Thrift Eye

Since I was given the Acer Iconia tablet from the people at Intel, I realized there are some accessories that make having it a lot easier and more like a traditional computer! What I need these accessories to be is unobtrusive and have the ability to work on other devices if I needed them to. In other words, get the most bang for my buck.

My case – I ended up going with this really punchy and basic Incase sleeve at the moment. I wanted something bright and protective. But as I mentioned in some posts ago, there’s a few more I have my eye on. And in a pinch, this would totally work as a clutch!

Jawbone Jambox - the days of hooking up your devices to listen to music are slowly fading. With a simple switch on of bluetooth, I can stream my music from any device to the Jambox. Even better, it doesn’t need to be near me. Plus, the Jambox works as a speakerphone if you needed to do a conference call.

Tablet pen/stylus – There’s just some days when I feel like my fingers are too big and they’re tapping in all the wrong places! This is when I use the pen instead. Plus, I can use it on my iPhone or iPad should I need to. It works really well for apps where you can write or draw! I got mine on eBay for super cheap! (less than $1)

Portable keyboard – connecting via USB, I have the power of a full keyboard that I may not with the onscreen keyboard (plus it’s nice to not have to hide and open the screen keyboard over and over). This one is silicone, and it rolls away when I’m done! Also got this on eBay, some guy was selling it because he’d didn’t use or need it.

That being said, there are a few things I would like to get or switch out to enventually

Bamboo Stylus – While the stylus I have does the job, it would be incredibly nice to have this Wacom one. Just because I have heard it’s a little more precise and pressure sensitive than most others.

Keyboard dock – it would be nice to have this, since it makes the tablet function a little more like a laptop. You can twist the screen to share, and use it as a stand too. Plus it also works as a battery. But the price is too high for me right now.

Mini bluetooth mouse - for those times you get tired of tapping the screen, luckily I’m not there yet :)

I called in sick yesterday because I’ve had this nasty cold, and I spent most of the morning in bed reading my ebook on the tablet. I was and am plenty grateful to have it for times likes that.

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Intel.

Ever since I began writing and sharing my experiences online about living with a tablet, the number one question I tend to get from people is if getting a tablet will replace their needs to ever need to open a laptop or turn on the desktop again? The answer is, well, yes and no.

Have I stopped using my laptop completely? No. Have I stopped using it for certain things? Yes. I’ll give a rundown and comparison.

When the tablet works best -

Browsing the internet – casual internet browsing for me personally can be annoying with the laptop. There’s only so many safe surfaces you can put it on for optimal viewing (and before the battery runs out!) So having the tablet to sit and be anywhere is really awesome. Then I don’t have to worry about plugging back in after an hour or two.

Reading books – Over on my Tumblr, I recently gave a breakdown of how my favorite book app, Overdrive works on the Acer tablet versus the iPad. The app is essentially the same thing on both devices, and you can actually run Overdrive on your regular computer too. But why would you? Reading books on a mobile device is AWESOME! And with Overdrive, FREE! Can’t get much better than that.

Social media – maybe it’s because we’re inundated with social media outlets now – but I like to access mine quickly and briefly. Of which is best done either on a smartphone or tablet. I tap around quickly to what I want to see and then move on. I hate having to boot up just to look at my Twitter or such.

Sharing – when was the last time you saw something online and had to yell at someone “COME HERE” and they didn’t and you kept telling them until it wasn’t funny or interesting anymore (maybe this just happens to me all the time?!) But now I can bring whatever I need to share to them! No more coercing people to drop what they’re doing to see what you want to share. This is a huge thing for me.

Discovering new music – there are SO many music apps out there now for free, you may never have to download music again.

When the traditional computer works best -

Photo editing – I can easily do the blog typing on a tablet or on my laptop, but I can’t launch Photoshop on the tablet to do all the necessary photo editing things on it. And that’s a big thing for me. So for right now, all photo editing is always done on a laptop for me. Which leads me to…

…Saving pictures – when I take blog pictures, I shoot in RAW mode. I have to upload these pictures somewhere so I can edit them later. So again, I have to save them on my laptop. Plus, many tablets want you to take advantage of a cloud based hard drive and don’t give you much space anyway. I’d probably fill up the hard drive after two months worth of pictures!

Updating devices  - I have a Jambox that’s waiting to get a software update, and my iPhone has update’s here and there too. As far as I know, I have to do that with the laptop which has the power and outlets to do that right now. I also have a lot of music saved from CD’s I have checked out at the library, without the CD drive, how would I save them?

Viewing something that needs to be seen in a large screen – Some websites or pictures just look better bigger. And sometimes you just want that ability. It’s just something you give up with a tablet. You can learn to live without it though :)

Things I would like to see the tablet do -

Better duality – I think I may be asking for more than these little tablets can do. But in my dreams, I could use the tablet in conjunction with the laptop like a second screen. Or better yet, like a Wacom tablet when I’m using Photoshop to illustrate and write!

More customization – while there’s so many visual elements you can change, there’s a few things you can’t. And I think this is more of a Windows 8 thing, rather than the tablet itself. So it’s actually very interesting to hear that Intel will now be creating tablets that are running an Android OS in addition to the Windows one!

In conclusion – I believe that the way tablets are working for us now, it really shows how we will be using both in our everyday lives, not just one or the other. Now we just need to wait for third party companies to catch up so that we can work on both and pick up where the other left off!

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Intel.

Now that I have a little tablet to take around with me, what I really need is a case to keep it protected. Since I have the Overdrive App running so I can read books, it’s nice to carry it with me and read a little during my downtime at work and while running around (you don’t need wi-fi to use it!). But until I get a case on it, it isn’t leaving the house.

I have found that not many people are making cases for this shape yet, but 11 inch laptop sleeves will work perfectly! Right now, I have my eyes set on two brands. InCase and Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Pinterest is proving to be mighty useful too!

Drool with me over these

Snake skin print goodness from Marc by Marc Jacobs

Eley Kishimoto for Incase – no longer available, but oh so beautiful!

I love the Marc Jacobs brand, and they always offer such great prints and embossing on their sleeves!

The Incase sleeves are really for Mac Book Airs – but they prove to be fitting. They’re a great company, and hey, they’re local to San Francisco! Their sleeves are offered in an array of colors, but they’re always partnering with different companies and brands! Check out their collaborations HERE (in fact, the Marc Jacobs sleeves ARE made my Incase!) Each collaboration

I also fancy the idea of having a cover that looks like a book! These are for a Kindle, but I can dream :) This UK online store has tons of interesting and cute tech goodies.

And what would your tablet be without your personal touch?! I have a bit of a problem constantly changing my wallpapers! The Incase collaborations page (HERE) allows you to download wallpapers of all sizes that correspond to the collaborations. But my main source on inspiration comes from Bri at DesignLoveFest who sources wallpapers weekly! Kate Spade has also been offering some incredibly cute and chic wallpapers to content your wallpaper addicted soul!

Please send your sleeve and wallpaper suggestions my way! I was really hoping LeSportSac would have sleeves in this size, but they only make them for iPad’s or larger laptops :( So recommendations are welcome. Stay tuned, I’m hoping my next post will be about my favorite apps so far!

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Intel.

Two weeks ago I got a little surprise package in the mail. This post on Facebook explains it a little further, but I partnered up with Intel to start using/test/promote the new Acer Iconia W510 Windows 8 running tablet! I’ll be posting on my social media channels (oh you know, here, here, and here) and on this blog how it’s working out for me. Look for my posts tagged #tabletcrew

I am a PC girl, but I had never used Windows 8. No one else I know had either! I was a little worried that it would feel completely alien to me, but I’m pleasantly surprised that it’s super easy to navigate. It’s like a PC and smarthphone had a baby! You can access multiple apps for anything (and since the platform is still sort of new, I see tons of new apps constantly coming out) or if you need to, you can still access the desktop.

I was borrowing an iPad from work for a small time, it worked nice but it has very little customization and the apps are quite limited (most are for the iPhone). So I’m enjoying how versatile the tablet is in making it look like a real computer and the ease of being on the go without the bulk.

So while most people I know will be gearing up for the Superbowl in a few days (since you know, the city where I live in has a team playing in it!) – I’ll instead be gearing up for Fashion Week and the Oscar’s later this month. I don’t post much about fashion week on here, but I keep my eye on it for trends. So I’m making sure to bookmark my favorite fashion week links like Style.com, New York Times Fashion & Style, and Jak & Jil. But I’m also hoping that the Vogue and E! Red Carpet apps keep me just as updated.

I was compensated by being given the tablet but not to write this or any posts, so when I say the views will be my own, I mean it – because we all know even computers aren’t perfect. The tablet has already frozen on me once (but to be doubly honest, so did the iPad when I was using it). If you have any questions or comments, just let me know. Have you had the chance to try Windows 8 yet?

PS. I’m pretty excited to look for a sleeve/case now, to be continued.

PPS. I just started using the Vine app (I think many of you have seen it by now, but think Instagram for videos), and I made this little video of my tablet (note: there is sound).

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Intel.