flea,

so this may help you. [link]

I googled for it.

monthly you pay for data and you can cancel at any time. so it isn't like a phone in that regard.

Oh, that's good to know.

refurb apple is where I go to first. they all come with warranties.

And they all come with data, so that makes that decision moot anyway. It's looking like the refurb iPad3 is my best bet, thanks, guys!

macworld has some pretty good starter guides for ipad. if she has an iphone, she's like 80% there.

P-C, I think the functionality of the Surface RT is too limited, and the Surface Pro is too expensive. iPad2 or iPad3 would be a good choice, but also check out the Android tablets. And with any of them, note-taking or other writing beyond short casual notes really needs a hardware keyboard.

and if you go with an ipad, feel free to hit me up at profile addy if you need app recommendations. I have bought a LOT of apps, so I'm happy to provide my assessment if it can be useful.

also check out the Android tablets

We have an Android tablet at home. I forget what kind it is. She didn't really seem interested in having one like it.

And with any of them, note-taking or other writing beyond short casual notes really needs a hardware keyboard.

Yeah, I'll bet.

and if you go with an ipad, feel free to hit me up at profile addy if you need app recommendations. I have bought a LOT of apps, so I'm happy to provide my assessment if it can be useful.

Thanks!

The iPad is probably your best bet for customer satisfaction. My tablet of lust is the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, because I love me a stylus and the Note is apparently better than most Windows 8 tablets at the moment (mostly because the Windows Store is even less populated than the Google Play store in terms of pen support).

I don't think Android tablets are quite as competitive with the iPad as Android phones are with the iPhone in general, though. If Apple had a tablet with an active stylus (and support for it) I think that would be my lust point.

I'm not getting either, however, as tablets aren't really a need I must fill. I did just order a used Note II to use as my phone, however! I'm excited about it.

My primary tablet is an iPad 3 and it is great. I also have a pair of iPad 2 models for the business, they are rock solid as well. My original iPad is also still going strong, but you can't update it to the latest OS, so more and more of the new apps won't run on it.

I agree that in the tablet market the iPad is your best bet. It has the most robust app store and the strongest developer support at this point.

I need to take a chance to poke at a well-stocked iPad, because I don't get the allure when starting from scratch. But they must have something.

Does no one have a low end video camera? My sister is at her wits end, and I've never even used one. I can't help her at all, and CNET is overwhelming and gizmodo expensive. Anywhere else we can use for reference, at least?

My low-end video camera is my phone. Sorry. Meg has a Sony flipcam-style-thing, but she's moved to using her phone as well; the camera in it is actually better than the one in the dedicated camera, as is the microphone.