Help me make the most out of my Android Tablet
May 23, 2012 4:24 AM   Subscribe

Help me make the most out of my Android Tablet

So I took the plunge and bought a second hand Asus Eee Pad Transformer (with the doc) to share between my girlfriend and I.

Mainly I bought it to have a bigger screen and to be a bit more powerful when simply browsing the web than our Android Mobile Phones (Samsung Galaxy S2).

It will be used around my wifi'd house and while watching TV.

I love games, I love boardgames, we like cooking, my girlfriend is keen on gardening, I love interesting apps, I am happy to start "getting involved" with absolutely anything!

Help me justify the money I spent on this thing!

What are some great reasons for owning an Android Tablet?
posted by Cogentesque to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: There's Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan games for the boardgaming itch. Everlands is a nice strategy boardgame (well it was never a physical boardgame, but it's more boardgamey than your normal mobile game).
If the default browser is slow, try the new Firefox beta, I have a cheap Chinese Android tablet and FF was significantly faster (and also has some cool features like hidden tabs to maximise screen space).
Vplayer is cool for streaming video from your PC/laptop via Windows Media Center or Tversity or similar.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:41 AM on May 23, 2012


Best answer: Mahjong Butterfly is addictive & fun. There's a challenge to it but I don't find it as frustrating as some other games.

.Quell Reflect is more challenging but also addictive. Plus there is something rather Zenlike and peaceful about it
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 6:50 AM on May 23, 2012


Best answer: I have a Transformer tablet too. I think it will do many more things than I use it for, but for what it's worth...

For browsing, I like the Opera browser best of the ones I've tried.

Games: I'm not a big gamer but have become thoroughly addicted to Bubble Shoot and World of Goo.

General: Dropbox is fantastic for easy access to files anywhere. The onboard Office suite is limited but OK, and I've seen no evidence that any others are better. It displays PDFs just fine via the installed Adobe software.

I might come back with more once I have the tablet with me.
posted by altolinguistic at 7:34 AM on May 23, 2012


Best answer: Are there any games that are specifically FOR tablets? I know that some of the boardgames ones are, but I would love to get some specific tablet apps that arent just the normal mobile phone app in a higher res?
posted by Cogentesque at 7:37 AM on May 23, 2012


Best answer: Games:
Deadly Dungeons RPG is pretty fun as a FPS/RPG hybrid.

Minecraft - Pocket Edition is surprisingly usable, if you've been infected by the cube virus.

Xenowar is a simplified clone of X-COM UFO.


Non-games:
MoboPlayer is what I prefer to use for videos. It's the VLC for Android as far as I can tell.

Skymap is really cool, especially on a tablet. It's an interactive astronomy tool, a map of the sky viewed through the tablet.

SketchBook Mobile from Autodesk is a very fun drawing app. Again, much better on a tablet than a phone.

SoundHound, play a clip---it IDs the song. Very cool technology.

I mostly use my tablet for reading. All the book readers (Amazon, Akido), the comic book viewers (Perfect Viewer) and the pdf readers (ezPDF) work so much better on a tablet than a phone.
posted by bonehead at 8:23 AM on May 23, 2012


Best answer: Install the "Amazon Appstore" - google that to get to the page, which will be served based on your Amazon cookie. It gives a "Free App of the Day" every day, some games, some productivity, most not very good, some top quality.
posted by caclwmr4 at 1:20 PM on May 23, 2012


Best answer: "Draw Something"!!!
posted by DMelanogaster at 8:07 PM on May 23, 2012


Best answer: The one reason I want a tablet is so that I can take recipes in the kitchen with me without having to run the risk of getting flour all over my laptop keyboard. My phone works okay for this, but the screen is so small I can't see everything at once, especially on websites that have lots of pictures, like Smitten Kitchen and Delia.
posted by teraspawn at 4:21 AM on May 24, 2012


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