Three Common Questions and I hope answers: This thread-Question 1

gurgle

Super Moderator
Staff member
Aug 6, 2010
1,463
131
I have been on the forum for just over a week and see the same questions from individuals who are looking for details not found in their user manuals and no real source beyond a site like this one and Slatedroid. I know the answers to my three questions are not perfect. I just hope they will help in your Question. The three questions I see are:
1. What Tablet Should I buy?
2. Where do I find the app for .... and Market does not work on my tablet?
3. How can I update my Tablet to use 2.1 or a newer Firmware?
This first post on this thread will try to answer Question #1
1. Which Tablet should I buy?

It boils down to three questions you should ask yourself.
a. How much Money do I have?
b. What features do I want?
c. What type of service should I need to support my tablet?

How much Money do I have?
There seems to be two price points for question (1a.): Below $200US and Above $200US. The more capable units are all more expensive. But that should not stop you from purchasing a less expensive unit. Xaueious has an outstanding post that lists types by Chipset. If you talk to real "chiphead"s, they will argue that that one chip is horrible and underpowered while another is great. That is only part of the story.

The firmware features, operating memory, and the secondary chips all add or subtract to make the tablet.
You will find Tablets on the 'Bay with the same processor on the ~$100US unit as on the higher end units. The difference may be how the chips were clocked and the "baking" of Firmware.
Bottom Line: Research and Buy what you can afford. But realize, the Generic EPad will have issues the the Dell Streak may have resolved out of the Box. And remember a follow up advice: Do NOT be assured what the item is to have does have it when it arrives. The AuGen sold at K-Mart is an example. It said to have HDMI. It did not.

What Features do I want?
Any additional features add to the price. There are some (Read EPed) which offer USB only via a mini-Dock. One bonus though, the Mini-Dock has an RJ45 for direct wired Ethernet connectivity. The cameras are many times lower resolution and "revved" up to a higher capability. ie a .3MP web-cam with firmware interpolation software to make it 1.3MP.

The features which are in my mind the most valuable are units with a precise touch, good Gravity(rotation) and more than three buttons/switches. I like external buttons in addition to touch.
This does not include a basic reset button. Some units have the ability of holding the power button for 7 seconds and it acts like a reset button. Others have nothing except letting the battery to fully discharge to allow reset. Read the Manual
Bottom Line: Features are just as important as the software packages you can load on the tablet. What is the point of camera/video recording if there is no capability

How can I update my Tablet to use 2.1 or a newer Firmware?
Some units allow updating/ There are also units which have nearly fixed ROM/BIOS Chips. Unless you have a higher end unit, updating the Firmware without knowing the source is a roll of the dice. You will less likely be able to update to 2.1 if the capability is not available.
There are Firmware cooks out there. See the Tablet Hacks sub-section. In my opinion at this time consider yourself lucky and happy if you have a 1.6 Donut Android and a stable 1.7.4 Firmware. There are some tablets which have half baked firmware and this affects capability
Bottom Line: Learn what your unit can and cannot do before pursuing updating the firmware. You may or may not gain anything but an electronic brick (Speaking from Experience with an Archos unit)

Next time: Where do I find the app for .... and Market does not work on my tablet?
 

gurgle

Super Moderator
Staff member
Aug 6, 2010
1,463
131
Merge and kill this thread, I will add and amend there


Thanks for the FAQ, It looks great
 
Top