Thinking of buying a tablet

EVGA has a Tegra Quad core tablet coming out for $200. Zippy fast.

Shop.cas is getting roasted lol. The codes they gave away weren't unique, so everyone used and abused them. They deducted $15 from everyone's rewards balance because of it, and they are cancelling some orders. All because they are incompetent. Hopefully I get my Nexus 7.

My wife dropped her iPad 2 last night and shattered the glass on the front. It seems like the LCD is actually still fine, but the glass sure is broken!

Anyway, she got recommended to a repair guy here in town. She called him last night, and he's fixing it this morning for her...$230. The kicker is that it turns out the repair guy is a family friend of mine dating back to the 80s. I used to play tennis with this guy back when I worked at a tennis club. He's around 70 years old, and repairs iPads on the side...he was able to do hers this morning because he isn't curling today. Hilarious.

Thinking of getting my wife a tablet of her own, either for Christmas or her birthday (in February). I guess I could get here the 16 GB Nexus but I'm not sure if she would be as impressed as much as I am with the display. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 or HP Slate are decent enough for under $200. And the flexibility of adding a micro-SD card is cool (it's like getting the 16GB Nexus now, and then upgrading to a 32BG model for $20 later on if you need it).

Anyone have thoughts/opinions? The Galaxy has an IR blaster on-board. Anyone know if it's only meant to be used for controlling other Samsung devices or if there are apps out there for it to make it into a nice remote? She would love that (can't see the buttons on any of our current remotes, especially in the dark).

You really can't go wrong with any of these:
 - Apple iPad Air
 - Amazon Kindle Fire HDX
 - Nexus 7
 - Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
 - ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7

All have been rated very highly.

I'm only looking for a 7" and not looking at spending a lot for a little. Wasn't even thinking of the Kindle, but at $294 for the 32GB version I might as well get the Nexus (Shop.ca I'd get $50 off, I think). Perhaps there will be a sale.

The Asus surprised me, until I read that it's actually more or less a repackaging of the old Nexus 7. The fact that it comes in different colors is a bonus -- more easily identify it especially at a distance.

That said, I'm still really intrigued by the IR blaster on the Galaxy Tab. I think that would be a killer app for my wife. Definitely a differentiator.

The nexus 7 is unreal. Thought it wouldn't be a huge difference from my nexus 4 but it is.

wprager wrote:That said, I'm still really intrigued by the IR blaster on the Galaxy Tab.  I think that would be a killer app for my wife.  Definitely a differentiator.

No.

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:That said, I'm still really intrigued by the IR blaster on the Galaxy Tab.  I think that would be a killer app for my wife.  Definitely a differentiator.

No.

Explain.

Selling my Nexys 7 if anyone is interested. I have it up on ebay but I could sell it to someone here for $200 if interested.

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:That said, I'm still really intrigued by the IR blaster on the Galaxy Tab.  I think that would be a killer app for my wife.  Definitely a differentiator.

No.

Explain.

Silly rinky dink feature that no one uses.

Ev wrote:Selling my Nexys 7 if anyone is interested. I have it up on ebay but I could sell it to someone here for $200 if interested.

Wish I had looked here yesterday. I already ordered one online. Is it 32GB?

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:That said, I'm still really intrigued by the IR blaster on the Galaxy Tab.  I think that would be a killer app for my wife.  Definitely a differentiator.

No.

Explain.

Silly rinky dink feature that no one uses.

You do know that they are making a comeback this year, right?

Why do 2013's best smartphones have IR blasters?

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:

shabbs wrote:

wprager wrote:That said, I'm still really intrigued by the IR blaster on the Galaxy Tab.  I think that would be a killer app for my wife.  Definitely a differentiator.

No.

Explain.

Silly rinky dink feature that no one uses.

You do know that they are making a comeback this year, right?

Why do 2013's best smartphones have IR blasters?
You do know they won't actually make a comeback, right?

C'mon man. An IR blaster being a differentiator? Laughable.

Shabbs, I am shopping for a very specific individual. One whom I've known for a long time. In that context, yes, I say the IR blaster is a differentiator, and the only thing you can do is shake your head and say "Whatever".

Right now she struggles with the remotes we have (PVR, TV, soundbar, PS3), none of which have lighted buttons and all of which have fairly small buttons to begin with. I've seen what the Samsung app looks like and I think it would be very helpful. I'm actually seriously looking at the S4, now. With the smaller form factor it's more likely that she would carry it around, plus she wants a smartphone, not just tablet. I could get her a Nexus with the 4G option ($350 at the GooglePlay store), and then keep her on the same pay-as-you-go plan as she's on now, or the S4 (which, IIRC is about $200 at The Source, with $150 store credit on a $35/month plan). Given how much she's already spending on her pre-paid plan, it's not really much difference over the 2-year term and, yes, the IR blaster would be a differentiator.

Have you looked at a Harmony remote? One remote. Done and done. My wife loves it and my 7 year old daughter can work it like a pro toggling between the XBOX360 for her Kinect games, the PVR for her TV shows and our AppleTV for Netflix Kids movies. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Harmony Touch on sale at Best Buy. $102 OFF the price. Selling for $147.98.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/logitech-logitech-harmony-touch-universal-remote-915-000199-915-000199/10220711.aspx?path=c5d4c1cea2dffb64e73e21804a1f6779en02

I may pick one up. Hmmmm... heh heh.

I'd get a Harmony. Mine is awesome. Plus, then everyone has access to it. They really are amazing. Once you have one, you'll wonder why you waited so long to get one.