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finding the right tablet for me on the cheap?

I've been wanting to get my feet wet in android tablet land for quite some time. I would like the following features:
pdf/ebook reading with bookmarking / highlighting / notes
GPS (I already have a bluetooth gps module if that helps) for dash-mounted in-car navigation
bluetooth keyboard support (official or unofficial i really don't care but it's got to be there).
fast web surfing / display effects
the ability to run honeycomb (even if it's unsupported)
preferably some kind of decent camera on for skype / snapshots though i suppose i could do without it...
I have not yet fully decided on a 7" or 10" tablet but I would find some additional convenience with the smaller of the 2 as I plan to do some reading on this. also, as I will be doing lots of reading, I need a display resolution of at least 1024x600 and aprox. equivalent dpi or better for 10" tablet.
I've looked at the nook color and it seems like a really nice tablet but it seems kind of sluggish for the really high price of $250... if i could find one of these in the $150-200 range I could probably be convinced to go with one of these.
I've also looked at the viewsonic G tablet and was impressed with the underlying tegra2 hardware but very disappointed with the display viewing angle, and to a slightly lesser extent display resolution. I think it's going price of ~250 would be warranted if the display were actually good (high resolution and good viewing angle).
Does anybody have any other ideas for very inexpensive, high resolution, fast tablets that I should be looking at, or perhaps some kind of epic deals? (i'm ok with used if i could find something i'm happy with even).
Thanks,
Cpgeek

do you like the 10" screen or wish it was smaller

Still looking at the tablets. Part of me wants the biggest screen possible for browsing. But the flip side is the bigger the tablet, the less likely I will be to take it outside the house. How portable is your table and do you wish it was bigger, smaller or is the size just right?

Personally I think 10 inches is just right, I have played with the 7 inch tablets, I think the screen is to small. Anything bigger then 10 wouldn't be portable enough in my opinion, could get bulky too. Maybe if it was 12 and still the same thickness and weight, which will be possible later down the road of course.
For me 10 inches is right in that goldilocks zone. Video looks great at 10, Netflix is awesome.

i had a 7 in Sammy tab and I thought it was the perfect size for holding. The xoom is a little harder to hold in one hand. I guess it all depends on what you prefer to be doing on your device. If your into books and on the go internet emails I'd use 7 inch more. The 10 inch is perfect for movies and spreadsheets documents and big games and such.

i used to think 10" was too big, but then I got a case that didnt suck. My view on 7" is that I may as well just use my phone, which has a 4" and some change screen.

Ditto with the idea of 7 inch tablets for the ebook readers. Personally the 10.1 inch screens are perfect for me. I mean yes, the Xoom is a little heavier than the other Honeycomb tablets, but that's because it was the first of it's kind, but it works for me. I have used a 7 inch tablet before and it was not right for me. 10.1 inch screen sizes are perfect: not too large, but not too small, just right.
The future should bring a tablet with adjustable screen sizes. Lol! That way you wouldn't have to choose one or the other.

StrifeSoldierVII said:
Ditto with the idea of 7 inch tablets for the ebook readers. Personally the 10.1 inch screens are perfect for me. I mean yes, the Xoom is a little heavier than the other Honeycomb tablets, but that's because it was the first of it's kind, but it works for me. I have used a 7 inch tablet before and it was not right for me. 10.1 inch screen sizes are perfect: not too large, but not too small, just right.
The future should bring a tablet with adjustable screen sizes. Lol! That way you wouldn't have to choose one or the other.
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Well, I think the Xoom is a bit thicker and heavier (only a bit) because it has more ports and better hardware (cameras, true gps) than some of the others, not so much because it was the first (read older). I have a 7" tegra two tablet and it's really cute, but the Xoom is the one I use, not just daily but constantly.

okantomi said:
Well, I think the Xoom is a bit thicker and heavier (only a bit) because it has more ports and better hardware (cameras, true gps) than some of the others, not so much because it was the first (read older). I have a 7" tegra two tablet and it's really cute, but the Xoom is the one I use, not just daily but constantly.
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That's very true indeed. The Xoom is an all out beast no doubt. That's why the newer build of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is thinner and lighter, because they stripped it of more powerful hardware such as the camera for example. The Xoom has a 5MP rear facing camera, meanwhile the Galaxy Tab 10.1 only has a 3MP rear facing camera. And other hardware related things as you mentioned. You are totally correct.
Down the road they will be able to pack all the power and features into a thin light weight device. I'd say with the quad core, 3D, ICS, and high resolution Android tablets and phones on their way... we are closing in on that gap of thin, light weight, extremely powerful devices.

StrifeSoldierVII said:
That's very true indeed. The Xoom is an all out beast no doubt. That's why the newer build of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is thinner and lighter, because they stripped it of more powerful hardware such as the camera for example. The Xoom has a 5MP rear facing camera, meanwhile the Galaxy Tab 10.1 only has a 3MP rear facing camera. And other hardware related things as you mentioned. You are totally correct.
Down the road they will be able to pack all the power and features into a thin light weight device. I'd say with the quad core, 3D, ICS, and high resolution Android tablets and phones on their way... we are closing in on that gap of thin, light weight, extremely powerful devices.
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When they come out, I hope I can afford one of them...:^)

I loved my old 7" for gaming, reading, etc. But it was failing for me on work related items. the 10" lets me read PDF's, type a little easier (still using swype), watch NetFlix in between appointments, etc.
With regards to portability my 7" went into my cargo pocket on my shorts. The Xoom I carry around in a stand/case that looks like a normal paper portfolio which works well and I haven't forgotten it anywhere. I honestly leave the laptop at home with TeamViewer setup and remote in if I need more than the tablet can do.

I wouldnt mind a play with a Flyer or similar just to see how much difference there is between the two..

10 inch is perfect for me, the 7s just feel like a really big phone to me.

i_am_the_one said:
10 inch is perfect for me, the 7s just feel like a really big phone to me.
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Current Xoom size is in the Goldilocks zone for me...I like the form factor, too.

Dont get me wrong, I really like my Xoom, but I also have a DHD so my question would be get a smaller phone and get a smaller tablet so the whole lot is more portable or just stick with the sizes I have..

For a while the size of the Xoom was an issue for me. It simply wasn't "transportable" enough.
I even got one of those cheapo "ePad" 7-inch tablets from Hong Kong just so I could have the tablet experience in a pocketable form factor.
Anyway, the smaller tablet gave up the ghost, and I again began using my Xoom everyday.
The changing seasons has been a BIG help for me. Why? Jackets! I have an off-the-rack coat/jacket and two Scottevest items all with interior pockets big enough to hold my Xoom in the Motorola standard or AYL leather case without issues (and without it looking like I have a tablet in my pocket). Therefore, I can literally carry my Xoom everywhere without a man-bag!

Trig0r said:
Dont get me wrong, I really like my Xoom, but I also have a DHD so my question would be get a smaller phone and get a smaller tablet so the whole lot is more portable or just stick with the sizes I have..
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I can't really advise about the phone because my phone is never special to me--just a phone--but the Xoom is really a perfect size. Small enough to carry everywhere and large enough to be really functional.

10" is just right. now, if there's a clam type tablet just like Sony's, then perhaps up to 12"
any more and it would have a very cumbersome surface area once opened.
the weight though cannot exceed the current weight of the xoom. as the xoom is already on the heavy side as it is now.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

I have both a 7" tab and the 10" Xoom, and there is not even a comparison! I find myself not even using the 7" tab anymore (and they have all the same apps on)! If you go with the 7" I think you will find yourself wishing you had a 10". (lol)

I like the 10" for gaming because you can see whats under your thumbs while playing but then sometimes games or apps ask you to swipe in the middle or press a button and you have to change your position just for that command ( thats dev problem maybe they think you´re on a 7" screen and can do that swipe without changing your grip).
As a reader the 10" its really great you dont have to zoom the xoom (lol) to see well. i have a 7" huawei and i always have to zoom to read a pdf or a book. But then some readers dont have the change of page via tap and ask you to swipe from one side to another and thats a problem.
Also i find it really hard to type if it isnt in my lap. i got the thumb keyboard app but sometimes i wish there where no buttons in the middle because they are unreacheable (is there an app for something like the courier keyboard prototype from microsoft?) Anyway if you rotate the screen to write like in your phone then prepare to have thumb abs because its heavy in any tablet even the ipad.

Who is waiting for Samsung P10 to be announced ?

Hopefully in a week or so Sammy announces this beast of tablet: 12" 2500x1600 display (give or take . Hoping they get something like 2GB RAM (a la SG3) along with a GPU that can hold its own against IPad domination.
For now I am keeping the 2 TF101s that I have, TF700 just doesn't look like much of an upgrade ... Jelly Bean (along with fixed IO) might change that, but I am going to wait for now.

rashid11 said:
Hopefully in a week or so Sammy announces this beast of tablet: 12" 2500x1600 display (give or take . Hoping they get something like 2GB RAM (a la SG3) along with a GPU that can hold its own against IPad domination.
For now I am keeping the 2 TF101s that I have, TF700 just doesn't look like much of an upgrade ... Jelly Bean (along with fixed IO) might change that, but I am going to wait for now.
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I/o is fixed with . 26 update. Very very pleased w my tf700 now. :laugh:

well samsung rolls out updates for their products like once a year
i thought i will wait for the rumored nexus 10 but decided to get this one, still have to wait 1 week oh my god, what can i do in this week?

I have a GS3 and I love it, but what i like even more is that Asus always updates their hardware...you dont have to wait 4 months for a OS update. I also have a G73JH which i totally love...asus are the boss

Every time I've tried using a display model Samsung tablet, I've been shocked at just how laggy things are. The resolution bump would also be barely noticable, on the TF700 you already cant see the pixels. If they do bump the ram to 2gb, with the nexus and almost every other HC/ICS tablet out being 1gb that means we're covered for quite some time app wise, even 512mb devices can still run plenty fluid.
So for me? No.

With very few 10in optomized apps around, other than basic web browsing and movie playing I really don't have a use for a 12 in android pad. Now win8 might be another story.
Plus Samsung still sucks at updates. We're jousting getting ics. They agreed to 18months of support, but at updates every 12 months they may have just promised a year.
So now I have to decide to go with asus' poor qc or crappy Samsung support. You can see why android hasn't taken over in tablets yet. Believe me, I love my android, I've got phones with verizon and sprint and 3 tablets. I won't bother with the other players yet.

No offense, but these threads are getting old. How many people do you really expect to find waiting in here? Most have already own or have immediate plans to. If you want to discuss a device vs device, and then start an appropriately named thread.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2

2560x1600? No thanks. There's a reason I didn't get the ipad 3. Enjoy your 1080p upscaling or black box.
I got b& at /g/ for sh!tposting ;_;

It likely won't have a keyboard dock, which is something that once you, chances your entire experience with the tablet. It is why I likely won't buy tablets in the future that doesn't have one. I need productivity in my computing devices and the keyboard is a must to accomplish that. We may have gotten pretty far in our technology over the last several years, but it is going to be difficult to find something that can replace a keyboard.

legendary1022 said:
It likely won't have a keyboard dock, which is something that once you, chances your entire experience with the tablet. It is why I likely won't buy tablets in the future that doesn't have one. I need productivity in my computing devices and the keyboard is a must to accomplish that. We may have gotten pretty far in our technology over the last several years, but it is going to be difficult to find something that can replace a keyboard.
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Samsung's post product support is by far the worst. They can keep their 12 month updates. They do it on purpose, so you buy their next latest & greatest product. So he'll to the noooooooo!
Amen

jdeoxys said:
2560x1600? No thanks. There's a reason I didn't get the ipad 3. Enjoy your 1080p upscaling or black box.
I got b& at /g/ for sh!tposting ;_;
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i think you don't know how to divide 2560 by 1600

nooktablet said:
i think you don't know how to divide 2560 by 1600
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I don't think you know what I'm talking about. 1920x1080 (industry standard) does not fit evenly into 2560x1600. You first have to upscale it to 2560x1440 (16:9 ratio). If you choose not to upscale it, you get a big black box around your video. If you choose to do so however, the pixels are distorted because it is not evenly at a 1:1 rate of pixels and is more around 3:2 which will cause some distortion. Obviously.

jdeoxys said:
I don't think you know what I'm talking about. 1920x1080 (industry standard) does not fit evenly into 2560x1600. You first have to upscale it to 2560x1440 (16:9 ratio). If you choose not to upscale it, you get a big black box around your video. If you choose to do so however, the pixels are distorted because it is not evenly at a 1:1 rate of pixels and is more around 3:2 which will cause some distortion. Obviously.
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but that's what happens to the infinity too. and i don't think you get the "black box", but you just get 2 "black bars" (top and bottom), also because of the status bar in android, i think you only see a bigger black bar on bottom (i could be wrong about this, but you have the infinity so you know what i mean)

nooktablet said:
but that's what happens to the infinity too. and i don't think you get the "black box", but you just get 2 "black bars" (top and bottom), also because of the status bar in android, i think you only see a bigger black bar on bottom (i could be wrong about this, but you have the infinity so you know what i mean)
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The Infinity doesn't upscale anything. It may leave a little room on the top and bottom because the resolution is slightly larger on the vertical, but a good amount of that is taken up by the Android status bar.

nooktablet said:
but that's what happens to the infinity too. and i don't think you get the "black box", but you just get 2 "black bars" (top and bottom), also because of the status bar in android, i think you only see a bigger black bar on bottom (i could be wrong about this, but you have the infinity so you know what i mean)
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His point is more about the distortion than the bars. There's very few tablets on the market that wont letterbox to some extent because Android targets 16:10 and iOS targets 4:3. On the Infinity, you'll have the bar on the bottom but you wont lose any clarity. The 2560x1600 display, however, would because it would have to stretch it to play it without letterboxing on the left and right.

KilerG said:
The Infinity doesn't upscale anything. It may leave a little room on the top and bottom because the resolution is slightly larger on the vertical, but a good amount of that is taken up by the Android status bar.
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yeah, that's what i meant,
2560x1600 = 16:10 aspect ratio (rumored samsung tablet)
1920x1200 = 16:10 aspect ratio (the infinity)
they both run android of course, so both have status bar, basically i mean the video viewing experience on the 2 tablets is the same (except for the high resolution 2560x1600 may make the video blurry, but about "video size" they look the same) while he said it will upscale or black box which i don't understand or maybe because i'm stupid

I enjoy using the KB dock with me TF101. The extra juice, the keys, the extra ports and I also have 64GB SD card in there.
As to the vendor ROM support , who cares much, most of us run custom ROMs anyway. I have GS2, a friend just got GS3, Sammy knows what they are doing.
As long as we get a nice JB start, we shall be off to the races.
And a whole lot of us are in the same boat - have the TF101 or 200 and are on the fence about 700's value, especially in the light of P10 and the gazillion of Win8 systems that will hit the market relatively soon.

nooktablet said:
yeah, that's what i meant,
2560x1600 = 16:10 aspect ratio (rumored samsung tablet)
1920x1200 = 16:10 aspect ratio (the infinity)
they both run android of course, so both have status bar, basically i mean the video viewing experience on the 2 tablets is the same (except for the high resolution 2560x1600 may make the video blurry, but about "video size" they look the same) while he said it will upscale or black box which i don't understand or maybe because i'm stupid
Click to expand...
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Just google the word "upscaling" and you'll know what he means.
Movies look best on their native resolution.
The Infinity WON'T CHANGE the resolution but it will have 2 little bars.
The Sammy WILL CHANGE the resolution to 2560x1600 by upscaling, which results in a little blurry picture and will still have 2 little bars.
Try to use a non native resolution on your PC monitor for example. Turn it down a bit. You'll notice the blurryness )
Exactly the same happens on the Sammy tablet. It will get stretched or "upscaled".
But that's only interesting for movies etc.
Apps for the 1920 x1200 resolution are rare, don't expect apps running native 2560x1600
Just my opinion: I like some smartphones like the Galaxy Nexus (mostly because its native Android with early update guarantee) or the S3 (but please Samsung, get rid of stupid Touchwiz)
But on Tablets I prefer Asus, they have more updates, listen to the community and they don't spam the device with a stupid launcher that slows down the system.

I am eagerly awaiting this device. So damn bored with my iPad 3 which gets boiling hot after 5 minutes of Safari (forget games etc). Should go nicely with my Galaxy S3. Tempted to get the Transformer 1920x1200 but I think I'll wait for this

3473 said:
I am eagerly awaiting this device. So damn bored with my iPad 3 which gets boiling hot after 5 minutes of Safari (forget games etc). Should go nicely with my Galaxy S3. Tempted to get the Transformer 1920x1200 but I think I'll wait for this
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I'm sending back my TF700 and will wait on something else as I don't think the performance is up to par IMHO. Wait on the P10, maybe? I had the Galaxy P6810 7.7 Tab from Samsung and it was a pretty good tablet especially once JB came out. I just got the SGS 3 this past weekend and the phone performs great, as it should, even with ICS. My days of buying a sub performing device and waiting for the manufacturer to fix it later via updates is over. If it's a top dollar product and doesn't perform out of the box, forget it.

Screen quality good for movies & youtube?

I want to get this tablet mainly for movies & youtube. I know the screen is only 800p, but I have a slow Internet connection so I only tend to watch 720p videos anyway.
How good do youtube and movies look on this display with regards to black level and colours.

Vertron said:
I want to this tablet mainly for movies & youtube. I know the screen is only 800p, but I have a slow Internet connection so I only tend to watch 720p videos anyway.
How good do youtube and movies look on this display with regards to black level and colours.
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This review pretty much sums it up...
"The Note 10.1's display was both a disappointment and a surprise. The display carries a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels, the same as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and the Toshiba Excite 10.1. That means no high-pixel density clarity or detail on text or graphics, as you'd find on the Acer Iconia Tab A700, Apple iPad, and Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700.
However, Samsung has clearly done something with this tablet to boost its display performance. The sharpness and color of images is dramatically better than the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, and my high-resolution images in the Google Gallery had sharpness and detail that came close to what you'd find on the high-pixel density displays. (Another observation: Android tablets typically struggle with skin tones, but the Note 10.1 produced some of the most realistic skin tones I've seen.) Text clarity was better than than on the abysmal Galaxy Tab 2, but it couldn't hold a candle to what you'd get on any of the high-pixel density displays."

I think it's awesome in my opinion. I live the dual speakers having forward. It's now my go to to watch series on in bed.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I thunk this tablet may have the best 1280x800 HD displays out there. REMEMBER. 720P is HD also The display combined with great stereo speakers make this an excellent tablet for media consumption and viewing/listening.

I watch a lot of movies on it. I really don't have an issue with the screen and the sound is impressive.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium

If you've watched 1080p videos and 720p for example a 15 inch laptop I'd say that you didn't see almost any difference. Of course the screen resolution itself is more important than the videos resolution, but then think about the size, which is minus 5 inches of that laptops screen I find this tablets screen very good. Sometimes I have to zoom webpages but that's only when using splitscreen. So yes it's verygood, but it could be better of course
Sent from my Galaxy Note 10.1 using Xda Premium

Vertron said:
I want to get this tablet mainly for movies & youtube. I know the screen is only 800p, but I have a slow Internet connection so I only tend to watch 720p videos anyway.
How good do youtube and movies look on this display with regards to black level and colours.
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Very Good. Breathtaking and inspiring.
</thread>

The screen is accurately calibrated according to "Display Tester" by gombosdev (free in the Play Store). I have no tablet or phone (LCD or AMOLED) that can pass all of the app's gamma tests -- except the 10.1 Note (with latest update).

I was really confused when I wanted to buy a tablet. I was confused between both the New iPad and the Samsung Note 10.1
I was a big Apple fan until I got my hands on this amazing, inspiring, incredible, and lovely Note.
It is seriously one of the best devices I ever had.
Web browsing, youtube videos, movies, gaming, studies, and so much more! "I was actually watching SuperNatural's new episode on my Note10.1 today."
Word of advice: GET IT !

[Q] About to buy one.

Hi,
I've recently found and 16gb 7.7" for really cheap but before I take the plunge, just wanted some questions answered from the experts
1. The tablet will primarily be used for media consumption on the train to and from uni. Thus I need the display to be big enough and play video's without lag. Is it comfortable to watch video's on the 7.7? I found the nexus 7 to be too small, and the ipad mini was pretty good but due to the 4:3 ratio, video's weren't full screen. I'm pretty sure the 7.7 is 16:9 so will I be able to view video's full screen (ie no bars tob or sides) in landscape mode? Also, how is video playback? I don't watch 1080p video, but I need 720p to work flawlessly, no lag at all. Can the 7.7 do this?
2. Is the tablet laggy? Be honest and and cynical as possible here please, I don't want to spend my bucks to find out its a laggy pos.
3. How is the mod support? I can't stand touchwhiz.
Thanks.

1. Best tablet I must say for media consumption. The Superamoled plus screen's color reproduction is gorgeous, very good sunlight legibility. Aside from the screen, an amazing part of this tab is the battery. It lasts 14-15hours on me when just watching movies. The screen is actually 16:10 but the on-screen navigation buttons makes it 16:9. I had the iPad3 and I highly advice against buying any Apple product when you have media consumption in mind. While the Galaxy Tab 7.7 plays each and every format and play subtitles too (which is amazing because of Android), my iPad3 won't play any, it just plays MP4s. So I had to convert them and had to do with the 4:3 aspect ratio with thick black fillers. Good thing as well is that when the video you are watching isn't in 16:9 in ratio, the player will let you stretch it to full screen. Nexus 7's screen is no match at all when side by side with Tab 7.7. Did not lag on me a single time on both 720p and 1080p videos.
2. ICS made the tablet smooth. Just disable Touchwiz UI in App settings because it is very laggy. Download either Apex Pro or Go Launcher HD as those two have tablet UI to replace TW UX for tablet. Your Tab will feel different believe me. What's great however when you don't flash any Custom Rom, which I like with Touchwiz is the 'mini apps'. It won't be taken away when you change the Launcher. So swiping through home-screens and app drawer, as well as widget loading will become faster.
3. Mod support might be few, but they are great. Official Jelly Bean update is confirmed by the way. I actually love some features Touchwiz offers to be honest, I just hate their Launcher. You can remove all the apps running in background or apps you hate from Samsung anyways through root if you want a few more memory or you want your RAM to breathe easily. Hope I helped.

good answers to good questions....
I say go for it..

I went from a nexus 7 to the Verizon 7.7 because I really needed the mobile data. Honestly its a really good tab and I don't feel like it's any more sluggish than my N7 was. Obviously there's less dev for it but having 45 nearly identical roms for the N7 is kinda stupid. Is this tab cutting edge anymore? No but it has good hardware especially being a year old. The screen is also freaking awesome
Sent from my SCH-I815 using xda app-developers app