Well, one thing I find with this tablet - and I get the same with my Samsung Phone, is that it is very difficult to persuade the cursor to let me start typing on the white area, if I use the Quote facility. I reckon I can live wih this.
David: your experience seems to back up what I have concluded. A lot of the thinking that I am putting in to my present situation is influenced by the thought that soon I shall be living afloat once more (at least I certainly hope so!), so anything I have now will be used aboard. I like the concept of solid state - I have found it is much more economical on power than a conventional hard drive. I also like how little space a tablet requires and how comparatively robust they are. Charging is straightforward, but then I have a dedicated (and adjustable) 12 volt computer charger anyway. What I don't like is the way you can only go backwards through text by using the delete button and how difficult it is to highlight stuff. I'm a touch typist who generally uses short cut keys, so these things are a tad irritating.
Graeme: I don't really miss the computer at all. It was a tool to do certain jobs, not something for pleasure. I am busy building my boat and the bit of spare time I have is largely given to reading. The main reason I am annoyed with breaking it is that it means I can't help Lynda with the magazine. I have small hands and would have no problem with a small keyboard. I wouldn't use Windows 10 or Apple and the little I'm have seen of an i-Pad leads me to believe that it's even more limited than a good quality Android, because you are not only locked into Apple software, but their hardware, too. However, one of the problems with using Android, is that things like Adobe Digital Editions isn't available for it.
Toni: I have already thought of a Bluetooth keyboard. (To my astonishment, I managed to Bluetooth files from phone to tablet. Honestly, sometimes I feel fit to take part in the 20th century, even if I'm not so sure about the 21st!). I wonder if the alt and ctrl keys would work with a tablet as they do on a computer. One of the essential things for proofreading is to be able to go from pdf screen to corrections screen. Normally I do this by pressing alt tab. I can't conceive of doing it by a s-l-o-w press of the middle button, then tapping the screen, making it full size, typing the correction and then reversing the procedure. And I miss the little touch pad: I dislike moving my fingers away from the keys, let alone smearing them all over the screen.
Thus far, the major drawbacks of a tablet (assuming I had a keyboard) are that there is no USB socket for my hard rive (or Thunderbird-on-a-stick; I cannot work with multi screen projects and I have constantly to take my hands away from the keyboard (and polish the screen!). It's more difficult to ensure that spacing between characters is correct and a nightmare to change one lower case letter to upper case, moving that horrid little blue dot about. However, I assume that a keyboard would at least allow the arrow keys to work, even if Home and so on don't. On the other hand, i was struggling with how I was going to use a laptop on Fanshi. The table is too high and my back wouldn't take 20 minutes of work before protesting. However i could easily make a nice (tigerwood!) stand for a tablet, sit back and use the keyboard on my lap, or on some sort of tray.
I refuse to spend 10% of what I live on annually, on a computer. To me, it seems ridiculous. I am very reluctant to buy another cheapo. I would be sorry not to be able to do more to help with the magazine, but even if the JRA were to provide me with a suitable laptop, I really don't want either the responsibility for something so valuable or the battery drain. I am trying to simplify my life, not make it more complex.
Part of the interest of living on a small boat is in overcoming these little challenges. With the boatyard literally being locked down (the gates are padlocked!), I can't order anything by post or courier anyway, so there is no reason to be hasty about this decision . Your input and suggestions are much appreciated.