My New Tablet

My birthday happened recently. Usually (for years) I have been clueless of what I want for my birthday. So the last couple of years, my birthday presents have been surprises (with my ride on a plane in 2013 been the most impressive).

But this year has been different. Since January I had invested a lot of thought on the subject on how I could use my birthday as an excuse to buy something expensive. I am no big spender (I haven't got the cash for that.... let), but I do like to occasionally buy things, like books and DVDs. Cultural things like that. I rarely spend money on clothes. I occasionally spend above £25 on Amazon. You get he picture.
Recently I have noted the usefulness of small tablet computers. My family has been a bit crazy for them in the past few years, buying (probably) half a dozen of them. The very first one they bought (a big Yarvik Android model the size of a notebook) ended up in my procession, because I got addicted to The Simpsons: Tapped Out game. However, I have lost the use of this tablet in March 2014 because the socket you plug in the charger into it got broken. So for over a year I had rarely touched a tablet's screen.
In fact, I had only occasionally did so in spats of activity over the years, as I didn't find them very useful to me... let. This was mostly because their size was an inconvenience and the fact that I'm not that into games and the only reason I was really using them was to play games.

But this year I had a change of heart. By now tablets can come in many sizes and their spec have improved greatly. Also you can now find a good tablet for less than £100 (and I'm not talking about second-hand stuff here.) But the main reason for my change of heart is because I finally worked out uses for one in my life.

So my birthday comes. I get money from relatives. I browse Amazon for a good deal. I found one I liked at a great price. But before I clicked the "buy" button I find that that second-hand tablet had a scratch on the screen. I may have been a minor thing, but I knew my parents would be disappointed in my buying such an damaged device. So instead, last week I went to Currys. I was lucky... it was a bank holiday and they had a sale on. As son as I entered I went tot he tablets and found a device that met my criteria....
For around £130 I bought (along with a leather case, a stylus, a screen protector, anti-virus software and 200GB of cloud storage) this....

My new Samsung Galaxy Tab 4

A black, 7-in screen Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. I have used this device every day since I bought it. I have used it to revisit my Springfield that I have abandoned back in March 2014, watch YouTube videos, listen to music and draw a few pictures, like the one above. And I made sure it was very portable. I choose a 7-in model because it was small enough to fit inside the knee pockets of my several pairs of cargo trousers. 

My new tablet (plus case) in pocket

You have to agree that this is very convenient (but it can be a tiny bit awkward while walking). 

But it is also big enough for the task of drawing with ease. It's the perfect size.

With this device I can quickly note or draw things down while on the move without the hassle of getting out an A4 sketchpad from a bag or briefcase. 

I could have posted this earlier, but its only today that I got a stylus specialized for drawing (which I used to redraw my profile picture in the photo above). 

Best (self-bought) present ever...

Hey, no one else knows my needs for a tablet (like the cargo trouser pocket dimensions). They could have bought me something that was too big for my needs or something rubbish made in China.

You know what I mean....