A Non-Authoritative Android Tablet Buying List: What to Get, What to Avoid (2010)

[denniston]

xaueious your mastery of the android tablet landscape is truly unparalleled. I appreciate your willingness to accommodate our questions. I'm definitely going to be purchasing a tablet soon. I was able to get my hands on a 7" tablet today' and it seemed to be quite adequate. There are a few questions I'm still wrestling with.
1. TCC89-2 vs Cortex A8. I don't seem to find many Cortex tablets especially in the sub $200 category. How much better is the Cortex in real world use? Earlier in this thread you said the 8902 was the preferred budget platform, but then you recommended that I buy the A8.
Right now I'm looking at the Coby 7015 and the Utopia Apad iMX515 ( I just noticed that is an 8" which I know you weren't recommending). What's your thoughts?

2. What can I expect my ability to access the android market place? From what I've read that doesn't seem to be very accessible. Is that right? That seems like a pretty big draw back to me.

 

[boxtraenco]

Is this a good one?
S22 7 inch Google Android 2.2 Capcitive Multi-touch Screen
with Remote Control MID Silver
Status : In Stock Warranty : One Year SKU : IPA0424
Price: EUR 102.95 With coupon 97,- euro / 127.42 US Dollars
Memory:
Main Feature:
Color: Silver
CPU: Telechips TCC8902 ARM11+DSP(720MHZ)
OS: Google Android 2.2
RAM: 256MB DDR2
Storage: 4GB nand flash
Support TF card extend 32GB max
Display: 7 inch multi-touch capacitive screen 800*480
Webcam: 0.3 mega pixel camera
WIFI: Wireless LAN 802.11b/g
3G: support external 3G function
Specification:
CPU: Telechips TCC8902 ARM11+DSP(720MHZ)
OS: Google Android 2.2
RAM: 256MB DDR2
Storage: 4GB nand flash
Support TF card extend 32GB max
Display: 7 inch multi-touch capacitive screen 800*480
Webcam: 0.3 mega pixel camera
WIFI: Wireless LAN 802.11b/g
3G: support external 3G function
GPS: No
Bluetooth: No
Battery: 3200mA
Work time: 4-5 hours
Sperkers: built-in 4 speakers
MIC: built-in
Input: 100-240V 50-60Hz
Output: 5V 2000mA
Audio format: WMA, MP3, WAV, OOG, AAC, EAAC, APE, OGG, AC3
Video format: MKV(H.264 HP),AVI, FLV, WMV9, MP4
Picture format: JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG
Office software: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, TXT
G-sensor: Yes
Interface: DC jack*1, Headphone jack*1, HDMI*1, Mini USB*1, TF card slot*1, USB*1
Material of back cover: Aluminum
Other application: Browser, Calculator, Calendar, Camcorder, Camera, Clock, Cotacts, Custom Local, Emial, Gallery, Gallery3D, Gmail, iReader, Latitude, Maps, Market, Messaging, Music, Navigation, Places, Settings, Sound Recorder, Speed Forge 3D Talk, TouchScreenCabrate, YouTube
Language: Czech, Danish, German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish, Russian, Greek, Japanese, Korean, T-Chinese, S-Chinese
Weight: 0.345kg
Package weight: 0.935kg
Size: 19.5*11.9*1cm
Package size: 23.5*17*8.2cm
Package:
1 x S22
1 x Charger
1 x Earphone
1 x USB Cable
1 x User Manual
1 x Remote Control

 

[alareth1976]

Great post!!!

how do you rate this one ?

7Inch Android 2.2 Tablet PC Built-in GPS and Bluetooth with TIOMAP3 CORTEX A8 Processor Support WIFI and 3G

thx

 

[kellzer100]

7 inch tablet pc S22

does this android tablet have android market?
and is it a good 1 ?
if not, tell me why ?

 

[kellzer100]

do you know if this support android market ?

 

[matthew2582]

S7 only Android 2.1 at this time, no Flash at this time, squishy resistive screen, no pinch to zoom and poor battery life

 

[mx2085mx]

First post, thanks xaueious for all your incredible knowledge!

I've seen some tablets advertised as having android 2.3 , is this a fake claim? and if its not do you think its stable enough on a shanzai device?

Thanks again and greetings from Mexico!

 

[prismblue]

im new here, i got alot of new info thanks to you and this thread~

 

[shanghailoz]

My current recommendations would be anything with these spec's:

Single Core (A8)
Samsung A8 arm based (1ghz / 512M ram ...)
Freescale A8 arm based (800mhz / 1ghz (OC) / 1.2ghz (OC) iMx515 (512M ram / 4G versions)
RK2918 A8 arm based (1.2ghz / 512m / ...)

Dual Core (A9?)
Samsung Orion (only prototypes still, no actual shanzhai units in production yet)
Tegra 2 based.


Right now in China, I'm starting to see fairly decent iMX515, PV210 (Samsung) capacitive touch models coming out with decent battery life - eg 4200mah.
I wouldn't touch anything less than 512M of ram, as its not likely to be upgradable to 2.3.

As all announced 3.0 tablets all appear to be minimum ARM9 / dual core, its extremely likely that you'll need a dual core A9 for performance, or at least a high core speed A8. I think the old dual core RK2808 and 400-600mhz cpu's will struggle a bit on Android 3...

Currently the Freescale A8 cpu based 8" tablets are about 800rmb-1000rmb (120-150$USD)
Capacitive touch with 10" IPS screen is about 1500rmb (same spec hardware, higher resolution screen)
You can add a usb keyboard+case for another 80rmb (12$)

Honestly speaking the Freescale iMX515 based ones are quite good for the money, especially the capacitive touch screen models.

I think most of what you guys see oversea's is at least 1-2 gen behind what I'm seeing in China!

Some of the tablets I can check out have been made this year!
Factory fresh

Current gen stuff usually has 3D graphics chip + gps + hdmi now.
There are some 3g integrated ones but the quality on those is a bit crap still from what I've seen.

http://www.shenit.com/blog/ has some fairly recent reviews of tablets available right now in the shops (in China), and he's usually updating about new stuff within 1-2 weeks of product release. His is a good site to browse whats coming for you in the States / Europe in the next 2-3 months

Comments from the peanut gallery?

 

[munk1177]

ordered ... ZT-180 Android 2.2 Zenithink 2 EPad Tablet -10.2'' WIFI 3G Webcam


this an ok one?

 

[klimas]

Any word on the W7 Dreambook tablet or what price it will be sold at in North America?
www.synrgic.com - W7 Dreambook Tablet PC

Also, does anyone have any opinions on the a81g capacitive (with GPS)? Merimobiles is offering them for $260.00
Witstech A81G Capacitive Multitouch (3G via USB dongle) android 2.2 GPS

 

[Manta Ray]

I think that I'm not the only unlucky person here that ordered before read this forums
I just ordered :
10.2" Google Android 2.1 wifi Epad 1Ghz CPU High speed

CPU ZenithinkZT108.1.0Ghz
Operation system Google ANDRIOD2.1
Memory 256M RAM
Storage Device 2GB NAND Flash Optional 4GB-32G
LCD Size: 10.2 inch TFT LCD with resistance touch screen, single point touch (resistive)
Touch screen resistive
Resolution 1024*600 Pixels
Battery type Rechargeable polymer battery,2400mAH,7.4V
USB: 2*USB
Speaker YES
SD card 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED network connection

WIFI marvel8686 SDIO 802.11b/gI/O ports TF card, U disk,RJ-45,DC in, Ear phone
Multimedia video 1080P MP4,1080P AVI(XVID,H.263,DIVX),1080P MKV,1080P 3GP,1080P RMVB .RM,
Music MP3/WMA/AAC/AAC+/WAV
On line chat MSN/QQ/SKYPE/GTALK/LUMAQQ/ICQ
E-book PDF/TXT/CHM/DOC/EXCEL
PIC JPEG/GIF

it's my first tablet ever, do you expect that I'll be so unhappy with it?
Please tell me how bad is it?????

 

[onesaint]

Any word on the W7 Dreambook tablet or what price it will be sold at in North America?
www.synrgic.com - W7 Dreambook Tablet PC

Also, does anyone have any opinions on the a81g capacitive (with GPS)? Merimobiles is offering them for $260.00
Witstech A81G Capacitive Multitouch (3G via USB dongle) android 2.2 GPS

It looks cool, but I've seen prices form 400-530.00 fpr it. A bit high for a new Chinese brand (new to US at any rate).

 

[Frank]

Thank you, in advance, for your guidance!

It says it uses the same screen as iPad...
And, oh yes, $200 delivered (from China, of course).
================================


Gpad 9.7 inch Google Android 2.2 Multi-touch Capacitive Screen Handwriting&Voice Input 8GB Gravity Sensor Tablet PC



Main Feature:

CPU: Freescale A8 1GMHZ
OS: Google Android 2.2
Memory: DDR 512MB
Storage: 8G
Display: 9.7 inch TFT multi-touch capacitive screen 1024*768(LG original screen)
Battery: 7600mAh
Work time: up to 6~7 hours
Multi-Touch, Gravity Sensor
3G: external 3G function(Optional 23USD)
Web camera: 2.0 Mega Pixel camera
Handwriting fuction
Voice input function

Menu:



Specification:

CPU: Freescale A8 1GMHZ
OS: Google Android 2.2
Memory: DDR 512MB
Storage: 8G
Display: 9.7 inch TFT multi-touch capacity screen 1024*768
Battery: 7600mAh
Work time: up to 6~7 hours
Multi-Touch, Gravity Sensor
Handwriting fuction
Voice input function
3G: external 3G function(Optional 23USD)
GPS: No
Bluetooth: No
Web camera: 1.3 Mega Pixel camera
G-sensor: Yes
Support 1080P HD video
Built-in WiFi
3D Games
High-tech of Flash UI supports easy, elegant and colorful sign to touch and control the interface
Email and Flash digital magazine function
Support Adobe Flash 8 and below play
Full-format 1080P HD video decoding play
Video format: MPEG1, MPEG2, WMV9, MPEG4-SP, ASF, DIVX, H.263, H.264, TS, FLV, AVI, RM, RMVB, MKV, WMV, MOV, MP4, PMP, MPEG, 3GP, MPG
Audio format: MP3, WMA, MP2, OGG, AAC, M4A, MA4, FLAC, APE, 3GP, WAV
Picture format: JPG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
Office software: support Doc, PPT, Xls and more Office software and applications
Interface: Headphone jack*1, DC jack*1, USB*1
Material of back cover: Aluminu
Other application: Browser, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Clock, cnCalendar, Contacts, Dev Tools, Email, ES File Explorer, Gallery, Gmail, Market, Messaging, Music, Phone, Search, Settings, Sound Recorder, Spare Parts, Speech Recorder, Superuser Permissions, Talk, QQ, Kuwo, App Manager...
Language: English, Czech, Danish, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Norweigian, Polish, Turkish, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian, Greek, Korean, Japaneses, S-Chinese, T- Chinese
Weight: 0.775kg
Package weight: 2kg
size: 24.2*19*0.8cm

Details:







Package:

1 x Gpad
1 x 30pin to usb cable
1 x Leather Case
1 x Charger
1 x User manual

 

[Muttz]

Also, does anyone have any opinions on the a81g capacitive (with GPS)? Merimobiles is offering them for $260.00
Witstech A81G Capacitive Multitouch (3G via USB dongle) android 2.2 GPS

The Wits have really come a long way over the last few months. I bought the A81E back in September and honestly, I spent more time reading forums, working out bugs and installing updates than I did using it for the first few months. I don't know much about this model specifically, but I can give you a heads up on how things will probably go.

I expect that the capacitive screen will be extremely buggy at first, but it will be fixed. That's just the way that they do things. Firmware updates happen often and they seem to rely on the users to report the bugs rather than testing. The frustrating part is that although one thing will be fixed, something else generally breaks with each update. You have to go to the forum and find a workaround or roll back to a previous firmware. The last update in December was pretty good, but I've gone to a custom ROM now.

The good news is that I expect to have support for some time. The A81G is the same as the A81E, but includes the G-sensor. The ROMS work in both devices. The new capacitive tablet will have the same underlying hardware as the previous models, but the screen will be different. The next ROM coming out is supposed to allow true dual booting between Android and Windows CE. Right now you have to reflash the device if you want to change the OS. I have also heard that we may be getting an upgrade to Android 2.3.

Other bonuses are the removable battery, battery life, GPS, the accessories and the warranty. Merimobiles has a good rep for providing service. The battery life is probably the best you are going to find and a spare is dirt cheap.

This is one of the better Chinese tablets out there, but you're going to be a beta tester. If you don't mind that, you'll probably like it.