Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2

[Guest andybarker]

Last Monday my 80 year old mother broke her all-in-one PC (knocked it over whilst dusting), so we had discussions over the phone about what she wanted to replace it with.  The PC had been chosen mainly by my Dad 18 months ago, but as he passed away since then I thought it best to discuss a variety of replacement options based on what mum wanted.  As I was going to visit her at the end if the week, I was in a rush to get the replacement sorted by Friday - wasn't easy to determine what to replace her PC with, what software she actually wanted, etc.
 

After discussing a few options, we ended up with the decision that I would get her a large screen tablet.  On the PC she played a few card and puzzle games, kept her accounts up to date, and everything else was online.  She does write the odd email and SMS on her mobile (Galaxy S4) so was familiar with Android and typing onscreen.  The largest practical / best bang-per-buck tablet I could find was a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2.  After looking online at reviews and viewing a few in a local store (and comparing with other large screen tablet options), I bought one.
 

Gotta say it is a lovely device.  Yes the TouchWiz interface was a bit annoying, and it didn't respond as quickly and smoothly as it could.  What it definitely did thought was display apps and web pages very clearly.  Photos looked amazing on the screen.  Just hoped my mum agreed!
 

Configured email for her, added a few favorites in Firefox that I knew she would use (chose Firefox so I could install a plugin to make it always "Request Desktop Site" which I couldn't find how to do on Chrome without rooting), and a couple of card games to keep her entertained a bit to start with.

Struggled to find a decent replacement for money management that works well on the tablet and is easy for her to use.  Most are expenses reporting tools for mobiles, rather than desktop-replacement apps. Installed Money Manager EX for now, as that is the best I've found.

 

When I handed it over to my mum, her eyes lit up like a 6 year old at Christmas!  She's had it for two days, and other than installing too many card games and having a very full home screen, she's a very happy bunny.  She doesn't care if it takes a few seconds for something to happen - in fact I think she likes the idea that something else might sometimes be as slow as her!  The screen makes viewing web pages, emails, and photos really comfortable for her.
 

When reading the reviews of the tablet, a common "con" was that it was too big!  I really found that a bizzare comment.  It's a 12.2 inch tablet in a range that has other sizes.  For those that want a really large screen, it is perfect.  For those that want something to put in their small bag, get a smaller screen! Personally I would happily have a 12 inch tablet for some tasks, but for others I definitely prefer our 7 inch Nexus.  "Horses for courses" as my mum would say!  I think a lot of reviews of tech devices are done by tech people, for tech people, regardless of the target audience of the website or magazine or paper that the review is for.  On a tech site, sure it is good to know about the things that aren't as good as they could be - but I'd love the reviews to be a bit more real-world sometimes.