Back in January 2015 I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 version 3 tablet that was on sale. There was a new version that was a lot more expensive but the older version was still a great device so I bought one, it cost £146 exc. VAT which was a bargain. The thing about it that was unique was the S Pen, a very good pressure sensitive pen for drawing based on Wacom tablet technology. I bought accessories for it including a Samsung flip cover and a new stylus for it called a Bamboo Stylus. For nearly four years the tablet has served me well but I had noticed it was starting to slow down a bit, probably after several system upgrades. I hate how manufacturers can issue updates that affect the performance of older devices. They are only thinking of their latest kit and just assume everyone is rich enough to always be buying the latest gear. Anyway, up until a few weeks ago I was perfectly happy with my tablet. Then suddenly one morning, the splash screen came on as usual but didn't disappear. The tablet didn't boot past the splash screen. I've read many posts on various forums and it appears that there is no fix for this issue. I took the tablet into a Samsung store today and they told me they can't repair it because they don't make the parts anymore. I am very disappointed with this poor support. I have a laptop and a phone but the tablet fit into my lifestyle as a device in the middle of those things. Having a camera and a pen was great because I could do things with my tablet that I couldn't do on any other device.
So, I'm now in the market looking for a new tablet. I quite fancy the 2018 6th generation iPad with Apple Pencil. It's an expensive replacement for a £150 tablet but the Microsoft Surface Go is not priced competitively enough. There are other tablets out there that run the Android operating system and my last two tablets have been Android: the Nexus 7 and the Samsung Note 10.1 but I need something reliable and both of these previous tablets slowed after installing updates. I used to use an Apple iPhone 4 until I swapped for a cheaper and much larger Motorola phones which have worked well, particularly the Moto G4 I currently use. So tomorrow I may visit the Apple shop and see what my wife's educational discount can get me.
