8+ Readers in comparison

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Is there such a thing as a "German version of Windows.

One of the things I absolutely despise about MS Window, is that software behaves differently, depending upon which localization of Windows is installed. The Germn localization is not as annoying in that respect, as CJKV localizations are.

[Gazella]

@mgmueller do you have an iPad Mini Retina? I own an iPad 3 which I haven't used for almost a year now, because the battery life is bad and it takes too long to charge. So I'm tempted to get an iPad Retina. I love the size and the form factor. What's your opinion on the Mini?

[HarryT]

I have a Retina Mini. Excellent tablet - it's what I do all my reading on these days.

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I have a Retina Mini. Excellent tablet - it's what I do all my reading on these days.

How's the battery life?

[HarryT]

For a tablet, very good, I think. I probably use it for 2-3h a day, and recharge perhaps every 4 days? I reckon I get at least 10h usage from it, and that's with a mixture of web browsing and reading.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Gazella

because the battery life is bad

What is bad? I think that depends on how you use it. I personally have to charge my (aging) Flyer every 2 to 3 days, but as I do it at night, I don't really care about that. But then, I generally only use it for around 2 hours a day (bedtime reading, and newspapers in the morning).

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Gazella

@mgmueller do you have an iPad Mini Retina? I own an iPad 3 which I haven't used for almost a year now, because the battery life is bad and it takes too long to charge. So I'm tempted to get an iPad Retina. I love the size and the form factor. What's your opinion on the Mini?

I've had all iPads up to iPad 3 plus iPad mini.
For now, I don't care much anymore about iPads.
I absolutely hate the looks of iOS 7, but you have to update to use some important apps.
It's a shame, I would have bought new iPads in an instance. But whenever I use my iPhone 4S, I can't get used to the ugliness of the OS. Kills all the fun for me...

And, additionally: I've loved iPad 1, that's where tablets really started. iPads are phantastic gadgets. But, to me, that's all it is. iPad or, for example, Nexus 7, are great "toys". But I don't use them productively. I can do this much better on my Surface Pros. I'm very interested in an 8" Windows 8 tablet. I'll definitely buy Surface Pro 3 (expected end of this year) and Surface Mini (should there ever be one).

I've read some reviews about Asus, Toshiba, Lenovo and Dell 8" Windows 8 tablets, but haven't found the right one yet.

BTW: Battery on my original iPad mini (none Retina) had been fine. I guess, maybe 8 hours or so, with WiFi on and intense usage. Even more (about 10+ hours) on my iPads 1 to 3. But of course I've used each iPad less than 1 year, so I haven't got any long term experience. But in general I'd say, Apple seems to have about the best batteries.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've had all iPads up to iPad 3 plus iPad mini.
For now, I don't care much anymore about iPads.
I absolutely hate the looks of iOS 7, but you have to update to use some important apps.
It's a shame, I would have bought new iPads in an instance. But whenever I use my iPhone 4S, I can't get used to the ugliness of the OS. Kills all the fun for me...

What don't you like about iOS7? I think it's very attractive. I like the "flat" look of it.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What don't you like about iOS7? I think it's very attractive. I like the "flat" look of it.

To me, it looks shiny and cheap.
It perfectly would fit to Samsung hardware, which has about the same feel to me: Great under the hood, but not-so-good touch and feel.

And I find, that I barely use tablets anymore, they way I used to 2 or 3 years ago.
Back then, I've loved to test hundreds of apps. At one stage, I've had more than 11.000 apps in iTunes. I'm not doing this anymore.
I try the occasional new game on my NVIDIA Shield (I'm into emulators, reviving the games I've played 20+ years ago on the original hardware), but that's about it.
For reading I love my backlit readers: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite and Nook GlowLight.
For surfing I'm more than fine with my Surface tablets.
I miss some apps from iPad, for example the great KenKen game. But I can live without them easy enough.
If I really would need iPad, I'd accept the looks of the OS. But since there's no real need for iOS or Android for me, I barely use them.
I've thought about Kindle Fire HDX, which supposedly has the best display so far. For now, I've decided against it. I simply wouldn't use it much...

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've had all iPads up to iPad 3 plus iPad mini.
For now, I don't care much anymore about iPads.
I absolutely hate the looks of iOS 7, but you have to update to use some important apps.
It's a shame, I would have bought new iPads in an instance. But whenever I use my iPhone 4S, I can't get used to the ugliness of the OS. Kills all the fun for me...

Originally Posted by HarryT

What don't you like about iOS7? I think it's very attractive. I like the "flat" look of it.

There are a lot who find the look of iOS 7 "childish", complaining about the poor choice of color, font being too thin, etc. But like HarryT, I really like the new UI design. And I think iOS 7 in general is a huge improvement. My iPhone 5 is more stable and the new features are neat (translucency, back gesture, multitasking).

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've thought about Kindle Fire HDX, which supposedly has the best display so far. For now, I've decided against it. I simply wouldn't use it much...

I had a Fire, but returned it. It's primarily an Amazon content consumption device, and the whole UI is targeted at that. Doesn't work terribly well as a general-purpose tablet.

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by HarryT

For a tablet, very good, I think. I probably use it for 2-3h a day, and recharge perhaps every 4 days? I reckon I get at least 10h usage from it, and that's with a mixture of web browsing and reading.

I usually use a tablet for more than 3 hours. But recharging every 4 days sounds pretty good.

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

What is bad? I think that depends on how you use it. I personally have to charge my (aging) Flyer every 2 to 3 days, but as I do it at night, I don't really care about that. But then, I generally only use it for around 2 hours a day (bedtime reading, and newspapers in the morning).

It used to drain by about 15% in 20 minutes or so, I would be using it to browse the web and I'd have only 3 apps running. And then it takes about 7 hours to fully charge. So yes, very poor battery life.

Originally Posted by mgmueller

BTW: Battery on my original iPad mini (none Retina) had been fine. I guess, maybe 8 hours or so, with WiFi on and intense usage. Even more (about 10+ hours) on my iPads 1 to 3. But of course I've used each iPad less than 1 year, so I haven't got any long term experience. But in general I'd say, Apple seems to have about the best batteries.

That's great. Thanks for the info!

[HarryT]

The Mini fully charges in a couple of hours, so I don't think that's at all bad. It charges a heck of a lot faster than my iPad 3, which seems to take an eternity.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I had a Fire, but returned it. It's primarily an Amazon content consumption device, and the whole UI is targeted at that. Doesn't work terribly well as a general-purpose tablet.

I have the "old" Fire HDs 7" and 8.9". I'm fine with the UI, didn't even root it to use Google Play.
But I have the 2013 Nexus 7 as well, should I need core Android experience.
Frankly, I haven't used Nexus 7 more than 10 hours in total since I've got it. There's simply no outstanding app for me, which only could be used on Android.
I still slightly prefer Android over iOS because of the open file system - being able to easily manipulate files.
But for now I'm using my Windows 8 tablets 90% of the time. And for reading exclusively my 3 backlit readers.

I'll certainly take a look at the next generation of iPads. But for now I'd more likely buy a new MacBook Air. I already would have done so, but the update to Mavericks did mess up my old MacBook Air, so I'll wait here as well.

[Andy_T]

I also am one of those very many who waited until the last possible moment to upgrade to IOS7 (needed to upgrade my business iPad and iPhone) because I did not care for the new "Hello Kitty" look ... but after a few weeks I actually started to like it.

My private iPad 1 is (of course) still on IOS 6, as IOS 7 is not available for that device, and now I do not like this better than my other devices ... give it some time to grow on you :-)

Best regards,
Andy