Help selecting a tablet

[fou79]

I know this is not the proper thread but it looks as if the “what to buy” thread has been abandoned.

I have spent a fair amount on time reading through theseforums and have become quite confused….

I am basically looking for a tablet in the $200ish range (I may be able to go to $260ish if it is really a big upgrade). It is primarily for my wife to read .pdf files for school work but I would like to be able to use it for a fun multimedia experience!

Criteria:
· Multi touch (capacitive) screen that is good insunlight with decent viewing angles (primary criteria)

o Prefer 10” screen but if it will save me $100 Ican go with the 7”

· Good community support (for upgrading firmware/rooting,upgrading to 3.0)

o I am good at following directions on upgradesbut not savvy enough to figure out on my own…

· Fully functioning flash would be nice (Netflix, Pandora,YouTube, i.e. fully functioning web browsing).

· Not overly concerned with 1080p or 3-D but wouldnot turn them down

· Prefer china wholesaler to get more for my money

I almost bought on the Veiwsonic gTablet on Woot yesterday($275) even thought it was slightly above my budget. Unfortunately, there are a lot of complaintson the viewing angles. Since this will primarilybe used as an advanced e-reader for .pdf files, I figured this was a big problem.

I ran across this the other day and it looks like it hasnice stats but can’t seem to find any info or support on it….

http://www.**********/coopad-v6-android-23-tablet-multitouch-capacitive-7-screen-3d-game-flash-102-wifi-800mhz-cpu-1080p-hdmi-output-3g_p48044.html

Thanks for your advice and help in advance.

 

[morrighu]

Actually, the Viewsonics are one of the easier ones to upgrade. They're pretty popular with the modders and xda-developers.

If you're planning to do a lot of reading on it, get the biggest screen you can. It's soooo much easier on the eyes. And get the anti-glare screen protector, which makes a 10" screen even better.

Netflix + Android = problems. There is a Netflix app but it's only for specific devices and according to NetFlix's website it's only for specific smart phones. You might be able to get it via the web browser. There are, however, custom roms for several devices on which netflixs works just fine. However, that usually means rooting and/or flashing your device.

YouTube works fine, even on my smart phone as does Pandora.

Another consideration is going to be data transfer. Make sure that you keep an eye on your data usage if you get one that has 3G/4G capabilities. If you're streaming stuff, it's very easy to go over your data allowance and most of the carriers will really rack you with overage fees. I have a friend who forgot and left his phone streaming Pandora and his cell phone bill is now over $500 for a single month. He's on a payment plan to pay it off.

If you're going to be moving big E-books around, I'd also suggest some sort of a USB connection so that you can load files. Many of the textbook ebooks are pretty big. It can be nice to download them to a desktop and then push them on to the device.

If you want to know how "hackable" a device is, you can always check here and over at xda-developers for roms, flashes, etc. I will say that most of the Chinese devices aren't very "hackable" unless you want to be the one to do it. They tend not to have a significant presence in the US market - largely because many of them are in violation of our IP laws and cannot be legally imported. And even though it will sound a bit "foil hat", I'm personally not entirely comfortable using a device that's approved by the Chinese government. You might also want to consider warranty issues and the availability of compatible accessories. For example, the website you mention is selling a device the GTab G2 which "cannot ever be updated". And we all know that means when you're running Windows 7 - you don't have a valid license..... I'd think long and hard before you order from those people. Just my 2 cents on the whole Chinese thing....

HTH!