Tablet advice thread

[echelon]

obviously there are dozens or hundreds of tablets out there so which reasonably priced one to buy ? (is a common question)

I have a resistive 10 inch patched flytouch one I never got on with so decided to look for a second hand replacement, and capacitive screen too

I decided 10 inch may be too big so opted for the 7 inch samsung galaxy tab 2 8gb model GT-P3110 wi-fi, second hand , cost me a ton delivered
it is titanium colour on the rear and has a black bezel front, and runs android 4.1.1 "jelly bean" which seems to be up to date for this tablet

I would say these tablets are excellent for the money, and almost anybody can use one as they seem simple to use, very responsive and very clear picture too

there are apps from samsung and the play store, many are free but do the jobs required, like mp3 players, video file players, e-readers , emails , internet browsing , the weather etc
the vu app works well, as does co-pilot from this forum too, streaming tv is a doddle with the vu app, and the on demand services also work
so all in all an excellent choice for those unsure what to buy and dont want a cheap busbi or archos arnova or some no-name make
I would definitely go for capacitive touchscreen and not resistive like the older ones had
I have now added a micro sd card , 32 gb which is the maximum size it takes

one point here is you cannot really go wrong with the galaxy tab or preferably the tab 2 like mine

alternatives I considered are

asus google nexus 7 (you cannot upgrade the memory as no sd card slot so buy the largest ram model you can, like the 32 gb model)) - this was my no1 preferred option subject to costs

acer iconia b1
acer iconia (all the other iconia models like the 200 and 500 and 700 etc)

kindle fire HD
nook HD+ (needs a memory card running an android hack plugged in so extra costs involved)

blackberry playbook

various no-names as below

allwinner a13
busbi
arnova

I discounted all the expensive stuff over £200 like the apple ipads, and the more expensive acer or asus or dell or hp or sony or similar products like the new microsoft surface, and any transformer tablet type laptops too

I also decided against the cheap tablets like the busbi from e buyer as I just think if you buy cheap you get cheap

I also wanted android v4 upwards and not v3 or v2

I hope that explanation helps anyone thinking of buying a tablet, but if anyone else has other ideas on these tablets, or recommendations based on their experiences please feel free to share them

[Zeke]

I think you need to start with how and when you're going to use it.

7" is still small enough to fit into a coat pocket and carry with you. Above that and you either use it at home/office or you need a bag to carry it.

The advantage of the Nexus line is they get updates straight from Google. When a new version of the OS etc is released you get it fairly quickly. You don't need to wait for Samsung or others to release a version for your tablet.

One other thing the recently announced phone from Samsung may be an option for some. The Samsung Mega 6.3 isn't much smaller then a 7" tablet. We'll see what the price is but the rumours seem to put it well under £300. Obviously it's a phone in addition to the large tablet sized screen.

[donki]

Why not just get the Samsung Note II. Then you have a sort of all in one option with a 5.5" screen. For me with my eyesight it is too small as is any 7" Tab.

Had a 9.9" ASUS transformer TF101 which was much better but still needed glasses. Sadly no good for use on editing settings and serious STB stuff nor for proper office work even with the physical keyboard attached. Android is such a toy. So I sold it and got a Convertible. HP Envy X2. Does everything my ASUS ever did and much, much more and it's much faster even though it's actually built by ASUS for HP.

ASUS have something similar on the market but the touchscreen is not detatchable.

[echelon]

I looked at the expensive stuff like the above but my point was buying a good quality tablet for a reasonable price and I decided on £100 max as my budget which took the google nexus 7 32 gb out of the equation, as well as some of the others I mentioned. BUT I did not want a cheap no-name tablet for sub £100 or even sub £50 , so the galaxy tab 2 is a good compromise

[A]

I have P3100 Tab 2 and its great with wifi and 3g but a pc or laptop have a totally different use. I use tab just for surfing on travels but nothing more really.

[EXTRAFACTO]

i have a ployer momo 11 speed...10inch
i have installed many apps...found nothing yet that does not run on it faultlessly
10 touch point screen...1.6 cpu speed...
i got it new for £110...i think normal asking price around 150

[Zeke]

I looked at the expensive stuff like the above but my point was buying a good quality tablet for a reasonable price and I decided on £100 max as my budget which took the google nexus 7 32 gb out of the equation, as well as some of the others I mentioned. BUT I did not want a cheap no-name tablet for sub £100 or even sub £50 , so the galaxy tab 2 is a good compromise

You found a Galaxy for less then the Nexus?

[echelon]

You found a Galaxy for less then the Nexus?

nexus 7 32 gb is about £180 new at e buyer , and am@zon sell the galaxy tab 2 new for about £148

so normally I find the galaxy tab 2 is less than a nexus 7 , yes

the trick was getting one for less than £100 or thereabouts, as even second hand they are advertised for more

[sparky_dog]

I just bought a couple of the cheap ones for the kids, but with a reasonable spec - 1GB RAM, 1024x600 screen, dual core CPU and Jelly Bean, so not dissimilar to the Samsung.

So far, they have done everything the kids have thrown at them, for the money they are quite amazing.

[Dreamcatcher]

I had an IPAD but wife uses it mostly. I bought an ASUS TF300T which has a quad core processor. Running on 4.2.1 Android (Jellybean). SD card slot and USB slot, both standard size. 10" screen but what I liked particularly is the detachable physical keyboard. Even with it attached it's quite light. So I can just click a button and remove it if I want and use one of two virtual keyboards. I can charge up the screen or the keyboard independently or with one lead if they are connected together. I get 10 hours from the screen and an extra 6 hours if the keyboard is attached. It's got VPN if required. Uses flash as well.

I bought it a year ago and it was a 'must have' I'm afraid so at the time it was £400. Not everyone's cup of tea but I just love it.

[traveller]

Nexus 7 3g partners my Samsung S3. As Iam on the road all the time and each device is on a different network it's not that often I can't connect to the internet. The 7" Nexus screen is so colourful and easy to read thanks to the high DPI, it's easy to hold for long periods. For me 32 gb is more than enough with Five films, loads of books, two nandroid backups and only used half of it. Treat yourself and get on of the best 7" tablets out there, worth every penny.

[echelon]

newbie question - what is a nandroid backup for on a nexus 7 ?

I have seen it mentioned for hacked android phones, like on this page (rooted?)

_http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/how-to-perform-and-restore-a-nandroid-backup/

[cosworth4x4]

its basically a back up prior to you modding it for apptoid and same as phones , nexus 7 you will not be disappointed with even if you have to go over budget.

[tr8.]

In my case as I am lazy, I just went for the iPad, I already have a I phone and many other apple products, so it was tell it my cloud and iTunes account it did the rest.
Not cool but very easy
If only others could make it so easy

[Zeke]

All my Google related accounts are linked between the desktop,tablet and phone. That's email,Google Drive,Maps everything. All I had to tell it was my google account.

For that matter all the devices also access my ***** stuff.

[tr8.]

Thanks Zeke.

Been and had a look and does exactly what I needed to find.
My wife and kids use HTC phones and this solves a lot of problems

Tr8

[echelon]

I think the last new apple product I bought was "get back!" by the beatles

svp and e buyer have got good weekend deals on tablets etc this bank holiday weekend, with the tab2 8gb wifi for less than £100

[flickerrr]

The older Galaxy tabs 7 and 10.1 are better spec than the new ones incase people wonder why the tab2 are cheaper new than second hand first models

[Zeke]

Wasn't the Tab 3 announced this week? I would have thought that was the reason for the price drops.

[flickerrr]

Wasn't the Tab 3 announced this week? I would have thought that was the reason for the price drops.

No the 1st generation has always been more expensive due to better specs