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Any cheap android tablet recommendations?


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Old 03-11-2011, 14:30
advb69
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OK, I've got to say first of all that I'm thinking of getting a cheap Android tablet to play with so this isn't a life or death purchase. But if I do decide to get one, I'd like it to meet certain requirements to make it worth while.

(a) GPS/Sat Nav. I don't have a sat nav (most of my journeys are routes I know) but I though it might be useful to have a tablet capable of running either the Android 2.2 or 2.3 versions of Navfree. So good GPS reception, even if that needs an external aerial, is a requirement.

(b) Capacitive screen. I think this would be more useful than a resistive screen. I wouldn't want to use a stylus as I'd soon lose it. I'd also like to try the multi-touch features.

(c) iPlayer/Flash compatibility. I already have a netbook or a computer that I can use for this for iPlayer or videos, but it would nice to have a more portable option.

(d) SD slot. I already have an aging (but perfectly good) Minidisc player for music but I'd like to have an alternative option. A big SB card would seem the easiest approach.

(e) Good processor/memory. I'd prefer a 1Ghz+ processor and at least 512MB of RAM. Hopefully, this would make it a bit more future proof and ensure multimedia plays well.

I don't need 3G compatibility: I'd only be using it attached via Wifi or offline.

Looking around, the new version of the Flytouch 3 with the capacitive screen looks good but I think a 10" screen would be a bit of overkill as a GPS in the car! But most of the cheaper 7" and 8" tablets don't have GPS.....

Any suggestions or recommendations of other tablets that might tick all the boxes? I'm just going round in circles searching on the web!

Thanks!
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Old 03-11-2011, 16:06
c4rv
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You are going to be struggling to find a full size SD reader. But you can get a 16GB microSD card with adaptor for less then a tenner on amazon and play.com so not a huge issue to transfer to microSD.

I have a 10" flytouch3 tablet which I have used in the car before without problems. I have a people carrier and have it mounted on the small glass to the right so its not in the way. It may be a problem in smaller cars through.

To tick all the boxes is not cheap, e.g. £200
http://chinagrabber.com/sampad-p7-an...10-1-apad.aspx

If you are willing to drop the GPS and live with a blue tooth GPS that would drop the price to around £140

http://chinagrabber.com/sowill-oioi-...-apad-4gb.aspx

plus a Bluetooth GPS for £9

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vodafone-Cha...ref=pd_cp_ce_1
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Old 03-11-2011, 17:21
advb69
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I have a 10" flytouch3 tablet which I have used in the car before without problems. I have a people carrier and have it mounted on the small glass to the right so its not in the way. It may be a problem in smaller cars through.
Thanks for the useful suggestions. I have a Mini so I'll have to consider whether a 10" screen would look too silly!
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Old 03-11-2011, 23:42
c4rv
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Thanks for the useful suggestions. I have a Mini so I'll have to consider whether a 10" screen would look too silly!
yes, I suspect it will.

The dash board on my bigger car feels it is the size of a football ptich as the windscreen rakes all the way to almost the front of the car so a 10" tablet is fine. I wouldn't try using it in my fiesta.

I have used a 7" tablet with the fiesta and you can just about get away with it on the right side of the steering wheel, no way I would put it in the middle.
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Old 04-11-2011, 00:02
advb69
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So, ignoring the screen size issue, would you recommend the Advent Vega as an option? I know you are a fan!

I assume that the Bluetooth GPS option you suggested in your first reply (or some of the other USB GPS adapters on \amazon) would still work on the Vega?

I'm a bit of a noobie on this and I'm still trying to get it clear in my head how GPS software interfaces with the GPS hardware
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Old 04-11-2011, 02:43
c4rv
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So, ignoring the screen size issue, would you recommend the Advent Vega as an option? I know you are a fan!

I assume that the Bluetooth GPS option you suggested in your first reply (or some of the other USB GPS adapters on \amazon) would still work on the Vega?

I'm a bit of a noobie on this and I'm still trying to get it clear in my head how GPS software interfaces with the GPS hardware
I would recommend the vega, but you will need to get your hands dirty to get the best out of it. The ROM is not 100% bug free yet but 95% of the way there and support on the forums has been great.

I not sure 100% about the GPS but from I understand there is a standard for blue tooth GPS and I know that vegarom 3.2 definitely supports BT GPS so it should work. There is more information on the forum here,

http://android.modaco.com/topic/3308...n-on-the-vega/


And I see currys outlet have more refurbished ones back on sale,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Advent-Veg...item1c202f5dd6


The only thing is they come with 4GB microSD cards, you may want to invest in a 16GB card as there is little on board storage.
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Old 04-11-2011, 13:47
advb69
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I would recommend the vega, but you will need to get your hands dirty to get the best out of it.
An added bonus! I love to fiddle.....

Is is possible to permanently "brick" a Vega or is there a way of getting it back to a vanilla state if it goes seriously wrong?

I'd like to learn more - are there any "sticky" posts on any Vega forum which details the limitations of the standard device against the various ROMs available?

Thanks for your advice so far!
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Old 04-11-2011, 13:50
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Oh, another quick question.

Is there only one model of Advent Vega? In other words, do the refurbs have the same processor as the new ones?

Ta.
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Old 04-11-2011, 20:28
c4rv
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Its pretty difficult to brick it if you leave the USB debug mode on (you will see this if you look at the re-flashing instructions). That way you can always re-flash it using a PC. If you have messed around with an android phone and clockwork mod then the process for flashing a tablet is pretty much the same.

And AFAIK there is only one model of that tablet.
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Old 04-11-2011, 20:51
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Its pretty difficult to brick it if you leave the USB debug mode on (you will see this if you look at the re-flashing instructions). That way you can always re-flash it using a PC. If you have messed around with an android phone and clockwork mod then the process for flashing a tablet is pretty much the same.

And AFAIK there is only one model of that tablet.
You don't need to leave debug mode on to re-flash the stock firmware from the MyAdventVega website, only if your following the Moddedstock installation.

The Vega's are pretty much un-brickable, to date I have not heard of anybody who has bricked their Vega's by flashing a new ROM.

There is only 1 model of the Advent Vega, though there are a number of clones under various names on the market.
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Old 05-11-2011, 20:12
finbaar
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The Hannspree Hannspad has the same processor as the Vega but comes with 16gb internal storage but no camera. The screen on the1653 model is better than the Vegas as is the overall build quality. And it has just got a beta port of Vegacomb as well as being 40 quid cheaper. slateroid. com is the place for. all things hannspad.
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Old 05-11-2011, 23:59
advb69
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The Hannspree Hannspad has the same processor as the Vega but comes with 16gb internal storage but no camera. The screen on the1653 model is better than the Vegas as is the overall build quality. And it has just got a beta port of Vegacomb as well as being 40 quid cheaper. slateroid. com is the place for. all things hannspad.
Ah but I am being tempted by the Vega refurbs in the currys_pcworld Ebay store (except they have now run out!). For £130, that seems exceptional value.

I also like the fact that there seems to be a huge (and active) community of Vega users.

But, if the refurbs don't resurface again (or do but at a higher price), I'll start looking at other options in the £100-150 range.
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Old 06-11-2011, 00:59
c4rv
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Ah but I am being tempted by the Vega refurbs in the currys_pcworld Ebay store (except they have now run out!). For £130, that seems exceptional value.
Just keep checking ebay, they seem to have more units every week or so.
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Old 06-11-2011, 18:10
finbaar
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Ah but I am being tempted by the Vega refurbs in the currys_pcworld Ebay store (except they have now run out!). For £130, that seems exceptional value.

I also like the fact that there seems to be a huge (and active) community of Vega users.

But, if the refurbs don't resurface again (or do but at a higher price), I'll start looking at other options in the £100-150 range.
You won't be dissapointed by either I am sure. The community is not as big for sure with the Hannspad but the VeganTab 2.3 ROM I am using to type this on is very fast and stable. I was going to get a Vega until I went round PC World and Carphone Warehouse and tried a few tablets and the Hannspad was the best for me. You can only run 1 ROM at a time and the new 3.2 ROM looks like it will even things up between the two devices.
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Old 06-11-2011, 21:59
advb69
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I've got yet another question, I'm afraid!

I don't know much about the ARM processors so I've been looking at the various versions. The Tegra 250 in the Vega looks to be the best of the current bunch. On paper, it looks much better than the X220 in the Flytouch 3, which I was also considering. (The processor table here is very interesting: http://www.bestyoucanget.com/droidtabletguide.htm)

My netbook (running XP) has an Atom N270 1.6Ghz single core processor. It does an OK job of browsing but struggles a bit with some multimedia files.

Some sites and benchmarks suggest that the Tegra 250 might match the Atom in certain areas. Has anyone got 1st hand experience of how the Vega compares to an Atom powered netbook? (Apart from having A MUCH better battery life! )

If the Vega - with the appropriate custom ROM - does perform that well, I can see I might retire my netbook!

Thanks.
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Old 06-11-2011, 22:37
c4rv
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The Tegra 250 is dual core chip whereas the Flytouch has a single core CPU. As with all things its not that simple. The Tegra is a much quicker chip but it probably is not twice as quick. However most android apps are lightweight and won't suffer to much. You will basically find the Tegra chip more 'snappy' in general operation. Don't forget both come with dedicated video playback hardware.

I have a N450 netbook (basically N270 with integrated gfx) and I can't see the Tegra being close to it in any operations TBH. We will see when the quad core ARM comes out to see how it stacks up against netbooks, which have also moved on.

Right now if you are using your netbook for web browsing and media playback, etc then yes the higher end tablets can do that job very well. However once you get in the realm of content creation then tablets still struggle.
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Old 07-11-2011, 14:02
advb69
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Right now if you are using your netbook for web browsing and media playback, etc then yes the higher end tablets can do that job very well. However once you get in the realm of content creation then tablets still struggle.
Well, my netbook has a rather slow PATA drive in it and that tends to be the bottleneck. I have it set up with multiple boot options (XP, Windows 7 and Jolicloud Linux) but Windows 7 is too slow to be usable. Even with XP, I tend to do little more than browsing and media playback on it.

So perhaps the Vega might not be too far behind it in performance, given its solid state storage.
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Old 07-11-2011, 14:37
c4rv
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Well, my netbook has a rather slow PATA drive in it and that tends to be the bottleneck. I have it set up with multiple boot options (XP, Windows 7 and Jolicloud Linux) but Windows 7 is too slow to be usable. Even with XP, I tend to do little more than browsing and media playback on it.

So perhaps the Vega might not be too far behind it in performance, given its solid state storage.
Don't know why you are having problems with Win7 on your netbook. I have Win7 Home Premium running very happily and even multitasking on my HP Mini210 with N450 CPU and 2GB of RAM.
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