Android Tablet Questions

[wa3zrm]

Since they seem to be giving the things away for next to nothing, I am considering the purchase of an Android Tablet. I am considering a Flytouch 3.

Does anyone have any suggestions or opinions on Android Tablets? I'm especially interested in having root access to the tablet as well as installing GPS map software.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Bigblue1]

Since they seem to be giving the things away for next to nothing, I am considering the purchase of an Android Tablet. I am considering a Flytouch 3.

Does anyone have any suggestions or opinions on Android Tablets? I'm especially interested in having root access to the tablet as well as installing GPS map software.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I'd buy the new amazon kindle fire. $199.00 is a great price and the reviews are good. As long as you don't need a camera, your'e all good...... Of course you have to wait till nov. 15th Something better might come along, but I've heard that just the parts in it cost almost $190 and there selling it to wrangle market share from IPad, I am not a genious but if the machine works for half as much and you need no camera sounds like the device to me........

[shikitohno]

Which reviews are you reading of the fire bigblue? I've seen it getting panned pretty badly. It's supposed to be pretty nice if you want a Kindle with bonus features, but falls short as a tablet. It's only got 8GB of memory, no 3G support, and as far as I've seen no way to expand the memory capacity. At least initially, you can only play movies and music on it that you've purchased off Amazon. To top it off, it's only got access to something like 10,000 out of the 200,000 apps available for Android. If you just want a Kindle with some bells and whistles, it's probably not bad, but it falls pretty far short of the mark if you're actually looking for a tablet.

[Joe234]

I'd go with the andoid over the Kindle Fire.
It depends on your needs. Get a smartphone.

I'm writing from my DROIDX phone.
32 gig micro sd card.
8 megapixel camera
720 hd video
Wifi
and more

[Ainkor]

It's a dicey time to be buying a tablet right now. We are very close to the holiday season and some VERY nice quad core processors are coming down the pipe. Even if you don't go for a top of the line device at that point, the lower end stuff will drop in price like a tank.

I'd say one of the best out there right now in the lower end price bracket is the Asus EE Pad Transformer http://goo.gl/ED4rX It can be had for well under $400.

There are some really nice smaller tablets coming out soon too. The Snamsung Tab 7.7 http://goo.gl/WwGvO looks like pure sex :P

Also, the Samsung 8.9 http://goo.gl/0Bn0i looks pretty awesome too.

The biggest problem with the Flytouch 3 is that is has crappy battery life (2-3 hours) and it runs a phone version of android. Here is a link to a forum. At first glance, it looks like there are quite a few problems with it http://goo.gl/hZcip

If you are looking for a cheaper tablet, the Vizio one has gotten some decent marks but doesn't have GPS http://goo.gl/AX96v and it's decently priced.

I'd stay away from any import vendor because of warranty issues and such.

My best advice for buying a tablet are this: First, make a list of the "must have" specs and a price range you are looking for. Check out local vendors first so you can get your hands on it and try it out. Keep in mind that unless you are looking to pay top dollar, there will be a compromise somewhere. Also, its important to know exactly what you will use a tablet for. I jumped full on into the tablet craze with my first iPad 1 and loved it, sort of. It took about a year to really get my work flow going on it. I don't use it for much personally, but about 20 hours a week for work stuff.

Good luck man!

P.S. I'm waiting on Cyanogen Mod to get the version of android ready for my two touchpad's I bought during the fire sale Other than that, I don't have an android tablet other than my Nook color (which while slow, it really bad ass for the price I paid for it a year ago!)

Also, something to think about.... I just purchased an Acer W500 tablet http://goo.gl/Y959k and for it's price, with Windows 8 developer preview, its a very nice mobile set up. Kinda a bit bulky compared to my iPad 2, but it runs full windows software, gets about 6 hours battery life and is very responsive.

[CoderGuy]

A very important thing you need to keep in mind when you buy an Android device (phone or tablet) are the specs. Depending on the processor and RAM. The cheap ones have less, and as a result, will never be able to upgrade to the later OS versions. I have friends that cannot upgrade to 2.0 with their phone, or 2.2 with their cheap tablet. So while you may save a couple hundred bucks getting a cheap one, you may end up being stuck with an outdated OS and end up spending the difference getting a new tablet down the road.

[lxskllr]

Also, something to think about.... I just purchased an Acer W500 tablet http://goo.gl/Y959k and for it's price, with Windows 8 developer preview, its a very nice mobile set up. Kinda a bit bulky compared to my iPad 2, but it runs full windows software, gets about 6 hours battery life and is very responsive.

I like that. I'm not sold on ARM. x86 has a lot more flexibility with running options. If I were to pay real money for a machine(>$250), it would be x86 at this point. $200 is about my limit for an Android tablet.

[wa3zrm]

Thanks everyone... I've never used the Android platform before; however, I have a strong IT background. I've made up my mind that I'm gonna purchase a cheap throw down (< $100) just as a learning tool. I agree, if I were serious about this, I would go for the Asus Transformer or something similar... but for now, I just want to learn the market starting with junk and working my way up.

What got me interested in this was that people on eBay are selling sd's that allow you to boot to another rom. I find it amusing that people are willing to pay for rom mods that can be obtained for free!

I have several friends that have been using Android phones for a few years and I have finally come to the realization that the Android OS is going to be around for awhile... especially since it is public licensed. ...And, with Amazon dumping the new dirt cheap color (Fire) Kindle on the market just to gain market share, I think that the future is bright for this platform.

Flashing new rom's should keep me amused for awhile... plus, I'll be up to speed on the OS once everyone and their brother will be using Kindle's and Nook's!

[Ainkor]

Thanks everyone... I've never used the Android platform before; however, I have a strong IT background. I've made up my mind that I'm gonna purchase a cheap throw down (< $100) just as a learning tool. I agree, if I were serious about this, I would go for the Asus Transformer or something similar... but for now, I just want to learn the market starting with junk and working my way up.

Always remember that your going to get what you pay for. If you like the experience, you will quickly want to get a more expensive one and then you will end up paying for even more. If your looking for as budget as you can get but still get something quality, I'd suggest a ViewSonic G-Tab ( http://www.amazon.com/ViewSonic-gTab...7577172&sr=1-1 ). Modern processor, good build quality and most of all..... Some seriously kick ass support at xda-developers.com. In the Android world, some devices have much better "hackability" support than others. I do say for the price though, the Nook Color is the most hackable device other than the HTC HD2 :P

Also, don't forget about craigslist.com

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/search/ele?query=tablet&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/search/sys?query=tablet&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=

For $190 there is a nice Xoom http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/sys/2594066173.html

[liam.lah]

Agreed, if you go and get some $100 chinese knockoff running 1.6 and a resistive screen. You are going to end up hating android.

While i'd caution against getting one so close to holiday season, i picked up a nook color for $180, while the processor is about on par with the original iPad, the Screen is magnificent, and it is probably the easiest device to root, right now it is running 2.3.5, through the Cyanogenmod Nightlies, they have fairly recently unlocked the USB host mode to it, so you can plug in webcams, keyboards and usb sticks to it, as an example

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=860

[wa3zrm]

Always remember that your going to get what you pay for. If you like the experience, you will quickly want to get a more expensive one and then you will end up paying for even more. If your looking for as budget as you can get but still get something quality, I'd suggest a ViewSonic G-Tab

I hear ya... I've been in this game long enough to know that you get what you pay for

I've looked at the ViewSonic... that's the type of tablet that I'm considering.

I'm leaning towards a ibex Flytouch III because of the battery life http://chinagrabber.com/8gb-flytouch...-ibex-ft3.aspx

Whatever I get, if I want to upgrade I'll dump the cheap throw down on eBay... if I lose $20/$30 it's no big deal... it's the price of learning.

My main interest is learning Android and flashing the various rom's out there. I know a ton of people that have the Kindle Fire on order... I want to get up to speed before Christmas because I know that friends will be coming to me for technical advice on the Kindle and Nook; and, from the way things are shaping up, I believe that Android devices are going to be very popular this Christmas. I see Android moving in the same direction as the Palm platform did.

In any event, I've been in the technology game for 30+ years. You should see some of the junk I have laying around the house I enjoy tinkering and hacking... I think that a cheap throw down will keep me amused for awhile.

[Ainkor]

Ouch.. For $60 or so more you can get something that isn't a resistive screen. Just a word of warning is all. Also keep in mind if your going to provide tech advice to folks that using a budget model will likely turn you off of Android. Also since it has an 800 mHz processor, it's just going to be dog ass slow.

Some games may work, but it's going to be a dog for anything remotely fun. Web browsing will be lacking and the product info was a bit confusing. It says that android market isn't available on the device and then it says it is.

Not trying to be a party pooper but there are much better choices out there for similar prices.

[wa3zrm]

Not trying to be a party pooper but there are much better choices out there for similar prices.

I agree... but people are cheap... and so are my friends I'm sure I will be telling them the EXACT same things you are now telling me; however, they are still going to go out and buy cheap. If I start off the same way they are going too, I'll be able to address their needs from a "been there, done that" prospective. Right now, education is the most important aspect of the buy for me. I need to enter the learning curve from the same angle they are going too. And when their cheap Chinese junk does perform to their expatiation's, they are going to come to me for advice. I'll need to be able to give them workarounds for their problems until they upgrade.

The way I see it... they are going to go out and buy a Kindle, Nook, or generic Apad, want to root it, and then get something better once they see what can be done with the platform.

I remember a time when a UNIX install took an entire day... a time before Linux and multi-boots. I also remember when the Internet was run on a 56K backbone and only e-mail, newsgroups and ftp were evolving. There was no such thing as the WWW until Lynx run under a shell.

Anyway... what are the better choices for similar prices?

[voodooman]

get yourself a Sabre Pyramid. the base model comes with 50l of memory, but can be expanded with an optional memory booster.

[Ainkor]

get yourself a Sabre Pyramid. the base model comes with 50l of memory, but can be expanded with an optional memory booster.

All my friends are buying the Cherry Oval this year though. It may only have 25l of memory but I swear someone said I'd never need more than that. It also doubles as a serving tray for me to serve drinks to all my douche bag friends when we get together and sit around making happy faces and take pictures of each other doing that.