Android Tablet

[adamd81]

Looking to get a Android Tablet... Curious if anyone had any recommendations or experiences with any Android Tablets?

Also, I think for my application a tablet would work out nice... But curious if anyone thinks they are worthless or really not practical...? If that makes sense.

Thanks Guys

[gadgetrants]

I've got a Motorola Droid, which definitely biases me. Here are a few thoughts:

(1) There is a flood of iPad clones coming. Several low-budget Chinese rebranded tablets already out there, and several "mainstream" ones coming by the end of the year (HP, Toshiba, Gateway, etc.).

(2) Strangely, they all seem to have 16:9 aspect ratio (the iPad is 4:3). OK, that's great if I've got a widescreen movie, otherwise...? I think it's a pain.

(3) Android tablet? Then I think hardware is a BIG DEAL. I currently have the Pandigital Novel, which runs Android 2.0. There is talk of getting it up to 2.1, and maybe even 2.2 (good luck!).

The last point is where owning a fancy Android phone can set your expectations, in at least a few ways. First, the Pandigital and many other tablets around $200 have a capacitive screen, which means multitouch is a problem, and the general user experience is nothing like, say, a Droid.

Second, I think a tablet will need a dual core CPU in order to feel like a good Android phone. The video reviews I've seen of the low-end tablets all look the same...very sluggish, and not good for multitasking. And likely also problems playing back HD video (which is a reasonable thing to ask of a 7", 8", or 10" tablet).

Conclusion? I say give it a few months. The market is really churning right now, and I GUARANTEE you that if you buy something before Black Friday, 2 weeks later you'll see something better and wish you'd waited. That's always true with consumer electronics, but ideally you should get to enjoy your purchase without buyer's remorse for a month or two!

Oh, here's a GREAT list of upcoming tablets at androidtablets.com:

List of Upcoming 10" Tablets

-Matt

[adamd81]

Wow, great reply thank you!!! Yea, was wondering how they were doing as far as functionally. The biggest function i was wanting it for is the PDF viewer. I'm in a band that travels and play lots of different music. another band member has an ipad where he has all his song and he sits it on his music stand and can make a play list and slide to the next song etc...

But very true... Hold out for a little and im sure they will start putting out some nice stuff.

Thanks again!

[gadgetrants]

Wow, great reply thank you!!! Yea, was wondering how they were doing as far as functionally. The biggest function i was wanting it for is the PDF viewer. I'm in a band that travels and play lots of different music. another band member has an ipad where he has all his song and he sits it on his music stand and can make a play list and slide to the next song etc...

But very true... Hold out for a little and im sure they will start putting out some nice stuff.

Thanks again!

Hey, welcome to the forum (I only have a few more posts than you, lol). I'm sorry I didn't really answer your question. The only tablet I know so far is the one I own (about $150), and for me the Pandigital is a toy...something to poke at and play with. I mean, it's nice for picture slide shows, but I tried using it as a PDF viewer the other day--and while the image is clear--the text I have is small and it didn't reflow well when I enlarged it. It would probably work really well for manga though.

Your band mate?...I say you "bump" into his stand one of these days.

-Matt

[Jer]

My primary laptop went down so I'm buying an Augen 7" Android tablet from K-mart for $145 ($150 less a coupon that just expired... rain check) to get my by until the 10" capacitive screen tablets road onto the shores. I would say whatever you buy right now don't pay too much because it will be junk within a few months compared to what will be coming out. Just my advice.

[dezymond]

too many cheap ipad clones out there, to me at least.

gonna wait for a good quality one to come out, possible that HP Slate one. That's only if i do decide to get it as well since i already got a netbook.