Tablet deal - or maybe not

Recently I felt a need t by myself my first tablet. :smiley:
I dont really need it etc, usual stuff,

I stumbled upon this
http://www.focalprice.com/CE0165B/V7_7_Android_403_DualCore_NS115_12GHz_Tablet_PC_with_External_3G.html#.UH8SA93rhYX

It seems like a deal, if specs are right. Focalprice has many shortvoings but its not so bad website, they ar enot scamers.

I mean, 1GB RAM, 8GB HD, 5-point capacitive screen, 1,5 (?) GHz processor.
I dont know uch abut tablets, I have been following them a little just a couple of days, and this seems to be a good deal, no?

Also I have an offer from China, for Phillips PI3000, 2GB version, 512MB ram, 1,0GHz processor, 5-point cap. screen, for 59$+12,5 shipment.

Im not acquainted with quality of these chinese tablets…

I have a deal too, DD has ahttp://us.dinodirect.com/a13-tablet-computer-laptop-tablet-android-tablet-7-inch-tablet-pc-android-4-0-pc-tablet.html?DDID=3520-616 for $62.39, thinking of buying the kids one each.

It’s hard with the specs on the china-stuff though, who knows if you get a cheap 1600lumens one… :slight_smile:

A friend at church the other day showed me his new Nexus 7. WOW! Very nice. I did some research on it and found it might be the best of the 7 inchers, and best tablet excluding the king, Apple.

I personally would not skimp on something like a tablet, but then again maybe you can get a decent one fairly cheap. The Nexus starts at $199. Good luck to you in finding a nice one at a good price.

patrick

The problem with budget tablets is that the SW is of questionable quality even if they somehow hacked aosp (or more likely some local derivative) to work.

It’s gotten better since goog started offering some of the google apps on the store (eg gmail, but not talk), but that’s assuming the store works in the first place.

Much better to start with a ROM site, and find an OEM tablet which is supported rather than the other way around.

For example, I’m using HP touchpads right now which is caught by the very edge of official cyanogenmod, and they’re available in the US for not much over 100.

I think the Galaxy Tab 7.0 beats the Nexus 7 specs wise and you can have it for around the same price.

I wouldn’t mind trying the new Windows tablet but I already have an Asus and it works fine. The PC version is what I definitely would be interested in, although price will be a deterrent for a while.

I’m skeptical of these budget, no-name tablets. This isn’t a case where you’re getting a rebadged name brand product. However, if you need it for one single purpose, and that purpose is basic in nature, then these are a great buy.

I’ve reead through one Canadian forum a little, si I havce some conclucions.

Its safest to buy some brand with wider community support, like Ainol.

Ill probably wait a little more and buy Ainol Aurora 2 or something like that, wait a little more for prices to drop.

Thanx for advices.

Im a kind of person who learns most easily throught practice and I didnt hacve any practice/experience with tablets/ROMs etc, so all this is somewhat apstract to me, but I understood some things.

Ill really wait to see little more price drop, hopefully below 100 or something, for these 1,5Ghz dual processor, 1GB RAM, better resolution Ainol tablets (1024*600), or some other brand with reasonable community support.

I’m not watching the tablet offer in my country, but I saw they are selling small tablets with resistive screen for 100-135$, for example Prestigio brand, also bad SW suport. There are some good deals on Samsung tablets, but Ill stick to budget ones. :smiley: I think you can get more bang for the money. AND, more importantly, they are in my budget range for this kind of thing.

Frankly the SW support is more important than small HW differences. Android moves fast and 4.1 UI improvements are going to be worth more to perceived speed than some minor cpu clock diff.

Also, consider that part of the worth of tablet is its versatility. For example, I use them as alarm clock, pic frame and whatnot, but sometime check my mail or IM over them if need be, or take one to the bathroom in the morning to continue reading a book from the laptop the night before. The cloud makes that possible.

Hm, regarding purpose - maybe checking and answering emails when Im away from home (currently doing it on smartphone), if I find it practical.
Playing angrybirds in bed :smiley:
Small amount of surfing while away from home, maybe read some PDF from time to time in bed.

BTW I have just read a review that Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1” has some serious issues with freezing (OS and screen).

CLoud? YOu mean ethernet support otr wifi-support or what?

I would have thought that every of these tablet with wifi support can do these things. (if they dont have some glitches. Even Ainol Aurora, I read, had some wifi disconnecting problems, so you had to take it appart and wrap some alu-foil around some wifiantena part to get it working properly. Ainol supposedly forgot to implement that part properly :slight_smile: So, whats better than little DIY on your tablet to get it working. Priceless :smiley: )

And that I would be able to connect it easily to my router (or any other), and also when on the way, to connect it to the internet, via cell-phone (over wifi connection with phone), if there is no internet hotspot nearby.

If you mean some more advanced method oof sharing files, its not so important to me, I can always copy some file, wireless or not.

What I mean is that these devices will often be used for purposes other than what they were originally purchased for. Therefore, compatibility with the android ecosystem is a more valuable asset IMO than the minutia of HW specs. IOW, I’d rather have an “outdated” tablet where everything works than a new one which is buggy.

Sometimes what I will do when getting into something new to me is buy an ultra cheap version of what ever it is and use it as a way to educate me as to the pros and cons of the more expensive versions. This usually works out very well for me because it enables me to make a wise choice on my eventual purchase. By being an educated consumer I can stay away from expensive mistakes and get just what I need. The total cost of the first ultra cheap item and the ultimate purchase is usually lower than if I just went out and bought something. Besides, I am able to get excited twice this way and able to fully appreciate the difference of the good versus the cheap one.

So if I don’t know what to do, I will “buy cheap and figure it out later”

I think , on the grounds of what I’ve read, that this Ainol brand stands pretty well regarding these issues…

I have an Ainol Aurora I and an Elf II (replacement from DinoDirect for the Aurora I - taking the insurances for $1-2 certainly paid off). The Aurora I has the superior screen (IPS - viewing angles), but the touchscreen functionality has problems on the edges... it works but I have to touch the area multiple times until it registers where I want to... many Aurora I+II seem to have that problem depending on which screen is built in (hitachi/LG). The Elf II has only a TN-display, but together with the DarkElf 1.1 Rom it works pretty well.

If I would have to buy now my checklist would be:

7-8" inch tablet

capacitive IPS screen with at least 1024*600 resolution better 1280*800

MicroSDHC slot (Google Nexus and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 don't have that -> expensive memory upgrades)

HDMI port (Google Nexus and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 don't have that -> the Chinese tablets are also awesome media players for the living room... just connect a wireless mouse)

USB OTG for mouse/keyboard/USB-sticks/USB-HDDs conectivity

1 GB RAM.

8-16 GB flash memory.

Bluetooth -> connect it to your smartphones and surf on the larger screen. BT mice/keyboards

Dual or quad-core based on the ARM Cortex A9 technology. AML8726-M6/MX or RK3066

Android 4.0 or better 4.1

The new upcoming Acer Iconia seems to be what I'm looking for.

Chinese Alternatives would be:

Tn is also capacitive screen, but lower performance one?

TN vs IPS (tablets should have an IPS-screen for better viewing angles.(7:30) standard TN-TFTs often have very narrow viewing angles, resulting in weird effects ... like each eye is seeing different colors etc. )

resistive vs capacitive (capacitive is pretty much industry standard right now and way better than resistive)

No Im not willing to exteend my budget at all.

DO you have some recomendations aong budget tablets?

For US buyers, the cheapest tablet I would get is the B&N color nook and root it. They pop up on ebay for <100. I assume these were being sold at a loss because they surpass the quality of equivalent products from 2nd/3rd tier manufacturers.

Unless you’re buying a first class (:money_mouth_face: tablet, OS support from the factory is basically useless. For the best user experience I would look for the cheapest thing you can get that’s supported by cyanogenmod/AOKP or similar.

@Vectrex: You didnt mention the Huawei Mediapad. 3G, SD, Dualcore, 800p display.. around 300€.

something with a 7-8 inch high res screen is a must IMHO. The large tablets are too heavy and awkward to hang onto and handle as e readers for more than a few minutes.

I have a Galaxy 7.7 and an Acer Iconia A500. The galaxy gets used a lot, the A500 not so much.

The smaller form factor is perfect book size and much lighter. I have a good convertible case cover for it so it props up in bed perfectly for a late night read or early frosty morning lay in.

My phone is an HTC One XL and is great as an EDC device. I do a lot of browsing and reading here on it too, when I am out. The phone gets the most use of the three. I have been very happy with HTC devices, this is the latest in a string of smartphones I have had from them. Number six I think.

I did look at the Galaxy Note but thought it a bit too big for EDC.

Generally though, I much prefer my Macbook Air to any of them. I really like a good keyboard for text input. Great screen. It’s small, light and very portable and I got it as a runout model for only slightly more than an iPad.

Now if they only made the Air with a rotating touch screen …

The original poster of this thread listed some ultra cheap tablets in the <$100 range . So even the $150 Chinese tablets I posted are already stretching his budget probably. But I feel that the sub $100 price range is too limiting these days. If you are really tight on money and don't want to spend $150 and don't need BT.... the Ainol Novo 7 Crystal looks promising. I would not buy tablets with single core SoCs anymore. BTW I said it before that I have trouble spending money north of $200 for a throwaway item. (batteries can't be changed) I have a Huawei Ideos X3 smartphone and while they are one of the nicer Chinese manufacturers, I think I would go with a different brand for that kind of money.