[Closed] Recommend me an Android Tablet

Guy at work here has the Xoom. It's the best Android tablet I've played with so far, the cheap ones are pish. I'm liking the look of the Asus Transformer too.

Someone will be along shortly to tell you to buy an iPad, but in honesty there aren't a lot of realistic competitors.

I have a Xoom and to date I am very impressed. Does everything I want it to very well indeed. Only small criticism, the case looks little clunky, but it does protect everything very well, so I suppose that's OK!

Got an Asus Transformer here and very happy with it. If your not bothered about the lack of 3g connection direct from the tablet I'd say this is the one to go for (Can easily be tethered to a phone to use its connection so I see the 3g a expensive unnecessary feature). Yes some of the others are lighter or more stylish but the addition of the keyboard dock makes the transformer a much more useful device, since I bought mine 2 months ago the main house PC has only been used once! The screen is nice a clear and plenty bright enough. Slight annoyance at the moment is lack of Skype video calling (skypes fault apparently), however google talk gets around this.

Here it comes
[b]buy an iPad[/b]
Nothing else compares or competes, not that I've anything else so it's a totally bias comment

But the Rim Playbook, Xoom are the best of a sorry bunch.

Are any of the Andriod Tablets actually significanlty cheaper than an [shhhh]ipad[/shhhh] yet? (ignoring the defunct HP one)

Thanks guys all very useful.

cheers

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What about the Samsung 10.1 jobbie?

MrsG is interested in a tablet (she is a complete technophobe with no Apple/Android bias) so we went to an outlet that stocked the lot. She spent over an hour fiddling with them all and declared the Samsung her favourite with an Asus transformer a close second. She just didn't 'like' the iPad.

Not sure if you can buy them at the moment as Apple and Samsung are having the biggest geek fight ever and Apple has slapped an injunction on the Galaxy range.

I'm selling a 32Gig Touchpad - email in profile.

Another happy Asus Transformer user here.

Amazon had the 16 gig version for about £330 recently which makes it pretty good value against an iPad in my opinion...

Tried the Xoom at the airport recently didnt think it was any better than a Advent Vega that I had(With upgraded App Market and Rom).
Really like the HTC flyer but seems a bit pricey for the size.
Blackberry playbook seemed nice enough but a bit small and some awkward gestures on it.
Not had a go on the new Galaxy tab yet but the old one seemed pretty good.
And yes I do have a Ipad as it does seem to be the most useable,I only have the Wifi version but I can tether it to my Android phone no problem and use its 3G connection.

I have the galaxy tab 7inch very pleased with it got it to use when away fishing £5 a month sim unlimited surfing run memory map app is really good £250

The samsung 10.1 [url= http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsung-p7510-galaxy-tablet-pc-16gb-10983395-pdt.html ]is available in PC world[/url]. However, the 32GB non-3G Xoom [url= http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/motorola-xoom-tablet-pc-32gb-09752543-pdt.html ]is now available for £330[/url]!

I had a play with this in HMV yesterday:

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=289;16;-1;-1;-1&sku=335573
The smaller here
[img] [/img]

It runs gingerbread 2.3 (big bonus), has a multi touch capacitive screen that seems pretty bright and its a bargin at £120.

It was really responsive and fast, nicely made, solid and glossy. Best experience Ive had on an android tablet and Ive been fiddling with them when I walk into shops for the last twelve months. I reckon the discount price (down from £300+ish) is due to low demand for the size, but its a great size for a big pocket, and sofa surfing etc.

Im about to press the button, but has anyone got one yet?

http://arnovatech.com/products/g2/index.html?country=nl&lang=en

Hmmm that looks good stoner...have to say I find 7" way handier to use than the 10"

Vegas are £140 refurb on ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Advent-Vega-Refurbished-Internet-Tablet-/130582310469?pt=UK_iPad_Tablet_Accessories&hash=item1e674fee45

Kogan @ £120 has had good reviews, Hannspree at a similar price also - I think these cheapies will need a bit of hot-rodding to make them work well, but there appears to be money to be saved.

TBH If I was looking at spending £300+ I'd just get an ipad - you can get a discount if you Look/wait around. But then I'm not an apple-hater.

I like having the 1gz ARM cortex and capacitive screen in there for £120.

As I said I think on my early posts on tablets nearly a year ago that this is when the functionality and pricepoint become sensible for something for webbrowsing, podcast/music listening / ebook reading on the train etc,

PS It also means when I get my new phone in a few months time, I dont have to look for the size/phone function compromise. I can use my phone as a 3G mifi point for this for browsing so I can go for a smaller, slimmer android business phone

htc flyer now 300 dollars in the US (wifi only) if you can be arsed getting one sent over

Ah **** I think I have to buy one 😡 oh well I'm £200 better off since I decided not to buy those 250gm rims from PX after they went back up to £100 each 😀

3G one only £10 more!

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=289;16;-1;-1;-1&sku=262547

oooh hadnt seen the 7c for just 130.

I have a spare sim lying around somewhere....

Think I might have to go for it...

STOP!

the 7c isnt the same formfactor or cpu.

7c:
• 195 mm x 118 mm x 14.1 mm – 490 g
• Qualcomm MSM7227

7:
• 203 mm x 107 mm x 12 mm (8” x 4.2” x 0.5”) – 370 g / 13 oz
• ARM Cortex A8 1 GHz

Im going to stick with the 7 I think

stoner, some comments on the std one and the 3G one (which has a slower processor apparently):

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/archos-arnova-g2-7-8gb-tablet-119-99-hmv-1024519#comments

3g (which has GPS too)

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/arnova-7c-g2-3g-tablet-7-inch-screen-4gb-memory-card-144-cpw-1003265

avforums.com will prob have some comment too...if it ever gets up 😡

defo not going for that 3G unit - the cpu is a fair bit slower, and I dont need the GPS or 3G functionality since they are in my phone which Id be using for connectivity anyway when out and about.

just bought it 😯

cross-post.

Nowt on avforums that I can see.

just bought it

Be interested to hear how you get on with it. My thinking on tablets seems to be similar to yours - don't need 3G/GPS because I have a phone to do that and want something easy to carry about, which the 10" tablets don't manage. 7" screen seems like a good compromise.

I've found 7" just right for typing & holding up, 10" was too heavy and a pita to type on in landscape format for me.

I do not have limp wrists either, in fact my guns are pretty good.

been looking at the anova g2 7 too. mixed reviews but.the main thing I understood is that it uses applib rather than the android market. anyone able to confirm? or know of other ways of getting apps on it?

I have a Vega.
£200 from currys, get it home and drop VegaComb on it which is rooted Honeycomb (Android 3).

Works fantastic. Easily as quick as an ipad and while it's not always as slick, is far more configurable.
[url= http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6177697963_6a2035a15b_z.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6177697963_6a2035a15b_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/53067724@N00/6177697963/ ]IMAG0152[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/53067724@N00/ ]Jon Wyatt[/url], on Flickr

samuri, does USB hosting work with the software you're using ?

Yep, I believe it does although I've not tried it yet. The problem is, knowing if you're in host or slave mode. One of the chaps over on Modaco has come up with a little widget for switching between the two I think.

No one mentioned the new Kindle Fire yet?
Be hard to get a better spec at that price I expect.

(tho personally I'd have an iPad 😉 )

the Fire 's not out yet, no uk release date, a strong possibility that the uk version will have less functionality, price tag likely to match or be more than the dollar price and currently privacy concerns on the stock browser.

still interested, mind but with some hacking.

Samuri - yeh, I have a modaco one on there just now. Haven't quite got the hang of USB hosting (failed to get it to sync down a cable with my phone, but had a go tonight with the tablet as a massive GPS screen tethered to my phone via wifi) If only I could see past it to the road ahead 😯

GrahamS - You're right, as long as they can rip the Amazon software out of it, the guts sound fantastic value for people like modaco to piss about with. It'll be interesting to see prices of other devices now this is out for 200 dollars (REALLY ??) in the US

This article makes a good point:
http://m.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/09/kindle-fire-android-competion/

The Fire may be the death of (other) Android tablets - who can compete with Amazon?

Especially when it may be being sold at a loss:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/30/amazon_kindle_fire_bill_of_materials/

Got to admit, I am going to be sorely tempted by the Fire as and when it appears in the UK (though may be tempted to hold out for the 10" version). The Archos machines are also looking tempting though... especially if I can get the 250Gb version and find a way to plug my DSLR into it as a backup device on the road.

Or an Android version of Lightroom.... mmmmmm

When is the new Amazon thing out, or isn't it a proper toy?

The new Sony is meant to be very good - me? I'd buy an ipad. Sales stats show most buyers do the same

I hear the Sun Newspaper is pretty popular.

I know what your saying Al, but popularity is not necessarily a bad thing.

Buying Apple may mean your [i]"one of the sheeple fanbois"[/i] but its popularity means you have access to a ton of third-party accessories (covers, docks, keyboards, car chargers, stereo hook ups, printer support, NAS support etc).

When is the new Amazon thing out, or isn't it a proper toy?

Definitely [i]proper[/i], but no release date in the UK yet (available in the US now I believe). It took the original Kindle two years to come to the UK so we might be in for a wait.

It's not GrahamS but many buy ipads for reasons that don't matter to android lovers (and I don't mean apple haters)

So we have a 10" refurb android tablet that can be honeycomb'd for £140 and a 7" on gingerbread for £120 - ideal for me and others as I don't want to blow £400 on an ipad.

The point about accessory support is not lost on me though.

"So we have a 10" refurb android tablet that can be honeycomb'd for £140 and a 7" on gingerbread for £120 - ideal for me and others as I don't want to blow £400 on an ipad."

+1

All things considered, I think I'd still rather have an instant-on Netbook that I can stash in a jacket pocket. The Fire looks nice, but I really don't understand the furore over tablets.

cynic-al: agreed 🙂

I really don't understand the furore over tablets.

I think it comes down to two things Cougar:

1) it just works: Most netbooks come with XP or Windows 7, so you've got to faff about with virus scanners, Windows Updates, malware, browser updates, blah blah blah. Most (non-geek) people can't be faffed with all that when all they want to do is read their email and Facebook.

2) form factor: trying lying on your couch and holding a netbook over your head to read like a book. The screen is the wrong way round for a start and the keyboard gets in the way.

You (like me) are a geek I believe. So these things possibly hold less sway to you than they do with Joe User.