Best portable device for gaming


Technology


Rather than drag a bag full of books and printouts to every Pathfinder game, I have decided to join the 21st century and go electronic.

I was wondering what sort of device anyone would recommend to carry the pdfs, characters sheets, and other gaming related items in digital format.

I'm am looking at things like kindles, tablets, i-pads, and netbooks, pretty much anything that has a 6 hour battery life, or better, and is smaller than a full sized laptop.

Anyone have suggestions?

Gracias.


Wraithcannon wrote:

Rather than drag a bag full of books and printouts to every Pathfinder game, I have decided to join the 21st century and go electronic.

I was wondering what sort of device anyone would recommend to carry the pdfs, characters sheets, and other gaming related items in digital format.

I'm am looking at things like kindles, tablets, i-pads, and netbooks, pretty much anything that has a 6 hour battery life, or better, and is smaller than a full sized laptop.

Anyone have suggestions?

Gracias.

iPads are pretty great for this, really any tablet with a duel core processor to handle all the pdfs.

If you wait the first quad core tablet is going to be released on november 9th.

From accsessing multiple chracter sheets on google docs ( imagine as a GM having accsess to all of your players sheets like this, N2m NPc) to pdfs ( legal of course) of books. It is quite wonderful, there are even apps for init, management.


I use an iPad personally. Pdfs run fine for my taste, but several of the core book I still cart physically to the session for quick referencing. Dice apps, if you are interested, and I know the Combat Manager has intentions of making its way to the platform at some point.

As to the question of if it is the best? I can't say, but it is what I use.

Scarab Sages

I rock a Samsung Galaxy Tab. It's perfect for what I need: rule books, browser, dice app, etc. Check it out: http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxytab/10.1/feature.html .


iPad2.


In my group we use 1 laptop (sometimes two), a netbook and a smartphone, also we have a GM screen and a core rulebook somewhere in the room.


I use an alienware m11x right now, but I'm looking to upgrade to an asus 12" touch windows box.


Lastoth wrote:
I use an alienware m11x right now, but I'm looking to upgrade to an asus 12" touch windows box.

ASUS Transformer running android.

Though if you wait a couple of months the new tablets will be out.


I like my iPad for it...stocking PDFs, images, video, notes, etc. I'd probably wait for the 3 at this point, assuming that's within your timeframe. I also still use my laptop but the iPad's really great for player handouts. Running a Star Trek game now and it's rather like a PADD, so perfect for in-game use.
M


You can use a tablet. Get an android tablet or if you like to spend money, get an iPad2.

Personally, I still prefer the paper books when gaming.

Grand Lodge

I use an Acer Iconia A500 tablet. Great little thing, and the inclusion of a full size USB port that you don't need an adapter for is a big plus.

Liberty's Edge

Quote:
Best portable device for gaming

A book.

If you must have a fad-gadget, get one with lots of power to run Paizo's pdfs.
-Kle.


I use my IPad (1) with the PFR app. It works pretty well. I have a couple of other apps too, but I could get by with just the one.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

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For reading pdfs, I think a tablet is definitely the way to go (based on my limited experience with them).

I tend not to buy hardware unless I feel I really can justify its use for many things, so I use a "plain old" laptop for gaming. This is definitely easier than lugging a ton of books around. The .pdf display is less ideal, but I can run a lot of stuff at once--in addition to .pdfs, programs for PC like Combat Manager (which also has a great rules look up system) as well as a media player to play .mp3s for mood music, etc. (iPad may have similar apps available though, idk)

And if you have an Internet connection you can bypass using .pdfs entirely and just access the PRD. Not to discourage .pdf purchase, but I find the .pdfs very difficult and unwieldy to use since they are just literally digital copies of the books, and thus designed with print-based aesthetics in mind. The two-column format that works great for printed material I find very frustrating to read on a standard PC, because you're constantly having to scroll up and down to continue from the bottom of the first column to the top of the second--at least for the level I can comfortably leave the screen zoomed. I'm sure tablets mitigate this problem, however.


Klebert L. Hall wrote:

A book.

If you must have a fad-gadget, get one with lots of power to run Paizo's pdfs.
-Kle.

The OP explicitly said he'd rather not drag a bag full of books and printouts to his game and was thus looking for an alternative.

Oh, and by calling them 'fad' gadgets you're implying they have no use whatsoever. Luddite much? Let me see your book get on the Internet to check errata or find that ruling you remember James Jacobs posting on the forum. You have one of those fad-gadget PCs I guess, and even got it connected to that even more faddish Internet? What's up with that?

Sorry...not trying to start a fight but your comment wasn't really all that helpful and I, probably among others, am interested in hearing suggestions on portable devices that might help our gaming experience (fad or not).
M

Edit: Let me add something possibly to the useful to the conversation...feeling guilty after taking the troll bait: I don't find any of my 'fad' gadgets (yet) are proper book replacements. I still carry my often-used books to games. I do often create my own PDFs with stats I'm going to use for that game, notes, and so on to reference during play. I'll look up stuff in less-used books in PDF and look at the PFSRD online, etc. but I still have my core book to flip through during play. I just don't find PDFs as handy as a book for looking things up regularly.


mearrin69 wrote:
I don't find any of my 'fad' gadgets (yet) are proper book replacements. I still carry my often-used books to games. I do often create my own PDFs with stats I'm going to use for that game, notes, and so on to reference during play. I'll look up stuff in less-used books in PDF and look at the PFSRD online, etc. but I still have my core book to flip through during play. I just don't find PDFs as handy as a book for looking things up regularly.

If I'm simply reading, I still prefer the physical book too, but since I don't game at home, the iPad is so convenient. I can "bring along" dozens of books to the gaming session and not throw my back out. Plus, the fast search capabilities of the iPad (with help from Goodreader and/or the online tools/databases) make it an easy choice when at the table - especially as Paizo continues to add products so often.


Telodzrum wrote:
I rock a Samsung Galaxy Tab. It's perfect for what I need: rule books, browser, dice app, etc. Check it out: http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxytab/10.1/feature.html .

Same here.


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Must carry big heavy books, make you strong.

Also broke.

Scarab Sages

I use a netbook (a Dell Mini 9) to read books (and play background music while GMing). I've tried smaller gadgets, but the netbook's the smallest one that has enough processing power to render a heavyweight PDF, like some of the bigger Pathfinder books, without having to wait a year for each page to load, which is my experience with my smartphone. I prefer using a netbook to a full size laptop, the netbook is lighter and easier to carry around, smaller (so I can keep it open and still see the other players), and the lower power usage means it's easier to squeeze several hours out of one charge.

Anything smaller doesn't feel like a full-featured book replacement to me.

I haven't tried a tablet yet. My personal issues with tablets are the limited storage and the lack of fully featured desktop software, multitasking, etc. I'd rather keep multiple windows open, edit playlists, etc.

Any Galaxy Tab users have a better experience?


I love my eeepc.


Face_P0lluti0n wrote:

I use a netbook (a Dell Mini 9) to read books (and play background music while GMing). I've tried smaller gadgets, but the netbook's the smallest one that has enough processing power to render a heavyweight PDF, like some of the bigger Pathfinder books, without having to wait a year for each page to load, which is my experience with my smartphone. I prefer using a netbook to a full size laptop, the netbook is lighter and easier to carry around, smaller (so I can keep it open and still see the other players), and the lower power usage means it's easier to squeeze several hours out of one charge.

Anything smaller doesn't feel like a full-featured book replacement to me.

I haven't tried a tablet yet. My personal issues with tablets are the limited storage and the lack of fully featured desktop software, multitasking, etc. I'd rather keep multiple windows open, edit playlists, etc.

Any Galaxy Tab users have a better experience?

I have great mutitasking on my gtab10.1. I use several PDF readers so I can have each one open to a different PFpdf. Even with 3 or 4pdfs open my dice roller and internet access still work flawlessly. I can also keep several tabs open on chrome browser while having the pdfs running.

The only downside is typeing to a note pad app is a pain in the ass.


I can recommend the Asus EeePad Transformer. It's an Android tablet (3 right now, but it's scheduled to get 4) that can be transformed into a netbook with the docking station.
The Paizo PDFs can be slow at times - but they're big and not very efficiently created.

If you have internet access (via WLAN or, if you get the 3G version, via that), you can also use d20PFSRD.

All in all a great tool for players. As GM, I still stick to my laptop. The tablet can do a lot, but I'm not sure it can display two instances of Maptool on two different screens. And several of the GM tools I use require windows.

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