Note 10.1 Down, Time to Change

So my 3 year-old Galaxy Note 10.1 (white) bit the dust last weekend and I am in the market for a new tablet. It is not under warranty anymore, so I am debating the cost of repair versus the cost of a upgrade to something more modern.

I am not a fan of the strangely low-res 1280x800 screen, and the processor feels barely enough to keep up with the stylus. I like the stylus, but for drawing the line lags behind the pen enough that I would think twice about using this as a serious artistic tablet. The on-screen buttons are also something I don't like, I have had that on-screen home and back navigation bar totally disappear on me several times, plus it eats away at the already low vertical resolution of the device. Samsung's version of Android also takes a lot of space and I never use many of the functions it provides, so I question the utility of it and the space and speed it takes from my cramped 16GB user experience. Plus, updates for this device have been so slow.

Likes? I liked the micro SD-card storage. I liked the front-facing speakers. I liked the thin form factor and light weight. I liked the stylus. It traveled very well, and battery life was good.

I am not considering upgrading to a future Samsung because of the extra-on-top of bloat and lack of updates for this tablet. My user experience has been just average when I expect great. Mind you, there are some nice tablets in Samsung's line-up, the 2014 10.1 pro with that drop-dead gorgeous screen, and I had actually considered the Note Pro 12" tablet once as a productivity device. Given the slow updates and problems I had with Samsung tablets, I don't feel I am in the market for another.

As an aside, I like a Chromebook's multi-user mode, and not all Samsung tablets support this feature. I like keeping separate accounts for work and personal matters, so logging in as a 'work' user and 'personal' user appeal to me greatly. If I go Android, it is going to be with a pure Android 5.0 tablet with Micro-SD. I like my Samsung Chromebook 2, it is my road-warrior netbook, cheap, secure, multi-user, long-lasting, light, small, and quiet. The keyboard and trackpad are both excellent, and the thing just loves to write with me.

If I didn't care about Micro-SD, I'd just grab a Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 and forget about my worries for the next 5 years. Amazon has great customer service, and for $60 a year you have unlimited cloud storage so you don't really need Micro-SD except to save money. They now have multi-user mode too, so this is tempting. Being tied to Amazon has it's pluses and minuses, but for me, it is an overall plus. The speakers on this thing rock, and if all I did was watch movies and read books, this would be a no-brainer. I am happy with my previous generation Kindle Fire HD 7 and that one is still going strong. Kindle Fires are nice tablets, and I have low regrets about buying them, especially with that ecosystem to die for with a Prime membership.

But...Windows tablets? Like the new Surface 3 (non-pro, Atom version)? 128GB, full Windows, Micro-SD, pen-support, 1920x1280, 1.3 lbs, 0.3" thick? A bit more expensive, but running full Scrivener would be a major plus for me. Tempting as a one-tablet-to-rule-them-all offering I suppose. I've heard good and bad about this one, if I could get a good one I suppose that would be worth it, but the cost is high considering there is a lot of other pieces to buy to get the thing laptop-functional.

But then again, my Chromebook is my laptop of choice on the road since if it gets damaged or lost I'm not going to shed a tear or care about the loss or care about the security of personal files. For a home-tablet, yes, probably a good idea. For traveling? I suppose the utility would be a huge plus, but I dislike being tied to anything expensive on the road because I value peace-of-mind.

iPads? I did an iPad one back in the day, and I am not in that market much these days. They are the to-be-beat tablet, but again, expensive, and they are more consumption devices than productivity devices for me. They are nice, but you either are in the market or you were in the market. If I still had an iPhone, I would probably be in the market for one due to cross-compatibility of apps.

So my top choices right now are the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 and the Surface 3. If I want a pure entertainment device, it's the Amazon tablet. If I want a work machine and local storage, it's Microsoft's. Given my love of Chromebooks, I already have a work machine for on the road, so I am leaning towards Amazon's offering.