Well SZ'ers my "backup" older HP laptop finally crapped out today and will not power up anymore,
My Newer Lenovo stage laptop is fine for now,and does the job night after night .......WOW!!!... But now I have an excuse to Buy a new TOY....possibly my chance to delve into my first 10" TABLET to use on gigs...?
Anyway my needs are this for a tablet...I have hundreds of NOTEPAD Lyric files I would need to transfer and use when needed on the Tablet....what would be the best lyric program App for this purpose & why?..

Secondly....I would need a great MP3 player with a great search feature to look thru 10-20 gigs of tunes.....
and be able to play SINGLE songs and STOP when finished after each song.

Also I would need to keep a few folders open at once on screen to navigate, search etc, while playing.

I hope some of you with experience using a tablet on stage can lead me in the right direction?..if you need to ask me any questions on my needs please do,

Thanx

I would recommend an Android Tablet. I use an Asus model for passed 2 years and it is very reliable.
I see the downside of ipads is having to be locked into iTunes plus having to buy addition adapters to be able to simple use USB,s or HDMI cables which my Asus is already provided with these inputs.
But it,s all down to personal choice.

Graham I'm leaning toward android for some of the reasons you mention plus I'm more used to it as my Galaxy phone is Android based also I just have to be sure what I have outlined above for MY needs can be done flawlessly while performing.

Donny,
Go take a look at both the Windows Surface and the Surface Pro. I nearly bought one of these this year but elected to stay with my iPad. The neat thing about the Surface was it would accept a thumb drive plus when I took a thumb drive loaded with my PDF lead sheets it displayed them without needing a third party program.
The Surface is a tablet - the Surface Pro is actually a computer device.

Deane

Donny, that's a tough one . Android tablet makes sense because you have a Galaxy Android phone, but Windows surface as Dean mentioned is a good choice both have their pros and cons, it's personal choice. iPad probably isn't for you.

Dean, Steve I hear ya,.....one of my concerns has been addressed...I just found an Music Player APP called MortPlayer

MortPlayer App

unlike many others this player app has a setting for SINGLE SONG playback only in the options which is critical when performing so that the next song doesn't start playing.
I tested it on my phone and it works flawlessly so I know on a Android tablet it will work also.....I also was able to transfer my NOTEPAD lyric folder from Pc to phone and with File manager it lets you read lyrics, change look, fonts etc,.....so that's another good thing... I will certainly look into the Surface which should work well, don't think I need the pro for my gig needs, My next concern is setting up the display screen on stage so that I can KEEP multiple folder LISTS open and situated, re-sized etc, on screen to look at all at once., different MP3 folders, lyrics text, etc,..
I usually have Three open plus the player in the top right corner..........please keep the suggestions coming I appreciate all of them.. So I guess the surface or Surface 2 pictured here will do me fine? I like the storage options also. So Apps can be got for android just like the cell phone also?. And I would assume some kind of firm mount would be needed also on stage..?

SURFACE

Surface 2

Thanx

Get a 12 inch windows pro tablet... You will not regret it...

Donny,
I have both the Hercules and the GigEasy mounts. Google them and read the company info. I like either of them but the hercules is sturdier.

Deane

If I may possibly muddy the waters, and further to Bachus' comments...

by total coincidence I've just purchased a manufacturer refurbished Fujitsu Lifebook T730 Windows Tablet / Notebook. 12.6" 1280x800 touch screen, core I5, under £300.

I had been wondering about a 10" tablet to use as my on-stage music library, but don't really want to get tied into iPad. Also my current 10" netbook is windows Xp and also I was really noticing the sloooooow performance and worried about obsolescence to the extent that I was going to put a newer official Windows on it (I need proper ms office). I stumbled on this machine whilst randomly googling and thought it was worth a go and so far so good. I've fitted 8 gig of RAM which also helps!

If you look at it just as a tablet then compared to an iPad it may have a bigger screen but in all other respects the iPad display is seriously better; compared to a pure tablet this thing is big and heavy with worse battery life.

However as a windows laptop it is quite compact and the performance seems pretty good. Windows 7 is not a fabulous touch interface out of the box but if you set everything to be large then the inaccuracy of the fingers is less of an issue. I'm wondering whether to use one of the freeware metro-like front ends for Win 7 to see if that helps. Fujitsu state that this model is mot supported on Windows 8 but there's certainly people out there who have it working and the hardware components of the PC don't look that peculiar.

So, if (like me) you rely on windows software, but would like that available as a tablet on a music stand, this could do that job. It is in no way a direct replacement for an iPad or Android tablet, it's bigger and heavier so you wouldn't want this in your hands all day. Battery life is about 3-4 hours but that's not an issue for me.

FWIW... My choice and major tool now is Samsung Galaxy S3, 8-inch tab. $279.
Mine is not a phone...but you can install Magic Jack and it becomes a phone anywhere you have WiFi access.

When gigging it sits atop my KB with lyrics when I need 'em, MP3s when needed. I guess I could play my SMF there to, but I put them in my KB.

All my computer repair files are on it with all clients' info, plus calendars, photos, etc., etc., etc.

Moving files to and from a pc is also ez-pz.

JMO.

Eddie