If you're not averse to the idea of Windows 8 or a convertible, the Lenovo Yoga is a solid touch-enabled device.  I have the 13 inch for work reasons, which is awkward to hold for casual reading, though the larger format of textbooks and RPG books works pretty well when you have it resting on a table, and you have your choice of PDF reader (the Win8 PDF reader is actually now my favorite for browsing RPG books -- pinching brings up a spread of mini preview panels of each page you can scroll through, so finding charts is easier).

There is an 11 inch version out there, which would be much easier to use as an actual tablet and would be a bit more portable.

Two things to be wary of:

1) Some older models of the Yoga do not use Haswell core Intel processors, which are much more efficient when it comes to battery life.  Make sure you're getting a Haswell core model.

2) The keyboard is exposed when in tablet mode, but is turned off.  It's more of an aesthetics thing, but some people do not like it.

Other than that, it's a solid media device, while still remaining a laptop so you can still get the most out of productivity software.  The other "modes" of the laptop aside from normal and tablet are nice bonuses (screen facing away from keyboard, and "tent" mode).

Obviously it's pricey since it's an ultrabook, but the 11 inch Yoga 2 goes for around 600 (so about the same as an upper-end iPad).

Quote from: The_Shadow;750207I'm not a reflexive Apple fanboy (have an Android phone) but I've found the iPad to be best for viewing rpg pdfs. This is because the screen ratio is 4:3 unlike the 16:9 of Android tablets. 4:3 being virtually the same ratio as most pdfs, so you can view a pdf on the 9.7 inch iPad at a higher zoom level than on a 10.1 inch Android tablet.

I have an Asus Transformer TF101. An older model I have kept current with ROM updates (another thread perhaps...). The screen size is a biggie. It would be great to have A4 page size for the screen, but it just isn't the case with a lot of tablets I have seen.

The TF101 chugs a bit on larger PDFs (Onyx Path, Eclipse Phase), but that is just another reason why I opt for books over PDFs (aside from navigation issues and reading from a screen).

Advice: Buy a large format Android tablet. Find one with a removable SD/micro SD card slot. Fill it with what you want/need. Avoid network charges by going for a wi-fi only model and piggie-back it on your phone or home network. Don't worry about connecting to it via USB. Either use network/cloud storage to shift stuff across or a separate card reader (if you plug it into a computer and the SD card is not recognised by the computer,but it usually is so whatev!). Plug speakers in through the headphone socket.



Win.

Quote from: Piestrio;750203Funny, Apple has one of the lowest marketing budgets in the tech world. Certainly lower than was spent on the Surface, Galaxy Tab, etc...

Must be mind-control rays.

Never underestimate the power of the master salesman, Steve Jobs, and his Reality Distortion Field.

Quote from: BarefootGaijin;750224Advice: Buy a large format Android tablet. Find one with a removable SD/micro SD card slot. Fill it with what you want/need. Avoid network charges by going for a wi-fi only model and piggie-back it on your phone or home network. Don't worry about connecting to it via USB. Either use network/cloud storage to shift stuff across or a separate card reader (if you plug it into a computer and the SD card is not recognised by the computer,but it usually is so whatev!). Plug speakers in through the headphone socket.



Win.

So... don't worry about connecting via USB, but do find one with an SD card and plug that into a USB card reader?

Anyway, the things I value most in my iPad for running games are:

- fast pdf page rendering
- screen actually responds when you touch it
- NO WIRES

If you want to run a game and actually handle the tablet, pass it around and display images, trailing wires are a PITA. Make use of Bluetooth if you want external speakers.

For fast pdf rendering, you may have no issue with an up-to-date tablet. My iPad 2 is obviously old, so optimised apps make a difference -- particularly as pdf sizes are not always optimised.

As for screen response -- if the capacitive screen has lag when you try to use it, it will bug you in the long run. I've only seen it when comparing older Android phones to Apple products. Again probably won't be an issue with a modern device.

Just so I don't seem like an Apple fanboy, a colleague has a Samsung phone and a tablet (Galaxy Note 8, I think) and he's very pleased.

Quote from: The_Shadow;750207I'm not a reflexive Apple fanboy (have an Android phone) but I've found the iPad to be best for viewing rpg pdfs. This is because the screen ratio is 4:3 unlike the 16:9 of Android tablets. 4:3 being virtually the same ratio as most pdfs, so you can view a pdf on the 9.7 inch iPad at a higher zoom level than on a 10.1 inch Android tablet.

Ding, ding, ding.  We have a winner.  For reading, iPads are the best tablets out there.  I primarily use my tablet to read, whether it be role-playing game books, comic books, or magazines.  Reading on an iPad is more enjoyable than on any other tablet due to the 4:3 screen ratio.  I've tried reading on a Microsoft Surface.  Between its 16:9 screen ratio and the Surface's weight, it was nowhere near as pleasant an experience.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;750140What is goodreader and does it get around some of the formatting weirdness that occurs with some PDFs on the iPad (rows missing, fonts acting funny, etc).

Goodreader is a paid-for pdf (and other) reader for iOS with a ton of features you may or may not want.

Never encountered "formatting weirdness". Have seen corrupted pdfs that would only render on certain readers, but if I can't read it with several readers on the computer I wouldn't bother putting it on the tablet anyway. Main problem I've had with font rendering has been under Linux.

Do you have specific examples of problematic products? I've got a lot of pdfs, possibly I own one where you've had a problem and I can test.

Quote from: Piestrio;750203Funny, Apple has one of the lowest marketing budgets in the tech world. Certainly lower than was spent on the Surface, Galaxy Tab, etc...

Must be mind-control rays.

You'd have to count in the intangibles, if you wanted to be intellectually honest about it.  Like the hacker FUD they spread or the way their cases never cover their logo.

Point is there is a 'status' to owning Apple that nobody else has.  Not sure which spreadsheet column that goes into, but it has basically nil to do with the device or its software.

Quote from: Celestial;750242Ding, ding, ding.  We have a winner.  For reading, iPads are the best tablets out there.  I primarily use my tablet to read, whether it be role-playing game books, comic books, or magazines.  Reading on an iPad is more enjoyable than on any other tablet due to the 4:3 screen ratio.  I've tried reading on a Microsoft Surface.  Between its 16:9 screen ratio and the Surface's weight, it was nowhere near as pleasant an experience.

I'm not certain Google forces tablets to have any certain screen ratio.

Edit - Here's one...  http://www.trustedreviews.com/archos-97-platinum_Tablet_review

Quote from: Emperor Norton;750201I have a Nexus 7, which I use mostly for reading comics and RPG stuff. It works really well, even though it isn't the newest iteration. And its much much cheaper than an iPad.

Screen size isn't huge, but honestly, with the PPI, it has a sharp enough image to read full 8.5x11 RPG book pages without trouble for me, though I have decent vision (well, in on eye, the other is legally blind due to a work accident.)

I also use a Nexus 7 (which I love), but while comics and RPG materials look fine, I suspect I'd enjoy them more on the Nexus 10's larger screen. The 7 is much easier to hold with one hand, though - especially with the Moko case that includes a hand strap.

Double-column RPG books, and scanned books with graphic-heavy backgrounds behind the text are more difficult to read. Single-column books like Fate (and Corporia, since that's how I designed it) are easily legible on the 7-inch screen, through. My two most used reading apps are Aldiko (for ebooks and PDFs) and ComicRack (for .cbr and .cbz comic files).

If you're like me and you really love the ease of drag-and-drop files and folders, and hate having to run all your files through iTunes, iPhoto, etc., I'd definitely suggest checking out the Nexus. It gets pretty consistently good reviews.

I've used it for most of what the OP wants, with the exception of background music - I've never tried that.

Quote from: mcbobbo;750267You'd have to count in the intangibles, if you wanted to be intellectually honest about it.

iProducts sell well because they do the thing that you buy them for, very well, and with a lovely UI on top. They are made for people who don't give a shit about how anything works, they just want it to work.

Don't get me wrong, I like to tinker, I build my own PC's, but I also like having a device that I can just pick up and do something with, with no faffing about.

Quote from: smiorgan;750243Goodreader is a paid-for pdf (and other) reader for iOS with a ton of features you may or may not want.

Currently, £2, although I think it's increasing to £5 at some point, and There Are Other PDF Readers Available For Your Device .

I don't see any reason software should be cheaper or free just because it's being called an "app" instead of a "program". Adobe Reader or Foxit are given to the user for free in an attempt to sell extras, like corporate support contracts or the to promote the PDF format itself, but mobile developers tend to only be selling their product rather than an ecosystem.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;750140What is goodreader and does it get around some of the formatting weirdness that occurs with some PDFs on the iPad (rows missing, fonts acting funny, etc).

Goodreader is the PDF reader I used and the only issue I ran into is with PDF of maps with layers. (Like the maps of Harn and Shorkyne from Kelestia.com).

Otherwise that that I recommend it highly for those ith iPads.

It has a lot of nice bells and whistles like a wi-fi hotspot server that you can use to transfer files. Excellent file management tools. What i recommend is use Dropbox and/or Google Drive (I have both).

It ability to manually crop PDFs is great.

It has annotation and mark up capabilities but truth be told I never use those.

Quote from: Mark Plemmons;750308I also use a Nexus 7 (which I love), but while comics and RPG materials look fine, I suspect I'd enjoy them more on the Nexus 10's larger screen. The 7 is much easier to hold with one hand, though - especially with the Moko case that includes a hand strap.

Yeah, if your eyes aren't pretty good, I would go with a 10 as well. The PPI lets the 7 be really sharp with its images, but you'll need it to be bigger if its going to look a bit blurry anyway. My original tablet though was a 10 inch, and I find the 7 so much easier to hold (I can easily palm it while reading with one hand).

Honestly, I've used an iPad as well, and I honestly don't see the obsession with them. I found my Nexus more comfortable and easier to use, and even if the iPad was better, it would have to be an INSANE amount better to justify the fact that they are double or more the price.

Quote from: Piestrio;750194The iPad is the most popular tablet for consumers, business and education for a damn good reason.

It the most popular brand, but Android based tablets outstrip iPads in market share.

With that being said, I have both a iPad and Android tables (Nexus 7). I like the openess of the Nexus 7 but I use my iPad more because well it just better. Not an order of magnitude better but definitely better. So for a prospective buyer with the money, you won't go wrong with buying an iPad.

However you won't go wrong either with a Nexus 7 (or 10) either. And you will need it if you want to do extensive customization or need specific types of apps not found in the App Store of Apple. Certainly the price is not steep and the quality of the google line is on par with Apple.

Quote from: Ladybird;750330Currently, £2, although I think it's increasing to £5 at some point, and There Are Other PDF Readers Available For Your Device .

I don't see any reason software should be cheaper or free just because it's being called an "app" instead of a "program". Adobe Reader or Foxit are given to the user for free in an attempt to sell extras, like corporate support contracts or the to promote the PDF format itself, but mobile developers tend to only be selling their product rather than an ecosystem.

As I said upthread, Goodreader renders pdf faster on my older iPad than iBooks, etc. Liked it so much I bought it twice (paid to upgrade to v4). Since that was one of the OP's must-haves I thought it was relevant.

Quote from: Ladybird;750330iProducts sell well because they do the thing that you buy them for, very well, and with a lovely UI on top. They are made for people who don't give a shit about how anything works, they just want it to work.

Don't get me wrong, I like to tinker, I build my own PC's, but I also like having a device that I can just pick up and do something with, with no faffing about.

When Apple releases a new product for a market that wasn't there before, like the iPad, that doesn't necessarily hold up. At that point, Steve Jobs has to convince people that a) there is a need, and b) you have to buy the Apple offering RIGHT NOW.

And that is where Apple misses Steve; they HAVE no replacement for the "One more thing" guy.

Yes, Apple's devices work in general (Maps, anyone?), but you have to be cognizant that you're buying into a closed system that has design asthetics first and then functionality second. If you're fine with that, then go for it.

After watching my parents nuke their PC numerous times, I told them to go for a Mac for their next computer. And once they got over the learning curve, they were okay with it. (They still managed to get malware installed on the thing, however. :banghead:)