The frau is asking for some tablet... I'll get her what y'all recommend.

I have a Kindle Fire (bought last year when they first came out) and an iPad, 3rd generation that I just bought a couple of weeks ago. The old Fire is a crappy Kindle AND a substandard tablet. The only thing that kept me using the Fire was that I like reading in the dark. You can't create subcollections or folders within your book collection--you can only use the default sorts of recent, author, title, and have it display everything you own (cloud) or just what you have downloaded (device). There are lots of other deficiencies in the old Fire as a reader. I'll list 'em if anyone is interested. If you want an e-reader, the old Fire isn't it, and I suspect the new ones aren't, either. It's misleading, I think, calling it a Kindle.

As to its performance as a tablet, and a lot of this has probably been addressed in the new models, but it is worth investigating, it is also pretty bad. Its email client is clunky--no batch operations are possible. The main problem with this is having to open each email in order to delete it. It was not possible to download an alternative browser. The UI is crap and not versatile. The home screen is a series of shelves. The top shelf is called the carousel, and each book, app, movie or whatever shows there as in the order used. You can delete individual items from the carousel. Below the carousel is a series of virtual shelves that is the ONLY place you can organize apps. It is called favorites, and you can add any app to this area, and have them list in any order you drag them to. Across the top of the screen are the choices to go to books, videos, apps, web, etc. When you are on the apps page, you can again only display them by title or recency, not group them in any way you choose.

Also, the touch screen is nowhere near as responsive as it needs to be.

I am NOT an Apple person at all, and I'm finding some irritating things about the iPad (like the comparatively limited options for personalizing browsers--as compared to PC or Android--or the fact that auto-correct seems to be either on and controlled by the space bar or not available. I use SwiftKey on my Droid 2 and LOVE it, so I guess I'm spoiled). I don't like not being able to change the default browser from Safari to something else, and other gripes like that. As I said, I am NOT an Apple person, so I notice stuff like this! I still use WordPerfect, for god's sake, since I like using the reveal codes screen for editing. In other words, I like to be able to tinker more than Apple tends to let you.

That said, the screen on the iPad 3 is beautiful, there is, of course, a world of apps available, and Apple support is very good. I don't have any information available about other tablets, so this is more of an "I wouldn't trust Fires" than an "Absolutely buy an iPad." See what other tablet owners have to say. I know they're out there somewhere!

 

What does she want to do with it, what size and what's the budget limitation?

If it's general purpose use, she's not into the technical and a 10 inch screen isn't too big, then an iPad is hard to beat. I'm not an Apple fan but I buy my wife Apple products because they are simpler to use.

I use a 7 inch Google Nexus 7" and love it, but it takes more setting up than an iPad. I also find a 7 inch screen a bit small so plan to keep this one for travel and get a 10 inch Android Pad eventually.

 

I can't school you about tablets, but I will offer you this tidbit.

Let her choose the tablet.
Brand and size.
If she balks, sick her on the kid, or the kid on her.
If neither she nor you know anything about tablets? I'd probably lean towards encouraging her to get one of the i-thingys. They're expensive as hell, and built to stay that way. If GM had done the 'planned obsolecense' thing this well, then you and I wouldn't be co-owners in the company.
Mac hardware is exactly like Harley hardware. They could give the tablets away, and they'd still be the world's most profitable company! If she really digs the Mac lifestyle, they're obsolete every 12-18 months, cause you *have* to have the new one.....don't you know....
However (comma!) since they do change out every 18-months or so, if she is averse to popping for a $6-800 tablet because of the price? You can probably still find a new last year's model and like HDs? They're still very capable, and they still retain 90-percent of the brand coolness.....if you/she are into that kind of thing.
Me?
I don't need to drive an i-thingy.
I'm smart enough to use a droid.
YMMV
If you explore one of the 'droids both the Kindle and the Google models are very capable.
The Nexus has class-leading hardware for a 7-incher, but the Kindle might be easier for her to use.....or....if she might prefer one of the larger form factors? I like the Galaxy, but there's a reason that most of the newer tabs are favoring the smaller form factor.
After all, if you're going to lug a 10" tablet around, why not an ultra book?

Anyway...you do know that you're going to be the tier-1 tech support for her tablet growing pains---riiiight?
So.
Don't get her what I would get me, or even what you would get you.

Good Luck!

 

The late Steve Jobs did the Apple products right, I would go with the Ipad. As mentioned above, take her to an Apple store and let her try one out. I don't thinke she will be disappointed. I always like the ease of use and the simplicity of their products.

DBCassidy

 

Interesting to see what some see as i-Whatevers being easier to learn, I see them as less adaptable...

 

And you are all absolutely correct, the walled garden is one of the main reasons I don't buy iStuff for myself.

 

You could get her an iPad or you could get one of the many devices built to imitate an iPad.

 

It really depend on how much you want to spend. The iPad is a priced at a premium but works well out of the box. It is by far the most popular tablet and has the best app store. You can bet that when a company creates a new app the first version they will make will be for the iPad. As others have said, it is locked down and doesn't offer a lot of customization. Of course that is also why it works so well. Apple controls the hardware, software, and apps. If you decide to buy an iPad do not buy one now. Apple is set to release a new iPad in October so in a month you can either buy the new one or get the current generation at a discount.

The android tablets take more effort but cost less. The problem is in the software. Yes, Google makes the Android operating system but also allows hardware manufacturers to customize it. The end result is that every Android tablet ends up running a slightly different version of Android. This means that Android apps are slower to be developed and software updates are also slow. Often a manufacture simply won't even offer the updated android operating system.

If I was shopping for an Android tablet I would buy the Google Nexus 7 with 8GB of memory for $200. It is manufactured for Google by Asus and runs stock Android so you will be the first to get any Android updates. It also has has a microSD slot so you can expand the memory. I would not buy the 16GB version because Google wants an extra $50 when a 16GB microSD card is $10 on Amazon. (Likewise Apple will charge you an extra $100 to upgrade from the 16GB iPad to the 32GB version when a 32GB card is only $20)

My wife has an iPad 2 and I have a Asus Transformer Prime. I bought my Asus instead of an iPad for the expandable memory and Flash support. Now that Adobe is not longer supporting Flash on mobile devices that reason is gone. If I could do it over I would have purchased an iPad.

My first tablet was a Kindle Fire but I sold it to a co-worker after 2 months. In my opinion the Kindle Fire is not a true tablet. Instead it is a device designed to sell you Amazon content: books, movies, songs, etc. The software is even more locked down that the Apple iPad.

 

Nope, there is no SD or other flash memory card slot on a Nexus 7. Google learned about making money by overcharging for memory from Apple. You either buy the 16G upfront or make do with 8G. I have read about adding memory at the USB port, but then that ties up the USB port.

 

That sucks. I haven't laid hands on a Nexus yet but some reviws I've read said it had expandable memory.

The USD port is an option but is a bit of a pain. (We have a SD adapter for the wife's iPad)

 

I keep tying to like Android; I imagine I'll get there eventually. I'm surprised it is taking so long, given my near universal embrace of Google on the desktop.

OP: Do you have a reasonable idea of what your wife will use the tablet for ?

 

I don't know how old your wife is and how her closeup vision is, but if she needs reading glasses (like my parents), if considering an iPad, it might even be an ok idea to go w/an iPad 2 (1024x768 res screen) that start at $399, instead of "the new iPad" (aka iPad 3), that start at $499. Or, consider a refurb iPad 2 w/more storage. (Refurbished iPad - Apple Certified, 1-Year Warranty - Apple Store (U.S.)). The stock and selection comes and goes.

Don't buy a refurb original iPad. It's too old. Apple won't be providing iOS 6 (or anything afterwards for it) given what's shown at the bottom of Apple - iOS 6 Preview.

The screen on the "new iPad" is phenomenal (2048x1536, making it 4x the resolution), but if one's closeup vision is poor, then the extra resolution might be a "waste".

I personally have had an iPad 2 since June 2011 and I love it. And yes, I've seen and played w/"the new iPad" up close. I'm waiting until what's after iPad 3 ("the new iPad") to upgrade. There's essentially no performance improvement between iPad 2 vs. iPad 3. Main differences are the screen and camera being way better. The raw graphics perf on iPad 3 is faster though, probably to help make up for the 4x the pixels.

 

From the bolded part, then an iPad 2 might be good enough. From her reading distance, she might not be able to discern the extra resolution (4x - iPad 3 looks phenomenal). But hey, I'm much younger than my parents and don't have those type of vision issues. For me, a 20" 1680x1050 LCD or 24" 1920x1200 LCD is fine. For my parents, they have 27" LCD (1920x1080) LCDs and they either have to run Windows in a large font or bump the resolution way down. Otherwise, they "can't see".

Maybe consider either a new $399 iPad 2 or a refurb iPad 2.

Don't bother w/the 3G/cellular capability versions unless you want to pay extra for hardware, know you need that capability and are willing to pay the montly fees for that. Thankfully, AFAIK (Apple - The new iPad - Now with ultrafast 4G LTE connectivity.), you can turn the cellular, 3G, LTE data on/off month by month, w/o any contract/commitment. (Mine is a 32 gig iPad 2 wi-fi only.)

iPads aren't priced like Bang & Olufson. Most other tablet makers have had trouble competing w/Apple in price on 10" tablets. They haven't been able to make/sell them much cheaper than iPads (unless they're a total hunk of crap). That was more the case earlier on than now though.

(Worst gadget ever? Ars reviews a $99 Android tablet | Ars Technica was an example of something that was total crap.) Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 (haven't seen the latter yet) have really shook things up now, but they're 7" tablets.

The Amazon Kindle Fire family got a lot more complicated now w/the recent announcement. Just go to their web page to take a look. It used to be a single 7" tablet for $199. Now, it ranges from $159 for the cheapest 7" to $499 for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G.

If she wants a ton of customizability, external storage (SD card slot), ability to put on custom ROMs (e.g. CyanogenMod Forum), more hardware variety, doesn't like the closed nature of the Apple App Store, etc. then iPads are the wrong choice. Other Android fanboys should be able to chime in w/other Android advantages.

 

If the primary purpose is to read ebooks than you may want to consider a Kindle superwhite for $139. The e ink on the kindle is easier to read and reduces eyestrain when reading. Amazon also has the Kindle lending library that is only available to kindle owners. The Kindles are hands down the best reading experience and are the cheapest options too.

She really needs to go into a large electronics store and play with the different options and see what she likes best.

 

With one BIG caveat: the Kindle does not support epub format. I'll agree it is a super device for Amazon content.

 

If her primary use is going to be books, I'd recommend the Kindle Fire (get HD only if use will justify the extra $$$).

My wife got one this past Christmas and likes it a lot. I believe if you have issues with the font size, holding it landscape instead of portrait gives a larger default font. You can also drag the text to the screen borders to make it bigger too.

Her Kindle Fire works fine on my Verizon WiFi. No problem setting it up at all.

 

Kindle doesn't support epub but you can still read books originally in epub on the Kindle, you just have to convert them first: How to read EPUB files on your Kindle | How To - CNET

Personally I've never had to do it. I buy my ebooks from Amazon. My local library will loan ebooks in a format that kindles can read. Also, almost any book that is out of copyright can be downloaded free from Amazon. I'm currently reading Bram Stoker's Dracula: Dracula: Bram Stoker: Amazon.com: Kindle Store