Money's no object: So which iPad or tablet do you buy?

[Lloyd777]

I've got one of the latest big Samsung phones that takes 50 seconds to open JW Library!  True, I do download almost all publications, music, and videos to this 500 GB phone but have used only 25% of the internal memory.

 

But the 50 seconds is too long. 

Secondly, I have a laptop that opens up quickly, but when taking notes on that laptop in the KH or at a convention, some sitting nearby have mentioned that my clacking on the keyboard can be distracting.

So I need something that I can type on silently (I'm thinking of using Notability on an iPad), and that will open almost immediately despite my downloading almost everything that JW Library has to offer, and that will play a video loud enough for folks to hear at the door or even in public near a street.

Let's say you have enough cash for most anything.  What do you choose? 

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Lloyd777

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

I choose the best processor in the lightest and most versatile form for me to read and use.

Don't worry about typing. Use the 'voice-to-text' tools to automatically capture what is said.

My tablet has a stylus, so I just scribble notes on the screen as you go along.

[dilip kumar]

Are voice to text tools available for Android mobile phones? 

[Pabo]

I use my Samsung Tab S8.4 (SM-T700 - 16GB) with its official matching bluetooth keyboard case.

 

It is very quiet with soft key touch, and even though it looks small, it's actually very good and I am better typing on that than my actual full size keyboard on my laptop. The tablet is now 8 years old, but it still functions OK, even though I have to wait a bit for the JWL to run.

 

 

They made one for the 10 inch Samsung Tab S as well, but they never made it for any other Tab S model after the initial Tab S range.

 

I also now use a Samsung Active3 8inch (SM-T575 - 128GB), which is a very solid tablet, more heavier and thicker than the Tab S 8.4, but it is designed to be more durable in commercial and industrial settings. But the screen quality is not the same as the Tab S 8.4 (Super AMOLED 2560x1600 px (359 ppi)) vs the Active3 (PLS LCD 1200 x 1920 pixels, 16:10 ratio (~283 ppi density)), but it does have its own S-Pen and Dex functionailty, but I still prefer my older Tab S8.4.

 

I can connect the keyboard to my Active3 and the functions just the same as with the Tab S8.4, but it cannot hold the Active3 as the tablet is basically twice the thickness and the keyboard cannot hold the Active3 in it's holder.

 

There is a Targus keyboard case for the Active Tab3, but it is so bulky for the Active3 8inch, I think they used the same case for the 10inch version (Galaxy 10.1" Tab Active Pro) but molded it so that that the smaller tablet fits inside it.

 

iKey has made a snap-on keyboard cover for the Active2, but the dimensions of the Active2 and Active 3 are slightly different where the Active 3 slightly smaller which may fit, but it too is somewhat a bulky cover (then again it was designed for military use), but the keyboard does have a plenty of other buttons that would be handy and a cursor controller and mouse buttons.

 

 

If Samsung ever did a custom manufacture, can I have the Tab S8.4 with the same display that it had, but with the bigger RAM (6GB) and storage (256GB would be great) and the lastest Wifi and Bluetooth available. Also, the matching keyboard and the matching factory cover which also can protect the keyboard as well. Surely they don't have to retool their assembly line that much.

 

[Michał]

6 hours ago, ➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone said:

Don't worry about typing. Use the 'voice-to-text' tools to automatically capture what is said.

I’d be careful with this approach. The best benefit for note taking is when we transform or paraphrase what we hear or watch. Then, our brain remembers it better and longer. 
But if you take verbatim notes and then make your own notes from these notes that approach (voice to text) can work. 
 

I didn’t check how fast is JW Library when more than 25 GB are downloaded but my experience with even low-end iPads is that they really fast with opening our app and faster compared to Android tables within the same segment. But I’m your case I’d wait for someone who really checked it. 

[New World Explorer]

My 4 year old iPad 128Gb opens JW Library instantly, despite many downloads. 

This is how my apps feel, when I open my iPad LOL 🤣

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

How about this one?

https://www.phonearena.com/news/new-high-end-lenovo-tablet-appears-on-the-google-play-console_id143759

Old (Downunder) Tone

[Exter]

2 hours ago, ➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone said:

How about this one?

https://www.phonearena.com/news/new-high-end-lenovo-tablet-appears-on-the-google-play-console_id143759

Old (Downunder) Tone
 

When i got the money, i will buy this:

https://www.fairphone.com/de/ 

I look forward to an possible fairtablet.

[computerwiz]

17 hours ago, Lloyd777 said:

I've got one of the latest big Samsung phones that takes 50 seconds to open JW Library!  True, I do download almost all publications, music, and videos to this 500 GB phone but have used only 25% of the internal memory.

 

But the 50 seconds is too long. 

Secondly, I have a laptop that opens up quickly, but when taking notes on that laptop in the KH or at a convention, some sitting nearby have mentioned that my clacking on the keyboard can be distracting.

So I need something that I can type on silently (I'm thinking of using Notability on an iPad), and that will open almost immediately despite my downloading almost everything that JW Library has to offer, and that will play a video loud enough for folks to hear at the door or even in public near a street.

Let's say you have enough cash for most anything.  What do you choose? 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0932N7NFG/

 

That.  Or the latest (if there's a 2022 version).  Maybe not the 1 TB version....might be overkill for you for space.  But that's what I got for my wife, and she loves it.  Super fast, very loud.  Uses it all the time!

 

You can use the pen (sold separately) to scribble notes instead of a keyboard.  Or just get a quiet keyboard (I guess they make those).

[Qapla]

I would consider the Microsoft Surface Pro 9

 

On any tablet or phone - if it is not loud enough for use at the door, it is a simple thing to carry a small, loud BT speaker in your pocket - and they are available in many places and price ranges.

 

 

[GoldenAge]

On 11/17/2022 at 11:04 PM, dilip kumar said:

Are voice to text tools available for Android mobile phones? 

Yes, if you use the voice recorder app (link below) you can not just record the audio, but it will also transcribe it for you into a text and also will allow searching in the audio for specific words/phrases. 

Voice Recorder Pro
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.snowlife01.android.voicerecorderpro

 

[WilliamChew]

On 11/18/2022 at 12:04 PM, dilip kumar said:

Are voice to text tools available for Android mobile phones? 

 

The google GBoard keyboard provides a voice typing feature.

 

[Lloyd777]

11/22/2022

While I greatly appreciate all the responses, I think I'm gonna go with the 2022 iPad Pro M2 with 1 or 2 TB of space since that ups the RAM from 8GB to 16GB.  Plus I like the processor.

The three main problems that I was trying to overcome were:

1. JW Library being able to open quickly, as opposed to, for instance, the 50 seconds it takes to open on my Samsung Note 20 Ultra phone.

2. I found that the clacking when typing on my Lenovo computer when taking notes at the Kingdom Hall or at conventions was distracting to some folks.  So I needed something that I could type on silently.

3. I like playing videos for people in service, but the volume on my Lenovo laptop wasn’t loud enough, forcing me to carry around headphones, which was cumbersome and messy.  So I need a device that is loud.

 

Solutions:

 

I must admit that I have gotten rather paranoid about how slow the JW Library app can be to open.  So the iPad Pro M2 seems to be my best bet for getting the JW Library to open quickly.

I found this video on JW Library here: https://www.jw.org/finder?srcid=jwlshare&wtlocale=E&lank=pub-jwb_201705_15_VIDEO  and although the video is from 2017, I notice at the 6:20 mark that they are doing the testing with nothing but iPads, giving me the thought that perhaps, at least initially, the JW Library app was built for the iPad, and then perhaps later expanded to Android and other devices.  But don't quote me on that.  It's just a guess.  Anyway, that could possibly be a contributing factor as to why the app seems to open quickly on Apple devices.  (I’d be curious to know if the JW Library app opens slowly with an iPhone, especially if you are one who downloads and keeps most everything that is available for the JW Library app, including the many videos)

I loved Pabo’s info on the Samsung Tablet, and normally that’s what I would have chosen since my phone is Samsung Android and I know that architecture best.  But his comment, “even though I have to wait a bit for the JWL to run” scared me since that is one of my 3 major problems that I was trying to eliminate.

 

For silent typing, so that I don't disturb others in the Kingdom Hall by clacking on a keyboard, the iPad Pro seems to be the answer as well, although not having actual clackable keys may take a bit of getting used to.  (I better cut my nails, hunh?)  Also, there’s the Apple Pencil, which might also work. 

 

For some reason, I tend to fall asleep at assemblies and sometimes at meetings.  Don’t ask me why.  Probably old age.  But typing notes keeps me awake with my head in the proceedings.  So I’m hoping that typing on a sound-free screen will do the trick. 

 

I can't remember where I read it, but somewhere I read that the volume can get quite loud on this new 2022 iPad Pro M2, great for playing videos at the door.  What I had been using at the door was a Lenovo Yoga 720, which wasn't very loud at all, to where I had to carry headphones for folks to be able to hear, especially on the street or in a laundromat, as I suspect everyone can imagine.  And carrying those wired headphones was cumbersome and messy and just didn't work well.  (By the way Qapla, I did try the "BT speaker" thing and, at least at the time, couldn't make anything work very well.  Perhaps there's more to choose from today.  But having loud speakers within the iPad will be a relief....if they are indeed as loud as they say) 

 

 

Downsides:

1. The price!  I tend to buy the best that I can and keep it for years, so: 
2022 iPad Pro M2 2TB w/cellular- $2,299.00

Magic keyboard - $349.00

Apple Pencil (2^nd generation) - $119.00

Magic Mouse - $79.00

Tax - $234.80
Total - $3,080.80

Apple Care ($7.99/month)

2. Originally, I thought I'd use it for work too, hoping it would replace my hand-built Windows Desktop computer that I'm using now.  But I use multiple/additional screens (3) and the iPad cannot do three, which is a huge obstacle/deal killer when it comes to what is needed for work.  Those of you who use multiple monitors know what I mean.  The 2022 iPad Pro M2 has it's own screen and can do one other screen.  But that’s it.  That appears to be an Apple restriction that many folks are quite upset about, but hey, as Homer Simpson says, "What are ya gonna do?"  There do appear to be workarounds, but most folks who have tried those workarounds have run into problems/glitches (see comments in YouTube videos that proclaim that they've found a way to use multiple screens with Apple products (usually using this or that Dock)).

3. The possibility of overheating which some have mentioned (especially on Amazon in the comments). 

But Lloyd, why don’t you choose a less expensive iPad?  Answer:  Because of the M2 chip in the 2022 iPad Pro.  Who knows what the future holds, so I prefer to buy the best chip now, hoping it will last well into the future.   

But again, thanks for all the input!!!  I'm a bit of a research nut and so getting specific user opinions before making a buying decision was most helpful!  You guys are the best!

Edited November 22, 2022 by Lloyd777

[New World Explorer]

15 minutes ago, Lloyd777 said:

The three main problems that I was trying to overcome were:

1. JW Library being able to open quickly, as opposed to, for instance, the 50 seconds it takes to open on my Samsung Note 20 Ultra phone.

2. I found that the clacking when typing on my Lenovo computer when taking notes at the Kingdom Hall or at conventions was distracting to some folks.  So I needed something that I could type on silently.

3. I like playing videos for people in service, but the volume on my Lenovo laptop wasn’t loud enough, forcing me to carry around headphones, which was cumbersome and messy.  So I need a device that is loud.

 

Unless you edit video, M2 processor is overkill. 

Also the size of this iPad is not the best to carry in the ministry. 

I have 4 year old iPad (basic with 128GB) and have zero problems with JW Library speed.

So the slowness of that could be related to something else. 

iPad mini the latest generation is great for the ministry. 

For the money I would buy to separate devices. 

One for the ministry, another one for notetaking at the KH. 

[1MKnight]

27 minutes ago, New World Explorer said:

Unless you edit video, M2 processor is overkill. 

...

iPad mini the latest generation is great for the ministry. 

 

Yeah, the M2 is more powerful than most desktops. (from what I hear). That is really only necessary for video editing (and I used to do extensive video editing on the 2018 iPad pro, which honestly worked fine for 99% of video editing needs)

 

I was going to recommend the iPad mini only because you mention you want to use this at the door. Not that the 12.9" would be impossible, but maybe some people would think it's awkward. I use it on Bible studies, but at the door I just use my iPhone. (also don't want my expensive iPad being stolen at a door as unlikely as that may be)

 

As far as storage goes, Mine is a 512GB iPad, and I used to have the entire Sign Language bible on there. Didn't even take up half the space. My main storage killer was video editing files. 

 

Also, i don't have one, but I would recommend you get a keyboard folio so you can type notes more comfortably where ever you go. (mini or standard size)

[New World Explorer]

4 minutes ago, 1MKnight said:

Yeah, the M2 is more powerful than most desktops. (from what I hear). That is really only necessary for video editing (and I used to do extensive video editing on the 2018 iPad pro, which honestly worked fine for 99% of video editing needs)

 

I was going to recommend the iPad mini only because you mention you want to use this at the door. Not that the 12.9" would be impossible, but maybe some people would think it's awkward. I use it on Bible studies, but at the door I just use my iPhone. (also don't want my expensive iPad being stolen at a door as unlikely as that may be)

 

As far as storage goes, Mine is a 512GB iPad, and I used to have the entire Sign Language bible on there. Didn't even take up half the space. My main storage killer was video editing files. 

 

Also, i don't have one, but I would recommend you get a keyboard folio so you can type notes more comfortably where ever you go. (mini or standard size)

Personally, for me size to carry stuff around while in the ministry matters a lot. 

I don’t like to drag whole “office” with me. 
At the moment I use iPhone to show videos, and householders never had any issues or complains. 
iPad mini is step better with real estate screen and storage. Also comes with Apple pen for notes (great for ministry overall) 

 

[Pabo]

On 11/23/2022 at 6:59 AM, Lloyd777 said:

“even though I have to wait a bit for the JWL to run” scared me since that is one of my 3 major problems that I was trying to eliminate.

 

That is because the Tab S8.4 tablet is now over 8 years old, so it is because of its age and also running Lollipop. Whereas the Active3 is pretty well much very instant, as it is only 6 months old with the latest Android OS.

 

Also, as many here have mentioned, that if the tablet is too big, it is also an annoyance to carry around for witnessing. My wife has both the Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2" (SM-P900) which is also 8 years old, and I recently got her a Galaxy Tab S7+ (SM-T970) 12.4". She finds them good for use whilst at home and for the meetings, but she finds it a tad too big for witnessing. Okay for RV's and studies if you are sitting down, but door to door or the carts is another thing. She would like to use my Active3 as it is smaller, but she finds it just as heavy as her tablet.

 

We also have a Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 8.0" that we used for presentations (which ironically weighs more than my Active3 and slightly less than her Tab S7+), as it does have a very good volume, the battery lasts a very long time, and the inbuilt kick stand made it easier to hold as well. But it too is now too slow, as it is about 7 years old and still runs on Lollipop. The only downsides were it's RAM (only 1GB) and the brightness of it's screen, as it was an IPS LCD screen, whereas the others (excluding the Active3) were Super AMOLED.

 

You cannot go wrong with the iPad Pro, as Apple do make great products. I just don't like their enclosed environment, thus I don't use them.

[Qapla]

My daughter has the Galaxy Fold 4. Her JWL opens in 1-2 seconds ... we had trouble timing it because it pops open so fast it is virtually instant. However, she does not have "everything" downloaded. 

She has:

• All publications needed for meetings including the Study Bible and the KJV
• All the selection in the Teaching Toolbox
• A generous selection in her Favorites as well as the Frequently Used
• She also has unlimited Data so doesn't feel the need to d/l every publication, audio and video
• 12GB RAM and 512 internal memory (there is a 1 TB option available)
• She can take notes with the pen and it will convert them to text

Her phone plays the videos loud enough I could hear them across the room with the TV on and without my hearing aids in

 

In fact, it is working so well she no longer takes her Surface to the meeting in order to have more than one app open at the same time.

[JJWest]

I love my iPad Pro 12.9 for meetings, note taking with Apple Pencil and for giving talks, the bigger screen makes split screen doable.

[Pabo]

1 hour ago, Jjwhittier said:

I love my iPad Pro 12.9 for meetings, note taking with Apple Pencil and for giving talks, the bigger screen makes split screen doable.

 

I can do that split screen with my old Moto G5 Plus phone.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Pabo

[JJWest]

15 hours ago, Pabo said:

 

I can do that split screen with my old Moto G5 Plus phone.

 

 

 

 

I know you can do this with many devices, I was just pointing out that a bigger screen makes it easier to see both at the same time.

[1MKnight]

On 11/24/2022 at 1:55 AM, JJWest said:

the bigger screen makes split screen doable.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I do this all the time with mine from stage. In portrait mode I have my talk notes on one side then I have my stopwatch on the other. Very convenient for that. 

 

Also, while the iPad pro is honestly way more powerful than you need, as @Pabo said, "You can't go wrong with the iPad pro."