tablets

Bret recently bought the Microsoft Surface Pro, which he hopes will replace his laptop. But he's found that on the tablet side of the equation, he doesn't see many apps at all, especially Words with Friends. Leo says that's not exactly accurate. There may be few apps in the Windows Store, but you can get Windows apps all over the place. Though the apps you're used using may not have made a Surface app yet. Will Bluestacks work for running Android apps? Leo says that's the idea, but it doesn't really work. Duos is even worse.

Mike wants to get a new laptop for doing presentations. Rich recommends a 2-in-1 laptop that allows him to bend the screen over so it can be used as a tablet. The best of the bunch is the Lenovo Yoga. It's a great business machine.

Joe is 76 years old and is ready to buy a new computer. General purpose computers can do anything, but they are often over powered and can be security nightmares for those who don't need a lot of performance. So Leo recommends a tablet or a Chromebook. They are relatively secure and very affordable.

Ceres wants a tablet for her daughter that won't break in 20 minutes. Leo says that Amazon has a tablet called the Fire Kids Edition tablet. Users can download Netflix content to the tablet, and there are very good parental controls, plus a kid-safe browser. It is great for ages 3-12, contains books/games. and costs $90.

Dave has a Samsung Galaxy Tab and he's worried it may have malware. He's getting strange popups. Leo says it's possible, since Android is more porous to malware than iOS is. If he hasn't updated it lately, that could be part of the problem. Leo suggests backing up the data on the tablet and doing a factory reset. He'll have to reinstall all of his apps, but Leo suspects that a rogue app is the problem. Then he can reinstall them one at a time until the culprit reveals itself.

Carrie turned on her laptop and a few of her keys don't work anymore, so she can't log in. Leo says that may indicate that her keyboard is dead or that those keys have broken. The good news is that she can plug in a USB keyboard and use it that way. She could also pry up the key caps on her laptop keyboard and see if there's some dirt or lint in them. That can easily cause a lack of connection between the keys above and below. Canned air will get rid of all that.

Brian wants to know if he should get a mobile phone or a dedicated GPS. Leo says that the benefit of using a smartphone is that he'll get a map with his GPS bearing. He can also cache the maps locally onto the phone and not use data when he's out of reach of WiFi.

Rick is thinking of making a reverse "Switch." His Mac died and a friend recommended he get a Chromebook since he makes his business on the Internet. Leo says that Chromebooks are a good option, and the ChromeOS is the most secure operating system out there. If something goes wrong, the Powerwash feature would get him right back to where he started.

Jay wants to get a new tablet with LTE. What should he get? Leo says it's hard to beat the iPad. And if he's going to spend that much on a tablet, he's better off with the iPad Pro because it's as powerful as a laptop. If that's outside of his budget, Samsung makes a good one and Leo recommends going to the carrier to get it. That way he can get a subsidized price.

Mike wants to buy an iPad to go along with his iPhone 6s. Should he get an iPad Pro or will a standard iPad be sufficient? Jason says it depends on how heavily he'll use the iPad, and for what. If he's editing audio like Mike wants, then an iPad Pro would be a lot nicer. There's a great app for it called Ferrite Recording Studio. It's only $20. Jason says it's as good as Logic or Audacity.