[Closed] Recommend me an Android Tablet

netboiok keyborads are crap for typing and mouse-pads crap for surfing/scrolling - tablet way better for bbrowsing

cynic-al - Member
netboiok keyborads are crap for typing and mouse-pads crap for surfing/scrolling - tablet way better for bbrowsing

[i]Sent from my crummy Netbook[/i]

If I wanted to read a book, I'd get a Kindle (or, y'know, a book).

The 'just works' thing I get, but that's wholly unrelated to form factor, it's a direct result of Apple's "no user serviceable parts, leave it alone" approach. It just works because they've removed the primary cause of things not working; tinkering users and unrestricted third-party software. The same locked-down approach might well mean that the Fire ultimately succeeds where other tablets haven't.

I think though that "it just works" is probably the second biggest selling point for the iPad. The first is "ooh, shiny," and somewhat further down the list is actually having a use for one. People want an iPad in the same way that I want a circular saw(*).

For me though, I have a specific niche in my tech needs, which is the hole left by my Psion 5. A tablet doesn't meet those needs because for all the on-screen keyboard might be great, I can't touch-type on one.

(* - I just do, alright?!)

The ability to watch a movie, browse the net, check my email and read a book in a format larger than my phone is just the ticket for me, instead of having 2 devices to do that.. kindle and netbook.

I've alway thought them a great idea, and just working without need to faff is a big, big draw to me (and I like faffing with computers)

Are those Vega expandable memory wise? 512MB is seemingly bugger all, when even a compressed avi to mp4 is easily 400mb's...assuming the vega' is capable playing a decent quality movie. And already above to make it more 'usable' they talk about replacing the OS.. faffing before you even get to use it! (maybe minor but still)

EDIT: wanting a circular saw is a natural man thing, I got given a cheap one, it scares the be-jesus out of me in use. Also have a chainsaw which my friend has helpfully confiscated from me (under the pretense of needing to use it)

Samsung do have a handy bike mount for their tablet though:

[img] [/img]
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2011/09/samsung-suggests-showing-off-your-tablet-to-potential-thieves-with-a-bike-mount/

What are they thinking with that bike mount? White forks, white saddle [b]black[/b] bar tape!

THAT. BIKE. MOUNT. IS. AWESOMZ!

Anyone got hold of an Arnova 7 G2 yet?

[i]Are those Vega expandable memory wise? 512MB is seemingly bugger all, when even a compressed avi to mp4 is easily 400mb's...assuming the vega' is capable playing a decent quality movie. And already above to make it more 'usable' they talk about replacing the OS.. faffing before you even get to use it! (maybe minor but still)[/i]

Yep, you can get SD cards for them, mine's got a 32G card in, it has a USB slot so you can plug just about USB device in there and it has a HDMI output port too for pushing stuff out to your big telly.

Mine plays movies fine. The speed increase from Gingerbread to Honeycomb was huge too. It went from just about acceptable to lightning fast.

I'd only add that getting the Honeycomb ROM is a bit of a faff but the guys who created it do give you excellent guides. The hardest bit is getting the drivers working properly on your PC.

Any apps available for the Vega that will store notes locally with encryption? - want something for work instead of either a crappy notepad or a heavy laptop to take notes on through the day but I can't leave it unencrypted.

Evernote is what I use on my phone but there doesn't seem to be encryption available using the app.

Just played with an Arnova and Vega - former much quicker, interesting that the honeycomb makes the latter faster (not like that for pcs!).

Money's probably going on an Arnova - less faff and I think I prefer that size. Saving £16!!!

good to have my thoughts corroborated at least a little bit. ANy more detail on what you like about it?

email from hmv, woohoo!

it's on its way

Hi STONER

Your order's in the post and should be with you soon. If you've pre-ordered, we'll aim to get it to you on the day of release (UK deliveries only).

Qty Format Artist Title Price Estimated Delivery
1 AC ARCHOS ARNOVA ARNOVA: 7" G2 8GB £119.99 2-5 days

Hmm - wasn't that impressed with the idea of tablets - certainly not at £400 for something almost as big as my 11" netbook and significantly less usable (this has a proper keyboard and can run any normal Windows SW - is fine for developing on). However £120 for something 7" starts seeming quite tempting.

However £120 for something 7" starts seeming quite tempting

And to some extent, that for me is the reason why this, Amazon Fire, etc actually are competition for iPads even if they're not the technical equals.

I reckon that if another year went past (I'm still waiting to hear on the tabs above and the Fire) with no serious competition for the iPad then I'd end up getting one. As it is I reckon there will be much cheaper alternatives (that suit what I actually want to do, not suggesting they'll technically match the iPad) and I'll get one of those instead.

And to some extent, that for me is the reason why this, Amazon Fire, etc actually are competition for iPads even if they're not the technical equals.

+1 - I basically want a tablet to read the news while I'm having breakfast, and maybe update my twitter feed while sitting in the garden connected to the WiFi. There's no way I can justify the cost of an iPad (or Xoom or whatever) to do that, however well-constructed it may be. That said, Android 2.3 would be nice!

I think the fire looks like it comes very short in the functionality compared to a descent tablet though.

Possibly - that's what I'm waiting to find out - but it'll be interesting to see what it's actually lacking.

almost as big as my 11" netbook and significantly less usable

Missing teh pointz of tablets, as per Cougar earlier.

Does your netbook have a touch screen? GPS? Accelerometers? IPS display? Two cameras? 10 hour battery? Does it weight 600g? Can it easily be held in one hand and read like a book?

Alternatively, do you have to fanny about with virus scanners, malware protection, Windows Updates, browser updates, security settings, etc etc

Basically the market is different. Yes netbooks are more flexible, but with that comes all the usual problems associated with a PC with software, hardware and form-factor. Tablets just work and have a much more usable form-factor for consuming media.

Amazon Fire, etc actually are competition for iPads even if they're not the technical equals.

More so for other Android tablets I think. Once someone has decided that they don't want to spring for an iPad, they are going to be left looking at the £120 Fire, a big pile of other £400 'droid tablets, and some horribly crippled sub-£200 junk.

How about the Asus padphone - no redundancy just use the phone as normal but put it in the padphone when you need the bigger screen:

http://event.asus.com/mobile/padfone/

Is that the one limited by the screen resolution or O/S (phone version) of the phone?
Absolutely cracking idea otherwise.. & all of the 'extra' devices have their own batteries!

It'll be the OS version on the phone I would think but it will be a big faux par if the screen res is limited.

that padphone is an interesting idea.

I was thinking of something along similar lines but say more like a 7" tablet with a slide out BT earwig/headset.

I think the fire looks like it comes very short in the functionality compared to a descent tablet though

(addit) that padphone is a great idea

16gb Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" 3G in Tescos today for £150.

@stoner: Uh...the Arnova just seemed a little slicker - screen, colours, smoothness of animation, speed, body, everything really (i.e. more like an iPad 😛 )

I think it's the size & weight mostly though - I can grab 7" with both hands (ooh-er) and type with my thumbs. Probbers gonna order online tonight.

One really odd thing with the Vega was typing in portrait - the keyboard takes up about half the screen, so they keys are tall and not placed where you'd expect them - made it useless.

Well, after spotting the Arnova in HMV last week and being quite impressed, I went looking for reviews, didn't find any and figured it was probably junk.

But after seeing this thread I went out and bought one. Ihave to say I'm impressed all over again!

I have nothing to compare it to however, not being a fan of apple things.

(unless they've been very clever) I'd give it a fortnight, max, before somebody has it rooted. Maybe a month or two for a full new software rom

Amazon are quite relaxed about the device being rooted apparently, sounds like they're not going to put measures in place to try and stop it.

I had a Advent Vega that I hacked with the Modaco rom,was very good for the 3 days that it stayed working,screen packed up on the 4th day so was not that impressed with it after that.

Have had a play around with several tablets at the weekend in John Lewis,
Motorola Xoom still seems like a overpriced Vega.
New Sony Tablet works well but is a odd shape,did not feel comfortable in the hand,Playstation(original) games on it had dire graphics.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was very impressive,quick,light,very thin and worked well.

I have used the BB Playbook and although nicely built and decent screen just does not seem to have much going for it.
HTC flyer was fantastic but very expensive for the size.
There was a Asus or Acer as well but did not get chance to play on it as SWMBO was nagging.

I currently have the original Ipad and think the Samsung Galaxy would be the only one to tempt me away.

that padphone is an interesting idea

That interface is going be a weak point though
They always are
I'm sure it's undergone plenty of user testing but these sort of things alway fail in the end
We have a few different bits of test kit with detachable parts (remotes etc) and they always go

Well, after spotting the Arnova in HMV last week and being quite impressed, I went looking for reviews, didn't find any and figured it was probably junk.

But after seeing this thread I went out and bought one. Ihave to say I'm impressed all over again!

that's kind of how Ive been feeling blob.

It just seemed so much smoother and slicker than past android efforts -not just at that price point, but even much, much higher, so it seemed a bit remarkable, and Ive had to have a second take.

the Arnova just seemed a little slicker - screen, colours, smoothness of animation, speed, body, everything really

eggzactly.

i need to investigate this arnova 🙂 is the screen measured diagonally?

yes

That PhonePad thing looks like an excellent idea, if the increased screen real estate actually means a higher resolution screen. If it just turns a 4" WVGA display into a 10.1" WVGA display, I can get the same result by holding my phone closer to my face.

My current phone is qHD (960×540). That means it's actually a 'bigger' screen than the Arnova 7(*) and not all that far off the 10's 1024x600. Tell me again why I need a tablet?

(* - which is 800x480. That's despite claiming "Full 1080p" playback, which is just bloody cheeky when what they mean is that it'll play 1080p videos at 480px. By that argument, my old 14" Pye CRT was HD ready.).

Missing teh pointz of tablets, as per Cougar earlier.

The other question of course is how important all those features you mention really are - I'm struggling to see how I'm losing out significantly having a proper usable keyboard (and decent touchpad) compared to a touchscreen when I want to type stuff. Why an IPS display and something I can hold in one hand are better for viewing the screen than something with a hinge in the middle I can get a good viewing angle without having to hold it. Can't say I ever have a problem with my 4 hour battery life (you can get netbooks with 10 - I compromised for more power), and wonder how often typical tablet users need that much. Oh, and I have GPS (and 3G, something a lot of tablets appear to lack!) Trying to help you out and remember the last time I had to fanny about with virus scanners, updates etc., but struggling, as once I'd got it set up it just works.

I've ordered one too.

Cougar - Member
My current phone is qHD (960×540). That means it's actually a 'bigger' screen than the Arnova 7(*) and not all that far off the 10's 1024x600. Tell me again why I need a tablet?

If by "bigger", you actually mean smaller, then yes, you are correct.

aracer - Member
The other question of course is how important all those features you mention really are - I'm struggling to see how I'm losing out significantly having a proper usable keyboard (and decent touchpad) compared to a touchscreen when I want to type stuff. Why an IPS display and something I can hold in one hand are better for viewing the screen than something with a hinge in the middle I can get a good viewing angle without having to hold it*. Can't say I ever have a problem with my 4 hour battery life (you can get netbooks with 10 - I compromised for more power), and wonder how often typical tablet users need that much**. Oh, and I have GPS (and 3G, something a lot of tablets appear to lack!) Trying to help you out and remember the last time I had to fanny about with virus scanners, updates etc., but struggling, as once I'd got it set up it just works***.

*cos it's smaller and easier to hold.

**due to that they are easier to travel with - where battery life may be a factor

*** so do tablets.

mine's languishing in a Kidderminster warehouse 🙁

Well, I played with mine until well into the night (and my Arnova tablet - fnar.) and I like it. It's responsive and easy to navigate, funnily enough I found the most 'laggy' thing was viewing this site on it, but I think the STW pages are quite heavy in terms of content and it was by no means difficult to use.

Sound quality when playing from the SD card is good (through amp and speakers), the wi-fi streaming app that's available works from my NAS drive although the SQ then is really quite poor.

The down side is that it only comes with Applib, not the full Andriod Marketplace and I'm not sure that there is a work-round for this just yet (it's too new by the looks of things). So no Spotify or other quite useful apps as they're not approved on Applib. I'm sure this will be resolved soon (if not by someone on here telling me how to get it....please?)

Just bought the 7" G2 at lunchtime. Currently using my Galaxy S2 as a WIFI hotspot and I'm browsing on the Arnova.

Very slick and no noticeable difference from being connected via wifi on the Galaxy. Video playback is good too based on the built in demo video. The UI feels familiar due to my experience with the Galaxy.

Overall, very impressed so far based on an hour of playing. For £120 it's excellent VFM

good to hear bob/blob.

This might work BTW
http://www.arctablet.com/blog/archos-tablet/android-market-3-0-26-archos-gen8-devices/

If by "bigger", you actually mean smaller, then yes, you are correct.

Clearly 960×540 pixels is a bigger screen than 800 x 480 pixels.

*cos it's smaller and easier to hold.

**due to that they are easier to travel with - where battery life may be a factor

*** so do tablets

aracer - to spoil your fun I am a netbook devotee (I own two of them) but there is a place in my life for a 7" pad - think of it more as a rich media machine. Ipod+++. I want one for browsing, ebooks, podcasts, videos and choons. I can do all that on my netbook, but sometimes I dont want to carry it around, and just want something that I can put in a pocket knowing its sync'd and full of easy to consume content for the train journey/morning shit.

Anyone found a decent case/ protector for the 7" G2?

kiddin? my G2 hasnt even arrived yet and Im the one that recommended it!!! And you two come wandering in here lah-dee-dahing about how good it is.

Its worse than the football spoilers!

bstards.
😉