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Tablets where can i get them from?
i love sky
18-10-2010
Im looking to get a Tablet with Android on it but where can i buy one from?

Ive looked at Argos but they just do the ipad.
John259
18-10-2010
Try Amazon, Dabs, Dell, EBuyer and Play.com. Also check the mobile phone companies as they might do subsidised prices if you take out a contract.

Watch out though, most of the tablets on sale right now have resistive screens which need a stylus or a hard push with a finger. It would probably be worth waiting a bit until the new superior capacitive screen models are released - and until after Christmas for their prices to fall, maybe.
i love sky
18-10-2010
Originally Posted by John259:
“Try Amazon, Dabs, Dell, EBuyer and Play.com. Also check the mobile phone companies as they might do subsidised prices if you take out a contract.

Watch out though, most of the tablets on sale right now have resistive screens which need a stylus or a hard push with a finger. It would probably be worth waiting a bit until the new superior capacitive screen models are released - and until after Christmas for their prices to fall, maybe.”

Many thanks for that.

Just one thing I take it that you have to go with one of the Networks like a contract but can they be done on pay and go so like buy one from Amazon then top it up like a mobile?

have to say i dont really understand about tablets much.

Is there any good tablet forums out there to get more information?
John259
18-10-2010
Originally Posted by i love sky:
“have to say i dont really understand about tablets much”

Read the specs and reviews on the retailers' web sites, and also visit the manufacturers' web sites. That'll give you a fairly good idea of how they compare and what's in the pipeline due to be released soon. There's also some info on Wikipedia.
chocolate_boy
18-10-2010
Originally Posted by i love sky:
“Im looking to get a Tablet with Android on it but where can i buy one from?

Ive looked at Argos but they just do the ipad.”

Personally I don't think any of them come close to the iPad as yet, I'd either wait 'til next year, or just get an iPad now.
i love sky
18-10-2010
Originally Posted by chocolate_boy:
“Personally I don't think any of them come close to the iPad as yet, I'd either wait 'til next year, or just get an iPad now.”

Why whats wrong with them?

I know there is more Apps on the ipad but i have a Android phone and there is some great apps on there.

What are the pros and cons between them both?
SussexStu
19-10-2010
I like the iPad but don't like the hefty price. I see some decent and cheaper tablets with Android 2.2 are coming very soon - Archos 101 and one from Advent.

electricpig.co.uk have some reviews.

John259
19-10-2010
The Samsung Galaxy Tab looks very nice indeed - but not at £600!

Some other models rumoured to be coming out soon:
Archos 70
Hanspree Tablet
HTC
LG
Toshiba Folio 100
ViewSonic ViewPad 7

BTW there's a useful summary of smartphone operating systems here, which is to some extent also relevant to tablets:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_operating_system
Voynich
19-10-2010
Originally Posted by i love sky:
“Why whats wrong with them?

I know there is more Apps on the ipad but i have a Android phone and there is some great apps on there.

What are the pros and cons between them both?”

Google who develop Android say that the current Android isn't really designed for tablet devices. Their next update will be, but we don't know when that is due. Plus watch out about the cheaper devices. I've read that some don't even access Android Market.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...-access-denied

Quote:
“ANDROID TABLETS NOT DESIGNED primarily to be a phone can't access Android Market and so manufacturers are setting up their own marketplaces.
Both Archos and Toshiba will have app stores for their devices because their versions of the Android OS have not been designed for tablets like theirs. The issue of Android tablets being denied access to that operating system's primary apps market emerged when Google's global product management director for mobiles, Hugo Barra told a media briefing at the company's London offices yesterday that, "If you want Android market on that platform, the apps just wouldn't run, Froyo is not optimised for tablets."”

We seem on the edge of getting all these iPad type devices, it may be better to wait.
John259
19-10-2010
Originally Posted by Voynich:
“it may be better to wait.”

Good advice I think.

Or if you must have something like a tablet right now, perhaps it might make sense to explore high-end smartphones on a contract which subsidises the cost of the device.
clonmult
19-10-2010
Originally Posted by John259:
“Good advice I think.

Or if you must have something like a tablet right now, perhaps it might make sense to explore high-end smartphones on a contract which subsidises the cost of the device.”

Very good advice.

The galaxy tab is horrendously overpriced, the Dell Streak is too big to be a phone, too small to be a truly decent tablet device.

And if you need something small for browsing the web, playing the odd game here and there, you may as well just go for a netbook.
alanwarwic
19-10-2010
If it arrives on the expected Nov 1st date the Advent Vega is the one to wait for/have.

The dual core 10" version at £250 even reaches netbook speed.
The Archos 101 might be available then too. That one only has the iPad CPU but it has an array of advantages.

That supreme Notion Ink Adam might just never arrive being made in India.
clonmult
20-10-2010
Originally Posted by alanwarwic:
“If it arrives on the expected Nov 1st date the Advent Vega is the one to wait for/have.

The dual core 10" version at £250 even reaches netbook speed.
The Archos 101 might be available then too. That one only has the iPad CPU but it has an array of advantages.

That supreme Notion Ink Adam might just never arrive being made in India.”

I'd be cautious with the Archos kit - generally interesting, but I've heard nothing but bad about their customer service and support.

The Advent is definitely interesting, although initially it doesn't appear to have access to the market. Nothing to stop you from downloading the .apk files directly for installation though. And you'll have to contend with the legendary DSG customer support .....

Wonder how well games like Angry Birds will scale to the larger screen? My partner would absolutely love something like that.
alanwarwic
20-10-2010
Originally Posted by clonmult:
“I'd be cautious with the Archos kit - generally interesting, but I've heard nothing but bad about their customer service and support.”

More to do with them being very much a proprietary manufacturer before moving to Android..
Apple are just as bad but their buyers are more supportive.
We often hear nothing but bad things about Apple and Dell too.

The Archos sounds dis-charming considering it is full 200 grams lighter than most tablets. And maybe just about usable in one hand.
Without that weight advantage a cheap and relatively Windows 7 netbook is far more powerful overall.

And make sure you need one as many like the Inq say.
"It is possible that ordinary people are waiting for saner priced tablets, perhaps something with Android inside. But I doubt it."
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...-sales-flatten
clonmult
20-10-2010
Originally Posted by alanwarwic:
“More to do with them being very much a proprietary manufacturer before moving to Android..
Apple are just as bad but their buyers are more supportive.
We often hear nothing but bad things about Apple and Dell too.”

Thankfully I've never had any major problems with Apple (only bought 4 x shuffles, 1x 5th gen video, 3xtouches and 1 nano from them), but Dell .... at least Dell consumer products have the worst pre-sales I've ever experienced. Dell Business seems to be absolutely fine though.

But its still early days for Android on tablets, with time it'll mature and develop into something extremely useful
alanwarwic
20-10-2010
Indeed it will get better.

And in time a future version of the iPad will be able to actually add memory, attach to a HD TV and may even come with the ability to install any chosen software.
clonmult
21-10-2010
Originally Posted by alanwarwic:
“Indeed it will get better.

And in time a future version of the iPad will be able to actually add memory, attach to a HD TV and may even come with the ability to install any chosen software.”

Hmmmmm, is that a subtle trolling I see? iPad and external memory? Hasn't happened with any of the Apple portable media players yet, unlikely to happen with the iPad for a good few generations, if at all.

HD TV is probable, although I expect it'll be via the dock. I don't think Steve Jobs likes the idea of cables all over the place. But as the new Apple TV is an iPad with a different front end, its probably going to happen at some point.
John259
21-10-2010
I've ruled out the iPad/iPod/iPhone range as it's overpriced and won't run Flash.
alanwarwic
21-10-2010
Originally Posted by clonmult:
“Hmmmmm, is that a subtle trolling I see? iPad and external memory? Hasn't happened with any of the Apple portable media players yet, unlikely to happen with the iPad for a good few generations, if at all.”

It was a sarcastic retort to your 'nothing but bad reports about the Apple opposition' reporting.
And the thread is about Android.
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