In need of advice: laptop vs ipad for tabletop gaming!

[twofalls]

I've played with my mothers iPad and I own a large very powerful gaming laptop as well, which is just to heavy to lug about for rpg games. I decided to invest in a Nexus 10, and opted for the 16gig version simply because for a $4 app and a $3 adapter I can use any flash drive I wish as backup storage. There are tons of apps availible, and I find I am now using my tablet more than my laptop (for surfing, short email, etc). For gaming and research papers/composition I use my laptop or desktop. I would suggest the tablet myself, but not being an apple fan I'd go with a nexus.

 

[Janx]

I've played with my mothers iPad and I own a large very powerful gaming laptop as well, which is just to heavy to lug about for rpg games. I decided to invest in a Nexus 10, and opted for the 16gig version simply because for a $4 app and a $3 adapter I can use any flash drive I wish as backup storage. There are tons of apps availible, and I find I am now using my tablet more than my laptop (for surfing, short email, etc). For gaming and research papers/composition I use my laptop or desktop. I would suggest the tablet myself, but not being an apple fan I'd go with a nexus.

Good solution. I like my iPad, but there are plenty of other tablet products out there that solve the problem just as well.

It's also worth noting, text data does not take up space in any significant way. My 16GB iPad1 is holding up just fine. You don't need more storage to run a spreadsheet app or other char sheet tool and hold some characters.

Now movies, music and lots of apps will chew up your space. But 16GB is plenty to hold a good variety of apps, a movie, some music, and your data. More is always better, but a moderate user will be just fine.

 

[Arravis]

Will a nexus have the app selection that an ipad will? Like I said, on the kindle rpg apps are extremely limited. I wouldn't want to invest in something that gaming apps aren't being developed for (or at least not in suitable quantities/quality).

 

[Hand of Evil]

Will a nexus have the app selection that an ipad will? Like I said, on the kindle rpg apps are extremely limited. I wouldn't want to invest in something that gaming apps aren't being developed for (or at least not in suitable quantities/quality).

that is market share, the iPAD holds a lot of the market and as such is the platform of choice. This could be changing with the great number of tablets being produced but just don't see it at this time. The Droid OS is the windows 3.1 of the tablet world.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If you want a tablet for which gaming apps are available, any iOS or Android tablet will do, probably. More exists for the iPads, iPods, and iPhones, but the Android options are not skimpy from what I understand. And, as you might expect, there are certain things Android tablets do that Apples don't.

So, if you go tablet, find one which runs the apps you want, pick a size you like, and then figure out how much memory you want and if you want it to be inherently Internet capable. I bought a top of the line iPad2 without wifi built in, and use a hotspot instead. The monthly data plan costs a bit more than for an iPad alone, but it can support 8 devices, and it runs at 4G instead of 3G, so its often faster. And if 5G were announced tomorrow, I could upgrade my hotspot instead of my tablet.

 

[twofalls]

The nexus products run jellybean and there is an immense amount of support for it. I am not familiar specifically with gaming applications, so if you are buying it specifically for running particular gaming apps then the advice to look into it first is wise. For Android products, the Nexus is currently the best product on the market for the price tag. I absolutely love mine and consider it some of the best technology money I have ever spent.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

My android experience is limited to my Kindle Fire HD, so I don't have the perfect experience.

The APP selection for the iPad is a lot more robust right now. I expect, like everyone else, that will change as more and more people get tablets.

BUT, take a close look at the apps that you would really want to have. The OP is playing 4e, so we'll focus on what you'd really want if you're playing 4e:

PDF Reader - Many options on android.
Notes - Again, many options. I'm dedicated to Evernote, which is available for android devices.
4e Character Sheets - DnD Buddy looks very good, and supports 4e.
4e Compendium access DnD Buddy looks like it might call up compendium entries referenced by the character sheet; not sure if it handles direct access -- but it's possible that the web browser in the android device will be able to handle the compendium directly.
Initiative Tracker -- there are options out there -- initiative does not need to be 4e specific.
Maps - probably not something you really need, although I'm a big fan of Razeware's Battle Map app for iPad. There is Dungeon Mapp, which is a decent map making app that is available on the android, so all is not lost there.

Are there other functions you would need? And would you really want to use all of these at the table? Personally, I like the iPad because it's the perfect safety net for content and reference, but I use analog solutions for tracking initiative, hp, conditions, etc.

-rg

 

[Arravis]

My likely needs would be:
• Referencing PDFs (4th edition books and the entire FR library going back to the original 1984 release). I can currently do about 1/3 of my needed library on the kindle fire, but its very, very slow to render PDFs.
• Compendium access (the D&D website has a version that will work on the kindle, but its crude and doesn't have all the options)
• Initiative tracking (I've only found one app that does this on the kindle, and its terrible)
• DM's notes (I user Evernote, which is awesome, but typing on the kindle is very clunky in my opinion)
• I'd love to hear of other applications that might be useful, but not having a proper android pad (kindle only does kindle-friendly apps) or an ipad, I don't really know what's out there.

As far as maps and pictures, that's not an issue. I have access to nice printers and do my own work in that respect.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

typing on the kindle is very clunky in my opinion

I agree 100%. The Kindle HD is awesome for watching video or reading with the kindle app. For video I prefer the kindle to my iPad because it grabs the wifi signal better (our bedroom is a bit of a stretch for the wifi router in our living room) and produces much better sound. But for almost anything else -- accessing PDFs, all manner of apps, writing, facebook, twitter, whatever -- I prefer the iPad.

But, saying that, I'm comparing a device that cost $200 with a device that cost $600 -- it's really not a fair comparison. The Kindle is built with much less powerful components, and it's design is focused on the things it's good at -- helping you consume Amazon's content.

If I were really daring I'd go out and get myself an android tablet for the sake of comparison.... anyone want to help fund that experiment?

-rg

 

[Hand of Evil]

As I have worked with iPADs, Droids and Windows 8; I like the iPAD but I would look at a Win8 tablet before a Droid, just more functional from a business and application point.