How do you use your tablet computer?

Adam, Thanks for the links. I’ve now disabled some startup programs (but there are some I don’t know what they do so I’ll have a look at “should I remove it”). See what that does tomorrow when I start up again.
The tips are useful, but many seem taken care of by Bullguard that regularly runs PC Tune up optimization. Some issues it deals with automatically, others it leaves me to manage. Again, some processes I’m not sure about so leave alone but should be braver! However, as Dieseltaylor points out below we are so dependent on our computers that I tend to leave (fairly) well alone.

I agree about the conversation app. I switch my laptop on each morning and off last thing at night. It hibernates when it is out of use for a bit but wakes up pretty quickly. It is the initial boot up that takes the time.

Oh well. As long as the update works well on mobile devices it might encourage more young contributors to take an interest in consumer issues.

They sync automatically these days. If someone rings my mobile number, the laptop, iPad and phone even ring together.

When the phone is on charge in the kitchen, my laptop alerts me to calls that I would otherwise have missed, so it’s actually a useful feature. I keep the sound turned off on the iPad to avoid information overload.

A tablet is much cheaper than a decent laptop. Mine has minor cracks on the screen as a result of an activity holiday a couple of years ago. It does not affect the performance but I would be rather upset if I had broken my laptop.

Thanks Andrew, I will put your suggestion to my technophile son when he next visits. Another advantage of having both laptop and tablet is you can research a topic on one whilst writing something on the other without interrupting the flow.

After reading your entry I do not have to put one in. My tablet use mirrors yours. I love my tablet too. It was a gift and when it eventually crashes I will replace it and if it could include mobile phone features I would not leave home without it.

I think that it is an excellent idea to get people familiarised with what is possible with technology – tablets especially as eyesight I suspect will be a problem.

I would also like to make a couple of pleas:
Also provide a fall-back position if for some reason the electronic geegaws fail. People do not know what they will miss until they have gone totally electronic and a disaster happens.

Having a step by step safety net would be great. Everyone talks of the convenience and simply backing up will solve all problems but this is simplistic. Once the Governement has us all interacting with it by the net it will be crucial that recovery – possibly sans devices – is available from a trusted source.

Be prepared to talk about where tablets have drawbacks rather than always how wonderful they are. Eye-strain from reading being a primary area where some research and advice should be provided. And lastly on a recent cruise I noticed people holding their valuable and information packed tablets in a stiff breeze over the ships’ sides to take photos. A £200 travel camera with a large zoom and a tiltable screen would be hugely more sensible.

You are absolutely right about the possibility of disasters, Dieseltaylor. I have always been very careful about backups and when my laptop developed serious problems in February I was not concerned because I had three recent backups available. I bought a new laptop and recovered files from my backup but despite considerable effort have not been able to recover about 10 years worth of sent and received Outlook email.

I did get the old laptop repaired, but the one thing that refused to work was Outlook, so I still did not have my old email. I wasted a great deal of time and then a couple of weeks later it started working, but some of the largest mail folders including the sent mail was missing. The only option left is to try and do a full restore from the most recent backup. I really thought that I had backups well managed but had not bargained for major problems using them.

Dieseltaylor – I believe that tablet and computer screens are much better than printed text for avoiding eyestrain. I just expand the text to a comfortable size. I just wish that I could use two fingers to select and enlarge text on the printed page.

Reading and eyestrain-

As I understand it the research shows reading from tablets, smart phones or a monitor are all more tiring due to the brightness of the screen. Reading from paer is less tiring for eys. E-readers that have paper-white screens actually generate black text on a white background without glare and are therefore superior to the other electronics.

As you say the ability to enlarge text is very useful particularly as the eyes age [the brains as good as ever]!. I have had two small ereaders and the problem their is I find the screens too small as I read very quicklyand thumbache sets in. I have a 9.7″ screen ereader which is basically like a tablet but dedicated to reading. As the screen is roughly 3 times that of a normal reader it also means that .pdf’s in double columns, maps , and Accounts , are all very easy to use.

I have had good results with people who have very poor eyesight who find they can blow up text to a very large size and still have a decent amount to read on the page. I always find it regrettable that Which? never ever mentioned the existence of the larger readers.

Most people are happy to read on a tablet and the biggest advantage of the e-reader is the much lower power requirement, allowing them to be lightweight and have a much longer battery life than tablets.

Which? mentions Doro and other mobiles suitable for those with poor eyesight or other problems, so it would be worth mentioning larger e-readers.

If I’m reading at home I far prefer using a laptop, which has a bigger screen than a tablet or e-reader and I can vary the brightness, angle and distance to avoid becoming tired.

Adam – I think you highlight the problem. “We review the most popular and widely available on the UK market” .
I think this could be translated as – that unless there is a UK distributor we will not be looking at it regardless of the fact it can be bought via the Web and would be a useful service to the visually impaired or those with special reading requirements.

If Which? cannot test it and similar there is always the option of advising subscribers that these devices exist but are untested. Another possibility that consumer bodies on the Continent have paid for them to be tested already and Which? can buy the research in – as it does for mattress testing, and tyres.etc etc

Overall Which? has to perhaps be more active in looking at devices and deciding even if they are low volume they are beneficial to some part of the Which? readership. After all Which? has tested mobility scooters which are a very niche market. This is laudable but for the fact it could have easily just provided a link to RICA a spun off charity from Which? that has a much bigger and more helpful review of mobility scooters – and the size of car boots to stow them in.

https://conversation.which.co.uk/technology/e-readers-vs-tablets-best-reading-experience-kindle-ipad/

Which? colleague firmly in the erader for reading category.

The use of tablets has good scriptural provenance. It is said that Moses had two.