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I've been doing some research for buying an android tablet for about a month now. Things that have become a must for me:
512mb (or better) of ram
Tegra 2 cpu
Around 10" high res (enough for honeycomb) screen
Under $500
Rootable, and has good dev support
Most you will be thinking, "you're describing the viewsonic g-tab, right?" Well, that's mainly what I'm thinking about. I'm wondering if there are any other great tablets that I'm missing. Any advice, comments or whatever would be appreciated. Thanks!
Id stay away from the g-tablet. The specs seem great for the price, but the screen is a HUGE disappointment. The viewing angles are terrible, it washes out when moved the slightest bit. In fact, straight on doesn't even seem to be the best angle.
I didn't even bother rooting mine, which anyone would want to do since the tap n tap UI on it is terrible. The screen was an immediate dealbreaker. My flytouch 2 screen is leaps and bounds better, and that's kinda sad since it was less than half the price of a g-tablet.
Philthechil said:
I've been doing some research for buying an android tablet for about a month now. Things that have become a must for me:
512mb (or better) of ram
Tegra 2 cpu
Around 10" high res (enough for honeycomb) screen
Under $500
Rootable, and has good dev support
Most you will be thinking, "you're describing the viewsonic g-tab, right?" Well, that's mainly what I'm thinking about. I'm wondering if there are any other great tablets that I'm missing. Any advice, comments or whatever would be appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're looking for something that doesn't exist yet. The best bet will probably be the Tablet Toshiba is dropping soon, assuming its around that price. Otherwise you might as well keep waiting with me.
Ah, ok. I had been hearing that. I didn't think it played that much into it. I wish I could buy one just to test it out
mobius999 said:
Id stay away from the g-tablet. The specs seem great for the price, but the screen is a HUGE disappointment. The viewing angles are terrible, it washes out when moved the slightest bit. In fact, straight on doesn't even seem to be the best angle.
I didn't even bother rooting mine, which anyone would want to do since the tap n tap UI on it is terrible. The screen was an immediate dealbreaker. My flytouch 2 screen is leaps and bounds better, and that's kinda sad since it was less than half the price of a g-tablet.
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Click to collapse
The view angle of the G Tablet certainly could be better, but this guy is exaggerating too much. The screen looks terrific when seen at the best angle. And I can highly recommend the G Tablet for you. It isn't perfect but no Tablet out there for any price is perfect.
Thanks guys for your input. I've decided I'm just gonna have to go with the risk and buy one. If the viewing angles really are that bad, I'll simply re-sell it on ebay
Viewsonic Gtab
Viewing angle is NOT that bad, accessories are the problem. Can't find them in the US! But once you get a good rom on it, I have had no regrets dropping a few hundred on the toy.
Notice I say toy, cause there is no 'need' for this equipment yet. No honeycomb, no easy out of the box use, but I enjoy the speedy vegan tab rom and have used it for movies, email, and just tom-foolery android apks. Get an atom laptop if you want something out of the box that is based on functionality if you need to buy before Q4 2011.
I have a g-tab, like it more than the ipad I had.
You should check out the Barnes and Noble Nook Color! I got one just for the ereader and have since rooted it and then even installed CM7. The only thing it doesn't have is a camera and Bluetooth mic support(yet).
BN really under sold its capabilities. It is the little tablet tablet could...
P.S. the dev community is amazing around it...
klaiii said:
You should check out the Barnes and Noble Nook Color! I got one just for the ereader and have since rooted it and then even installed CM7. The only thing it doesn't have is a camera and Bluetooth mic support(yet).
BN really under sold its capabilities. It is the little tablet tablet could...
P.S. the dev community is amazing around it...
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Click to collapse
As much as I agree with how awesome the value of the Nook color is... It doesn't meet any of his requirements.
I believe the Acer Iconia Tab and Asus EEE transformer meets all of your needs and price range.
I have Toshiba Folio 100 and I'm not happy with it, little dev support, bad screen, lots of bugs that Toshiba don't fix and if you buy one, you'll surly get one with bad part(s), because Toshiba made bad parts and every tablet has another parts. New Toshiba tablet seems OK, but I won't buy any from Toshiba. I have same problem and I'll wait. In near future(2012), tablets will better and they'll have dual boot(android,ubuntu;androd, windows 8), faster processors(nvidia quad core processor), new OS's(windows 8, ubuntu, android ice cream sandwich tbat will be universal, chrome os) and the best of all, they'll cheaper!
After this, I think you will wait
I have the Acer Iconia A500 Tab which was bought in Germany.
Has a few small issues as you would expect from a fresh honeycomb device but nothing that you couldnt live with until Acer put out the update for Honeycomb 3.1 before the end of June.
If you can get past the little niggles, it has an excellent screen with amazing viewing angles, bright, crisp and clear. Fantastic build quality, including a thin brushed aluminium skin and a reasonable weight that wont flare up your RSI.
After the usual tweaks and additional root apps for improved battery life, you can quite happily use the device constantly for between 10-12 hours (mixed media)
has 1gb of ram, 32gb space, wireless -n, USB, Mini USB, Mini HDMI, encryption etc etc etc.
Baring in mind that it is almost 'stock' honeycomb 3.0 (Still includes the mobile phone elements even though this is wifi only, there is a reason bhind the choice ), i believe the slab has a lot of potential and cant wait till people start improving it.
Im very happy with the device so far and fully expecting the issues to be resolved in the first customised version of the 3.1 update from Acer.
All for 499 Euro
There's your deal...
Hello,
I am planning to buy a tablet this month. I am a medical student who wants to use the tablet mainly for pdf eBook reading, web browsing, -playing games sometimes, and writing notes and schedules. Here i am really confused. Should i go for 32 gb xoom 499$ or 32 gb galaxy tab 599$
Please give me some suggestions. I am getting tired of reading 5star reviews of these two competitors everyday.
The xoom has connections built in so you don't need to go buy adapters like you do for the galaxy tab 10.1. The galaxy tab is very thin but it feels cheap and weak. The xoom is built like a tank and yes it is a bit heavier but honestly you get used to it after a couple hours. If you live in states you will get all updates direct from Google so that's a plus.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App
agreed with the post above. I just played with the galaxy tab 10.1 at best buy today, I have the xoom and I must say I like the xoom better. It is pretty much connection built in or buy the connections, lightweight or middle weight (i dont think its THAT heavy =P)
OMG
OMG DEFINITELY XOOM. Just bought my xoom from staples. Galaxy tab doesnt have any way of adding storage (GAY!!!!!!) and the 16gb model is same as 32 gb xoom. Screw that noise. Not to mention the Galaxy tab is made from melted down kids meal toys. Get the xoom and you wont regret that decision.
Seriously
Seriously i love samsung and their products. (own a samsung epic 4g) But they seriously messed up with the new galaxy tab. So that makes 2 disappointing tablets they made. They may just need to stick to making phones.
I traded in my two week old Galaxy tab for Xoom yesterday because of the $100 Staples coupon. $399 Xoom definitely beats $599 Galaxy.
pros to galaxy: the difference in weight is noticeable; galaxy wins. Screen quality is better. Speakers are way better; touchwiz, the soon-to-be-released-but-easily-installed ui is nice, and includes an excellent pdf reader
pros to Xoom: much more stability in software function: less keyboard lag, better response to screen orientation changes, etc. Overall much smoother experience. I think updated android is partly to thank, but that too is a significant advantage to xoom.
I had the Xoom, returned it for the Transformer, then returned the Transformer for the Galaxy tab 10.1. I will be keeping the 10.1 and love it.
The Xoom screen is TERRIBLE and it's way too heavy. And up until recently the Xoom was the most expensive tablet on the market, despite having the worst features.
The Transformer was just a big POS. Software was extremely slow on laggy, build quality was abysmal.
I have no need for microSD or HDMI so that was no big deal for me. what I wanted was a light tablet with a wonderful screen and high build quality. The Galaxy tab 10.1 is the only one that gives me that.
What the Xoom has going for it is that it is the first to get Honeycomb updates, and it's built like a tank (in a good way, meaning it's sturdy).
I would use the $100 Staples coupon and get the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Thankfully it is still shipping without Touchwiz, since I don't like how Touchwiz tries to make Honeycomb look like iOS (seriously Samsung, get off of Apple's nuts already, it's embarrassing).
I personally think the flyer would be better suited for a medical environment.
raihankabir_1 said:
Hello,
I am planning to buy a tablet this month. I am a medical student who wants to use the tablet mainly for pdf eBook reading, web browsing, -playing games sometimes, and writing notes and schedules. Here i am really confused. Should i go for 32 gb xoom 499$ or 32 gb galaxy tab 599$
Please give me some suggestions. I am getting tired of reading 5star reviews of these two competitors everyday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if your going to get a SGT 10.1 expect to return them A LOT. They have screen issues and if they don't happen in the first day then they will happen in the first week.
I am looking to buying an Android Honeycomb tablet. What is the best one out there right now for the money? ($500 MAX)
From what I have looked at I think it is the Galaxy Tab 10.1 but I wanted to get a second opinion as I have not had any hands on with it.
jedinegotiator said:
I am looking to buying an Android Honeycomb tablet. What is the best one out there right now for the money? ($500 MAX)
From what I have looked at I think it is the Galaxy Tab 10.1 but I wanted to get a second opinion as I have not had any hands on with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the Galaxy Tab.
Best Honeycomb Tablet
Or the Nook Color, if you are willing to do some work on it, namely rooting and flashing ROMs.
I personally believe the xoom is the best tablet out there for the money. The xoom is $500 for a wifi only with 32 gigabytes of storage. The galaxy tab 10.1 is $600 for a 32 gig model. The xoom is a google experience device. That means that if you get a galaxy tab 10.1 you are going to be stuck on android 3.1 while your friends with xooms will be enjoying android 3.2.1. Any future updates will also be received faster on the xoom. When ice cream sandwich comes out you will probably wait months more than the xoom will have to wait. The xoom is a bit heavier and thicker than the galaxy tab. I have a xoom, so I am inclined to say what is good about it. Many people dislike the size of the xoom, but I believe that the xoom feels of higher quality than the galaxy tab. The frame of the galaxy seems more fragile, while the xooms feels robust. Matter what the galaxy tab is still lighter though. The one thing that is deffinitely superior about the galaxy tab though, is its screen. It is a bit more vibrant than the xooms. The xoom also has an sdcard that is by now fully functional. The galaxy tab does not have one which means no external storage. I will make a short list at the bottom.
Xoom
pros.
.sdcard support
.fast updates
.good build
.developer device
cons.
Weight
Galaxy tab 10.1
pros.
good screen.
.touchwiz ux
cons
sluggish updates.
no sdcard
cheap build:
P.S. if this helped you, or you appreciate me typing this up, please give that thanks button a good old push
Was just wondering
i see that you are in love with your xoom i am also about to buy a tablet now that its been a few months are there any changes you would like to say about the xoom is it still the best tablet youve played with the 10" screen is a must have and i will not purchase apple
Archos 101 G9 is great, IMHO. toshiba thrive is also sweet, and the acer a100 can be found for damn chap.
For $399, the Asus Transformer can not be beat. Asus also updates their tablets super quick. The Transformer has the 3.21 update and the tablet overall is excellent in every aspect. It will most likely have ICS before the end of the year. If you don't mind waiting a bit, get the Transformer Prime which will have Nvidia's Tegra 3 which is a quad core CPU....it will probably be like 3 times faster than the original while getting more battery life and better video/graphics performance. I don't know what the price-point for it will be but if the original Transformer is any indication, it will be affordable.
I have the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wifi 16gb for $479 at Costco. Honestly it's pretty nice. It's a lot quicker then the Acer Iconia A500 that I returned. Though I lost ports. I'm sacrificing that for a faster and smoother ride. Everything seems to load so much faster. And I love the screen! Capacitive TFT. True HD experience. You can really see the difference when watching in HD. Colors are more deeper and crisp. I just bought some accessories to help me in the ports issue And since I bought mine at Costco. I can always return it within 90 days no questions asked and get whatever tablet that comes out within that span. hehehe
(There is no sd slot for the Galaxy Tab, so you get what you pay for. honestly I don't see myself going past 16gb anyways I have my external HDs and laptop to do the heavy work.)
I have tried Motorola XOOM, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Acer Iconia A500. For me Galaxy Tab is not the 'snappiest' android out there, somehow I feel A500 is faster than Galaxy tab -may be due to the Honeycomb version.
Motorol XOOM has a 'premium' feel when you hold em... try it.
How about kindle fire?
never had much luck with anything acer seems like a cheaper brand to me thank all of you on your fast replies...
---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:24 PM ----------
Essedf said:
How about kindle fire?
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Click to collapse
you can easily root the kindle fire there are a few setbacks though it only has 8gb of storage and no expansion slots and currently only has access to to amazon app market you will not b able to use android market at the current time amazon even says go ahead and root we wont be upset or stop you but you will be limited its a good feel if you are a book reader and also like a to surf a LITTLE there will be no point in youtubin or much else ......imho..... depends what your tryng to achieve
I think it is the Galaxy Tab
I keep thinking I've decided on a particular 7" tablet...but I never actually make up my mind. But I know I do want one in general. Nothing 10", that's just too big. 8.9 or 9 is fine.
Lately I've been looking at the 3G HTC Flyer, but the ~$450 price tag, single-core processor, and lack of keyboard dock option kinda sucks. There's the Wifi version for about $250, but I feel like I'd be cheaping out by not going with the 3G version that can also make phone calls.
The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus (~$300) has an optional keyboard dock, but it doesn't offer USB/HDMI/etc. ports or anything really other than the physical keyboard, and kinda sucks that you can only use it in one way. It's a nice tablet other than that, though.
The T-Mobile Springboard (Huawei Mediapad, ~$300) seems nice for the resolution and build quality, but support and developer community is basically non-existent and I'm not sure about Huawei in terms of reliability and whatnot.
Kindle Fire ($200) seems nice and simple, and I have a Prime membership so the VOD selection would be a nice feature not easily available on other tablets (at the moment at least). But the lack of physical volume buttons or official Market support kinda sucks - not that I particularly need it, though.
Used to have a Streak 7 and liked the build quality, but the screen resolution was kinda low and the screen as a whole wasn't too good, and the battery life wasn't too good either.
There's the LG G-Slate at around $350, but it's kinda heavy and LG kinda sucks with support/updates; the optional charging dock is nice.
The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is a great tablet overall, but the ~$600 pricetag is kinda hard to swallow.
Suggestions?
Kogan 7, 8 or 10
If you go to the official Kogan site, they sell 7" tablets for £119, 8" £150 and 10" £180 ish. They are not very well known but surprisingly cheap. Each one has a Capacitive (touch sensitive) screen with multi touch and a 1GHz processor.
moose.splash1 said:
If you go to the official Kogan site, they sell 7" tablets for £119, 8" £150 and 10" £180 ish. They are not very well known but surprisingly cheap. Each one has a Capacitive (touch sensitive) screen with multi touch and a 1GHz processor.
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Click to collapse
Nothing against those tablets in particular, but I'd probably sooner go with a used Nook Color and CM7; in general, though, my major complaint with my phone is that watching HD videos isn't really possible with the processor, so I'd prefer a dual-core tablet.
I would get the Galaxy Tab, great for the money, plus I am pretty sure that you can get a usb adapter. And I think there is an ICS rom available.
I personally use an Asus Transformer for daily use but I just bought an Iview Cypad for my son it a 7" model. Sold alrdy ROOTED
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16858683003
It even has a Dev with functional ICS on it alrdy.
http://tabletrepublic.com/forum/cor...allwinner-a10-tablet-official-thread-883.html
techno-update said:
I would get the Galaxy Tab, great for the money, plus I am pretty sure that you can get a usb adapter. And I think there is an ICS rom available.
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Click to collapse
Which one - the 7.0 or 7.7?
zedorda said:
I personally use an Asus Transformer for daily use but I just bought an Iview Cypad for my son it a 7" model. Sold alrdy ROOTED
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16858683003
It even has a Dev with functional ICS on it alrdy.
http://tabletrepublic.com/forum/cor...allwinner-a10-tablet-official-thread-883.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh, just like the other tablets posted here, they're kinda lacking in power for me and I'd rather stick to brands I know or have heard of.
how much of a hurry are you in to get a tablet? do you need it right now because if you can hold out there is not a date confirmed of launch yet but the 7" transformer prime is rumored to be launched at around the 250-300 price range with tegra 3 and ics when it launches and is supossed to have the same kind of keyboard dock as the tf101 and tf201. that is if you can hold off on the purchase a few months till the summer time. i personally love my asus transformer and a 7" inch version would just be amazing.
burnout-420 said:
how much of a hurry are you in to get a tablet? do you need it right now because if you can hold out there is not a date confirmed of launch yet but the 7" transformer prime is rumored to be launched at around the 250-300 price range with tegra 3 and ics when it launches and is supossed to have the same kind of keyboard dock as the tf101 and tf201. that is if you can hold off on the purchase a few months till the summer time. i personally love my asus transformer and a 7" inch version would just be amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that's not a bad idea, to at least hold off until more details arrive. I don't think I'll have the money for a tablet at least for a month anyway. Of course, it would be nice tp have a tablet lined up until then, if it turns out to be a flop or something. Plus, it'd be nice to be able to make GSM calls with either the 3G Flyer or Tab 7.7, which I doubt the 7" Asus will have.
that is very true. i had forgot that you were interested in the phone feature in a tablet as well. i was also interest in this feature but sacrificed when i got the 10" transformer because the keyboard dock notebook effect had me sold as soon as it was launched . If you are seriously interested in the phone then the new 7.7" galaxy tab is a very nice piece and the one for you. i just held one the other day and played with it at the mall its really nice. Plus if you are still saving for another month or so, the longer wait the lower the 7.7" will drop in price by the time you are ready to make your purchase.
magus57 said:
Nothing against those tablets in particular, but I'd probably sooner go with a used Nook Color and CM7; in general, though, my major complaint with my phone is that watching HD videos isn't really possible with the processor, so I'd prefer a dual-core tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, the Advent Vega is also a pretty good tablet for the price. Its about 200 and has a 1Ghz dual core processor that can be over clocked to 1.2 Ghz. My Vega is running Honey ice (a honeycomb rom) which is amazing! my site is Silverbean Android btw so search it on Google and I have a few tablet reviews and videos. I'm also on Google plus if anyone's interested
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA
So the topic was previously about getting rid if my phone and tablet for a Note 2, but after using Splashtop to play a desktop PC game on my tablet...I definitely want to keep one for the screen size. Unfortunately, the tablet (Toshiba Thrive 10" 32GB) isn't fast enough to play games adequately smooth (and I know its not my connection as same game/settings are much smoother on my Galaxy Nexus). Seeing how much they go for and all the accessories I have and recently purchased, I can easily get at least $300 for it, maybe as much as $400 if I'm lucky.
Anyway, I'm definitely looking for a powerful, quad-core tablet here, and I know the Nexus 7 is the go-to tablet to recommend, but I may want something a bit bigger in screen size (although the 32GB version at the $250 price sure is nice...). That being said, it doesn't have to be 1080p or have amazing viewing angles - basically as long as its not an utterly bad screen.
Right now, I'm leaning toward a Note 10.1 16GB 3G since it can double as a phone, and the pen input would be nice (although no real use as I don't take handwritten notes outside of school and don't do any graphic design and whatnot), but for that same ~$600 I can pick up an ASUS Infinity 64GB or a 32GB plus keyboard dock. And $600 is a lot for something when I already have a tablet that can do basically everything I want it to other than remote desktop gaming.
The Sony Xperia Tablet S doesn't really appeal to me, but feel free to try and sell me on it, whenever it goes back on sale, since I don't know what it has over the competition.
Acer Iconia tablets don't appeal to me when ASUS seems to be the better option a majority of the time.
I wouldn't mind the Toshiba Excite 10 or especially the 7.7, but the lack of support has me worried (although Toshiba seems good with support - granted, it took a while, but the Thrive 7, a tablet that sold poorly, still got an ICS update recently).
Any suggestions?
So I slimmed down my options to the following (all under $400, which ideally is my limit after considering my uses and current financial standing):
-Toshiba Excite 7.7 16GB - I can get it for about $350 with tax/shipped through a friend, and it seems like a pretty good choice in every department (screen particularly) except for support (locked bootloader with small dev community)
-Galaxy Nexus 7 32GB (when it arrives) - about $290 with tax/shipped through Google, and looks to be great except that it's 7", which is kinda bordering on too small for me for my use
-Asus Transformer TF300T 32GB - seems like I can get one around $350 with tax/shipped in scratch-free condition (and the 16GB version doesn't go for much less), and seems to be the best 10" tablet for the price
Of course, I'm going to wait until the 29th to see what Google has upcoming - if there's going to be a 10" tablet like rumors say, and it's under or around $400, that's probably going to get heavy consideration. Until then, any advice? I'm considering dropping the Excite 7.7 off that list based on lack of support alone...