Mya Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Greetings, So I'm a full-time student (on a budget!) and I've been staring dreamily at the amazon kindle on the London underground every day for months. Today, my old 8gb ipod stopped working and I think it's dead for good - now I find myself in the market for a music player, and I'm keen to get away from the evil Apple Empire, so I've decided to substitute it with something else. But there's such a bewildering array out there I'm not sure where to begin deciding what to buy! Is there anything out there, affordable, which can: 1. Act as am MP3 player 2. Act as mass-storage for PDFs and/or word documents? (Preferably with the highlighting/notes function like the Kindle) 3. *Preferably* double up as a keyboard (i.e. on a touch screen) for portable typing facilities (and not a tiny one like you'd find on a blackberry - I'm a student journalist, and that size would be too slow.) Would really appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction! Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Just one point about the Kindle. It is an excellent device for straightforward reading continuous text and such like but it is far from ideal for backtracking/referencing things you have already read and not very good for short standalone items. For these other things it takes a lot of button pressing and messing about (time wasting).For your purposes I think that a laptop would be a better option.Note the tiny Kindle keyboard is a horror to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mya Posted March 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Is there nothing *less* than a laptop and *more* than the Kindle which would be smaller/more portable/cheaper? Because buying a smaller laptop (I already have one) I'd by buying a lot more than I actually want. Literally just music and PDFs, and then IF possible, being able to word process, even simplistically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Hi Mya,I think perhaps the suggestion of a Laptop/Notebook/Netbook that Pops has suggested, although needing a fairly high initial monetary outlay, would perhaps serve you well for journalism, and perhaps a long way beyond your student years.In that respect,- that is the best way to go.If you are just looking for a cheap "Last-a-short-while" type of throw-away, you could do no better at the moment than one of the many Android Tablets that are flooding the market.Because the operating system is "Open Source" many of the Chinese manufacturers have altered the operating system to suit the cheap components of their hardware. Therefore, if buying one of these be aware that there may be some strange glitches in behaviour.We have no idea which country you live in because you have not advised in your profile, so I will give general links to Android Tablets./>http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/portable-computing/15-best-android-tablets-in-the-world-905504/>http://www.tabletpcreview.com//>http://www.maplin.co.uk/bgrade-7-inch-android-wi-fi-touch-screen-tablet-478414I am sure from the above links you will see a wide variation in price, which reflects many things.I suggest you study the market on the internet.A largish Android Phone may also suit your needs. - Do a search.Long term, - try Pops suggestion.Short term, - just go along with a piece of cheap junk. :) John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 I've been staring dreamily at the amazon kindle on the London underground every day for monthsWe have no idea which country you live in because you have not advised in your profile.MANEMAN - I would be pretty sure that the OP is in the UK :)I fully agree with your Android Tablet suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 That London Underground place is in the U.K. then right ? That is well kool man !We're not heavy into world geography here in Cornwall.We learnt all about Britain, - but nothing bigly global if you know what I mean.Well spotted Boris. - :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Regarding the economics, my Kindle DX cost $379 from Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-DX-Wireless-Reader-3G-Global/dp/B002GYWHSQ). I have just bought a Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 from Misco for £279.98. You do not need a maths degree to see that the prices are comparable - well, at the current exchange rate (about 1.6) the computer was cheaper.The kindle has a 9 inch monochrome screen. The Thinkpad is 15.6 inch full colour and oodles of extras unknown to the Kindle. Don't get the impression that I'm knocking the Kindle, it's an excellent device but its uses are different to those of a computer.Note the computer was a one day special price but the same (or similar) model can be obtained at similar prices at several outlets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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