Cheap Tablet Advice

[chris30381]

Hello Everyone, I am looking for some advice on buying a cheap tablet. My son likes playing with the talking friends apps (talking tom and talking ginger etc), but we only have them on decent mobile phones which we don't really want him playing with. So basically we are looking for a cheap tablet for him to play basic apps on such as the 2 above and basic learning apps etc, we may also use it for facebook and browsing the web but nothing more really as we also have a decent laptop for everything else. I have read many reviews and if I was purchasing one for myself it would probably be the Asus Google Nexus 7 but again I would'nt really want my son playing with a £170 device. I have always agreed with "you get what you pay for" but I have been looking at a couple of basic cheap tablets on Ebay and most of the reviews have been decent on the A10/A13's especially for the money, please see links below.

New 7" aPad Google Android 4.0 Tablet PC Netbook 1.5GHz | eBay

NEW 7" ANDROID 4.0 ICS A10 TABLET PC CAPACITIVE NETBOOK & FREE 4GB MICRO SD CARD | eBay

Any advice would be appreciated....

Thanks Chris

 

[Natey2]

My advice would be to avoid any tablet that does not come with the Google Play Store pre-installed by the device manufacturer.

 

[chris30381]

Apparenty both of these come with the Official UK Android Market , but I will check this before I purchase - Thanks Natey

 

[asjohnston3]

I was in your position about a month ago. The 1st tablet is advertised as having a Cortex A13 processor running at 1.5 Ghz. This is the Allwinner A13 which is their version of the ARM Cortex A8 chip. This chip is designed to run at 1.0 Ghz. and can be reliably overclocked to 1.2 Ghz. Each mfg. produces their own "custom" version of the A8 & Allwinner is said to have overengineered theirs to be able to be overclocked at 1.5. I don't know if this is going to create reliability issues down the line or not. I almost bought the 2nd one you linked to but eventually decided on the Idolian Idolpad Plus. The specs. are pretty much the same. The exact same tablet is soled under the AGPtek label by Brainydeal and under the name Newsmy NewPad P72. This seems to be a common theme w/ Chinese mfg.'s. I have seen the 2nd tablet you linked to under at least 3 names. The build quality on my Idolpad is every bit as good as my sons ASUS TF300. I have used it daily for almost a month with no problems as an e-reader, streaming music player (Pandora), streaming video player (Netflix, Youtube, ect.) regular games (Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, Temple Run) and even HD 3D games (Duke Nukem 3D is amazing) and playing my own movies from a flash drive. (AVI & MP4) I purchased mine from Amazon (US) for just under 62 Pounds (98.0 dollars US). Hope this helps.....

 

[chris30381]

Erm, what I understand from your message is that the Tablet you purchased is very similar to the 2nd Tablet I linked which is the Allwinner A10 Chip and it sounds like you are very happy with it. I dont understand what you mean by overclocked. But from what I have read the two I linked are very similar to each other, as the A13 Chip (1st Link) is a stripped down version of the A10 (2nd Link) the only differences being the A13 was stripped of HDMI and Bluetooth. Basically in a nutshell, my question is: Do you think either of these will do the job I need them to do? Would you go with the A10 or A13? Thank You for your response, much appreciated!!

 

[asjohnston3]

Do you think either of these will do the job I need them to do? Would you go with the A10 or A13? Thank You for your response, much appreciated!![/QUOTE]

I re-read my post, guess i went off on a tangent... Overclocking means intentionally pushing a processor past it's design speed. Could cause the chip to fail early on. I'd go with your second choice.... However... The best, new Chinese tablets come with a Cortex A9 chip that is designed to run at higher speeds. It is a true dual core chip that is used in a lot of the more expensive tablets. What about?

Eken W70 Android 4 ICS Tablet - White - Cortex A9 1.5Ghz, Capacitive 7", HDMI | eBay

 

[chris30381]

Thats brilliant, exactly the sort of advice I was looking for, A9 it is then. That one looks perfect but I am going to keep my eyes peeled for now as Xmas is approaching. Thanks for the advice

 

[asjohnston3]

pleased that I could be of some small assistance. At the rate the Chinese mfg.'s move, I feel that you will have even more choices by Christmas & the prices should drop as well. But... Caveat Emptor, I have heard that some unscrupulous individuals are advertising old stock as having the Cortex A9. Hope for the best & prepare for the worst I suppose? In any case, good luck & I will keep my extremities x'ed that all goes well.

 

[SpeMall.com]

Hi Chris, for cheap 7 inch tablet, i think you can take a look at the Pipo S1 7 inch tablet PC with dual core and android 4.1 Jelly Bean for ONLY $99.99 shipped, and the Ainol Novo 7 Crystal will also be a good choice(7 inch Dual core high resolution IPS screen android 4.1 tablet for only $119.99 shipped). welcome order!

 

[Natey2]

Apparenty both of these come with the Official UK Android Market , but I will check this before I purchase - Thanks Natey

http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/answer.py?answer=190860

 

[chris30381]

Hi all, thanks again for your replies and advice.

In the end I went for the Tablet linked below and I am very pleased with it. Brilliant for the money imo, connected to my Wireless Router instantly and all the apps downloaded and work perfectly. Had a couple of small issues with my Google Account where I needed to delete and re-add my account to get some of the apps to download. But apart from that and based on my first impressions I would recommend the Via8850 for those on a budget. Granted I have only had it Two Days, so lets see how long it lasts once my son gets his hands on it!!

WM NEW 7" INCH GOOGLE ANDROID 4.0 TABLET PC VIA 8850 MID EPAD APAD NETBOOK WHITE | eBay

 

[iiDiabolusZz]

Hi i have just got the Onda V701 Amlogic Dual Core 1.5GHz Cortex A9 Processor Dual Core Mali400 GPU DOUBLED RAM 1GB DDR3 Hard Drive 8GB HDMI output Latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (support Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Update) OS Wifi 3G (supported) Webcam for Skype Video Calling for my son its an amazing tablet. highly recommend.