I have an android phone, should I get a tablet?

I finally made the leap from android phone to tablet.  If you're thinking of buying a tablet yourself, here's some practical information from my own experiences.

The tablets are really coming down in price.  I picked mine up for $349 which for all the extra features you get on a full android tablet made it worthwhile to pay the extra money rather than just buying a Kindle Fire or Nook and trying to convert it to a full tablet.

An acer tablet, while not sleeker looking than a Xoom, seems to be the best deal for the best price.  I'm a droid X owner and like motorola but there's enough reasons to buy the Acer instead I couldn't pass it up. Acer cost $50 less than the Xoom, comes with a usb port, a now functioning sd card slot (which you can only use for storing media until ICS is released).  The acer and xoom tablets are nearly identical in weight and measurements with the xoom being only slightly thinner.

Someting to keep in mind when buying a tablet now is the technology is still very new and you're basically buying an unpolished work in progress.

• The Sd card slot won't work, or with limited function until Android 4.0 is released for your tablet sometime in the coming months.  
• Bluetooth is limited, only supports A2DP headphones, possibly a keyboard on the acer.  
• The usb port on the acer is great, but right now I hear flash drives are read only.  
• Honeycomb's features are lacking compared to the more robust version of android on the phones.  
• The included browser is a little buggy at times and lacks functionality of Chrome or Internet Explorer. 

But then if you're a sci-fi techy like me all you'll really care is you have something right out of star trek in your hands.

Pros I found with my tablet:  

• The single largest pro for buying an Acer tablet if you're looking to get the most out of your tablet is that it has a full sized USB port.  This opens up so many possibilities for using the full gambit of USB products over the years.  More hardware with less adapters. Connect keyboard, mice, hubs, camera, other devices, drives.  I tested out the port with my phone, right now it works as a charging port and hopefully later you can use it to transfer files as well.  (Note:  I don't know if you SHOULD use that port as a phone charger, I just tested it out and found out that you could in a pinch).  
• If you love mobile computing, then a tablet is absolutely perfect for this.  A tablet gives you the full power of a laptop with out the bulk and a much better battery life.  Yet you can still connect a keyboard and mouse if you want them.  
• The tablet vs. phone screen is definitely a factor if you want a portable television / movie player.  

Cons I found with my tablet:

• The motorola screen on my droid x is a lot better at not showing glare or fingerprints.  You need to clean your acer tablet screen more often.  
• The Acer tablet isn't weighted properly, it's top heavy and if held loosely from the bottom, you might notice it tipping on you a lot if you move around.  
• The Acer tablet's back is too slick, I noticed on my Droid X, the back has an almost rubberized non-slip surface, but with the tablet you'll definitely want to get a bodyguards non-slip sticker or a silicon case.  
• The Acer is much heavier than the phone and can be tiring to hold with long usage.  Another problem with the weight is it's already weighty yet because of the design, it needs a case badly.  When shopping for a case, it'd be a good idea to factor in the case's weight.  
• As I've seen (and somewhat agree with) in several reviews the look of the Acer Iconia just isn't as cool or sleek as the Xoom or the Galaxy.  But to Acer's credit, I think this was a smart idea, I've caught several articles where apple has sued Samsung for copying the look of the iPad, and then there's Motorola buying up all the tablet patents it can.  So Acer by giving their tablet a more dated, computerish look, I think they've side-stepped all the legal games the tablet giants are playing with each other and saving a lot of money in the process.  I think in some way's they've passed that on to us by giving us a feature rich tablet.

Pros to getting a tablet:

• Larger screen, better viewing for movies, media and webpages.
• Usually has a longer battery life compared to a phone.  (Also longer charge time)
• An android tablet (not kindle fire or nook) comes with a tegra processor which makes for smoother operation and ability to play higher end games.

Cons to getting a tablet:

• All your buying with a tablet, if you already have an android is essentialy a larger screen.  Your phone can already do everything the tablet can and more.  (Except in many cases buyin a tablet now it will have a better processor unless you've gotten a new phone within the last six months or so.)
• The operating system is still really new on the tablets though the ICS update is right around the corner.
• The sd card doesn't work until the ICS update, or has limited function.

Remote Audio / Playing your Music anywhere: An ongoing article for help adding this functionality.

This article is about using your android phone or tablet as a music remote control.  I"m writing this article because as I was trying to figure out how to get my Acer A500 tablet to play it's audio over my computer speakers, I found a lot of people asking in forums across different websites how they can use their tablet or phone as the control for playing their music and have the audio come out their home stereo speakers.

Apparently a lot of people, like me :P, have this gluttonously lazy romantic fantasy of sitting on their $3000 leather couch by the fireplace, sipping a glass of wine and using their tablet as a media remote to play what amuses them while they sit and laugh with their friends.  Ha ha ...well you can do that!

Widcomm bluetooth drivers with A2DP support is the key.
Click read more to see the rest of the article....

Review: Jeannie / Voice Actions Plus, an AI personal assistant for your phone.

Jeannie
Voice Actions Plus (paid version)

Pros:
Personal Assistant for your device.

Cons:
Can be a bit laggy if you already heavily utilize your phones resources, if you have a lot of apps installed.

Basics: Core app list for all users

Jeannie, Amazon Android App Store, Swype Keyboard, Handrite Pro (paid),

For tablets:
HD Widgets (paid)

Basics: Standard Setup for Android Home Screens

A uniform standard setup for all android home screens on tablets and phones.  In many cases, it'd be handy to have a common home screen setup that everyone uses.  That way, whether you're using your own device, one shared by the family, a work or a friend's tablet, you have a general idea where to find what you need quickly.

The screens don't have to be setup exactly this way, the idea is to use the home screen as the core center for your most important info, links, apps, widgets and fan out in both directions from greatest to least important.  First, with productivity and vital information and then proceeding to entertainment and the least important items furthest away from the core.    

Click read more for the rest of the article....

Don't have swype on your phone or tablet? Get the beta!

beta.swype.com 

Swype is a keyboard for android devices which came included with my Motorola Droid X.  When I got my Acer Iconia A500 tablet and used their basic keyboard I was painfully reminded how lacking the basic keyboard really is.  With Swype you simply play connect the dots to create text, tracing your finger from one letter to the next.  Once you've used the app, you'll be hooked, you can usually output text nearly as fast as most average people can type on a regular keyboard.