I ended up getting 2 tablets with a view to flogging one. Basically it gave me chance to try them out properly. I got a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and a Nexus 7. My initial impressions were that the Note 10.1 is better because of it's bigger screen and the S-pen is fantastic. My 4 year old daughter seemed to enjoy using it it draw with a couple of very good paint apps that I downloaded, whether I will learn to get the full benefit out of it is a different matter. The S-pen is in a different league to using a stylus on a normal tablet.
The Nexus 7 is a fantastic device and I starting to think that this is more for me despite it's smaller screen, something I did not expect. It is great just for having a quick look at things whilst lying back on the sofa watching TV. Much easier to hold and support. I also had it out with me yesterday whilst my daughter was at soft play and I was chilling drinking coffee. The size of it is so much better for this situation. It is obviously not as good for watching films as the Note but I am kind of thinking that I will hardly ever do this in reality. It also has a better screen for text than the Note has. The lack of an SD micro slot does not bother me as I got the 32GB model. It is a fantastic device and I like the lack of bloatware, but then again some of the bloatware on the Note is for use with the S-Pen such as a version of Photoshop, S-note for making hand writing notes which is really good. If my daughter tires of the painting programs I will probably get rid of it as I honestly cannot see me taking the time to get the most of the features of the Note with it's S-pen.
It's the size of the Nexus 7 that I like which I initially thought I wouldn't. It is hardly portable like a phone, but much easier to bring along somewhere than a 10" tablet and also more comfortable to use. Shame it does not have a mini HDMI socket, but again not the end of the world.
