iPad mini 2 or keep the Asus?

[burnafterreading]

most tablets are going to have similar(ish) battery life especially when doing screen-intensive stuff like movies. some might be 4hrs and some might go to 6hrs, but it's unlikely to find one that only does 1hr or goes 12hrs. (snarky aside - shouldn't camping be about getting away from technology and distractions??)

bugs will be everywhere, to various extents. Apple might be least buggy but most expensive and might be most limiting in what you as a user can make it do. most androids are going to be up to the manufacturer's particular MO as to bugs - an Asus tablet will have a different amount of stuff than a Samsung tablet, even though they're all based on Android. it might be worthwhile to find one that is easy to root and easy to install a custom Android on it, so that you get their hardware and "your" software. Nexus devices are the easiest to root since they're kind of the most "pure" as far as hardware and software, but they never have expandable memory slots and they're expensive to buy.

but yeah, play around with the tablets and see which one behaves in a way that makes the most sense to you as a person. ignore the brand or the price. to draw a parallel, for 15 years i only shot Nikon cameras, and when i went from film to digital i played with Nikon stuff and just for kicks played with Canon stuff. about 15 minutes later i decided to ditch all of my Nikon stuff because the way that the digital Canon stuff worked just made way more sense to me than how Nikon did stuff.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by burnafterreading

most tablets are going to have similar(ish) battery life especially when doing screen-intensive stuff like movies. some might be 4hrs and some might go to 6hrs, but it's unlikely to find one that only does 1hr or goes 12hrs. (snarky aside - shouldn't camping be about getting away from technology and distractions??)

I don't completely agree on this one. Given the same battery size and same screen size (physical!), the screen resolution and processor can influence the battery life dramatically. If a processor needs to work harder because it needs to show more pixels, it will draw more power. Also, the screen brightness will have a major impact. Do you always use max brightness, or do you prefer min brightness?

Why would camping be about getting away from technology and distractions? You don't use a car to go camping? And you leave your phone at home too? No gas burner either. Or a modern tent.

Besides, if you are like me and mostly read in the evenings, in front of your tent, you really do want either a tablet or a front-lit e-reader. If you also want to check to let friends and family know where you are (especially if you're moving around a lot), a tablet is generally more useful than an e-ink reader. And if you are making a lot of pictures and want to share them with other people around you, it's a lot easier to use a tablet than the screen of your camera...

[burnafterreading]

personal preference, then. if/when i go camping, sure i drive to get to the place because frankly i live in a city, so to get to a place that's appropriate for camping would involve either a bit of a drive or a 2-month-long walk. so, drive i do. but for me, when i get there, the last thing i want is the same garbage as what i have at home - emails, LCD screens, notifications, etc. to me, camping is about getting away from ALL of it, not just replicating the same fun stuff i have at home but with a floppy roof instead of a solid structure. oh, and last i checked the gas burner was not a modern-day-distraction, no more so than an umbrella or shoes.

back to the battery life - yeah, there will be some differences, but it's not going to be an order of magnitude. some devices will get you through 2 movies, others through 2 movies and 57 emails. rare to find one that barely makes it past the opening credits, or manages the entire James Bond collection.

personally i always carry my cell phone when i leave the house, no matter where i go - it's just a reflex by now ("spectacles txxxxxxxs wallet n watch" type of action before opening the front door). so maybe my bias comes from that - for quick simple things the cell phone gets used first (email, facebook [if i used it], sms, etc) so the tablet is a secondary device for when i need the larger screen. being that it gets called into duty less often, its battery isn't taxed as much.

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by mystika1

Well.. I brought the tablet back. I was worried about future problems and to be honest, I don't care for the long bezel. While I was at best buy, I looked at other tablets. I like the square ish look of kindle fire hdx and iPads. I didn't buy anything to replace the tablet with yet. I am going to really mess around with demo models Saturday, when I have more time. I am planning to use the tablet for reading, watching movies (when we are camping), browsing the web, and mail. Any tablet can do that, but I really want good battery life and something that is not full of bugs. Lol

Thanks,

Penny

A sound decision. Best to have the money in your account when you are unsure.