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question about buying a tablet

Hi peeps been looking around at the android tablets on the market and wondering if i should take the plunge?.Thought i would ask here as you guys probably have more experiance than most.Can you recomend a couple?, i'm not looking to spend a fortune just want something that covers most bases and doesnt struggle to run the usual suspects.HDMI out would be a plus but any ideas you can offer or just give me ideas on what not to buy.Any helps good, thanx in advance.

I have a smoldering interest in a tablet as well but I will continue to hold off as my Lenovo X61t and Windows Phone compliment each other pretty well and I don't "need" one.
However, I have taken note of the Archos' that were just released. The general feeling is that they feel cheap in build quality but the price and performance is right there. This is engadgets take on the two tablets they have.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/24/archos-70-and-101-internet-tablet-review/
I have used the Samsung Galaxy S and it is a nice device. Gotta be honest though, nothing seems to be "more complete than the ipad", just in terms of docks, jailbreaking, best apps, etc.
There are so many 'knock offs' in this category, let us know what you find!

I agree in the upset front, it's a great piece of kit but I refuse to spend that kind if money. Have found plenty of cheap ones, and I don't mind the price tag but most are just a bit gutless lol. But yeah likewise bring the info if you find something good.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Back again, on the subject off cheapo knock off tablets have you seen the a-ok pad lol now don't laugh. I could be persuaded to gamble on something as (shall we say rough) if it ticked the right boxes. Anybody heard if them? Any horror stories?
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Buying a new tablet
I'm in the market for a tablet, and have taken my sweet time for the last 3 months researching and looking for the best one to buy. I've done my fair share of research and now i'm asking you: Should I buy the ASUS Transformer Prime with the dock, od should i wait for samsung/htc/moto/lenovo/acer... next-gen tablet? My fear is you see, that I'll buy The Prime, and that it won't be supported by some software develeopers, and left out in the cold with some apps, or not on par with the next-gen 2012 tablets. I want the best hardware specs, possible future windows 8 compatibility, preferably tegra device, 3g isn't a must, nor GPS but preferred. I don't mind waiting for a few more months since this would be my first tablet, wich i don't really need. NO IOS/IPad talk please, android tablet only (but like i said, with a possibility of win8 in the future). Any reasonable advice is more than welcome, and thank you all very much in advance!

IIRC Asus Prime will begin getting ICS/4.0 Jan 12th.
With that said, I would definitely play around with one before buying. Numerous reported issues that can't really be fixed through OTA's or software. (GPS, WIFI, light bleed, glass/screen loose from rest of tab).
Typical Asus if you ask me, crapshoot on quality.
Also depends on what you want in a tab. If you don't really want to play around/mod/customize then I think the Ipad 2 or hold out a couple of months for an Ipad 3 would be your best bet.
If you have to have an Android you have one of two options. Wait for more quad core tabs to be released, or start looking at what's available now.
Samsung 7.0 Plus is probably the best out for 7"ers.
For the 10"ers it's a toss up right now. Galaxy Tab 10.1 has good support, decent performance, light, easy to hold, good screen, great speakers (for a tab). It's cons to me are the Tegra 2 isn't up to snuff with Honeycomb OS.
The HP Touchpad is a great buy for the OS and specs, and can also be ported to Android (Still need to play with one)
Asus Transformer TF101 is also a good buy but again a crapshoot on quality but can be had for a good price.
The new Moto Xyboards are getting good reviews but they are overpriced for what they are, are only sold through VZW and were "technically" outdated before they were even released. Also locked bootloaders are never fun if flashing kernels are your thing.
Right now I'm looking at getting another tab so I guess you could say I'm in the same boat as you. I have an OG Galaxy Tab 7 on the way b/c I got it cheaper than cheap and just wanna play with it.
Considering picking up an 8" Xyboard also.
ETA: I probably won't pick up a Xyboard however until they come down in price or a WiFi only version is offered.
The SGT 7.7 also sounds promising. Decisions decisions.

First of all, thank you for the fast and torough reply... And yes, sweet sweet decisions
I forgot to say that I'm in the market for a 10" minimum tablet, don't want smthng smaller 'cause i allready have an SGSII so I'm covered for mobility.
As for ASUS's build quality, like I said I never owned a tablet so I definately will try out/play with one for a couple of hours before purchasing, and watch out for the screen bleed on an ips display. But currently most of my pc's componens (2xmobo, 2xgraphic cards, and a lappy) are ASUS made and i must say i'm more than satisfied with them, and as I recall, when I was buying my SGSII there was talk about screen burn-in, overheating and wifi problems too, but I haven't had a single one with my device. Besides that, I don't really need GPS or 3g in a tablet so it's not a dealbreaker with me on The Prime.
The problem is: I wouldn't buy any other tablet now existing in the market, mostly because of the Tegra3 chipset The Prime has, so if I'm paying a hi-end device (around 700$) i want the latest and fastest performer in the ring. And yes, in my book that is android only, as i find apple's devices a bit limiting sometimes (without any fanboyism, I come from a long line of iphones before my android). The things I'm worried hardware-wise are: the amount and speed of Prime's RAM (1gb od ddr2), possible wifi signal problems, screen bleed, and that it's topheavy when docked (a minor thing really). I love that it has a full USB 2.0 port, so you don't need a jack/ adapter of some kind (e.g. like on a SGSII microUSB to full USB). Not really worried about the one speaker layout eather, altough i was a bit dissapointed since the TF101 had a stereo layout, but still, not a dealbreaker (hey, it's still a tablet)...
Now you may laugh at this seeing your sig, but in my mobile history (25+ phones) the worst were accually motorolas (v3 being the worst of the lot, but than again A925 was more than excellent) I'm not so fond of HP either, last month i sold my DV6 3020em, (that's the i7 touchscreen version for Europe since i'm european), and i can say it was utter rubbish, overheating, shoddy build quality, squeaky, noisy fans, you name it... That's why I sold it, but it had a touchscreen which was more than handy, and that's why i want a tablet, I just might look a bit more into the HP touchpad after all.
Acer is great quality for it's price, really great. But I only had Acer's laptops, and the Iconia tablet is as ugly as a bullfrog from chernobyl, so I wouldn't want one.
Tf101 is ugly too by my standards, too big as well, but the looks aren't so important if it was an excellent performer, which none of the now available androids are compared to The Prime (at least not on honeycomb).
I played with samsung 8.9 a few days ago and I can report is't a great little device, thin, capable, satisfying all in all, but i'd like a bigger screen, and a real keyboard and it's not a tegra device (I play a lot of games so i'd like the tegra zone, as chainfire's plugins don't support all tegra tweaked games)
Now I do like to install a new ROM every few weeks on my SGSII but i srsly don't think that will be the case on a tablet (except Win 8, when it comes out).
So i guess the question remains: should i wait for Samsung's next gen 10.1 answer or just go with the prime now
P.S. sorry for my poor english

cavkic said:
First of all, thank you for the fast and torough reply... And yes, sweet sweet decisions
I forgot to say that I'm in the market for a 10" minimum tablet, don't want smthng smaller 'cause i allready have an SGSII so I'm covered for mobility.
As for ASUS's build quality, like i said i never owned a tablet so I definately will try out/play with one for a couple of hours before purchasing, and watch out for the screen bleed on an ips display. But currently most of my pc's componens (2xmobo, 2xgraphic cards, and a lappy) are ASUS made and i must say i'm more than satisfied with them, and as I recall, when I was buying my SGSII there was talk about screen burn-in, overheating and wifi problems too, but I haven't had a single one with my device. Besides that, I don't really need GPS or 3g in a tablet so it's not a dealbreaker with me on The Prime.
The problem is: I wouldn't buy any other tablet now existing in the market, mostly because of the Tegra3 chipset The Prime has, so if I'm paying a hi-end device (around 700$) i want the latest and fastest performer in the ring. And yes, in my book that is android only, as i find apple's devices a bit limiting sometimes (without any fanboyism, I come from a long line of iphones before my android). The only thing I'm worried hardware-wise is the amount and speed of Prime's RAM (1gb od ddr2), possible wifi signal problems, screen bleed, and that it's topheavy when docked (a minor thing really). I love that it has a full USB 2.0 port, so you don't need a jack/ adapter of some kind (e.g. like on a SGSII microUSB to full USB). Not really worried about the one speaker layout eather, altough i was a bit dissapointed since the TF101 had a stereo layout, but still, not a dealbreaker (hey, it's still a tablet)...
So i guess the question remains: should i wait for Samsung's next gen 10.1 answer or just go with the prime now
P.S. sorry for my poor english
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Click to collapse
Don't jump the gun on the Prime until stock has settled in, right now retailers are price gouging due to low availability. The Prime should be $500 for the 32GB, $600 for the 64GB, not $650-700 for the 32GB.
I have a Transformer and an Iconia Tab A100, and I can tell you from first hand experience that the build quality isn't nearly as bad as the above poster is making it out to be. I actually like the finish on both the original Transformer and the Iconia series a lot, and the Prime seems to be a winner also. Another thing to consider for both ASUS and Acer is that they keep their Android releases relatively 'vanilla' except for a few bloatware-type apps of their own, unlike Samsung and HTC, who just can't help themselves but smear TouchWiz and Sense over everything they produce.
The only real reported issue with the Prime appears to be the GPS accuracy, but at least to me, it's a non-issue, since I disable GPS and bluetooth on everything.
The Windows 8 bit is yet to be seen, porting a device to another OS is something you can hope, but never hold your breath for. We've yet to see how Windows 8 distribution is going to work and remember that even if you do install Windows 8 down the road, it doesn't mean that you'll be able to run all windows-based programs, since mobile devices use ARM CPUs, and everything written for windows right now is made for x86 CPUs, so it will be up to each third party to rewrite their programs for compatibility.
Although I would never write out a company with pockets as deep as microsoft, they have proven time and time again that they are unable to compete in the mobile segment, so I don't see Windows 8 with as much hope and awe as many others do. (Especially since Ice Cream Sandwich is the first Android iteration we can really call "excellent")
TL;DR - If you can find a Prime for a decent price, then it's an amazing device to be had for a very reasonable price. If you plan on waiting, then checking out the upcoming Iconia A700 isn't a bad idea either if the dock isn't that important to you.

littleemp said:
Don't jump the gun on the Prime until stock has settled in, right now retailers are price gouging due to low availability. The Prime should be $500 for the 32GB, $600 for the 64GB, not $650-700 for the 32GB.
I have a Transformer and an Iconia Tab A100, and I can tell you from first hand experience that the build quality isn't nearly as bad as the above poster is making it out to be. I actually like the finish on both the original Transformer and the Iconia series a lot, and the Prime seems to be a winner also. Another thing to consider for both ASUS and Acer is that they keep their Android releases relatively 'vanilla' except for a few bloatware-type apps of their own, unlike Samsung and HTC, who just can't help themselves but smear TouchWiz and Sense over everything they produce.
The only real reported issue with the Prime appears to be the GPS accuracy, but at least to me, it's a non-issue, since I disable GPS and bluetooth on everything.
The Windows 8 bit is yet to be seen, porting a device to another OS is something you can hope, but never hold your breath for. We've yet to see how Windows 8 distribution is going to work and remember that even if you do install Windows 8 down the road, it doesn't mean that you'll be able to run all windows-based programs, since mobile devices use ARM CPUs, and everything written for windows right now is made for x86 CPUs, so it will be up to each third party to rewrite their programs for compatibility.
Although I would never write out a company with pockets as deep as microsoft, they have proven time and time again that they are unable to compete in the mobile segment, so I don't see Windows 8 with as much hope and awe as many others do. (Especially since Ice Cream Sandwich is the first Android iteration we can really call "excellent")
TL;DR - If you can find a Prime for a decent price, then it's an amazing device to be had for a very reasonable price. If you plan on waiting, then checking out the upcoming Iconia A700 isn't a bad idea either if the dock isn't that important to you.
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Click to collapse
Tnx for the reply, and I have to say I think you misunderstood me. I don't think I said anything bad about acer's or asus's build quality just HP's (and only the perticular model of the DV6 I had), just that they're a bit on the ugly side, but that's totally a subjective stand, and irrelevant to anybody else.
As far as Prime's price goes, it should be available in Croatia, about 2hrs drive from my home in 10days for less than 700$ with the dock for the 32gig version, which is not a bad pricetag considering where I live, and I'm ready to give that kind of money for it. The dock is accually something i like about the Transformer, and it would probbably be a dead heat between TF101 just because of the dock) and the Sammy 10.1 if it weren't for the prime.
GPS, like I said, I don't mind. The SGSII has a great GPS reciever which i hardly ever use, maybe 6 times since i got it in july.
As far as ARM windows goes, I know what to expect from it , nothing special, but it would be nice to have that option when it's available
So you are happy with the TF101 and the Iconia? But would you recommend buying now the Prime if I'm happy with the price? I should mention I probbably won't buy it before ICS, and I'll try to get a hold of a stock ICS one when it's out after Jan. 12. because I want to make sure i missed the first version shipment

I believe you about Motorola. Until my Droid X I have ALWAYS hated Motorola. I never had a phone that worked right after some wear and tear and always had problems. From before smartphones thru the Droid 1, 2, and 3. (Went through multiples of those). I'm also a Samsung and HTC fan.
I've never had a problem with Asus computer components myself, w/ that said, there are quite a few complaints when it comes to the TF201 on quality. With that said, you, as I'm sure you do, have to take into account the dissatisfied ones are always going to moan and groan much more and louder than the happy customer.
I guess I just wish it was like cars when it comes to Tablets and would love for them to let me take the exact tab I'm looking to buy for a test drive. (Not leave the store but just open the box and get a good look at it and test everything to make sure I'm getting what my hard earned money is paying for).
I really want a TF201, but I'm going to wait til a few more Tegra 3 tabs come out. I really think Motorola would have hit a homerun if they would have put a quad core in their Xyboards and kept the price what they're charging now.
The three tabs I'm really torn between right now are the Xyboard 8.2, TF201, and Samsung 7.0 Plus. But man we are so close to seeing quad core as the new standard for tabs so the other part of me just wants to sit it out and wait.

So true what you said about the sitting and waiting for the quad core as the new standard, but on the other hand, HOW BAD DO WE WANT ONE!?!
Personally for me it's no competition between the Prime and other tablets, the Prime is just on another planet.
This morning the store answered my email saying that the Prime will be available mid january (in about 10 days) and said that maybe they could reserve one for me because of the small supply, but said the price may be different depending on the usd/euro stocks, but under 700$ for the 32gig version with dock...
Still I'm not planning on buying one before a test drive like you said (mostly to check for screen bleed). And yes, I took into account the moaners which is true like you said again...
I think I wathched every single review/comparison of the tablet on youtube, and read at least 10 reviews online, and it's all mostly positive.
I'll update as soon as i get my hands on a test one, hopefully in about 10 days.

G-Tablet still worth it, or..

Alright, short and sweet;
I'm in the market for a Tablet - this will be my first, although I'm not new to smartphones/android - and I'd decided to get the G-Tablet.. until I read about the Motorola Xoom.
I like how clean the Xoom looks, how thin it is and how small the frame around the display is. I also like that it's a Motorola product, meaning there will probably be an abundance of spare parts on ebay in the following months should I need a digitizer or what have you. I don't like that I'll probably have to wait to root and modify - judging it based on Motorola's recent history with Android devices and how well they're locked down.
I like the hardware and hackability of the G-Tablet, and the fact that I can pick one up tomorrow at-will. Is there any reason NOT to get the G-Tablet right now?! This tablet will need to last me until around Christmas.
So, in your opinions, throw some pros and cons at me and lets decide which route I should go.. G-Tablet or Xoom (once it's out).

I think the biggest pro would be...it'll be a lot cheaper than the Xoom. Aside from a better screen, camera, and form factor...the gtablet should be up to par with the Xoom.
I'm pretty sure that the Gtablet will get honeycomb so it should keep the device fresh. I think it'll last you til next Xmas but I'm sure temptations to ditch the gtab will be abundant next year.

Yea the price-point for the xoom, I'm guessing, will be on par with the Galaxy Tab, if not slightly more, which would put it out of my price range.
Hows the display on the Gtablet? I've heard mixed reviews.. but I'd expect alot of viewsonic.. pics would be great if anyone has any.
Sent from my Evo 4G running AvaFroyo w/ MakMod using TapaTalk Pro

.mak said:
Yea the price-point for the xoom, I'm guessing, will be on par with the Galaxy Tab, if not slightly more, which would put it out of my price range.
Hows the display on the Gtablet? I've heard mixed reviews.. but I'd expect alot of viewsonic.. pics would be great if anyone has any.
Sent from my Evo 4G running AvaFroyo w/ MakMod using TapaTalk Pro
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Click to collapse
The screen isn't so great on the gtablet, but if you are mostly using it from straight on it isn't a problem.
As for the Xoom, I think I'm going to be looking at other tablets. Viewsonic is supposed to release a newer tegra 2 tablet at the end of the first quarter, which looks design-wise more like the Xoom.
I would maybe, maybe get another motorolla phone to replace my droid x because it is something I rely on and don't modify it that much. However, I would never buy a locked down motorolla tablet. And worse yet, I've heard the locking down is only going to get worse with them. It's too bad because they make nice hardware.

I agree. Locked down=deal breaker. If you want to go locked down why not go ipad?
The screen on the gtab is fine for my needs (but who wouldnt prefer "better").
The developer support for gtab seems top notch and it will get better by the month for at least six months to a year. With any thing too locked down what started out as better than a competiting device could easily be getting its a$$ handed to it by said device 4 months later.

I think with CES in the first week of this year you will have a number of announcements of tablets, where I expect shipments by mid-year. I for one don't want a tablet with a data plan and I believe the Motorola will ship with a cellular data modem which will drive higher cost, carrier ties, etc.
The Acer tablets look interesting, but from the pictures on the web it isn't clear if their displays are any better.
.mak said:
Alright, short and sweet;
I'm in the market for a Tablet - this will be my first, although I'm not new to smartphones/android - and I'd decided to get the G-Tablet.. until I read about the Motorola Xoom.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

vsc said:
I think with CES in the first week of this year you will have a number of announcements of tablets, where I expect shipments by mid-year. I for one don't want a tablet with a data plan and I believe the Motorola will ship with a cellular data modem which will drive higher cost, carrier ties, etc.
The Acer tablets look interesting, but from the pictures on the web it isn't clear if their displays are any better.
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Click to collapse
I would have to agree, part of the reason why I went with a G-Tablet was because I don't want any type of cellular support. That's why I have a cell phone with hotspot capabilities.
After seeing what the folks here have been able to do with the tablet, especially after going Vegan, this thing is simply amazing. The fact that even Viewsonic even recognizes (in a roundabout way), on their own site, the work that is being done here is "icing on the cake" for me...

It depends if you want to wait or not. Point is the CES products will be MONTHS away and almost certainly more expensive. THEN you will have to wait for a dev community to acclimate and publish software for the product.
1. Gtablet is here NOW
2. Less than $400
3. Tegra 2 (like the best of those devices will have)
4. Dev community is producing NOW
5. Easy market hack NOW. No guarantee for future products.
6. Speaking of guarantees, do you think the products being shown at CES will be as root friendly?

Agree with what others have said already about Gtab. I used my Gtab 99.9% of the time in landscape mode so viewing angle wasn't a problem for me (though in portrait mode you need to tilt a little sideway but not much to get a good viewing angle).
If you are a hobbyist (which I think you are based on the # of projects you are currently working on) and like to tweak things then Gtab is definitely worth looking at. It is so hackable and unbrickable that it's a dev heaven for Android development. I have learned a lot by playing with different ROMs on the Gtab. Dev guys like Roebeet, Rothnic, Gojimi, Clemsyn, etc., have been keeping us busy around the clock with new builds/tricks/support that I probably will still play with it around Xmas 2011
If you are lucky you might be able to snatch a refurb Gtab from Sears outlet for $279. I got mine on sales at Sears for $349 last month brand new.
Cons:
No built-in kickstand (I modified an iPad kickstand from 5Below for $5; works perfectly though)
No perfectly fit screen protector yet (I modified an iPad screen protector to fit my Gtab screen)
No rear camera (I don't miss it but not sure about you)
No multi-finger touch (two fingers only on Gtab; not sure if it's s/w or h/w limitation but I don't find it to be an issue but would like to point it out)
No built-in GPS (but works with Bluetooth GPS to grab GPS data from your phone or other bluetooth GPS devices)
Does not support smooth playback of H.264 High Profile Encoded HD Video (you will have to convert to Main Profile before watching it on Gtab)
Hard-to-find case holder for Gtab (unlike iPad where tons of them are available)
Video Conferencing app support is still not yet widely available (only Yahoo Messenger seems to work so far but image quality is not great; others like Fring & Tango have failed on Gtab but I believe it's software on the app itself)

rothnic said:
The screen isn't so great on the gtablet, but if you are mostly using it from straight on it isn't a problem.
As for the Xoom, I think I'm going to be looking at other tablets. Viewsonic is supposed to release a newer tegra 2 tablet at the end of the first quarter, which looks design-wise more like the Xoom.
I would maybe, maybe get another motorolla phone to replace my droid x because it is something I rely on and don't modify it that much. However, I would never buy a locked down motorolla tablet. And worse yet, I've heard the locking down is only going to get worse with them. It's too bad because they make nice hardware.
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Click to collapse
The screen is my only concern at this point.. I guess GPS is an issue for me since I'd want to use this thing as a giant navigation unit on occasion, but I always have my Evo around so whatever I guess..
rushless said:
It depends if you want to wait or not. Point is the CES products will be MONTHS away and almost certainly more expensive. THEN you will have to wait for a dev community to acclimate and publish software for the product.
1. Gtablet is here NOW
2. Less than $400
3. Tegra 2 (like the best of those devices will have)
4. Dev community is producing NOW
5. Easy market hack NOW. No guarantee for future products.
6. Speaking of guarantees, do you think the products being shown at CES will be as root friendly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All very good points that I'd taken into account, but was hoping someone would point out to further my belief that the G-Tablet is a wise investment.
samepic said:
Agree with what others have said already about Gtab. I used my Gtab 99.9% of the time in landscape mode so viewing angle wasn't a problem for me (though in portrait mode you need to tilt a little sideway but not much to get a good viewing angle).
If you are a hobbyist (which I think you are based on the # of projects you are currently working on) and like to tweak things then Gtab is definitely worth looking at. It is so hackable and unbrickable that it's a dev heaven for Android development. I have learned a lot by playing with different ROMs on the Gtab. Dev guys like Roebeet, Rothnic, Gojimi, Clemsyn, etc., have been keeping us busy around the clock with new builds/tricks/support that I probably will still play with it around Xmas 2011
If you are lucky you might be able to snatch a refurb Gtab from Sears outlet for $279. I got mine on sales at Sears for $349 last month brand new.
Cons:
No built-in kickstand (I modified an iPad kickstand from 5Below for $5; works perfectly though)
No perfectly fit screen protector yet (I modified an iPad screen protector to fit my Gtab screen)
No rear camera (I don't miss it but not sure about you)
No multi-finger touch (two fingers only on Gtab; not sure if it's s/w or h/w limitation but I don't find it to be an issue but would like to point it out)
No built-in GPS (but works with Bluetooth GPS to grab GPS data from your phone or other bluetooth GPS devices)
Does not support smooth playback of H.264 High Profile Encoded HD Video (you will have to convert to Main Profile before watching it on Gtab)
Hard-to-find case holder for Gtab (unlike iPad where tons of them are available)
Video Conferencing app support is still not yet widely available (only Yahoo Messenger seems to work so far but image quality is not great; others like Fring & Tango have failed on Gtab but I believe it's software on the app itself)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Accessories, rear camera and multi-touch aren't a problem for me.. two-finger zoom is all I use on my devices anyway. Video conferencing is important, but only to an extent.. No GPS is problematic, but I can bluetooth my Evo in.
None of these are deal-breakers but, in the end, without video chat, without gps, with jittery playback of h.264 video and poor display quality, I'm wondering what I'll use the G-Tablet for lol
I suppose I'd be using this for media playback around the house and while traveling, same with web browsing (with Flash, and I'll tether to my Evo when away from home), Netflix when it becomes available (I'm sure there'll be a hack for that) and Google Maps.. does it support v5 Maps with 3d buildings??
As for the iPad comment earlier in the thread; I thought about it, but I like widgets and expansion way too much to go with the iPad.

samepic said:
Agree with what others have said already about Gtab. I used my Gtab 99.9% of the time in landscape mode so viewing angle wasn't a problem for me (though in portrait mode you need to tilt a little sideway but not much to get a good viewing angle).
If you are a hobbyist (which I think you are based on the # of projects you are currently working on) and like to tweak things then Gtab is definitely worth looking at. It is so hackable and unbrickable that it's a dev heaven for Android development. I have learned a lot by playing with different ROMs on the Gtab. Dev guys like Roebeet, Rothnic, Gojimi, Clemsyn, etc., have been keeping us busy around the clock with new builds/tricks/support that I probably will still play with it around Xmas 2011
If you are lucky you might be able to snatch a refurb Gtab from Sears outlet for $279. I got mine on sales at Sears for $349 last month brand new.
Cons:
No built-in kickstand (I modified an iPad kickstand from 5Below for $5; works perfectly though)
No perfectly fit screen protector yet (I modified an iPad screen protector to fit my Gtab screen)
No rear camera (I don't miss it but not sure about you)
No multi-finger touch (two fingers only on Gtab; not sure if it's s/w or h/w limitation but I don't find it to be an issue but would like to point it out)
No built-in GPS (but works with Bluetooth GPS to grab GPS data from your phone or other bluetooth GPS devices)
Does not support smooth playback of H.264 High Profile Encoded HD Video (you will have to convert to Main Profile before watching it on Gtab)
Hard-to-find case holder for Gtab (unlike iPad where tons of them are available)
Video Conferencing app support is still not yet widely available (only Yahoo Messenger seems to work so far but image quality is not great; others like Fring & Tango have failed on Gtab but I believe it's software on the app itself)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kindle dx cases fit the gtab nicely

Gentlemen:
Lots of good thoughts and ideas -- but I have one that hasn't been mentioned.
Simply put, I'm not rich but if something really better comes out I'll go buy one!!!
I bought two G-Tabs for the fun of playing on the bleeding edge and for personal use. I already have more than justified what I spent with what I have done already!!! I'm even. And I still have a lot more playing to do.
I have accepted the fact that Viewsonic accomplished what they intended in getting a tablet with good hardware and "open" software on the market early. Did they miss the mark on the software -- we may never know except for what we have found in using the tablet.
But they have responded and the devs have catered to us and so far as I can see it we all are having a blast.
I saw a report that an estimated 80 tablet devices will be announced at CES!!!
Got to be something worth playing with in there. But most them are months away. When they are really available we'll see.....
For now, here's to a Happy New Year and lots of fun until it's time to do it again!!!!
Rev

I had mine for almost two weeks and just returned mine to Office Depot. Some of my reasoning is that while it's fast, it feels cheap and the display quality just kills me. Also the Samsung Galaxy Tab just dropped to $500 with no contract from Verizon. CES is just around the corner and I have a feeling that there's going to be a slew of tablets from different vendors. Best buy already has 3 different android tablets in the store since the Fall.
I did enjoy the aspect of it being easy to flash and VEGAn is great, but the lack of being able to run Google Location Services and VOIP kinda also killed it for me. Then the few reports of the power port being knocked loose, made me decide to return it.

After days of researching and some great replies here, I'm positive I'm going to hold off for CES to pass and see what's being offered.
I've decided I need GPS built-in and a better display, and an aluminum body wouldn't hurt either! (but it's unlikely..).
I may grab an iPad used and lowball someone, just to hold me over until CES passes and the new tablets hit stores.. by then Netflix may have the Android app out, and I'll have had a few solid months using it on the iPad.
If I get an iPad for now, I'll also grab the Desktop Connect software so can mess with my laptop through the ipad.
This should hold me over for now, thanks guys!

I just wanted to add my 0.02 for anyone else contemplating the gTab. My wife and I got an iPad this weekend from my Mom for christmas, and since we weren't really looking for a tablet, I hate itunes, I already have a droid x, and I didn't like that she spent so much money, we decided to return the ipad and get an android tablet. Since I only had a day to figure out what we wanted - if anything- I did some frantic searches on the droid x which lead me here. I read about all the issues, the ROMs, and the hardware and decided for the money the Gtab was the way to go. I also thought the screen wouldn't bother me much.
First experience with the Gtab is like everyone else's. Its total crap from the oem. I was reluctant to even let my wife touch it before I modded it. Lucky she doesn't have very high expectations, but she kept asking why everything kept "Force closing" lol.
This is my first time rooting any android device (I've rooted a few linksys routers though) but it was super easy (once I realized the + vol button was the OTHER one). My Gtab is now running VEGAn beta 5 and so far is fantastic. It runs better than my droid x and the only bummer is the missing market stuff. Seems anything GPS related is missing and I'm sure other stuff. I have the droid x paired with the Gtab for GPS and I was hoping the GTab could be my new Giant plotter in my boat but I couldn't find my Navionics software in the market to install. Will have to look into finding a way to install it.
But the real biggest let down surprised me. The screen. I thought it wouldn't matter much to me, but 99% of the time I find myself laying it flat on a desk or my lap in landscape mode and that is the worst possible viewing angle for this device. Quite annoying, but I would still buy (I guess I should say "trade an iPad for") the Gtab again.
The main use will be office productivity for my wife at home/travelling and email/facebook stuff also. I expect it to work well for that.

I was at Best Buy today and almost bit the bullet on an iPad 16GB WiFi, but decided to head to sears and see the G-Tablet on display.. turned out the genius working the counter mistook the cardboard cutout for a real G-Tablet! LOL
Anyway, I decided, regardless of the horrid return policy (30 days, 15% restocking fee unless defective) that I'd take a gTab home with me and give it a shot.
I'm liking it so far, the screen is horrible but I'll adjust. Clockworkmod install was very straightforward, as was installing zPad 3.0 and getting some apps installed (all expected..).
Only time will tell if I regret my purchase.. but if I can get hulu working and some sort of a remote desktop / vnc to control my laptop without loads of lag, I'll be a happy camper.
While I'm on the subject, is there an app similar to AirStream for the iPad? It's VERY fluid and works almost as if you're using Windows (or OSX) from the iPad.. PhoneMyPC is laggy and choppy, LogMeIn is as well.. any others I might try?

The iPad is awful, except the screen
I actually bought an iPad at Worst Buy last week - I just had to test it out. The screen is really very nice and comic viewing is PERFECT on it.
However.....
- No Flash (knew that going in)
- No USB (knew that going in)
- One speaker. That one I didn't expect.
- Mediocre video support. You have to buy an app to get XVID support, and it didn't even work 100% of the time. The GTab might choke on high profile x264's, but it shines on XVID's.
- Mediocre audio support. No WMA, no Vorbis, no FLAC. Nuff said.
- SMB access requires a paid app, and even so it only supported native extensions.
- No drag and drop, and the sharing feature is spotty at best. I would push over a CBR file to Stanza, and 50% of the time the transfer would flat out fail. And I was doing this on a Mac.
The last bullet was the one that "broke the camel's back". I can dump all my CBR's on a NAS device and read them on the GTab (with VEGan b5.1) with no problem. On an iPad, it's a chore to just add a handful of comics. Basically, the device was not designed for me, it was designed for someone who stays within Apple's walled garden and is willing to pay pay pay for all their content (even if they already own it, but it's not supported).

roebeet said:
I actually bought an iPad at Worst Buy last week - I just had to test it out. The screen is really very nice and comic viewing is PERFECT on it.
However.....
- No Flash (knew that going in)
- No USB (knew that going in)
- One speaker. That one I didn't expect.
- Mediocre video support. You have to buy an app to get XVID support, and it didn't even work 100% of the time. The GTab might choke on high profile x264's, but it shines on XVID's.
- Mediocre audio support. No WMA, no Vorbis, no FLAC. Nuff said.
- SMB access requires a paid app, and even so it only supported native extensions.
- No drag and drop, and the sharing feature is spotty at best. I would push over a CBR file to Stanza, and 50% of the time the transfer would flat out fail. And I was doing this on a Mac.
The last bullet was the one that "broke the camel's back". I can dump all my CBR's on a NAS device and read them on the GTab (with VEGan b5.1) with no problem. On an iPad, it's a chore to just add a handful of comics. Basically, the device was not designed for me, it was designed for someone who stays within Apple's walled garden and is willing to pay pay pay for all their content (even if they already own it, but it's not supported).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. It's why I never even bothered to look at an iPad when they came out even though I had wanted a tablet ala Newton Messagepad 2100 for YEARS!
h.264 HP: I still think that it's just a driver problem, and all Tegra 2s currently have the same problem. nVidia is still claiming full h.264 and I doubt that they'd continue on with that if the hw wasn't capable... so it's a wait for nVidia to fix thing, or admit that they have a hw bug that they can't workaround w/sw...
My only thing with the gTab was that I wished that the camera was higher res... it's not really extra horrible, but it's not awesome either... just kind of meh...
Still using my gTab mainly for web browsing, occasional video, and I have used it to read in portrait mode before in the past although in that function it's been retired since I picked up a NC last week... but I can see situations where I might revert to it if the NC battery is almost dead and I need something backlit to read on... that said in portrait orientation as a reader it just wasn't comfortable to hold to begin with... NC much better for that...
NC screen: yeah better viewing angles, but turns out not to be very selling to me. OTOH the pixel density is VERY nice, unfortunately B&N QA sucks. (My first NC had a defective USB port, and I had a b!tch of a time getting the yahoos in the store to exchange it, so they have a sh!tty cs experience as well... as in if anything goes defective on #2 in the next week it's going back for cash because of their horrid cs.)

Just for what it's worth, take a look at last year's CES and the one before it and see how many products seen there actually hit the market, and of the ones that did, how many were there that actually made it out in the first 2 quarters?
Any tablet at CES that magically passes those 2 barriers will be so proud of itself, it's going to slap a pricetag of $700+ on itself. History repeats itself, CES is all hype specifically to try and rally you into thinking $700 is a great deal.
I would strongly suggest the $350 gtab for this reason hands down, besides, the $700 one if it even does materialize before Q3, will be sporting an approximation of the hardware of the gtab so we will get all their softwares anyway..

See I don't know about that. I think that carriers and manufacturers learned from the massively overpriced galaxy tab. Over $500 is asking a lot of the average consumer, and my guess would be that a majority off these will be around or below that price. For example the notion ink with the lcd is sub 500, and there are plenty more coming out half as nice looking.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

You want a SINGLE device that is a tablet AND a phone?

I would like to get some opinion from you guys....
I am a startup developing a new kind of mobile device that combines a phone and tablet - putting a 7" screen on a less than 5" phone body. (It is not like the Galaxy Note, where the size is fixed.)
SO when you just want to make calls, check SMS and emails, just use the "phone mode" with a 4"+ screen.
When you want to surf web, watch videos/photos, transform it into a 7"-screen tablet.
Now my question is about the potential market for this device, as it seems that no company is creating a device like this, I am worried if there's no market for it.
a) For those of you carrying two devices (a phone and a tablet), are you feeling a bit inconvenient, annd would you like to have this device?
b) For those of you carrying only a phone, would you like to have a bigger screen, perhaps 7", while retaining the same portability?
c) Would you still buy a 10" tablet after you have this device? (assuming you already have a laptop)
Your help will be very much appreciated!

the first thing that came to mind upon reading this post is the asus padfone.
i do carry the 2 devices (S2 + TF101), and IMO it isn't really a big inconvenience, thus i might not be that interested. Unless it comes with a unique feature / selling point?
cheers.

if the tablet could make calls and i could pair a Bluetooth headset to it, i would get it. maybe it would stop me from texting and driving if it was 10 inch

I see no market for it. Some will buy it for what it is but not enough to make profit or even break even. Try focussing resources on let's say the body of the Droid Razr with an edge to edge screen, custom ROM that gets rid of the touch buttons of the bottom of the device so that can be more room for screen. I would buy something like that.

Or how about a smart-watch that can sync with any tablet to become a secondary display.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

Didn't they already do this? And if I recall it kinda flopped... Not being negative, but I think people are used to carrying around a bunch of gadgets...

deliriume said:
the first thing that came to mind upon reading this post is the asus padfone.
i do carry the 2 devices (S2 + TF101), and IMO it isn't really a big inconvenience, thus i might not be that interested. Unless it comes with a unique feature / selling point?
cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
There are some aspects of Padfone that we don't think it will be a market success:
1. You still need to carry the 10" screen, and it is not as portable as a 4+" phone 2. When the phone is inside tablet, you'll need a headset to receive and make calls
Anyway our product is not in compete with padfone, although we have something in common - to combine devices from different categories. The key difference, besides the size, is that we emphasize on PORTABILITY; while they probably emphasize on versatile performance.
Our device is small and light and easily slip into pocket, yet comes with a beautiful 7" screen.
BTW, we think the combination of devices (our device + laptop/ultrabook) is more reasonable than (Padfone + laptop/ultrabook), because Padfone size is already very similar to laptop, and almost everyone already has a laptop.

STIDRIVER said:
Didn't they already do this? And if I recall it kinda flopped... Not being negative, but I think people are used to carrying around a bunch of gadgets...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your feedback!
Do you mean Sony's Tablet P?
However, since there is a bezel between the two screens, it cannot be seen as a one screen tablet when unfolded. In fact this is one of the main reason why it gets poor reviews and market reactions (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-21/what-was-sony-thinking-with-tablet-p-rich-jaroslovsky.html). The bezel is simply annoying.
Our startup have found a way to remove the bezel.
Yes people now used to carry around many gadgets, because currently we have no choice

I love the idea of the padfone...4 inch phone during the day, 10 inch phone when at home.
If you have something to offer please let me know, as of know i am seriously looking at the padfone to be my next phone.
Sent from my overclocked desire z via tapatalk app

I love the idea of the padfone!

bigboxrate said:
Maybe this one can be a good choice for you if you do not mind using big screen to make telephone calls.
http://www.tinydeal.com/7-pxp7fh-p-39587.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
800 mhz and 256 ram, gross...
Sent from my overclocked desire z via tapatalk app

Good Stuff....Thanks

Tablet s Phone
I really dont understand why Tablets dont incorporate phones, I own a Dell Streak Mini 5, (best phone Ive ever owned) also a sony tablet s.
Both brilliant devices but most of the pros are duplicated by one or the other,
Dell streak, android device, good general purpose but screen too small for word processing or watching vids, not to mention the small onscreen keybord.
Tablet s, android device, good for all things android but no phone.
I dont follow the logic that there would be no market for a tablet device with a phone, I carry a phone and I carry a tablet I would far rather only carry one, i.e. the tablet with a phone in it, I use a blue tooth earpiece for all my phone/music/audio books so its not as if Ive got it stuck to my ear all the time, in fact the phone never comes out unless i want to use an app.
So the answer for me is a resounding YES device of that nature.

This is a great idea. Today's smartphones have all this horsepower but what good is it if the tiny screens make it a chore to get anything done. I'm having difficulty imagining how one would go about incorporating an additional big screen on a phone, but if you can do a clean job at it, I believe it will be success. By clean, I mean the screens should be good quality either glass or matte, not some flimsy folding ****.

noobletsausecakebbq said:
This is a great idea. Today's smartphones have all this horsepower but what good is it if the tiny screens make it a chore to get anything done. I'm having difficulty imagining how one would go about incorporating an additional big screen on a phone, but if you can do a clean job at it, I believe it will be success. By clean, I mean the screens should be good quality either glass or matte, not some flimsy folding ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes we are not using folding screens.

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note exactly for this reason.
The screen is big enough for non-phone usage but small
enough to fit inside a pocket to carry around like you would
carry around a phone. It's already 5.4" so 7" is not that much
larger, you'd better have a real compelling reason for your
device in order to convince people who would otherwise
pick the Note.

Cool Idea
I don't know of your resource base, but have you seen the new translucent material they have demoed for new tablets. That would make your product something that would stand apart. They demoed the material at one of the electronic shows this year.

fetchinson said:
I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note exactly for this reason.
The screen is big enough for non-phone usage but small
enough to fit inside a pocket to carry around like you would
carry around a phone. It's already 5.4" so 7" is not that much
larger, you'd better have a real compelling reason for your
device in order to convince people who would otherwise
pick the Note.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup! Ive had my g2 since the day it came out. The two devices im looking at is the padfone or the galaxy note. Im on tmobile usa so hooping one will get 4G sometime this summer. August is my upgrade month
Sent from my overclocked desire z via tapatalk app

challa3223 said:
I don't know of your resource base, but have you seen the new translucent material they have demoed for new tablets. That would make your product something that would stand apart. They demoed the material at one of the electronic shows this year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, we are using standard touchscreens...

I think you will have a harder time distinguishing yourself from the padfone since it is out now.

What is the best tablet for me?

With Christmas fast approaching, I originally planned on purchasing myself an upgrade to my 2 year-old laptop. Yet, besides gaming which I am for the most part not particularly bothered about and can easily do still on the family PC, Xbox 360 or through OnLive, my current system proves more than capable for almost everything I can through at it - even if a bit slow on more laborious tasks such as video rendering (something which I have done only about three times in an entire two year period). Now, whilst this isn't a definitive decision, I think it may be nice to purchase a tablet for use downstairs as I dislike having to carry my laptop up and down to/from my room all the time especially when I want to just do a bit of light web browsing. Whilst the most obvious choice might be the Nexus 7 for most people, I own a Galaxy Note (which has a large 5.3" screen) and it is because of this that I don't see a 7" tablet as a worthy investment for such a measly increase in screen size. So, what do people here feel to be the best 10" tablet (so long as it will be publicly available in the UK by Christmas 2012)?

Are there specific features you want a tablet to have?

sls123093 said:
Are there specific features you want a tablet to have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must thank you, first and foremost, for such a quick response to this thread. Now, in terms of features, storage is one of my main criticisms over the Nexus 7 and for a tablet to be a true media device I would personally want it to have expandable storage via a Micro-SD card slot. Since my Galaxy Note already has a large 5.3" display, this tablet would have to be no less than 10" to even feel any more beneficial than just using my phone and, on the topic of displays, my past three phones have all had AMOLED displays with a very high resolution so a tablet would need a fairly decent resolution else it'd be left behind my Note. Although I may never utilise it as I certainly haven't needed nor wanted to before, the ability to mod easy (no locked boot-loaders or stuff like that) would be nice.

I did look at the latest iPad at one point in time and, whilst its quality app market, high-resolution screen coupled with a sleek design and upcoming support of Siri make it all very desirable, the lack of true multi-tasking seems a killer for me. I like the ability to quickly flick between an internet browser and an office program, for example. This has allowed me, in the past, to even complete homework tasks for school on my Galaxy Note.

Well if price isnt an issue, The brand new infinity has the best display out of any android tablet, and is super fast. Plus the dock is awesome. If price is a concern, you can still get an older prime + dock for around 400. But 10" might be too much, I personally think it is. I think 8.9 is a happy medium. But if you dont want a tablet, chromebooks are awesome

TheMuffStuff said:
Well if price isnt an issue, The brand new infinity has the best display out of any android tablet, and is super fast. Plus the dock is awesome. If price is a concern, you can still get an older prime + dock for around 400. But 10" might be too much, I personally think it is. I think 8.9 is a happy medium. But if you dont want a tablet, chromebooks are awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aren't Chromebooks basically just laptops, which I already have one of? And, 8.9 inches isn't enough of a size increase over my Note still. I would want a 10" tab. And, as of the last time I checked, the Infinity is around £650 GBP or so. That is even more than an iPad! Plus, I have no use for a keyboard dock.

Brad387 said:
With Christmas fast approaching, I originally planned on purchasing myself an upgrade to my 2 year-old laptop. Yet, besides gaming which I am for the most part not particularly bothered about and can easily do still on the family PC, Xbox 360 or through OnLive, my current system proves more than capable for almost everything I can through at it - even if a bit slow on more laborious tasks such as video rendering (something which I have done only about three times in an entire two year period). Now, whilst this isn't a definitive decision, I think it may be nice to purchase a tablet for use downstairs as I dislike having to carry my laptop up and down to/from my room all the time especially when I want to just do a bit of light web browsing. Whilst the most obvious choice might be the Nexus 7 for most people, I own a Galaxy Note (which has a large 5.3" screen) and it is because of this that I don't see a 7" tablet as a worthy investment for such a measly increase in screen size. So, what do people here feel to be the best 10" tablet (so long as it will be publicly available in the UK by Christmas 2012)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend a used iPad Wifi/3G model

Iph0ne27 said:
I recommend a used iPad Wifi/3G model
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, if you read later on, you'd know that I dislike the lack of multi-tasking on an iPad. Plus, I have grown accustomed to Google's wealth of services and the Android OS.

Web browsing on a tablet sucks, which will you will soon find out. Keyboard dock helps 100 fold, and the chromebook is just a webbrowsing net book. Its so light and small its not like a hunky laptop, and doesnt get hot. And you can buy an infinity for ~500$ on here. Or evne a regular transformer for around 350

TheMuffStuff said:
Web browsing on a tablet sucks, which will you will soon find out. Keyboard dock helps 100 fold, and the chromebook is just a webbrowsing net book. Its so light and small its not like a hunky laptop, and doesnt get hot. And you can buy an infinity for ~500$ on here. Or evne a regular transformer for around 350
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does web browsing on a tablet "suck"?
Isn't that one of their primary functions?

Closed use proper Q&A section

new one ever?

Think Nvidia will ever create another one? Shield tablet. I hope so! I do enjoy my K1

I doubt it they don't seem interested in maintaining competition with tablet makers. There was a comment made by a high up member at Nvidia that they were not interested in what they view as a dying market.

Nvidia had once a phone..
Either way, their chips are top notch.

mirrin said:
I doubt it they don't seem interested in maintaining competition with tablet makers. There was a comment made by a high up member at Nvidia that they were not interested in what they view as a dying market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes unfortunately, just about all the decent manufacturers have decided it's a dead market. At least in the smaller format, the only real tablets currently available (with updated hardware) are the iPad Mini and the Amazon Fire (neither of which I want, due to their closed ecosystems).
You can't get a decent spec 7-8" tablet with current hardware anymore. Samsung gave up, they offered the Galaxy Tab S2 in 8" size in 2015 (having offered higher-end 8" tablets for a few years running), but then skipped an update last year, and are now only offering the S3 in 9.7" size. And for a ridiculous price of $600 US (and only 32 GB of storage!), so they seem to be trying to compete more with the iPad Pro, than anything else. And I'm pretty much done with Sammy, with their horrible skinning of Android (even if they no longer call it TouchWiz - still the same garbage) and stifling development with unlockable bootloaders.
NVIDIA seemed to bail on an updated tablet as well, last year. NVIDIA seemed to be gearing up late last year for an update to the Shield. The stock of existing K1's seemed to be disappearing, and I think they even filed with the FCC for a new tablet? But then NVIDIA basically bailed on the whole ting, announced they would not update the Shield, and more K1's would be back in stock.
I'd love an updated version of the Shield, but NVIDIA doesn't seem interested.

I own both, the s2 Tab 8" and the Shield and screen-wise the s2 blows the Shield away. Performance-wise (gaming) it's the other way around.
IMO nowadays it's all about the screen. If Nvidia came out with an OLED screen device plus their power chipsets.. win-win.

redpoint73 said:
Yes unfortunately, just about all the decent manufacturers have decided it's a dead market. At least in the smaller format, the only real tablets currently available (with updated hardware) are the iPad Mini and the Amazon Fire (neither of which I want, due to their closed ecosystems).
You can't get a decent spec 7-8" tablet with current hardware anymore. Samsung gave up, they offered the Galaxy Tab S2 in 8" size in 2015 (having offered higher-end 8" tablets for a few years running), but then skipped an update last year, and are now only offering the S3 in 9.7" size. And for a ridiculous price of $600 US (and only 32 GB of storage!), so they seem to be trying to compete more with the iPad Pro, than anything else. And I'm pretty much done with Sammy, with their horrible skinning of Android (even if they no longer call it TouchWiz - still the same garbage) and stifling development with unlockable bootloaders.
NVIDIA seemed to bail on an updated tablet as well, last year. NVIDIA seemed to be gearing up late last year for an update to the Shield. The stock of existing K1's seemed to be disappearing, and I think they even filed with the FCC for a new tablet? But then NVIDIA basically bailed on the whole ting, announced they would not update the Shield, and more K1's would be back in stock.
I'd love an updated version of the Shield, but NVIDIA doesn't seem interested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately at around the 7" mark is where people would rather just go for one of the big phones that is one reason for the lackluster sales of tablets. In the 8"+ setting you are competing with the ipads and laptops. And honestly the power of even a budget laptop blows all tablets away... So there is a slim number of consumers who want a 8-12" tablet. Honestly I would pick up a 2018 shield x2 tablet in a heart beat...

i would for one like a bigger nvidia tablet.

mirrin said:
unfortunately at around the 7" mark is where people would rather just go for one of the big phones that is one reason for the lackluster sales of tablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard people say similar, that basically folks don't want a small tablet when they can just use their phone. And I personally can't agree. Anyone who thinks that, must not actually have ever used a tablet (or at least otherwise convinced themselves they don't need a tablet for different, unrelated reasons - cost/budget, don't want to own too many devices, etc.). While the diagonal screen "size" on paper of a big phone/phablet versus a smaller tablet may not look that different (say around 5.5" versus 7"); that is a deceptive way of looking at screen size, as the actual difference in area is huge. Literally, the tablet will have double the area of the phone (while the difference in diagonal length is only 27%), which makes a big difference when viewing videos, web browsing, etc.
I own both a decently large phone (OnePlus 3T, with 5.5" screen) and the Shield, and they both serve their purposes. The 3T is better for portability, as it's what I carry whenever I leave the house. But when I'm at home, I find myself reaching for the Shield most all the time (unless I'm actually making a call, sending a text, or taking a pic) as the larger screen real estate make it much more pleasurable to use. But it never leaves the house (unless I'm going on an overnight trip) as it's not convenient to carry around on a daily basis (plus WiFi only).
mirrin said:
In the 8"+ setting you are competing with the ipads and laptops. And honestly the power of even a budget laptop blows all tablets away...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree that larger tablets compete directly with iPads. But for me personally, Apple devices are not a choice; as I'm simply against Apple's closed ecosystem, proprietary standards (ports, etc.) and generally dictating to people what they should want/like instead of actually listening to what customers want.
Laptops, while they also have their place, are too bulky for my normal usage (mostly media consumption & web browsing). I have a nice laptop provided by my work, which often goes home with me. I never take it out for my own personal purposes (only for work) even though it's readily available. Simply too big and bulky.
BTW, not arguing with you, so hopefully doesn't come off that way. I agree with your points in general. But everyone has their own personal preferences. And unfortunately for me, mine contradict the masses or majority. And it's unfortunate that most all the manufacturers have decided that is not even enough of a niche market to provide a decent small tablet this year.

Thats why Microsoft did it right with the surface. If Nvidia went that path, but not as aggressive as in the laptop area performance. but made a nice tablet that can be used like a laptop per say.
Like the prior poster stated. outside i have my phone for portability. but anytime im sitting still ie. traveling and staying. i always have my Nvidia with me.

Spadizzle said:
Thats why Microsoft did it right with the surface. If Nvidia went that path, but not as aggressive as in the laptop area performance. but made a nice tablet that can be used like a laptop per say.
Like the prior poster stated. outside i have my phone for portability. but anytime im sitting still ie. traveling and staying. i always have my Nvidia with me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem is microsoft surfaces don't sell well either. Imagine 12 inch screen all of the power of a netbook or low end laptop at best the surface has a i7 6650U which hits the $500-600 laptop mark. a surface pro 4 with the max specs is around 1400. vs an ipad for 800 or less
For 1400 the surface has to compete with laptops and for that price you can get way more powerful laptops.
To sell well a tablet needs to be in the 8-10" size category it needs to have at least the power of the latest ipad and it must be priced under 400 anything higher the masses will just jump to an ipad. Anything under 180 will have too many corners cut to make a profit build, quality, function or appearance will suffer.
So that leaves us we need a tablet 8-10" with a good ips or oled display it needs to have the power of a tegra x1 or better and at least a sot battery life of 5-8 hours priced somewhere between 200-399