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Laptop / Tablet suggestions. Or set top box?

F

facattack

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Mar 7, 2007
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960
Location
Bucks County, PA
I would like it for basic computer usage such as working on OpenOffice documents or web surfing. Something below $300. SD card slot. Full sized USB is pretty much needed. I have used WIndows 10 on PCs and Android on phones as well as a $100 tablet I got at Radioshack.

Maybe using PAINT.NET or GIMP or similar for photo editing as well as video streaming.

I would love to use a gamepad to play old Final Fantasy / Dragon Quest games or similar such as Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana. Those are on both Android and Steam as I have found.

My desktop is running off the LiveCD for Linux Mint 17.... What's the deal with Chrome OS? I have never used it and gather it uses the cloud mostly. I have also heard of a Wndows alternative called "HP Stream."

I can't decide on using a device i carry around or one that hooks up to a HDTV via HDMI. Can one unit be used for both?
 
For myself, I would look for the newest used Dell Latitude I could find. Some months ago I got an i5 cpu latitude about 4 years old w/ssd and windows 7 pro for under 300 bucks on ebay. Even came with a docking station. Works great, and I'm a fan of the Dell Latitude line of laptops.
 
I doubt highly you'll find a tablet that has full sized usb ports. Or an SD slot. There may be an old Toshiba tablet that used sd but not likely anything modern.

You can add a keybaoard/folio thing to any tablet. Some manufacturers offer it as an option, some even have an additional battery. Sometimes you have to go third party. If you want something real cheap, try the rca above. I have an old Asus tf300t that came stock with a good app (crashes though) called MyLibrary that's nearly perfect for dissecting pdf textbooks and whatnot. Just don't upgrade the os if yours comes with it, you'll lose the app. The Asus is ok, every android device I've ever seen has it's bugs. The minimum size is 9.7". I also have an old Samsung 8" tablet that looks great but is really too small for productivity. Prolonged use. ~12" or larger is better. Get a Samsung View!! 18.4". It's intended for movies and such but is a full fledged tablet. I kind of like Lenovo stuff, which I affectionately refer to as Bonobo. Very sweet looking and pretty inexpensive.

There's always iPads. Although I was an Apple fan for many years, my inner anarchist says no to owning an iPad. I hate conformist monkeys. Truthfully though I would't mind fotzing with a small iPad.

Why do you want a tablet to begin with? If you're going to add a keyboard, why not just get a small netbook. My old Asus x205t worked beautifully. Avoid HP laptops at all costs though. Asus, Acer, Bonobo. All good shizzle. My sister has a 15.6" Acer Chromebook that she's used daily for almost 3 years.
 
Okay, so I was thinking I used to have a cheap Radioshack tablet for $100 and it had micro SD card support with a mini-HDMI port. It broke but I was hoping to get one that had 32GB flash storage. I would like to compute on the go but I'm clumsy typing on the small screen of a smartphone. I also want a digital camera I can use to record videos on while mounted on a tripod.

Basically I am bored of using a desk all of the time. On account of needing a keyboard to type.
 
That's perfectly fine. I remember my brother asking me what I was going to do for a keyboard when I bought my Asus tablet. I explained I intended to unshackle myself from needing one. ok, but kiss productivity goodbye. You're likely holding the thing with 4 fingers from each hand, and typing with your thumbs. Or laying it on a table and typing that waY I guess. Loads of typos in any event. Andmyou need a stand generally. Unless you're holding it all the time, or you set it on your thigh. It's really not a device intended for long use. yeah it has some conveniences over a small notebook I guess. Watching videos, some games. Studying as mentioned above. But to be comfortable you really need a stand or holder to get anything serious done. Or one with a rigid integral keyboard. And you've come full circle. We like our gadgets, can hardly be dissuaded from buying them. But in the final analysis it' really just another toy.
 
You going to carry a giant monitor on your back wherever you go?

The ubuntu stick is cheap enough. I for one will not be satisfied until I can purchase a complete pc for .99$. Just let me know when they're available.
 
I have a $30 phablet (LG G-Pad) with a girlie case that has a built in miniature keyboard. I painted the hot pink and purple case black. I got it from RadioShack for $15 before they closed, but I'm sure you can get something like it. The battery lasts forever and the case has a built in stand. I can flip it over and use just the phablet without the keyboard if I want.

The one I have has only the miniature USB for charging, I have no idea if anything else will plug in there. I have a 64Gb SD card in it.

I haven't found a usable spreadsheet program for Android. But I do most of my photo and video editing with it.

I can send the display to my TV but I don't do that much since the TV has a RPi glued to the back.

My only gripes with it are
1) there are no C64 emulators that run on Android that work properly with a Bluetooth keyboard.
2) for something so big I think it should take better videos:
 
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Dell Latitude E4310 will do nicely. I've got one from the trash for $5, ready for my own refurbishing purposes. It fully works; but it just needs RAM and a hard drive. No scratches on the case either. To think someone would dispose it for scrap...
 
Okay then, but still, if you find a cheap laptop from the earliest of the decade, chances are that it will still be able to satisfy all your requirements, given that it is 64 bit. Tablets, not so much... you'll have to go as recent as possible within your budget.
 
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