Thanks everyone. The more I learn the more uncertain I am. The Asus' sound good - and I know Raven loves hers - but when I look at the negative reviews (on varous sites), there seems to be significant quality control issues. Lots of lemons - and defects - and terrible cusotmer service. There's enough of that type of review that I hesitate to buy an Asus tablet. I saw a google nexus 10. I prefer it to have a microsd card slot - not have fixed storage like an ipad. It also just did not feel or look good to me. Genes - you may be right about not finding that kind of battery life for video play. I thought that ipads were (at least older generations) got 9-10 hours of video play. On the one hand, i would expect video to be one of the biggest battery drains. But perhaps surfing the web - downloading content, etc also consumes battery life. Urlee - I interpreted that quote about really killing the tablet - and what battery life it gets - to suggest that even using it to the max - he gets 6 hours - and thinks "regular?" use could get 10 hours. Of course, we don't know what "regular is". That kind of leaves the Samsung tablets - either galaxy tab 10.1 - or Note. The actual pen aspect of the note doesn't do anything for me (maybe I'd wind up loving it - but it's not on my list of desireable features). I just saw a refurbished note at Best Buy for about $330 (something like that - I had a small credit - and there was tax). 500-600. They're often closer to $So I decided to order it and give it a try. It's supposed to be fast - 2GB ram - with ICS. I have not seen one in person. This has just 16GB on board storage - but with a micro sd slot, that doesn't matter since I can add 64GB more. For some reason, this Note doesn't excite me in theory the way the Asus tablets did. But the relatively large number of complaints (and consistent complaints) on Asus have made me pause. Mike - I am aware that many international flights have power ports. But we have not been that lucky in our last international flights. These flights have been booked through an educational tour group - and therefore the airline has been very reluctant to give us any information. I know we're in a Boeing 777. But from Seat Guru it looks like there are 5 different versions. And the one that looks closest to the seating chart on Delta's website - does not have power ports in economy. One seating chart looked like it might. Another suggested just ipod/iphone charging in economy - no tablets or laptops. But none of the charts on seat guru quite match what's on Delta. If there were power ports, that would make this easy. But my experience is, don't count on power ports. First - they may not be in economy. And if they are, they may not be at every seat. And even if they're there, doesn't mean they're working. (Heck - 2 of the last 4 domestic flights I took - the readling light for my seat was not working - and the flights were full - no reading for me (this was before i had the Nook). If I could really count on power ports that work - I'd just bring my nook tablet for now. But it's been acting up in terms of battery drain lately - and I don't want to risk this as my only entertainment. I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks. Lynn.

Most people I know who have an iPad (or any other tablet) use it on WiFi. There are iPads and other tablets that can also use a cellular data connection. It's certainly a useful feature to have but it is far from essential and is probably most beneficial to those who travel frequently. Frankly, I think a 7" tablet is a little small to be used as a desktop or laptop substitute on a regular basis, especially for web browsing. I also think that the iPad Mini is a bit pricey. I'd suggest spending more for a full size iPad or looking at one of the 7" Android alternatives like the Nexus 7.

I have had my Motorola Droid for close to two years now. The free turn-by-turn navigation app. that terriks mentioned has never let me down. The Google map app has been a lifesaver when looking for restaurants, coffee, gas stations, banks, & places of interest while out of my immediate area. I use the Google Sky Map frequently to identify stars, planets & constellations. Google Translate and Google Goggles - a visual search engine as well as Google Earth are all free apps on the Droid. If you are a football fan the NFL mobile app is free too. A friend of mine just got the Motorola Droid Razr and it is slick, my Droid is like a dinosaur compared to the new one! I have Verizon, no dropped calls & the voice quality is like any wireless device. My lap top is a MacBook Pro so I don't have a problem with Apple products, (actually I could never go back to a PC), for me the best choice in a smartphone was the Android Operating System. When my current device bites the dust, I will replace it with another Android.

Android Samsung Mesmirize (Fascinate on other carriers) I love it! Got the wife one first as her old phone was dying and even though she is not the most techy (that's my job) she had it all figured out before I even got mine the following week. It looks as sleek as the iPhone, but has several advantages in my book. 1) Has an microSD slot. Comes with a free 16gig card. If I need more, instead of having to buy a new phone, aka iPhone, I can just swap out to the next size of card. 2) Although battery life is great, it is a removable battery, so if you do use it a lot and have battery life issues, you can swap out a spare. I will give the iPhone credit for the front camera, but that only works in wi-fi zones right now, so I don't consider that a deal breaker. Any app you can find for the iPhone, you can find for the Android. Wish I had the Evo, as it has HDMI out, but the coverage in my area for the carrier is not good. I was thinking about the iPhone for a while, but where I live (Iowa) AT&T's 3G coverage only exists in 4 cities, everywhere else is practically dial-up speeds when surfing. That prompted me to stay with USCellular as they switched to 3G to almost the entire state last May. For me, speed and coverage was the biggest factors. If the iPhone would have been available on USCellular last year, I might have changed my mind. Best feature right now is my desk cradle. I have it beside my bed, and have replaced the alarm clock with it. I can wake up and see the current weather as well as the time. Just my 2 cents worth,