I'm hunting for a six-inch phablet at an affordable price, and I came across the THL T200/T200C (I think the only difference between them is the internal storage). It's an octacore with 2 gigs of RAM running Android 4.2 on a MTK6592W chip. DX have it for $270 shipped, approximately the equivalent of 200 euro, when the cheapest branded phablet I can find that's actually worth buying is the Huawei Mate, and that costs sixty euro more and has significantly lower-specced hardware.
I'm aware of the risks of buying off-brand phones, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to reduce them however possible, so I'm looking for anyone with experience with the T200whatever or in general other octacore phones (which all seem off-brand so far; I can't see any branded ones on sale).
Are octacore processors actually faster? By which I mean, do the OS and apps know what to do with the additional four cores, or is it one of those features added just to increase a number?
If you have one or have used such a phone, can you share your general opinion?
Well, the thing with chinese Androids...
I'd say go for it, just root it and make a full backup as soon as you get it. The reason is because a lot of chinese phones/tablets have a nasty habit of falling into a bootloop for no reason. I've had it happen for several times. This way if you get into a bootloop you can boot into recovery, and restore your recovery. I recommend this for all Androids anyway, but especially for Chinese stuff.
I'd also recommend getting a SanDisk class 10 (or better, like UHS-1) micro SD card and following some generic android guides to swap the internal memory with your SanDisk SD card. So you can buy San Disk's 64GB UHS-1 Micro SD card for 60 bucks from BestBuy (Or even better, their 128GB UHS-1 Micro sd card from Amazon for 119 dollars, and yeah that's SanDisk selling it not a third-party.) This way you have ridiculous internal storage for a ridiculous price (in a different sense of the word "ridiculous").
I don't have any experience with octacore phones/tablets, but as far as I understand the architecture is like this.
2.4ghz dual core = 2.4ghz x 2
so I imagine it would be the same with eight cores.
2.4ghz octacore = 2.4ghz x 8
whether or not Android knows what to do with all that power is beyond me.
Please us the stickies at the top of the forum for this type of discussion
Just purchased this device. It is a 19.5 inch hybrid tablet/desktop android computer running 4.2.2. It uses a Tegra 4 chip and has 2gb ram, 8gb emmc and a 320gb hard drive. I really like this device but one drawback is its 8gb emmc. I would like to move apps to the hdd. As far as I know the only way to do that is by rooting it. If anyone could assist me with this process I would greatly appreciate it.
i am going to give my friend a 7" tablet, they are not that tech savy, so im not sure which tablet to get them between these 2 specs. From a techie standpoint the intel clover trail tablet should be better overall i would think, too bad the resolution is only 1024x600. Also the MT8125 tablet has less storage built in.
Not sure which tablet to get my friend. Thanks for your input.
7" WSVGA 1024x600 Display
Intel Clover Trail Plus Z2520 1.2GHz Dual-Core CPU
1GB RAM & 16GB Flash Storage
Expandable up to 64GB via microSD Card
7" IPS Touchscreen 1280x800 (SXG-544 GPU)
1.2GHz Quad-Core CPU (MTK MT8125)
Dual Camera, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, GPS
8GB Storage, 1GB RAM
Expandable up to 64GB via microSD Card
Hisense Sero 8, it's what I have its running 4.4.4 and you can root it also it's super fast camera is not the best coming in at only 3.2 megapixles but you really don't take pics with your tablet alot I'm guessing it's cheap at only 129.00$ (us) I love it.
i will check out the hisense 8, is it sold locally at any retailer, or mainly online?
Nexus 7 2013
Nexus 7
Go for it Nexus 7
docamr said:
Go for it Nexus 7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nexus 7 '13 as others have mentioned but the NVidia Shield is a steal for the power at it's price.
thanks for the replies guys i ended up getting a couple of these tablets for a couple friends who never had a tablet, only $59.99/each.
Should be a good start.
http://www.asus.com/us/Tablets_Mobile/ASUS_MeMO_Pad_7_ME170C/
Hi, first .Please forgive my poor english. I will do my best to explain my problem.
In my long searches on the net for a good decent price chinese tablet to use on my laptop side, I noticed that there is always something missing : If the ram is enough than it can not adress more than 16GB or 32GB, if it can, than there is no GPS, if there is, than the camera is crap and if it has more than three of the above it can cost a fortune. and I can go on for ever.
I am looking for good tablet that can act as a laptop Substitute\fill in, that has : 2GB ram preferably more on the 3GB or 4GB direction, can adress at least 64GB or 128GB memory card, and\or an external hard drive, 9.7 -10.5 inch screen size, all the usual input out ports : USB 3, hdmi, ext, BT ,wifi, 3g, if there can be dual boot OK, quad or octa core cpu, can be software upgradable (yes, this is an issue with some devices).
didnt find anything that came even close. and I am willing to spend around $480
Perhaps I daemand to much, and there is no device that can do most of what I want ?
I would very much appreciate any answer that can direct my in the right direction.
Thank you.
Y.
Decided to start this thread on advice from another forum poster in an attempt to drum up some interest with the hope of building a community of support since there aren't a lot of resources online about it. It's a good, fairly recently released android tablet with decent specs. I bought it last week and so far I am not disappointed though there are definitely a few niggles about it, as is the case with just about any device.
(pros) Things I love about this tablet:
-hexacore processor... it feels nice and snappy.
-big bright 9.7" ips screen
-build quality feels solid and seems very much on a par with Apple's iPads
-reasonably priced, especially when compared to the comparable Samsung tablets
-4GB RAM & 64GB internal storage (YEAH!)
-MicroSD storage (no singing the Nexus tablet blues anymore with devices that don't have MicroSD support)
(cons) Things I hate about this tablet:
-no root ability so no flashing of custom roms (so far)
-only android 6.0
-PowerVR GPU failed to blow me away for gaming but is still no slouch... just no Nvidia K1 killer
-hardware compacitive buttons instead of softkeys (which may be a plus or a minus but I feel it's a minus because of difficulties seeing the buttons when not lit in the dark)
-battery is not the best but not the worst either. Buy a $20 powerbank if you go on long plane trips
-too many pre-loaded Asus apps (bloatware) though I'm beginning to discover that they can be disabled
Anyway, I'd like to build up a community of support for this device and share tips & tricks for its userbase. The most important thing I'd like to see is a way for it to be rooted so that we can have some real fun with it. Plus, it should bust open the interest in this tablet tenfold if it occurs. It deserves its place among other classic more budget-conscious android tablets like the Nexus 7 2013, I feel..
The chipset is so new on this tablet that I can't get a fastboot command that shows the state of the bootloader to work.
Although Asus usually has locked bootloaders, Mediatek chipset are usually not locked in my experience. My Lenovo tab 2 10A has a Mediatek chipset that was not locked.
I am sure the chipset on this tablet is locked, but not positive. With a locked bootloader we can't do much with this tablet.
In the past I have owned the Asus TF 700 and the Asus TF 701 if memory serves Asus provided a bootloader unlock key (app) to unlock the bootloaders on these tablets on the Asus support pages.
On Asus products I currently have:
ASUS ZENPAD S 8.0 Z580CA
ASUS ZenPad 3S 10 (Z500M)
I have asked Asus support for a key for the S 8.0 and never received a reply. The S 8.0 has a Intel processor and the 3S 10 has a Mediatek processor. I really like Asus products but latley they are very restrictive on options.
JackOfOwls said:
Decided to start this thread on advice from another forum poster in an attempt to drum up some interest with the hope of building a community of support since there aren't a lot of resources online about it. It's a good, fairly recently released android tablet with decent specs. I bought it last week and so far I am not disappointed though there are definitely a few niggles about it, as is the case with just about any device.
(pros) Things I love about this tablet:
-hexacore processor... it feels nice and snappy.
-big bright 9.7" ips screen
-build quality feels solid and seems very much on a par with Apple's iPads
-reasonably priced, especially when compared to the comparable Samsung tablets
-4GB RAM & 64GB internal storage (YEAH!)
-MicroSD storage (no singing the Nexus tablet blues anymore with devices that don't have MicroSD support)
(cons) Things I hate about this tablet:
-no root ability so no flashing of custom roms (so far)
-only android 6.0
-PowerVR GPU failed to blow me away for gaming but is still no slouch... just no Nvidia K1 killer
-hardware compacitive buttons instead of softkeys (which may be a plus or a minus but I feel it's a minus because of difficulties seeing the buttons when not lit in the dark)
-battery is not the best but not the worst either. Buy a $20 powerbank if you go on long plane trips
-too many pre-loaded Asus apps (bloatware) though I'm beginning to discover that they can be disabled
Anyway, I'd like to build up a community of support for this device and share tips & tricks for its userbase. The most important thing I'd like to see is a way for it to be rooted so that we can have some real fun with it. Plus, it should bust open the interest in this tablet tenfold if it occurs. It deserves its place among other classic more budget-conscious android tablets like the Nexus 7 2013, I feel..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like there are a lot of here that migrated from the N7-2013 to the Zenpad. I had been trying to hold off for the long rumored Samsung S3 but gave up and got the Asus as a Christmas gift. Like most of you all too, it would be really nice to see an update either by Asus or custom ROM. But I think the mediatek processor is the biggest limiting factor at this point.
I do not think Mediatek is such a negative thing. If you take a close look most of the large manufacturers of Android devices are using or have used Mediatek chipsets in some of those products. The ageing chipsets are almost non-existent in today's devices. The king of the hill on mobile chipsets is Qualcomm Snapdragon. The more Mediatek is used the more consumers will look for third party development. Imo
I'd like to christen this topic with its first question to owners of this device (or any android 6.0+ device for that matter) that are into portable gaming with their phones and tablets.
I just bought a SanDisk Ultra 128 GB MicroSD card which will be delivered tomorrow according to USPS tracking. Since I have a rather large GooglePlay base of purchased android games and apps, would it be best to use MicroSD card external storage or adoptive storage for them? Thanks.
loner. said:
I do not think Mediatek is such a negative thing. If you take a close look most of the large manufacturers of Android devices are using or have used Mediatek chipsets in some of those products. The ageing chipsets are almost non-existent in today's devices. The king of the hill on mobile chipsets is Qualcomm Snapdragon. The more Mediatek is used the more consumers will look for third party development. Imo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you on terms of performance with the MediaTek and I do think it's likely to start seeing more widespread use. The weakness I was referring to is that at the moment it's not getting much love from the Custom ROM Developers
radon222 said:
I'm with you on terms of performance with the MediaTek and I do think it's likely to start seeing more widespread use. The weakness I was referring to is that at the moment it's not getting much love from the Custom ROM Developers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True XDA seems to have little love for Mediatek.
Fasle on getting widespread use. The use of Mediatek is worldwide in phones and tablets and coming on strong.
Problem: I just inserted the SanDisk Ultra 128GB MicroSD card into my Zenpad 3S 10 and though the card is recognized and I'm able to format it as external storage, I'm not getting the option to format it as adoptable storage. What could be the issue? Is this something that one of the Asus bloatware apps is causing? The android version is 6.0 so I know it's adoptable storage capable.
JackOfOwls said:
Problem: I just inserted the SanDisk Ultra 128GB MicroSD card into my Zenpad 3S 10 and though the card is recognized and I'm able to format it as external storage, I'm not getting the option to format it as adoptable storage. What could be the issue? Is this something that one of the Asus bloatware apps is causing? The android version is 6.0 so I know it's adoptable storage capable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer have the external sd card listed as external storage, but to see more options you may want to go to the website and download the manual for this device if you haven't already.
loner. said:
I prefer have the external sd card listed as external storage, but to see more options you may want to go to the website and download the manual for this device if you haven't already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to enable adoptable storage under the ZenUI launcher by using this tutorial, but the transfer rates are ridiculously slow with the SanDisk Ultra 128GB. When I formatted it as adoptable storage, I got a warning that my MicroSD card was too slow for adoptable storage and that I would probably have issues. But the Sandisk is rated at 80 MB/s so I'm wondering what's up. When I tried to migrate the data to the MicroSD it said it would take an hour to migrate 37GB of data from my internal storage but it self-aborted after about 20 minutes or 10GBs. WTF? Running SD benchmarks right now to determine exact transfer rates and even that is taking forever in reading operations for the benchmark. According to the other ZenPad topic, this Asus device may have issues with large 128GB cards. I'm starting to become disgruntled because I bought this tablet with the hope of transferring all my apps and games to the Sandisk 128GB card and having it actually be feasible to run stuff off of it.
ETA: Just did a cold reboot and now my SanDisk 128GB MicroSDXC is showing 42 MB/s read speed using the A1 SD Bench app instead of benchmarking at 4.5 MB/sec before the cold reboot. Maybe this will work out after all. Retrying the data migration to adoptable storage now.
Well, my adventures in adoptable storage have not been a total success. I posted about my specific issue with it here. Hopefully other owners of the ASUS ZenPad 3S 10 have found a way to at least make microsd cards formatted as external storage able to run obb files off of it. I'm only realizing now how badly needed that root ability is. Thanks for any help.
I contacted Asus about upcomming updates and got the following responses (roughly translated from german):
Yes, an upgrade to Android 7 is planned for your device (I asked about the LTE version). Unfortunately, it has been delayed, but we expect it to be released at the end of the second quarter
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Click to collapse
I then asked them about the non-LTE version, specifically because of this post which claims that the Z500 will never receive an update because the hardware is not supported by nougat.
We can't confirm this and cannot make any further comment on this false report. Unfortunately, we have no information on the release of Android 7 for your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note how they could immediately tell me when the update is comming for the LTE version but have no information about the non-LTE version. Perhaps it is not supported by Android 7 after all and they are still figuring out a way around this? I'm not an expert on this topic, someone more skilled than me might want to take a look on the post I linked above, I can provide translation if needed.
Still not sure whether to buy this or the S2. Similair prices, I like the ZenPad more for the hardware, but the S2 is well served with Custom Firmware and is thus sure to be up to date for many years...
About the IMG GX6250 no being able to run Nougat, that's a lie. See here about the new Asus Tablet running Nougat, it uses exactly the same GPU as the Zenpad S3 10.
It make no sense, why would Google support a device in Android 6.0 and stop supporting the same device in Android 7.0 unless it was a old chipset and hardware configuration. If Googe was at odds with Mediatek it would be news...
hi
i have asus zanpad 3s 10 z500m for 3 days and i have a problem. After 3- 6 hours in standby tablet stop responding.i try a factory reset and after the night in standby mode the tablet don't start. i try power buton ,nothing.i plug in charger and after few seconds the tablet start.the battery have 45% so not the issue.
thank you!
lyon king said:
hi
i have asus zanpad 3s 10 z500m for 3 days and i have a problem. After 3- 6 hours in standby tablet stop responding.i try a factory reset and after the night in standby mode the tablet don't start. i try power buton ,nothing.i plug in charger and after few seconds the tablet start.the battery have 45% so not the issue.
thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would send it back for a exchange on a new replacement.
Thinking about getting one of these for my daughter to replace her aging first-generation 10" Samsung tablet. It seems more cost-effective than getting a Samsung Tab S2 (or the new and ludicrously priced Tab S3) for pretty much the same - or better - spec.
I know rooting is pretty much never going to happen (so I'd never consider one of these for myself) but how bad is the Asus bloatware/crap that they've bolted on top of Android? Would a new launcher (such as Nova) fix most of it without needing to root?
Andre
andrewilley said:
Thinking about getting one of these for my daughter to replace her aging first-generation 10" Samsung tablet. It seems more cost-effective than getting a Samsung Tab S2 (or the new and ludicrously priced Tab S3) for pretty much the same - or better - spec.
I know rooting is pretty much never going to happen (so I'd never consider one of these for myself) but how bad is the Asus bloatware/crap that they've bolted on top of Android? Would a new launcher (such as Nova) fix most of it without needing to root?
Andre
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Asus bloatware and launcher really aren't bad at all and actually grown to like it. I'm coming from an N7 2013 and a series of Moto Droid that were as close to stock android as possible.
Sent from my P027 using Tapatalk
radon222 said:
The Asus bloatware and launcher really aren't bad at all and actually grown to like it. I'm coming from an N7 2013 and a series of Moto Droid that were as close to stock android as possible.
Sent from my P027 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Nova Launcher Pro.
Sent from my P027 using Tapatalk
Bought mine specifically for a decent resolution 4:3 device. Fought a bit with the bloatware to get it disabled to my liking - in particular some of it absolutely trashes the performance (I forget which though, this was months ago).
Coping without root. Only tend to use that for AdAway, so am using JumpGo as a browser - and almost none of the other apps I use are ad supported so it's not too terrible.
Would love to see a proper AOSP build for it. The hardware is brilliant but as it stands it's simply a stop-gap for me until something better with similar properties comes along with decent software.