My tablet has died and I'm looking for a replacement, specifically something that I can use when I travel and it's inconvenient to carry around a laptop.

My old tablet was a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 which, frankly, never quite lived up to expectations.

I'm looking for something that bridges the gap between a smartphone and a laptop that isn't an iPad. Any suggestions?

 

What's your price point?

 

About $300-400.

 

Maybe the Microsoft surface pro 3,

It's got loads of features and is just a bit above your budget($424 on amazon).

 

I'd second the surface. I have a surface 3 and I really like it.

 

Surface Pros are great, I'm not sure about the 'budget' versions though. I think you would be better off with an android tablet unless you want to spend the 900+ for a real SP.

 

Tablet's very often 'don't quite match up'.

The Surface Pro is great but the Surface 3 is underpowered and being withdrawn when current stock runs out. Fine for browsing and playing media but don't rely on it for more than that.

Android tablets are generally not great and the Android tablet ecosystem never really got worth it. If you want something very cheap and cheerful the new 8" Amazon Fire is worth looking at at $90.

I know you said not iPad but there's a reason it's dominating the market - an Air 2 32GB and a external bluetooth keyboard would fit in your price point?

 

What kind of things do you expect to mostly use it for?

 

The problem I find with iPads is how locked down they are. It's a lot harder to fix them when something goes wrong because it requires so much more work to troubleshoot then the android does

 

Unless you root it or have a faulty model, 99% of problems I've encountered were resolved with a restart. On the other hand, Galaxy tab 2 was a giant turd, with a weak wifi and a shitshow called 'android battery management'. But of course, YMMV.