Suggest me a Tablet

What this tool does

You are thinking about a tablet, but it is a curious in-between device, bigger than a phone and not quite a laptop, and the range runs from cheap slates to premium machines that cost as much as a computer. This tool gives you a place to start. It hands you a real tablet at random, so you have a concrete model to look into instead of a blank and a vague sense that you might want one.

Press the button for a model. Press it again for another. Ask for a few at once to build a quick shortlist. It is a starting point rather than a recommendation, and with tablets in particular it pays to be honest about whether you need one at all, which the sections below get into.

How to use it

1. Number / Quantity. How many models to pull at once, from 1 to 100.
2. Generate. Pulls a new model, or a new batch if you asked for more than one.
3. Starts with, Contains, Ends with. Optional filters that whittle the list before it picks. Leave them blank to draw from everything.
4. Copy. Sends the model, or your shortlist, to the clipboard as plain text for your notes.

There is a model on screen the moment the page opens, so you are never starting from nothing.

How it works

The list is a fixed set of tablets, and each press draws one at random, with no repeats inside a single set when you ask for several.

The filters let you aim. Contains keeps any model with your text in it, so typing ipad brings up the iPad Pro, Air, and standard iPad, while another brand narrows it the same way. Starts with looks at the first letter and ends with at the last.

What is on the list

It is a set of around a hundred tablets. The mainstream choices are well represented, with Apple's iPad line, Samsung's Galaxy Tab range, the Microsoft Surface, and Amazon's budget Fire tablets, and there are a fair few lesser-known and older models scattered in alongside them.

So expect a mix of familiar names and the obscure, and bear in mind that some entries are a generation or two behind, as with any gear list. Treat a pick as a name to start from, and check the current model and recent reviews before buying.

Why the choice is harder than it looks

Tablets are tricky to shop for precisely because they sit between categories, so it is rarely obvious which one fits, and the options span a huge range of prices and abilities. Faced with that spread, people stall. Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper showed it in a 2000 study where shoppers faced with a tasting table of two dozen jams bought far less often than those who saw only six. More options, more hesitation.

Barry Schwartz called the broader effect the paradox of choice, where abundance leaves us doubtful rather than satisfied. A random model gives you a real name to research, which beats staring at a wall of slates. With tablets, though, the most useful question is not which model but whether and why, and the next section starts there.

What actually matters, starting with the why

Be honest about what you will actually use it for, because tablets are famous for being bought with enthusiasm and then left in a drawer. If it is mostly for watching, reading, and browsing on the sofa, a cheaper tablet like a Fire or a base iPad does that beautifully and there is no need to overspend. If you want to take notes or draw, look for good pen support. If you hope to replace a laptop, you are really looking at a Surface or an iPad Pro with a keyboard, and at that point a laptop may serve you better anyway. Then favour a tablet that matches your phone, since the apps and accounts carry over, and set a budget. Answer the why first, and the model follows.

Questions people ask

Is it free, and does it save anything?

It is free with no sign-up, and nothing is kept. The picks run in your browser, so copy a shortlist for your research before you leave.

Can I get a few options at once?

Yes. Set the quantity to the number you want, up to 100, and press Generate for that many different models in one pull.

Do I even need a tablet?

Honestly, not everyone does. If a phone and a laptop already cover what you do, a tablet may sit idle. The section above helps you work out whether one earns its place for you.

Are these the newest models?

Not always. It is a curated, slightly older set with some obscure entries, so use a pick as a starting point and check for the current version and recent reviews before buying.

References

1. Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper, "When Choice Is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2000, the study behind choice overload. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11138768/
2. Barry Schwartz, "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less", his talk on how more options can lower satisfaction. https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_paradox_of_choice