Assistance buying a tablet for eASLRB

Ganjulama

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I've finally decided to get the eASLRB but the first step is getting a table. I think I'm going to buy the 8" kindle fire but I thought I would ask here what other players are using before I click the 'buy' button. iPads seem WAY too expensive. I will probably use this for ASL mostly and some web browsing while on the road. I'm considering the 10" but I'm worried about the weight. My sister has one and it seems very heavy in the hand.

What says the hive mind?
 

Actionjick

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I've finally decided to get the eASLRB but the first step is getting a table. I think I'm going to buy the 8" kindle fire but I thought I would ask here what other players are using before I click the 'buy' button. iPads seem WAY too expensive. I will probably use this for ASL mostly and some web browsing while on the road. I'm considering the 10" but I'm worried about the weight. My sister has one and it seems very heavy in the hand.

What says the hive mind?
Lol, wish I could offer some advice but OMOOT doesn't have a clue. Please post your decision as I may go there some time.
 

Sparafucil3

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Doug, IMO, you could do a lot worse than a MS Surface Go. It is slightly smaller than the Surface Pro, has an integrated keyboard, and is a fully capable laptop in a smaller form factor. You can easily detach the keyboard for a pure tablet experience. It runs Windows 10 which you are likely already familiar with. You can get one starting at ~$400 US. If you want more memory, built in Cellular, bigger storage, the price can go up from there. I have an 8GB memory one and use it all the time for my eASLRB. Bonus is that with WiFi, I can get to the cloud and all of my stored scenarios and any other content I use for ASL. -- jim
 

csiemers

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I chose a Lenovo Duet as my tablet. It was a great price and it is supposed to have updates for 8 years.
I was looking for a tablet primarily to read books (kindle books) on and I didn't want to go with a Fire for various computer-geek reasons.
I did buy the eRuleBook and it opens up just fine in Chrome on the tablet and it serves my uses.
 

Kijug

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I got my wife the basic iPad for $329. Works great for her--and you can read Kindle books and PDFs and anything else plus do just about anything else. I have the iPad Pro and use the eASLRB, but the basic iPad is inexpensive at $329 and works great. And you can do a zillion other things with it. The downside to Kindle is its limitations (apps, etc.) I just wouldn't want you regretting what you get. Other comments above are probably OK, also.
 

Pip Smith

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Which ever way you go, touch screen make a big difference.
I use a surfacebook. You don't want mouse or menu clicking, just selecting with your fingers is the way to go. Single finger on a hyperlinked reference and BAM you are there.

Also recommend you think about the PDF reader you are using too. Was using the default Adobe touch, it was bad.
Now using Xodo. Shows the bookmarks (every header in the rules, on the left), makes it super easy to drill down to the section you are looking for.17965

Ignore the yellow highlights. I added those to help go through Jim Stahler's 8 Steps to ASL. Makes it easier to know which rules to bother about for now, for me.
 

WargameHQ

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I used Documents by Readle on my iPad. It syncs entire folders, so when you highlight and markup on one device, it'll be there on the others which is nice.
 

Tuomo

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I like my Kindle Fire for e-books and videos and minor web browsing, but it doesn't have a good PDF reader that can handle the links in the eASLRB. I'd go with something else.
 

The Magnus

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Also recommend you think about the PDF reader you are using too. Was using the default Adobe touch, it was bad.
Now using Xodo. Shows the bookmarks (every header in the rules, on the left), makes it super easy to drill down to the section you are looking for.
I use an old iPad which i also use to read our newspapers.

i agree with Pip that a good reader is important. I use the ”Good” reader because i know it from my former corporate life. I employ the very good annotation feature (background colors, underlining, linedrawings, etc.) of Good to keep track of rules i do not yet fullt master (there are a LOT of annotations)
 
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vfttpete

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While an iPad or an Android tablet would be suitable for reading the eASRB, for ASLers both have a serious drawback - no Java. Which means no VASL :-(

I've got a Surface Go, which has a 10" screen and runs Windows 10 so you can install Java and use it to play VASL :) Though you'll still need a mouse as VASSAL/VASL's touchscreen support could be better.
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I also use Xodo PDF Reader (available free from the MS Store) on it for reading PDFs as I found this to be a very good touchscreen friendly PDF reader.
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I have the tablet set with Rotation Lock on, so everything stays in landscape mode when I physically rotate it, which works really well with Xodo PDF Reader as it allows you to rotate a PDF. This lets me have VASL running in landscape mode and lets me view the eASLRB in portrait mode without the VASL windows resizing to fit into portrait width when I do so.
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It's also worth considering using your phone. Obviously the small screen size on a phone isn't ideal for reading PDFs, but the 5.7" screen on my Moto g7 Play is fine for viewing a single column of the eASLRB. And most people have their phone on them all the time, which makes it much easier to answer a rules query when there's a bunch of you in the pub :)
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lluis61

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Sorry if some of this has been said, I speak from my experience... All e-book readers are in B/W ink, so you're losing all the nuances in the examples of playing. But, if you want only the rules to read and learn it's OK. But don't use the PDF format. Convert to MOBI or EPUB. On the other hand, I have the eASLRB installed at every device I own (2 laptops, 2 mini-pcs and a tablet). My advice is to install (for playing) in a tablet. The touch screen is basic if you want to amplify a section of the rules. Which tablet? I don't know. It usually depends of the non ASL requirements you have... A very basic one is able to handle the ASLRB and other play-aids. However, I have used my mini-pcs with more profit: they are small, portable, have touch screen, and keyboard. However, you may acquire a Bluetooth keyboard for your tablet, and you'll find how this tablet becomes (almost) a basic computer. Some of these keyboards come with touchpad...
Thanks to the other fellas here for the comments. I've learned a lot.
 
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Sparafucil3

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I've got a Surface Go, which has a 10" screen and runs Windows 10 so you can install Java and use it to play VASL :) Though you'll still need a mouse as VASSAL/VASL's touchscreen support could be better.
Great minds think alike or am I misremembering that? :) -- jim
 

FourDeuceMF

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Doug, IMO, you could do a lot worse than a MS Surface Go. It is slightly smaller than the Surface Pro, has an integrated keyboard, and is a fully capable laptop in a smaller form factor. You can easily detach the keyboard for a pure tablet experience. It runs Windows 10 which you are likely already familiar with. You can get one starting at ~$400 US. If you want more memory, built in Cellular, bigger storage, the price can go up from there. I have an 8GB memory one and use it all the time for my eASLRB. Bonus is that with WiFi, I can get to the cloud and all of my stored scenarios and any other content I use for ASL. -- jim
Jim,

I've got something similar (a 5-yr old, perhaps older) Surface 3...has the 'form' size of a tablet, but computing power/etc. Do you find that your Surface Go is capable of using VASL? I'd like to use the same laptop for both this as well as that (with an extra monitor/keyboard plugged in, of course...)

Thx

Edit: I see that VFTT Pete has noted he uses his Surface Go for VASL, but as he's a ManUre fan, I sometimes question his judgement... :unsure::p
 

WargameHQ

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The Surface 7 has options with i7 processors and 16GB of RAM. They seem pretty capable, but you're paying a massive premium for that tablet form factor and power.
 

FourDeuceMF

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The Surface 7 has options with i7 processors and 16GB of RAM. They seem pretty capable, but you're paying a massive premium for that tablet form factor and power.
Indeed, at that point, it's for more than just the eASLRB (and possible VASL), it becomes a more-universal 'laptop'...with that price tag...
 

vfttpete

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I see that VFTT Pete has noted he uses his Surface Go for VASL, but as he's a ManUre fan, I sometimes question his judgement... :unsure::p
I sometimes question my judgement as well :)
After all, I have a desktop PC with 4 monitors attached to it, an 8" Windows tablet, a 12" Windows laptop, no job at the moment due to Covid, and have been stuck indoors for four months due to Covid, but still spent £200 on a second hand Surface Go bundle on Ebay last month! In my defence, I did justify the purchase by calling it a present to myself using some of the money I've saved from not being able to go to the pub while we've been in lockdown this year :)

I've played a couple of VASL games so far and found it works just as well as the desktop machine. Although it only has a 10" screen the resolution is 1800x1200 and as you can see from the screenshot above that's enough space to have the VASL controls down one side and the map taking up the remaining three quarters of it.

It also works well with the USB-powered monitor I've been using with my laptop for the past 10 years when away from home (IE at ASL tournaments!), which lets me replicate how I play on the desktop (IE VASL on my main monitor, the eASLRB open on another, so you don't have to keep switching back and forth between programs :)

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I have the Surface Dock as well, which allows you to use the Surface Go and two 4K monitors at the same time, although I but don't have any 4K monitors (or the money to buy any :-( ) to see what VASL would look like on such a setup :-( Maybe I should do a VFTT donor drive to raise funds to replicate this setup for VASL testing purposes :)
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(pic from https://web.archive.org/web/20170610231256/https:/blogs.windows.com/devices/2016/05/23/5-ways-surface-dock-makes-your-surface-even-more-awesome/)

Pete
 

Actionjick

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I sometimes question my judgement as well :)
After all, I have a desktop PC with 4 monitors attached to it, an 8" Windows tablet, a 12" Windows laptop, no job at the moment due to Covid, and have been stuck indoors for four months due to Covid, but still spent £200 on a second hand Surface Go bundle on Ebay last month! In my defence, I did justify the purchase by calling it a present to myself using some of the money I've saved from not being able to go to the pub while we've been in lockdown this year :)

I've played a couple of VASL games so far and found it works just as well as the desktop machine. Although it only has a 10" screen the resolution is 1800x1200 and as you can see from the screenshot above that's enough space to have the VASL controls down one side and the map taking up the remaining three quarters of it.

It also works well with the USB-powered monitor I've been using with my laptop for the past 10 years when away from home (IE at ASL tournaments!), which lets me replicate how I play on the desktop (IE VASL on my main monitor, the eASLRB open on another, so you don't have to keep switching back and forth between programs :)

View attachment 17987

I have the Surface Dock as well, which allows you to use the Surface Go and two 4K monitors at the same time, although I but don't have any 4K monitors (or the money to buy any :-( ) to see what VASL would look like on such a setup :-( Maybe I should do a VFTT donor drive to raise funds to replicate this setup for VASL testing purposes :)
View attachment 17988
(pic from https://web.archive.org/web/20170610231256/https:/blogs.windows.com/devices/2016/05/23/5-ways-surface-dock-makes-your-surface-even-more-awesome/)

Pete
I have a $50 phone I bought at Walmart. It works perfectly well allowing me to be an annoyance and make an ass of myself. 😊😊
 

vfttpete

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Indeed, at that point, it's for more than just the eASLRB (and possible VASL), it becomes a more-universal 'laptop'...with that price tag...
Yeah, spending the best part of £1,700/$1,700 is a lot of money to spend just for a tablet and keyboard to use for VASL and reading the eASLRB!

In terms of price the basic Surface Go 2 is around £400/$400 new (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Surface-Inch-Tablet-Processor/dp/B08756TDVV/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=surface+go+2&qid=1620670476&sr=8-3), and while it only has 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM that's more than enough power for Windows 10 and VASL (and watching movies, running Office 2016, producing VFTT in InDesign CS6 if I wanted to...)

For VASL you definitely want a mouse, with Bluetooth mice (EX: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082HCJY5T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) costing about £15/$15.

You could spend £100/$100 on the Microsoft Type Cover, but for £27/$27 you can get the Arteck Bluetooth (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07V2DNGS2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) which I brought even though the Surface Go I brought off Ebay had the MS keyboard bundled with it - the MS keyboard only works if it is attached to the Surface Go, unlike the Arteck which connects using Bluetooth.

Pete
 
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