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Looking for a Android Tablet


By jvolstad   Follow   Thu, 14 Jun 2012, 6:55pm   4,895 views   49 comments
In San Antonio TX 78254   Watch (1)   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

I'm thinking the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 with a 7" screen. $250 is my limit.

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  1. HEY YOU


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    10   4:43pm Thu 21 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    I don't need a tablet. I haven't figured out this desktop.

  2. clambo


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    11   4:48pm Thu 21 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    Why just 7"?
    I can't imagine less than 9.7"
    There are various ones, check out walmart.com and tablets. The reason is the comments are useful, like Amazon.
    I was thinking of the Coby or Le Pan ones.

    What is interesting the Rim tablets were actually cool, I saw one up in Vancouver a couple weeks ago. I guess they're toast though.

  3. Vicente


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    12   4:53pm Thu 21 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    At 40, I laughed off the idea of reading specs.

    When I passed 45 reality caught up, I found myself buying a pair.

    Now there are some things I can't do on my iPhone and I reach for the iPad with it's 10" screen. For me at least 7" would be too small to fill that niche above phone. YMMV.

  4. EBGuy


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    13   5:33pm Thu 21 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    I hear you can pick up those RIM Playbook tablets cheap now.
    BestBuy has the refurbished units on sale for $139 right now (new $199). That is tempting as my Nokia n810 is getting a bit long in the tooth. Looks like I should be able to use it for geocaching (which isn't pleasant on the Nokia).

  5. APOCALYPSEFUCK is Shostakovich


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    14   5:38pm Thu 21 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    For a project, I had to pick up a Galaxy Tab 2 10.1

    Nice!

    I didn't know the OS could be this complete. It's not an iPad but it organizes things well in its own right. And the integrated navigational system is kinda neat.

    Just futzing with it but overall a sturdy piece of kit as far as I can tell.

  6. AverageBear


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    15   7:17pm Thu 21 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    I'm still surfing the net like a mofo at home on a Dell D600 that my company was going to throw out 3 years ago. XP, 1 gig of RAM, and can still read what you clowns on Patrick have to say for...... FREE. It's fallen off the table 4-5 times in the last year, and it still works. no viruses, no BSODs, no problems. How do you like dem apples, eh? I'll probably get a tablet this time next year when they're around $150, and can do everything and has everything.

  7. Call it Crazy


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    16   8:18pm Thu 21 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)  

    Vicente says

    At 40, I laughed off the idea of reading specs.

    When I passed 45 reality caught up, I found myself buying a pair.

    Now there are some things I can't do on my iPhone and I reach for the iPad with it's 10" screen. For me at least 7" would be too small to fill that niche above phone. YMMV.

    Ha Ha Ha... I'm with you on that one, really sucks to have to use the "cheater" specs.... Go 10" screen, anything smaller is a larger iPhone.

  8. EBGuy


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    17   1:38pm Wed 27 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    Nexus 7 is looking like it may be worth the wait. No primary camera (that is back facing, I misspoke above). There is a front facing lower res camera for video conferencing. They're also leapfrogging most of the other 7 " tablets (usually 1024x600) and going with a 720p screen (well, 1280x800). This should put some pressure on the other players in the market.

    Edit: It does have GPS as well.

  9. thomas.wong1986


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    18   11:56pm Wed 27 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    EBGuy says

    Nexus 7 is looking like it may be worth the wait.

    anything with a USB connection is worth waiting.. I will wait for the Linux hackers to make it even better.

  10. thomas.wong1986


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    19   12:02am Thu 28 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    AverageBear says

    I'm still surfing the net like a mofo at home on a Dell D600 that my company was going to throw out 3 years ago. XP

    have a 600 with multiboot.. xp, linux and haiku (beos)... works great.
    you can boot system 7 and if your daring.. Mac OSX

  11. EBGuy


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    20   12:06pm Thu 28 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    anything with a USB connection is worth waiting.. I will wait for the Linux hackers to make it even better.
    You brought up an interesting point. Some tablets are crippled by that fact that they only support slave mode; hopefully this device can also act as a USB host to a myriad of peripherals.

  12. APOCALYPSEFUCK is Shostakovich


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    21   3:55pm Thu 28 Jun 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    thomas.wong1986 says

    AverageBear says

    I'm still surfing the net like a mofo at home on a Dell D600 that my company was going to throw out 3 years ago. XP

    have a 600 with multiboot.. xp, linux and haiku (beos)... works great.

    you can boot system 7 and if your daring.. Mac OSX

    Whatchu use to manage the boot loader?

  13. EBGuy


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    22   1:20pm Wed 22 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    jvolstad, Did you get a tablet?

  14. leo707


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    23   10:44am Thu 23 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    @jvolstad

    Yeah, did you get a tablet?

  15. APOCALYPSEFUCK is Shostakovich


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    24   8:03pm Thu 23 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    I got an Asus TF300 to futz with. Neat. Dropped in a 64Gb SD card to hold torrented movies for travel. Nifty! Tegra 3 has plenty of power. And the sound quality with a good pair of cans is impressive.

    The physicality of the UX is nifty. I want to hook it up to a Kinect so I can type with karate chops.

  16. Call it Crazy


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    25   8:21pm Thu 23 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)  

    APOCALYPSEFUCK is Shostakovich says

    And the sound quality with a good pair of cans is impressive.

    Your tablet has tits???????? Are they implants?????

  17. APOCALYPSEFUCK is Shostakovich


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    26   9:38pm Thu 23 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    Cans. Trade term for head phones.

  18. jvolstad


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    27   10:23pm Thu 23 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    EBGuy says

    jvolstad, Did you get a tablet?

    No, I checked it out at Best Buy and wasn't all that impressed by it. My HTC Rezound with a HD 4.3 screen does fine for me. That as well as being more portable.

  19. CaptainShuddup


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    28   8:47am Fri 24 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)  

    jvolstad says

    My HTC Rezound with a HD 4.3 screen does fine for me. That as well as being more portable.

    Are you under 40? My peepers just can't see the tiny screen. Even with glasses there's a bit of eye fatigue eventually.

  20. jvolstad


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    29   2:54pm Tue 28 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    CaptainShuddup says

    jvolstad says

    My HTC Rezound with a HD 4.3 screen does fine for me. That as well as being more portable.

    Are you under 40? My peepers just can't see the tiny screen. Even with glasses there's a bit of eye fatigue eventually.

    I just turned.....drum roll....the big Six Oh. Got the gray hair to prove it.

    I take off my glasses when I'm using my Rezound. That and holding the screen closer to my face helps. The HTC Rezound has a true HD (720p) screen and the type looks great. Even if it's a bit small.

  21. Dan8267


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    30   3:41pm Tue 28 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    Nexus 7 Specs
    ------------------
    7 inch 1280x800 HD display (216 ppi)
    Back-lit IPS display
    Scratch-resistant Corning glass
    1.2MP front-facing camera
    8 GB or 16 GB internal storage (actual formatted capacity will be less)
    1 GB RAM
    WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
    Bluetooth
    Quad-core Tegra 3 processor
    Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

    Review

    Review
    http://www.droid-life.com/2012/07/10/google-nexus-7-review/

    Price $200 for 8GB internal storage, $250 for 16 GB internal storage
    https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_8gb

    Cons
    ------
    1. No HDMI or MHL. That's a big con in my opinion as attaching a tablet to a 50" plasma display is something I'd expect to be able to do.

    2. Only one low resolution front-facing camera. Droid mobile phones have dual high-res rear cameras for shooting 3D video.

  22. EBGuy


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    31   5:16pm Tue 28 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    Help me out Dan. You're expecting a 3D camera in a sub $200 tablet? As far as I can tell, 3D cameras are only available in $400+ devices (and for that matter, there are no high res. rear facing cameras in any of the sub $200 tablets on the market). Just trying to set realistic expectations.

  23. APOCALYPSEFUCK is Shostakovich


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    32   6:50pm Tue 28 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    Ha! For 200 bucks I expect a built in pizza oven!

  24. Call it Crazy


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    33   7:04pm Tue 28 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike (1)  

    APOCALYPSEFUCK is Shostakovich says

    Cans. Trade term for head phones.

    Oh, I though you were referring to a pair of these.....

  25. Dan8267


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    34   9:16pm Tue 28 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    EBGuy says

    Help me out Dan. You're expecting a 3D camera in a sub $200 tablet? As far as I can tell,

    Obviously not. Just pointing out what the trade-off is. However, I would expect one reasonably high-res camera given that they are pretty cheap nowadays. The main con is lack of HDMI support, in my opinion.

    Oh, and just to clarify. There's no such thing as a "3D camera". 3D video is shot using two offset cameras. The 3D effect comes from the different perspective of each frame as seen by each camera.

  26. EBGuy


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    35   3:02pm Wed 29 Aug 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    Dan said: 3D video is shot using two offset cameras.
    You got me there as I wasn't thinking that much about it. Tablets are an interesting platform as you can get a nice parallax effect from sensors being located further apart at two corners. I believe, though, you have to pay a premium for the screens for viewing (though this depends on if you're using glasses, a dual screen, or a screen with diff view angles for each eye).
    I do agree with you about the HDMI connector. There's cost savings but you think they could make that up by streaming more content to larger displays.

    AF said: Ha! For 200 bucks I expect a built in pizza oven!
    I believe you're thinking of the tablet based on the Intel AToM chip.

  27. EBGuy


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    36   3:50pm Tue 16 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    Patrick, this is the problem with your audience, they're a bunch of cheap SOBs. Hasn't anyone purchased a Nexus 7 tablet yet? At $199 you've got Nexux 7 vs. a bit older Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. Here's my take:
    Screen: Nexus 7 (1280x800) over Tab 2 (1024x600)
    Processor: Nexus 7 (quad core) over Tab 2 (dual core)
    Rear facing camera: Tab 2 (3 MPixels) over Nexus 7 (none)
    Expansion port: Tab 2 (microSD) over Nexus 7 (none)

    Edit -
    Remote: Tab 2 (built-in IR blaster) over Nexus 7 (none)

  28. curious2


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    37   4:09pm Tue 16 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    I want one with infrared so I can use it as a remote control. My old Dell Axim x51v PDA could do that. Unfortunately the iPhone & iPad can't, then everybody copied Apple instead of innovating something better, so I'm still waiting.

  29. jvolstad


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    38   4:44pm Tue 16 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    EBGuy says

    Patrick, this is the problem with your audience, they're a bunch of cheap SOBs. Hasn't anyone purchased a Nexus 7 tablet yet? At $199 you've got Nexux 7 vs. a bit older Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. Here's my take:

    Screen: Nexus 7 (1280x800) over Tab 2 (1024x600)

    Processor: Nexus 7 (quad core) over Tab 2 (dual core)

    Rear facing camera: Tab 2 (3 MPixels) over Nexus 7 (none)

    Expansion port: Tab 2 (microSD) over Nexus 7 (none)

    Cheap, money in the bank and debt free!!!! :-))))

  30. jvolstad


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    39   4:45pm Tue 16 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    Yup says

    Galaxy Note!

    I kind of like the looks of the Note II.

  31. EBGuy


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    40   12:03pm Tue 23 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    Anyone want to defend the iPad mini? My initial reaction is that Apple missed the boat on form factor for a 7" tablet. While they've gone to HD aspect ratio screens on the iPhones, they're maintaining the 4:3 ratio on the iPad line. This make the iPad mini over 1/2" wider than the Android HD competitors. I know that in many reviews, folks like the fact that you can pocket the Android devices. Perhaps I'm making to much of that added extra half inch. It certainly makes sense to keep of aspect ratio for iPad app compatibility. No GPS, too, but you do get a 5 MP camera.

  32. jvolstad


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    41   12:14pm Tue 23 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    If I can't put the device in my pocket, then I'm not interested.

    I have a smartphone for mobile use, a laptop at home.

    http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/21/verizon-htc-dlx-htcs-first-north-american-phone-with-1080p-5-inch-display-reportedly-caught-on-camera/

    This looks nice and a 5" screen is workable for me.

  33. leo707


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    42   12:37pm Tue 23 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    EBGuy says

    Anyone want to defend the iPad mini? My initial reaction is that Apple missed the boat on form factor for a 7" tablet.

    Not really, I pretty much agree with your assessment. The iPad mini seems to be a example of Apple following the market rather than leading, and not doing a great job of following either.

    EBGuy says

    Perhaps I'm making to much of that added extra half inch. It certainly makes sense to keep of aspect ratio for iPad app compatibility.

    I think the extra 1/2 inch will make a difference to some. They could have chosen to be compatible with the aspect ratio of the iPhone 5.

    The 7 inch tablet market seems to be driven by "low-end" cheap devices in the $200-250 range, and I doubt anyone is going to pay a premium ($330) for a wider device with apparently sub-par hardware unless they are already locked into the Apple ecosystem.

    That said, Apple will probably sell 10 million of them.

  34. EBGuy


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    43   12:42pm Tue 23 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    ($330 with no wifi)
    I think you mean with no cellular service. The base model is WiFi only.

  35. leo707


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    44   2:05pm Tue 23 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected  

    EBGuy says

    ($330 with no wifi)

    I think you mean with no cellular service. The base model is WiFi only.

    Ah, yes you are correct.

  36. jvolstad


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    45   2:11pm Tue 23 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    It's small for sure. :-)

  37. EBGuy


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    46   4:04pm Mon 29 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    The Nexus 7 tablet is now $199 for 16 GB and $249 for 32 GB. The 8GB model has been discontinued.

  38. Vicente


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    47   6:44pm Mon 29 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    leo707 says

    The 7 inch tablet market seems to be driven by "low-end" cheap devices in the $200-250 range, and I doubt anyone is going to pay a premium ($330) for a wider device with apparently sub-par hardware unless they are already locked into the Apple ecosystem.

    Yep I've become locked in I suppose.

    I got 3G modem option on my iPad1 thinking I would use the GPS and modem on it often. However I rarely used either one. I can find WiFi lots of places and these days I use the Personal HotSpot feature to share data off my phone when I can't.

    I know exactly why they went with the size and resolution display they did. It's an existing resolution so no apps need recoding for it.

    I had an iPad1 alongside a newer Retina iPad. You know what? I never went out of my way to pick up the Retina iPad whichever one was closest worked just fine. I sold the iPad1 on Craigslist just to clear up some funds for a mini.

    I ordered the iPad mini 64gb Wifi model, should be here Friday.

  39. GlobalRoamer


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    48   7:51pm Mon 29 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    Hey, if you ask around you will find someone who has one in a drawer somewhere.

    I have an Android tablet and a few Android phones in a drawer around here somewhere.

    There are a lot of Android devices out there but few are being used - might take a clue from the crowds that bought them. Reverse crowd sourcing.

    None of the devices were upgradable to a newer version of Android. I am sure there is a hack out there but my time is worth too much.

  40. jvolstad


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    49   7:52pm Mon 29 Oct 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

    http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9233022/Google_launches_Nexus_4_smartphone_Nexus_10_tablet

    Nexus 4. I like. Not too big, not too small. I've heard good things about Jellybean.

    Is Apple worried yet?

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