Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Varche]

We need something for our ever increasing UK visits to elderly relatives who don't have Internet which give us:

1. Skype (mike and speakers?) - we already have both for a defunct PC.

2. small enough to act as a reader for books

3. Access the internet for Emails and info - shops etc preferably via a 3G dongle (we already have ) but otherwise something wireless to pick up BT Fon or other suggestion.

4. It would be nice to play basic games e.g. Cards.

5. Ability to print boarding passes a nicety rather than a necessity. We have a cheap USB printer.

In my imagination this thing will look like an Ipad and perhaps have a detachable keyboard as it gets used for a lot of Emailing.

Any suggestions /links welcome please? New or S/H don't mind but in the last 18 months we have broken an XP desktop (the device currently travels and lives in the boot of our UK Corsa) and the start button on an old ACER Aspire laptop. This item would hopefully travel with us back and forth.

Thanks Mr N Luddite. AKA Varche

[tunnie]

iPad for ease of use, from experiance helping relatives, its one of the most straight forward devices for them to use.

[Varche]

Can you Skype using an IPad?

I perhaps didn't word it very well but it is for us as for whatever location we end up without a wired broadband connection.

[deviator]

Android tablet with 4G access.
Android table wifi tethered to your phone. (Cheap to buy device and only one contract)
Or if you want to push the boat out, what about one of those hybrid devices? Like a Windows laptop, but the screen detaches.
Chromebook? (A bit limited)

Most Android devices can run a USB breakout lead to attach to printers or whatever. In fact the Ubuntu for phone turns your Android phone into a full computer, you connect the breakout cable and link to keyboard/monitor/mouse - it then acts like a full Ubuntu computer (with the bonus of being a phone as well).

[Shackeng]

iPad for ease of use, from experiance helping relatives, its one of the most straight forward devices for them to use.

You think!!!!! Ipad air is a nightmare, every time we try to use it it wants passwords for clouds, itunes or something else which we never know. I hate the damn thing.

[jaykay]

Can you Skype using an IPad?

I perhaps didn't word it very well but it is for us as for whatever location we end up without a wired broadband connection.

I use an Ipad with Skype all the time...brilliant. 

[tunnie]

iPad for ease of use, from experiance helping relatives, its one of the most straight forward devices for them to use.

You think!!!!! Ipad air is a nightmare, every time we try to use it it wants passwords for clouds, itunes or something else which we never know. I hate the damn thing.

iTunes password only needed to install apps, once cloud is setup it would run seamlessly in the background.

But you are complaining it's the devices fault, when you can't remember a couple of passwords? 

[tunnie]

Can you Skype using an IPad?

I perhaps didn't word it very well but it is for us as for whatever location we end up without a wired broadband connection.

Yes Skype is fine. But we use Facetime, less bloatware. All we want from a calling app is video calling, Facetime does it very well

[zirk]

TBH, unless you want to fill the thing up with all the Morden Apps and or have to mess around with an iTunes password, I wouldn't rule out a Windows Tablet or a large Win Mobile for that matter, there not bad, for day to day stuff, reasonably fast and do the job in hand and due to the lack of everyday apps that you don't need can be picked up for no money at all. Just make sure you get one with an external SD Card so you can load what you want without having to mess around with a MS Account all the time. 

Otherwise, I would say go for an Android device(s). 

[Shackeng]

iPad for ease of use, from experiance helping relatives, its one of the most straight forward devices for them to use.

You think!!!!! Ipad air is a nightmare, every time we try to use it it wants passwords for clouds, itunes or something else which we never know. I hate the damn thing.

iTunes password only needed to install apps, once cloud is setup it would run seamlessly in the background.
 
But you are complaining it's the devices fault,when you can't remember a couple of passwords?

Clouds was set up by my daughter, who claimed exactly the same as you, that we should not be asked for passwords once set up, yet as soon as we try to use it again, up comes a window requesting passwords. As I rarely even try to use it, I can never remember my wife's P/W's - probably due to loss of memory function common when you get to my age, as you will no doubt discover if you are fortunate to live so long but the continual nagging for passwords drives us potty, therefore I stick to the PC which never nags. I am sure that for those who use these devices all the time, they serve their purpose, but for those of us who do not need to use portable web accessible devices, e.g. people like my wife and I, a windows based tablet or PC is far more user friendly. 

[Rods2]

Judging by the number of mistakes that have to be corrected where some of my websites that are used by large volumes of senior citizens, I don't think they find the touch keyboards on iPhones and iPads very user friendly when combined with small screens, especially standard HTML form drop down menus, which I am banishing from my new in-development iPhone / iPad centred design. Radio buttons and checkboxes I have replaced with good big finger friendly touch screen buttons. Text size on small screens can also be an issue.

I'm sure many other companies will be doing the same, where Google is now penalising mobile unfriendly websites which with decent design will make them easier to use, for all users, where the majority now use mobile devices.

Skype used to be an excellent program until taken over by a well known company who IMO are not very good at developing software. It now seems to crash quite regularly on several different PCs I have run it on and there seems to be a memory leak associated with their advertising, which is now placed everywhere, so the run file gets bigger and bigger if left running for a few days. Lots of other things have been improved worse too.

Tunnie thanks for the suggestion of Facetime I will take a look at that as I'm now looking for a Skype replacement.

[Shackeng]

Judging by the number of mistakes that have to be corrected where some of my websites that are used by large volumes of senior citizens, I don't think they find the touch keyboards on iPhones and iPads very user friendly when combined with small screens, especially standard HTML form drop down menus, which I am banishing from my new in-development iPhone / iPad centred design. Radio buttons and checkboxes I have replaced with good big finger friendly touch screen buttons. Text size on small screens can also be an issue.

I'm sure many other companies will be doing the same, where Google is now penalising mobile unfriendly websites which with decent design will make them easier to use, for all users, where the majority now use mobile devices.

Skype used to be an excellent program until taken over by a well known company who IMO are not very good at developing software. It now seems to crash quite regularly on several different PCs I have run it on and there seems to be a memory leak associated with their advertising, which is now placed everywhere, so the run file gets bigger and bigger if left running for a few days. Lots of other things have been improved worse too.

Tunnie thanks for the suggestion of Facetime I will take a look at that as I'm now looking for a Skype replacement.

Guilty m'lud.

[Rods2]

Judging by the number of mistakes that have to be corrected where some of my websites that are used by large volumes of senior citizens, I don't think they find the touch keyboards on iPhones and iPads very user friendly when combined with small screens, especially standard HTML form drop down menus, which I am banishing from my new in-development iPhone / iPad centred design. Radio buttons and checkboxes I have replaced with good big finger friendly touch screen buttons. Text size on small screens can also be an issue.

I'm sure many other companies will be doing the same, where Google is now penalising mobile unfriendly websites which with decent design will make them easier to use, for all users, where the majority now use mobile devices.

Skype used to be an excellent program until taken over by a well known company who IMO are not very good at developing software. It now seems to crash quite regularly on several different PCs I have run it on and there seems to be a memory leak associated with their advertising, which is now placed everywhere, so the run file gets bigger and bigger if left running for a few days. Lots of other things have been improved worse too.

Tunnie thanks for the suggestion of Facetime I will take a look at that as I'm now looking for a Skype replacement.

Guilty m'lud.

This shows that design and usability need to improve, so I'm hopefully on the right lines and will find this out when it launches in the next couple of weeks.

IMO good design is as intuitive and inclusive as possible for all users.

[Shackeng]

Judging by the number of mistakes that have to be corrected where some of my websites that are used by large volumes of senior citizens, I don't think they find the touch keyboards on iPhones and iPads very user friendly when combined with small screens, especially standard HTML form drop down menus, which I am banishing from my new in-development iPhone / iPad centred design. Radio buttons and checkboxes I have replaced with good big finger friendly touch screen buttons. Text size on small screens can also be an issue.

I'm sure many other companies will be doing the same, where Google is now penalising mobile unfriendly websites which with decent design will make them easier to use, for all users, where the majority now use mobile devices.

Skype used to be an excellent program until taken over by a well known company who IMO are not very good at developing software. It now seems to crash quite regularly on several different PCs I have run it on and there seems to be a memory leak associated with their advertising, which is now placed everywhere, so the run file gets bigger and bigger if left running for a few days. Lots of other things have been improved worse too.

Tunnie thanks for the suggestion of Facetime I will take a look at that as I'm now looking for a Skype replacement.

Guilty m'lud.

This shows that design and usability need to improve, so I'm hopefully on the right lines and will find this out when it launches in the next couple of weeks.

IMO good design is as intuitive and inclusive as possible for all users.

 

[Lazydocker]

If you want something a bit left field, what about a Microsoft Surface? Not cheap but PC and Tablet all in one.

It's a serious contender for my next work laptop