum too - like I said earlier I offered her my iPhone 4, but she said she'd prefer Android purely because it's a lot easier to type on.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

How much is Surface RT?

I think it will alot easier for her to get used to the simplistic interface

Nexus 7 is also not a bad option, considering how good the performance on JellyBeans is

[einsteinbqat]

Why an Apple TV (unless you really need it)? Just get a Lightning Digital AV adapter, and an HDMI cable. You're set to plug your iPad to any HDMI-capable HDTV.

http://store.apple.c...dapter?fnode=3a

If you go for the iPad 2, then just get the 30-pin Digital AV Adapter, and an HDMI cable.

http://store.apple.c...dapter?fnode=3a

Hi guys,

I recently posted on here asking for laptop recommendations and got some great responses - thank you! It's my mum's birthday in a month and I really need to order something now, but after asking her a few questions I think she's leaning towards a tablet!

It'd be used for emails, browsing, YouTube, viewing photos etc, and I've just had a thought - they have the complete Sky package, but sometimes stream from their desktop PC in the office to the dining room TV or the living room TV with a ridiculously long HDMI cable and it's a real nightmare to get everything setup... with a Nexus 10 or laptop, she could watch the Flash stream a lot easier than she dos now?

iPad

+ Lots of apps, has the desirability factor, very polished interface

- Would need to buy an Apple TV also, no Flash, very limited

Nexus 10

+ Has HDMI output, Swype input which she loves, already has an Android phone, runs Flash?

- Not particularly polished interface, poor choice of tablet apps

Ultrabook

+ A proper keyboard is even better than Swype, perfect for streaming football

- Pretty sure she likes the idea of having a tablet since it's less clunky

Any thoughts? Thanks :)

[Doli]

I was in a very similar situation and decided on ipad. The overwhelming factor in my decision was that because they are so much "it just works" meant the number of times i was going to end up being 24/7 helpdesk support was minimised. :)

Does "it just works" even apply for tablets since all of them just work?

[thealexweb]

Why not a Windows 8 Tablet? Some of the Dell Tablets come with the keyboard so it can be used as an ultrabook + tablet.

One problem with that is it's twice the price of the other two, more functionality for sure but very difficult to justify for a ?1000. A cheaper option than buying the Dell convertible would be to buy both the iPad and the Nexus 10 and see which she likes better and there'd be ?150+ left over.

[siah1214]

Why hasn't anybody said Surface yet?

[cyrl]

One problem with that is it's twice the price of the other two, more functionality for sure but very difficult to justify for a ?1000. A cheaper option than buying the Dell convertible would be to buy both the iPad and the Nexus 10 and see which she likes better and there'd be ?150+ left over.

That is infact true. In this case I would go for the iPad though since I know even the non tech savvy people just use it easily. But expanding it like Apple TV etc. is needed. Isn't there a lightning to HDMI or video out?

[einsteinbqat]

Just read my post, previous page.

That is infact true. In this case I would go for the iPad though since I know even the non tech savvy people just use it easily. But expanding it like Apple TV etc. is needed. Isn't there a lightning to HDMI or video out?

[linsook]

[cyrl]

Just read my post, previous page.

There you go. One more advantage is that if you go for the iPad and she goes iOS everything will be in sync via icloud. No need to buy the same app twice from different markets or anything. And if she buys the Apple TV she can stream wireless from the iPad & iPhone.

[blizeH]

Thanks all for the responses, as I said I've (maybe stupidly) already got her an Android phone since she said she much preferred my new S3 to my old iPhone 4, so things like iCloud won't be a big draw. That's not to say I've ruled out the iPad though!

Thanks for the link to the iPad -> HDMI cables too, though being honest the price of those aren't that far from the price of an old second hand Apple TV and I'd opt for that every time since it'd be so much more convenient.

Hadn't considered the Surface before, will look at the video above and see what it's like, thank you - but to be honest I'm not sure I like the idea of having the mobile Windows 8 on it, seems a real shame when a proper Windows 8 version is just around the corner.

Still unsure what to go for. I need to speak with my dad with regards to streaming things to the TV. I know for iPlayer etc the iPad with Apple TV would be perfect, but I can't help but feel having flash would be far more useful, even if it does mean plugging the Nexus 10 / Ultrabook in via HDMI.

[Noir Angel]

Sky go isn't flash, it's silverlight, and Adobe have stopped providing Flash. And out of those options the Nexus 7 probably offers best value for money. There is also a sky go app for Android so you will still be able to stream regardless.

[blizeH]

Thanks, the Nexus 7 does look like a good option

Just realised my initial post was really confusing with regards to Sky! What I actually meant was that they sometimes stream football games (using flash) to their TV. I just used the Sky as a disclaimer that they do actually have Sky and ESPN, it's just for the games that aren't shown on TV :D

[blizeH]

Been looking at the Surface, not a huge fan unfortunately - think it has lots of potential, but as long as it's on RT it's not going to be anywhere near it's full potential. Shame that the full version isn't out until January... and an even bigger shame that Dell's ultrabook/tablet hybrid is ?999! Seems very excessive for me, you can get (very basic) touch laptops for ?400 now

[Growled Member]

I'd get my mom an iPad, and I am a huge Android fan. You get go wrong with an iPad.