Hi all,

I am after a new budget 7" tablet for general use on the train either by 3G Dongle or MIFI, as well as being able to watch the odd video streams via wifi whilst in bed, HDMI is essential, so that I can use it as a media player for the TV in the bedroom. Even though I am a Sky customer, from what I understand there is no Sky Go on Android Tablets & so the only methods of streaming are apps like Iplayer, as well as sites that offer streaming.

I did see an unbranded tablet on ebay for just under £100 which has :

7"Android 4.0.3 Tablet A10 All Winner CPU Coretex A8 running at 1.5ghz
1GB DDR3 RAM,
8GB HDD,
Support 3G,
FULL HD HDMI Port,WIFI
Free* keyboard* 16GB sd card* HDMI Cable *worth £20

Looking at the tablet design, I suspect that it is a Tabtronics device which has had some mixed reviews on Amazon like audio out of sync on Iplayer but I am not sure if that was down to that particular device having 512mb of RAM or not.

I know that some people will say that you get what you pay for, but I do know that just because something is unbranded or not a big name brand in he UK / USA, it doesn't mean that it will be rubbish. The tablet I currently have is a Ainol Novo 7 Paladin & while it is a good device for decent web search & the odd use as a portable media player, it still has major compatibility issues with a lot of apps on Google Play even with Magic Code installed & it still isn't flash compatible, due to the MIPS CPU, which is no good for when you want to use sites that stream video.

My budget is around £100 so am not expecting a beauty like the Nexus, but I would like to have something for the use I require it for, with smooth video playback either by file or stream as well as being able to use a decent percent of the apps on Google Play.

I understand that Ainol have released a couple new models like the Elf II that have an ARM based processor (Dual core). But I don't know anyone who has purchased one.

Is there anyone here who can suggest a tablet within my budget that can do what I require ?

Many Thanks

DJM

The Ainol Aurora and Aurora II are worth looking at.

I've an Aurora II and find it very good - still needs a perfected ROM but plenty of people working on them at the moment.

The Elf II is meant to be very good as well if you don't need the IPS screen of the Aurora.

That is great to know as I won an ebay auction a few hours ago & bagged myself an Aurora II new sealed for £80 plus postage, so £90 in total. I have already downloaded a custom rom from Slatedroid that not only increases Wifi signal & HDMI quality, but also strips all of the Chinese apps from the device. Am really looking forward to getting this, as it does look a nice bit of kit.

I'm running the Double Share ROM at the moment - there are a few issues with it but things are getting ironed out now so you should not have any major problems.

Works begun on Jelly Bean ROM as well.

Excellent about Jelly bean, I got the Rom from Pat Moss, think he was the creator of the Double Share Rom but I could be wrong there. The Rom I got is ds-404_0717_24. Please could you tell me, what issues should I be made aware of ?

That's the one I have.

The only issues I have had with it are the battery meter always showing 100% - the battery itself seems to be charging ok though so it's not been a major issue.

The other issue was the internal SD card getting stuck on boot whilst preparing - you can sort it out though:

http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/3580...centage-stuck/

Many thanks for the useful information . I cannot wait to get this tablet and give it a good test. I am truly thankful for custom roms as they are often so much better than the original stock that comes with the device.

Yeah, the custom ROMS are certainly a blessing - some of them would be quite useless without them.

The likes of the Ainol tablets are very good value as long as you don't mind messing around flashing ROMS now and again

I had the original Elf before getting the Aurora II and found it to be be very good - but the Aurora is on another level both in speed and the clearness of the screen.

I must admit that flashing Android roms is a new thing for me, but as long as I follow instructions, it shouldn't be any more difficult than jailbreaking an iphone. . I read that the screen of the Aurora II is an IPS made by LG, which is the same as the Ipad, which is good to know.

I got one of my contract sim cards back today from a friend who no longer needed use of it, so I am now considering in investing in a MIFI device. I have already spoken to Vodafone & they have confirmed that I can use the sim in a mobile broadband dongle / MIFI device & that I won't get charged any extra, providing I keep within my monthly allowance. I figured this would be the best option as I will be using the usb port on the tablet for the keyboard.

I got an email from the person I bought the tablet from earlier on & they have dispatched the tablet, so should have it on Tuesday due to the bank holiday.

You can get a 64GB Blackberry playbook for £129 and it does everything you have mentioned, far better than cheap Android tablets IMO.

Better in what way? With the ROM I have it works perfectly and I can use the Android Play store to get anything I want quickly and easily.

Is the range of apps and games as good for the Playbook?

I was under the impression the playbook could run Android apps as well as BB apps?

I think it can play some but not all - I believe they need to be side loaded as well rather than downloaded from the Play Store

This is true
but using DDPB Installer is simple and painless

Can it play all apps and games or only certain ones?

Only certain ones.
There is a list at crackberry website
It can also install *ahem* "paid" apps

@alan1302

The Aurora II arrived about midday & it is a beauty of a tablet, the speed is great & watching flash videos on Dolphin Browser HD, is extremely smooth & very pleasant. It didn't like my spare micro SD card, so I had to drag my arse down to the shop to get a new one. I found the Double Stuff firmware a piece of pi$$ to put on, so that will do me until a stable version of Jelly Bean gets released .

Needless to say I am very impressed with the tablet especially as it only cost me £80 and while the playbook was tempting, I am glad that I got something that is fully compatible with Google Play.

Thanks again for the tips that you have provided .

No problem - glad you are happy with it and it's all working well.

Keep and eye on SlateDroid as Ainol have released the source code people need to fix the odd problem in the ROMs so an even better one should be round the corner.

is this the same unit ?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AINOL-NOVO...ht_2580wt_1251

Yes, that's the one