[andy_e]

I'm after a small, lightweight and portable device with a keyboard capable of word processing for as few fuck alls as possible. Anyone know what I'm on about? Any experience in using such things?

Ta!

[SA Chris]

A small tablet with a plug in keyboard?

[tomtom]

A small tablet with a bluetooth keyboard?

You can get Win8.1 tablets for <£120... 8 inch screen - with a years office 365 bundled in..
I use an ipad and keyboard for just what you are talking about...

[SA Chris]

Whatever, plug in, strap on, blue tooth, black eye, same principle.

[slackline]

If you're bound to having a physical keyboard then perhaps consider the fad from a few years back of "netbooks".

Very little practical experience of them since I never bought one myself, but a mate got an Asus Eee PC and it did the job for word processing and web browsing.  They're £130 on Amazon, probably cheaper on Fleabay, but you'll be buying something with a used battery which may be worth considering.

Not fuck all, but if you want something with a bit more bang thats incredibly portable and light then I can recommend the Asus UX21e Zenbook, love mine, all brushed metal shinyness...




Not cheap but I got a refurbished one from DABS for ~£500 a few years back when they were retailing around £850.

For me the trouble with a tablet & bluetooth keyboard (fully capable of word processing due to Google Docs and similar) is that the keyboard is a) something else to carry around; b) it needs power and charging/battery changing.  At that point it suggests to me that getting a small laptop is more appropriate.

[tomtom]

I've had my Bluetooth iPad keyboard for 2.5 years slackers - and charged it twice.... It's not been shy of usage either..

It also magnetically clicks to the tablet so when folded closed its a cover. Very neat.

[andy_e]

Hmmm, a tablet with a keyboard might do the trick I suppose. The Eee netnotebooks also look decent. However, this is all probably entirely academic as I go away on Tuesday and then am not due to go away again for about 4 months after that!

Can anyone recommend a good-and-cheap Android tablet please?

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Hudl2 is £99. Keyboard case another £40. Less if you have any Tesco vouchers. Should be able to pick one up in your local big Tesco. Had a brief play and it look nice. Good size, snappy.

[andy_e]

Should have mentioned "except anything made by Tesco or Amazon" in the original post, sorry...

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Should have mentioned "except anything made by Tesco or Amazon" in the original post, sorry...

I try and avoid both for general shopping but you're missing out on the best e-reader by far and one of the best budget tablets around if you're avoiding them on principle.

[andy_e]

That's my choice 

[dontfollowme]

I have one of these for travel http://www.gumtree.com/p/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-s205-laptop-4gb-ram-memory-with-webcam-and-hdmi-port/1120513562

[iain]

The Asus TF103C might be worth a look:
Cheap here without the keyboard, add a cheap bt one of your choice.

Or here for the full package. You might be able to walk in and try it first.

I've not had this particular one so read the reviews but had an Asus netbook in the past and for the price it was good. If it doesn't come bundled with something for wordprocessing there are plently of options.

Edit: Or get 2nd hand, dontfollowme's looks good.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

That's my choice 

Anyway aren't we allowed to like Tesco again now they are shrinking not expanding? I've lost track! 

[andy_e]

That does look tempting, cheers Iain.

That's my choice 

Anyway aren't we allowed to like Tesco again now they are shrinking not expanding? I've lost track! 

  yeah, they're the real underdogs these days!

[chris05]

My girlfriend just bought one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Transformer-TF100TAF-10-1-Inch-Integrated/dp/B00QQNGT8C/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1434098070&sr=1-5&keywords=ASUS+Transformer+Book+T100 although she got it for about £284 from Amazon. It seems pretty good although not had it long enough to really judge. I was doubtful that it would be as good as a netbook but it has better battery life than most and the 500Gb HD in the keyboard means it actually has some storage compared to the tablets mentioned above. Although I like the idea of the keyboard tablet combo, the lack of a structure to some of the keyboards means you need a table to type on, with this option you can rest it on your lap if necessary.

[Jim]

I've got 2 Asus net books I could do with selling,  something in the region of 20 FUCK alls

[dave]

If you're doing a lot of word processing then I wouldn't want to be hunched over a laptop or worse a netbook, giving yourself a bad back, posture problems and dodgy wrists.

If you want to do a lot of typing is some kind of comfort, and you don't want or can't use a desktop computer then you really want something where the screen and keyboard are seperate - so either a tablet and a bluetooth keyboard, or a laptop with an additional USB keyboard. Personally I'd go for a tablet and keyboard, as tablets are very versatile (pay as mush as you want as you'll get your moneysworth out of it). Internal storage isn't an issue as you can use dropbox or whatever for the docs, so you can also work on them elsewhere in sync.

[Paul B]

What Dave said.

I've had a few netbooks and they were great but I'd class them as superseded these days. The keyboards aren't comfortable for lots of typing.

[andy_e]

I've got a desktop, trouble is, it's hard to take on planes, trains and automobiles 

Tablet + Bluetooth keyboard seems to be the best plan. I'll have a look into it! Thanks!

[slackline]

If you want really small and already have a smartphone and its just that you don't like typing on a touchscreen  then you could save yourself the money and just get a bluetooth keyboard for it since your phone will have bluetooth.  Then you won't need to take a phone + keyboard + tablet on planes, trains and automobiles.

[andy_e]

Hmm, why didn't I think of that earlier? 

Good bluetooth keyboard tips anyone?

[slackline]

Hmm, why didn't I think of that earlier? 

Because buying new gadgets is fun.

[andy_e]

The Asus TF103C might be worth a look:
Cheap here without the keyboard, add a cheap bt one of your choice.

Or here for the full package. You might be able to walk in and try it first.

I've not had this particular one so read the reviews but had an Asus netbook in the past and for the price it was good. If it doesn't come bundled with something for wordprocessing there are plently of options.

Got the bundle on this in the end. It works and is small, so fits the bill perfectly. Thanks for the advice!

[Fultonius]

How are you getting on with it Andy?

My girlfriend has a nexus 7 tablet and a dying laptop. She needs something for doing her studies on her future daily commute on the train. A proper ultrabook would be amazing but we don't have £700+ burning any holes in any pockets.

So, we were considering something like this:  http://ebay.eu/1U11vwh

[sjw]

So, we were considering something like this:  http://ebay.eu/1U11vwh

I've got one of these and while it's great as a case and stand, unless you have the fingers of a small child then you're forever pressing multiple keys by mistake. If I was buying again I'd get a full size keyboard, despite being less practical to transport. Or, I could go on a finger diet.

[Fultonius]

Interesting.  I did see another one that was a bit bigger,  maybe check that out.

Sent from my XT1039 using Tapatalk

[andy_e]

I really like mine. I don't use it for much so can't say how its performance is, but for typing stuff out it works very well. I'm a proper fat-handed twat too and I find the keyboard is fine for me, it looks like it's bigger than the one you linked to.

[Paul B]

Rather than start another thread:

Can anyone recommend a decent keyboard to use with a Nexus 9? I succumbed on Black Friday and bought the 32Gb version and since buying the 7, the desktop PC hasn't even been turned on and the laptop only gets fired up for processing RAW files; I'm expecting the 9 will be suitable for almost all tasks and now I won't have to fight for the tablet.