The One 'Do I Buy This', 'What Do I Buy', 'I'm Looking For' Thread

[jluvbaby]

@jluvbaby It means it wont work as intended out of the box, and requires you to do some research beforehand.

yes... thats why im on this forum to find the right one to work with... i guess i wasnt quite as specific as i should have been... what im looking for besides the live streaming video is a tablet just for simple every day use... i know i want a 2.2 o.s... the screen flipping doesnt matter to me... i will be using it like i said when im on my buisness trips to surf the net and maybe watch a fight that maybe my hotel doesnt have the channel to... is there anything comparable to what im looking for in the 200 to 300 range?... the streaming video doesnt have to be tv perfect as long as i can access the sites... im guessing all the other bells and whistles ill enjoy with which ever one i buy will be included like market place and the other stuff people look for... i gues what im asking you is to help point me to 1 particular unit you feel in your expertise will most fit my needs... if you think i need to spend a little more maybe i can do that as well... just looking to be pointed in the right direction...

 

[keveye]

I have ordered the FlyTouch pad, thank you very much for your recommendation - I appreciate your help

@hookedand Sorry I missed your post, but there's nothing that fits your budget unless you take a risk and buy a shanzhai tablet such as the Samsung S5PV210 or the Freescale IMX515 based 8" tablets. I can't recommend either one right now because the firmware isn't quite good enough yet, but the for Flash the Samsung based one would be better. You can find the Samsung under names of TMD MID, or Herotab M816, to include a couple. The next ones up are the Archos 70 and Elocity A7, both around $300 and work with Adobe Flash. The Nook Color is supposed to get 2.2 with Adobe Flash support later as well, but since it doesn't have Flash yet I can't recommend that to you.

@jluvbaby It means it wont work as intended out of the box, and requires you to do some research beforehand.

@keveye The 10" Telechips has better community support than the Flytouch II, but the Flytouch II has better specifications (and works with Angry Birds). It also does seem to be built better and comes with HDMI as well. It's hard for me to say if it is worth the extra money because the Flytouch II has a lot of variables with build quality. I prefer the M1001 if I really had to pick, but if I am spending $30 more I would spend a little more money on something that is actually from a trusted brand.

 

[i00jay]

There is so much info in this forum! It's amazing to be able to pull all this info together.

Here is what I'm looking for, I haven't found the right fit yet and I'm hoping you can help:

7 or 10 inch (7 prefered)
Android 2.2 with flash support
Web cam
Skype with video capability
USB slot
Market place
microSD support (16 or 32)
Note taking using stylus (Handwriting)

I think I've limited my search to a resistive screen Android 2.2 platform device but none of the specs I've read specifically state that the full skype experience is working or tht the notes input can be either pen (Handwriting) or keyboard.

Thanks for your feedback.
J

Hey xaueious, any thoughts with my "want" list? I'd like to stay in the "Cheaper than an iPad" range. LOL

 

[hookedand]

@hookedand Sorry I missed your post, but there's nothing that fits your budget unless you take a risk and buy a shanzhai tablet such as the Samsung S5PV210 or the Freescale IMX515 based 8" tablets. I can't recommend either one right now because the firmware isn't quite good enough yet, but the for Flash the Samsung based one would be better. You can find the Samsung under names of TMD MID, or Herotab M816, to include a couple. The next ones up are the Archos 70 and Elocity A7, both around $300 and work with Adobe Flash. The Nook Color is supposed to get 2.2 with Adobe Flash support later as well, but since it doesn't have Flash yet I can't recommend that to you.

@jluvbaby It means it wont work as intended out of the box, and requires you to do some research beforehand.

@keveye The 10" Telechips has better community support than the Flytouch II, but the Flytouch II has better specifications (and works with Angry Birds). It also does seem to be built better and comes with HDMI as well. It's hard for me to say if it is worth the extra money because the Flytouch II has a lot of variables with build quality. I prefer the M1001 if I really had to pick, but if I am spending $30 more I would spend a little more money on something that is actually from a trusted brand.

What about a tablet where i need it to just mainly read PDF's and watch videos in formats of mpeg, avi, and mp4. Thats really the main purpose i need it for is there anything that would fit a budget of 200?

 

[Eltocliousus]

I can't seem to find the perfect tablet to get, I have £250 ($350-400) but there are no "instant buy" tablets that people can recommend at that price.

I'm looking for a tablet around £250 ($350-400) which will/has;

7"-10.2" screen,
Froyo (2.2) or a windows OS, (I don't know if Froyo is neccesary, I'm happy with 2.1 as long as it supports most apps)
Responsive,
has access to the Android market, either right off the bat or after installing it from other sources,
Looks sleek, I don't want huge borders around the screen like some of the aPad (iPad knockoffs) have.
8gb or more HDD space, I've seen a lot of tablets having 2gb, that's too little.
Some good specs, 1ghz CPU and 512mb ram+ is fine, I don't want it to lag or become out of date in a week due to apps I can't run.

That's about it, everything else is mostly covered by Android itself, Flash would be nice but not neccesary.
The "looking for" attributes aren't set in stone, so if there is a tablet around my price range that's good but is missing a few of them, I'm willing to get it!

 

[AgentSmith]

Hi All,

Great to see lot of people asking and helping each other here. Hope to get some help …

I am planning to use tablet for home as well as business use. At this moment, there are many options with different plus minus points. There is an iPad and Android competitors. It would be great if you people can provide some help on below mentioned points:

• Can the tablet store emails ? I can run outlook / any other mail client without internet connectivity to access all the mails I received till now. Searching, composing new mails, contacts browsing is very fast locally. Do the tablet provide the same functionality ? Or it is just a web-mail which requires me to be connected all the time + some cached messages as offline stuff ?
• Will the email program handle appointments / meeting requests and update the calendar automatically ?
• Can I open / edit / save office files – word, excel, ppt ? Online OR offline - use of google docs is must for that ?
• Currently there are WiFi and 3G connectivity options. If there is 3G option, can I use my normal GSM SIM having 2.5G / Edge connectivity into it ? Apart from reduced speed, what other features will be disabled ?
• Can I make call / receive call / SMS ? I know iPad doesn’t allow this. What about android tablets with 3G option ?
• Can the tablet be used without PC / Laptop ? I know iPad cannot be used without PC and iTunes.
• Is the file system on tablet is accessible like Windows Explorer ? Can I store any type of file as files directly and use it as a memory disk for sharing ?
• iPad had sandbox approach – means files / data belongs to every app. On Android, can the file remain common and be opened / used by many apps ?
• Does Android tablet support multi-processing ? Can I run multiple applications (not just music player) ?
• Are the capacitive screens of Android tablets as good as iPad ?
• Should I wait for Tegra 2 processor / CES – will it present huge improvement over existing tablets ?

I have some technical background, so answers can include some jargons

 

[AgentSmith]

Also, I have read somewhere that the Android OS is not meant for screens larger than 7 inch. Because Google didn't think this will be used for tablets. Same case with apps - the current Android tablet apps are just mobile phone apps scaled up hence the quality may not be great.

Kindly advise on these points too.

 

[jluvbaby]

xaueious... i have been doing a lot of research since our last discussion and ive learned a little bit more about what i'm really looking for... as of now unless you tell me different i think ive narrowed my search to the archos 101 or the advent vega or the archos 9 pc tablet... now my question is if i go with a less expensive 2.1 tablet can any of them be upgraded to be able to support flash or is there an application that will allow 2.1 to be able to access flash video?.... also i notice the android market is not a component of all the android tablets, least i haven't seen it listed as an option... can that market be downloaded if it does not come with the tablet of choice?... last but not least what would the pro's and cons be for me paying more and going with the pc tablet as opposed to the two android tablets i mentioned?.. the archos 9 looks like its more of what i first told you i was looking for but i wasnt looking to spend that type of money tho i will if i have too... also, if i am on the right track with the archos 9 pc tablet are there any others out there a little less expensive that you could recomend? thanks...

update i just noticed the elocity A7 touchscreen... it would be great if someone with info on it could give some solid previews as well... it looks very interesting to me as well...

 

[alareth1976]

Ok, I'm near to finally choose my first android tablet.
The 2 finalists are the M7026: 7" multi-touch apad with Android 2.1 (recently announced as upgraded to 2.2) or the Nook Color (i've read that it'll have 2.2 too).

Do you have any opinions to share with me? I'll really appreciate


Sent from my HTC Legend using Android Tablet Forum App

 

[olewh]

Im looking at buying an Android Tablet between £100 and £200:

-GPS essential
-something to facilitate easy transfer between Tablet and external devices eg. USB port
-3g, HDSPA connectivity so I can (1) access www on the move and (2)use as a mobile phone.
-Android 2.1 or better

Ive looked at the Flytouch 2 which looks pretty good. But I dont think I can use my sim card with it. I would get it if it did allow sim card use. What else can I look at?

 

[xaueious]

@jluvbaby
Archos 101 is the most ready out-of-the box and probably the easiest to modify initially. Advent Vega is clearly superior if you aren't afraid of installing a custom firmware on it. Archos 9 is not Android and just is not good touch experience with Windows. Once you cheap out on an Android tablet, you will lose out on Adobe Flash. Market can be installed as an aftermarket solution. Check the unlisted section for opinions on the eLocity.

@i00jay
I don't expect webcams or Skype to work on any Android device you choose. You are better off with a netbook if you need to use that. I have not seen any good software for notetaking on Android. You are best off with a Windows tablet with OneNote. I wouldn't get anything less than a HP TM2.

@hookedand
If you don't read heavy PDF files, get any TCC8902 device such as the Coby Kyros MID7005 or MID7015. It is supposed to cost you less than $180.

@Eltocliousus
For that budget, you are looking at the Advent Vega and pretty much nothing else for now. You can use a microSD card to expand the memory. 16GB cards have really gone down in price. It wont lag, but you still need to modify it to make it work better. Android doesn't have clear answers at this point.

@AgentSmith
For work, you should get an Android 2.2 device because it has pretty complete push Microsoft Exchange support built in.
You can make changes to Office files, but keep in mind that inputting text into a tablet device is not very good without an external keyboard attachment.
I don't think there is built in support for iCal files, so you need to key in entries calendar manually if you just have access to the tablet after receiving a calendar appointment in email.
If you need 3G, SMS and phone calls, your best options are the Dell Streak, and Huawei Ideos S7.
Android tablets can run indepedently of a PC. In fact you need third-party software to achieve similar functionality as iTunes does for the iPad.
Android applications permissions vary, but all require your approval before being installed. That includes access to files on your phones or to other specific applications.
Android does multitask, but it tends to slow down the device even on current generation devices (Cortex A8).
Tegra 2 is already here. What isn't here is Google's guidelines for tablet design.
Android is ready for large screens starting from 2.3. But the experience of running older versions of Andorid on 7" devices is acceptable if not very good.

@alareth1976
Get the Nook Color.

@olewh
The Flytouch 2 supports some USB 3G modules, as I described here: http://www.androidtablets.net/forum...i-e220-3gusb-dongle-connection.html#post23378. If not, you can use wifi-tether with most cellular devices after a workaround.
Is the Huawei Ideos S7 available in your area and within your price range?

 

[alareth1976]

Thanks for the help

Sent from my HTC Legend using Android Tablet Forum App

 

[Codename46]

Hey guys,

Sorry for duplicate post. I just noticed this sticky.

I'm going to Beijing in a few days and one of the things I would like to do there is pick up an Android tablet. I've seen numerous ones on the U.S market (particularly Amazon) but don't know what to get. Money isn't an issue but would like to stay under $300 USD. Android 2.1 and newer preferred. Is the Huawei S7 still pretty cutting edge or are there newer ones on the Chinese market?? Smooth operation is probably the biggest factor. Wifi capability is a must along with decent battery life.


Thanks.

 

[olewh]

r.
@olewh
The Flytouch 2 supports some USB 3G modules, as I described here: http://www.androidtablets.net/forum...i-e220-3gusb-dongle-connection.html#post23378. If not, you can use wifi-tether with most cellular devices after a workaround.
Is the Huawei Ideos S7 available in your area and within your price range?

Thanks for the advice Xaueious. I want inbuilt 3g access so a Flytouch 2 is out for me. This brings me to the Huawei S7 which looks great, I thought it fits the bill. But its very confusing - it seems that, unless im mistaken, the Huawei S7 has GPS OR Usim/Sim socket, that none of them have both GPS AND Usim/Sim socket, two essential requirements. (Is there anywhere which lists the specs of the different Huawei S7's eg S7-101, S7-103, S7-104, S7-105 ? )

Any other hints, tips, advice as to tablets I might look at. Samsung Galaxy Tab, which I think meets these requirements, is out of my range unfortunately

 

[xaueious]

@Codename46
I don't even think you can find a 3G compatible Huawei S7 in China. The devices were launched to be region specific. Unless you compare the prices based on Taobao, you are probably going to get scammed. The brand name tablets in the US have very competitive pricing. The Chinese are actually importing devices such as the Nook Color.

@olewh
The Huawei S7 has both integrated GPS and support for a SIM card. The problem for is finding the variant that works for your carrier. You could give your local Huawei support center a call and see if they know anything.
http://www.huawei.com/about/officeList.do