Hello :) Which tablet to get?

[Migz93]

Hello, my name is Miguel and im 17.
Bit of a tech geek and im looking to get a tablet pc.
Im looking for one of the ipad clones, but theres so many different ones to choose from! So i really don't know which one i should get, or where i should get it from.
Right now im thinking of getting the iRobot one from the Official iRobot site.
It looks pretty much exactly what i need, usb ports, webcam, microphone. And it has the dualcore rockchip chip, which i think i remember reading is NOT the worst chip (worst one being the VIA?) but im not sure if its the best either. It also has only 128MB of ram, not sure if this is good or not for one of these pads? And would it be easy/safe to update it from 1.5 to something newer? Would 2.2 be possible?

And lastly would that website be a safe place to order it from? Says it comes with a years warranty so if anything goes wrong could easily get it fixed i think?


Edit:
Just seen this one, bassicly the same specs but has two 600mhz cores, instead of one 500mhz and one 600mhz in the iRobot. Also has a HDMI out and longer battery life. Looks far more appealing, but the lack of warranty doesnt seem great :/

Sorry for just signing on and delving straight into questions, will join more with the community once i actually have my pad.

 

[ZilverZurfarn]

And would it be easy/safe to update it from 1.5 to something newer? Would 2.2 be possible?

Don't expect anything to ever be updated beyond what it's delivered with. This is especially true for Chinese stuff. For this particular device, Rockchip actually had promised an update from 1.5 to 2.1, but soon took that promise back.
There are some community project for 3rd party firmware, but it's still just tweaks of the original 1.5 (with bits & pieces scavenged from other Rockchip based tablets firmware).
To me, the biggest let down is the resistive touch screen, which, compared to iPhone and most Android based phones with capacitive touch screens, is utter cr*p. You might like it if you've never used a touch input device before, but if you're "spoiled" with capacitive touch screens, it's a real disappointment.
Besides that, I really think it works really well - on par with the first gen Android phones (like T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream).
RE: the 600/500 vs 600/600 MHz chip sets - I actually think it's the same hardware. One listing is simply wrong. I've seen both in spec sheets all along, for the identical devices. HDMI port sounds good tho - Might be worth some extra bucks.

 

[Migz93]

Thank you for the quick reply!

I don't mind too much about the screen, although i am an iPhone user so used to a capacitive screen, i used to have a HTC which had a resistive screen and a Sony Ericson which had one too. Although obviously capacitive is much nicer to use, its not easy to find a capacitive iPad clone with all the other features i want, within my budget of £130.
And if the software is never updated then perhaps it would be better to get the ebay one as that comes with 2.1?

 

[ZilverZurfarn]

perhaps it would be better to get the ebay one as that comes with 2.1?

Yes, if you need some feature(s) of 2.1 that 1.5 doesn't provide, or need some apps that require 2.1 to install/run. I'd personally settle for 1.6, since on the same hardware, there's (imo) not that much improvements in the user end. Later versions require better hardware, and many are abandoning 2.2 on their T-Mobile G1 and reverting back to 1.6 - The G1 simply struggles to keep 2.2 running reasonably smooth.
1.5 is still quite adequate, even if there are many apps that require 1.6 or later.
With £130 to spend, a Rockchip tablet sounds like the ideal device. I think there are also some cheap Telechips tablets in your range that looks good (I've heard nothing negative about the Telechip tablets).

 

[Migz93]

Hmmm, the problem with these epads and such is that there are just so many to choose from!
This one looks pretty much perfect for me now, decided to go for the larger screen. Has the main features i want, HDMI, USB, Webcam, Mic.
Boasts a 1Ghz cpu so doubt it will be slow. And it even has GPS.
Slightly above my budget, but im happy to go there for something much better.

But i just don't know, seems to good to be true? I'm afraid im going to order it, it's going to be absolute pants and then that's me out of pocket by a fair amount of money.
What would you recommend i do?

 

[coderator]

Hmmm, the problem with these epads and such is that there are just so many to choose from!
This one looks pretty much perfect for me now, decided to go for the larger screen. Has the main features i want, HDMI, USB, Webcam, Mic.
Boasts a 1Ghz cpu so doubt it will be slow. And it even has GPS.
Slightly above my budget, but im happy to go there for something much better.

But i just don't know, seems to good to be true? I'm afraid im going to order it, it's going to be absolute pants and then that's me out of pocket by a fair amount of money.
What would you recommend i do?

Did you purchase that tablet? I am also interested in this Android tablet, the most important disatvantage is the weight for me, it's about 1.5Kg written in the features. Is it really 1.5Kg?

 

[Migz93]

I have ordered it, ordered it on the 6th i think it was, it's still not here. I've tracked it and it is in the UK, so it will probably be here monday or tuesday.
I will let you know as soon as it is here.

 

[Migz93]

Got it today and it weighs just over 700g.

 

[Makins]

So, is it any good? I'm looking at buying one to use for college and was considering this one. Could you please tell me what the touch screen is like and how good the build quality is?

Thanks.

 

[kokkin]

Yeah..... l am actually waiting for your review on it. Please do come back and write a few words on it yeah.... thanks.