Got some birthday cas and a few Tesco vouchers and am looking to get a Hudl from Tesco. For the £119 it seems a good deal. Does all I need, decent screen res, memory card slot and pretty much vanilla implementation of Android 4.2.2

So any reason not to? Getting it tonight so you had better be quick.

No reason I can think of. I was looking at these the other day. Be interested to see how you get on.

Looks like a decent deal. Will look forward to a review!

Hi bockers - suppose it would wise to say - what do you need it for and does it do what you want it to?. Im currently witness to people who have a lot of money to burn and just buy on impulse because they 'think' that they need it - but when I ask what exactly do you want to use if for, it soon becomes apparnt that they have purchased something non suitable.

Ah, that'd be me you mean!

Fair point Hanny, I will be using the tablet to view stuff! Maybe do the odd bank transaction and use the Sky F1 app. Basic web browsing and photo viewing plus some basic games. If I need to do anything more I would rather sit down and use a proper keyboard.

Given the price the only competition is a HiSense sero7 but I can't double up my tesco vouchers for that and the hudl has better screen res.

Other consideration are:

1- how you wish to view/use - wireless or over mobile network
2- do you need to store anything on it
3- do you need to interface it to any other equipment - ie printer, media etc

1. No. If I do need that I can share my mobile connection over wifi
2. Yes, hence the memory card req
3. No, I have a proper machine for that

Sorted...........go and spend

My laptop hasn't been used since I got a tablet (iPad). So much quicker, portable, convenient. Do it!

Yup - I hardly ever use my laptop except for very specific tasks like uploading from my Garmin (that's as much to do with my Garmin than it is the iPad - the latest Garmin would do away with that)

I would not even *consider* using a tablet for any financial transaction beyond purchasing an application, and certainly not for banking.

They're about the most vulnerable thing out there...

...next to a Windows PC

I like to live dangerously

Well the Waiting time for the Hudl was weeks so I bought a Hisense Zero 7 pro 32gb tablet from ebuyer for £119 including free case. Arrived next day and so far I am mightily impressed. Basically it is last year's nexus 7 but with SD card slot and a fraction of the cost. Would recommend it.

That's whats putting me off one. The Strava App is somewhat inaccurate. The same ride had the elevation gain at 1000ft difference between me and my brother for the same ride, not to mention he beat me on a segment, when I was 5 yards ahead!
I wouldn't ever upload my rides, and the bluetooth version is sooo much pricier!

The iPhone Strava app can either work for you or against you - it's inaccurate. And elevation is hopeless - but then that's the hardest part

What is your reasoning for this Neil?

Probably too long to relate here in detail, and it would no doubt be seen as an anti-google anti-ms anti-apple rant.

But looking at the number and types of virus/keylogger/trojan etc out there, and in particular the lack of permissive granularity on Android, I will not use anything from MS or Android for anything I'm not prepared to stand on the roof and shout.

I can't comment about Apple as I don't have the data; my dislike of them is based more on Apple's ethics.

I agree on the Android front. If you use it expect whatever you put on it could be broadcast around the world.

MS are a little better now but still lacking.

Opinions aside, you'll find things a lot safer on an iPad.

now that is funny

Come on they are all at it. Apple has a very jaded history on "private" data.

Mind you LG are the current champions

Thing is, you're mistaking the pad (generic) as a tool when it's really a distribution channel. Pads are not for working; they're for selling things to you, whether that's physical goods or streaming audio/video/games. And to make sure you get the best options for you, surely it's important the sellers and advertisers know exactly who you are, where you are, what you're doing, how long you've been doing it, what sex you are, how old you are, how tall you are, your sexual preferences, your marriage status, your posting history, what you've bought from ebay, what colour your eyes are... no?

Advertising service view of you: You're walking down the high street past a restaurant - so we'll send you an advert for the restaurant. And then another for the competitor next door, and the one across the street, and a half-price voucher for the one three streets away (though it doesn't work until Friday)... and ooh, you've gone past it, now you're outside a phone shop, so we'll send you adverts about that now... and so on all the way home. Where we'll send you adverts for Netflix, a new car, and a TV.

My view of a civilised advertising service: I'm walking down the street feeling hungry. I *ask* "Where's good to eat" and the advertisers send me that, and nothing else.

The first is happening now. The second's never going to happen.

There is still an off button on it

Oh I agree, but the whole concept of operation has changed.

For example, there are few mapping applications which don't require full-time connection to a map server instead of downloading a complete map.

A tablet is basically assumed to be like a phone without the phone bits; the same code runs on both and the phone is the primary target.

I don't agree at all. On one side ALL digital devices throw advertising at you. That's nothing new: that's exactly what TV has done for years and radio and printed media from before that. It's become more sophisticated but then so has the content.

On the other side, the world of work has changed. I rarely type anything more than a few sentences - if I'm thinking I need to communicate more than that, I'm no longer even picking up the phone but talking through a digital connection. I don't want a great block of a laptop to drag around with me with rubbish like DVD drives, disc storage, fans, physical keyboards, a big heavy battery to run it all and a big heavy charger to charger the big heavy battery - it's laughably out of date.

The only frustration I have is that the business tool are slow to keep up. This is because IT departments are run by IT people who are behind the curve when it comes to what business needs. These are the very same people who only 3 years ago were laughing at the iPad (you know who you are) - who's looking silly now? The sooner I can dump my stupid laptop the better - I hate dragging the thing around. As it is I'm considering doing what several of my colleagues have done and bought a MacBook Air for work with my own money. I'm sure I could happily get by with an iPad Air if only the IT infrastructure to support it existed. It's only a matter of time.

Different folk have different user requirements; no argument.
If you don't type, then the pad is going to be a lot more use to you. On the other hand, I've typed thirty-five thousand words on this machine in the last few weeks, plus review, editing, and picture editing. Without a real keyboard that would have been impossible; without a lot of screen real estate (at times, two screens have been necessary) it would have been difficult.

At work, I have schematic and layout diagrams to work on, two different compilers, and a number of different terminal applications plus network and local reference works. Most of the time, two computers is not enough.

Okay, I'm not the usual use case. But I suspect I'm not alone in that level and type of work. Horses for courses.

Doesn't change my original thesis though: pads (any flavour), and more recently Windows, some flavours of Linux, and from what I hear iOS are increasing designed as media consumption devices, not tools. Any toolishness seems to be no more than an afterthought. Media consumption comes with advertising and tracking as a primary function.

So barnacle is it safe to assume that...

Iphone - phone + larger screen = Ipad

Android phone - phone + larger screen = Android tablet

Windows phone - phone + larger screen = Windows tablet

Blackberry phone - phone + larger screen = Blackberry tablet

So barnacle, I've used the analogy before but most of us don't need a removal truck but a passenger car. If you do removals then you need a removal truck. If you're a plumber, a small van will probably be enough. The vast majority of people these days , even at work, aren't typing masses nor working on schematics. You need the full-blown "workstation" set-up. Most people don't. We all end up being given "white vans" by the IT departments.

And devices should really mostly be for consumption. There's FAR too much stuff being produced and not enough being consumed. It's like being in a meeting where everyone is talking and nobody is listening. Take away the keyboards FFS!

An iPhone will make a fantastic iPad mini for midgets
an iPad will make a great iPad mini for giants
an iPad mini would make a great iPhone for a giant.

I think we're going to have to agree to disagree, Rich, but I do see where you're coming from.

Though I have to ask: if you're not *producing* anything with a work device, what good is it?