The One 'Do I Buy This', 'What Do I Buy', 'I'm Looking For' Thread

[Tacoboy]

I know very little about Android tablets.
I'm thinking of getting my 10 year old nephews a tablet (to share), mostly for gaming.
Guessing a 2GB/32GB memory is enough?
Is an 8 inch screen large enough for most games?
Android or Windows, either one better for gaming?

 

[IsaacT]

Hello everyone! I am new here and since the perfect tablet doesn't seem to exist I figured I would take what I want to the experts!

1. I will be using this tablet for playing games, web browsing, and note taking.
2. I don't really have a set budget. There haven't been any tablets I have seen that surpass what I am willing to spend on a good tablet that does everything I want and is built extremely well.
3. I really want a 10+ inch tablet. Even looked at 12 inch tablets.
4. I know enough about android to know that I hate touchwiz. I like stock Android with maybe a very light overlay as long as it isn't hideous.
5. I am located in Austin, TX, USA.

I have looked at the Nvidia Shield Tablet but am worried about size of the screen being too small. I am considering the Nexus 9 when it comes out. I wish I could get a metal frame tablet that is thin like a Samsung Tab S. But no overlay. Also, IMHO the Samsung Tab S is a glaringly gaudy tablet. The gold/bronze color scheme is just not good looking.

I want a tablet that is understatedly stylish. Nice build quality. Near stock Android. Powerful up to date processor/gpu/ram specs. No ridiculously large bezels like on the Xperia Z2 Tablet. And I am not worried about the price unless it surpasses like 1000 bucks. Even then I MIGHT consider it.

 

[Markaruckus]

I should have joined this forum a long time ago, considering the following lol.

First off, I'm very tech savvy. I've been a computer consultant for 20 years (first tech support, then mainly varios server analyst and app operations roles). I am an expert on Windows platforms and over the summer have become what I would say an expert as well with Android. More than anyone I know for sure, but

It all started with an IP camera. Which quickly became a full fledged, remote accessible, motion detecting, remote alerting security system.

Then I bought my first LED IP light bulb. Same color temperature as regular incandescent, dimmable, remote controllable over wifi and WAN, and only $19! Considering they last 20x longer than a 2x incandescent, and use 9w for 60w equivalent light, that's cheaper than $1 incandescents. I immediately replaced every other bulb in my apartment (17 total, including 2 closets and 1 balcony). But to control these the way I wanted, I needed to replace my light switches. The default solution at stores seems to be to put a Lutron switch. It dims and comes with a 2nd remote switch.

But there is a free (mind you, buggy) app to control ALL bulbs in a more advanced manner (with scheduled events, triggers, batch presets for entire rooms, etc). There's actually more than one app but that's getting off topic for this post.

Most importantly - the Lutron light switches are $60 each. They are great, but $60. To control one light. So I went out to local computer stores, and eventually found cheapo Android tablets for around the same price. In the end, I replaced all light switches in my home. Now at the front door, I have a 7" tablet mounted. In the kitchen, a Lutron switch and a 10" tablet mounted under my cabinets. And in the bedrooms and living room I have 4.3" tablets mounted. Bathroom is Lutron.

Some pics: http://goo.gl/wEO6T1

Problem is, these tablets are barely cutting it. Other than lag (512MB ram, slow processor) the biggest problem is the touch funcionality is a bit too low quality for me to tap or swipe easily as I walk by them. Second big problem is they only have 1GB of internal storage, so I can barely install anything.

Therefore, my question is: what tablets can I buy to replace all of these? Because I want several, and they are for dedicated, not complex purposes. Primary usages:

All switches:
- Lighting and home automation apps (currently Wink, TCP Lighting, WeMo)
- Spotify (I use the tablets as a remote control for whatever room I'm listening to music from)
- Google now (I often ask my light switches "what's the weather like", or "how's traffic)
- Various tasker scripts (including autoremote and autovoice)

Kitchen (same as above plus):
- Skype (my girlfriend lives in Russia so I want handsfree talking if I'm cooking
- BigOven (and other cooking apps)

Specs I'm looking for:
- Good touch responsiveness. Resolution not critical, but the touch must work well. If I am swiping, it can't ever think I'm tapping because I'm not swiping hard enough through the top later of plastic.
- 1GB or more of RAM
- Fair processor. Don't need to go crazy.
- 8GB or more internal storage
- SD expansion
- 4.4.2 kitkat
- Root (I would have less problems if these current devices were rooted)

These are advertised everywhere for less than $100 each. But, without trying them, considering I want 5-7 of them, I'm not going to dump half a grand before I try the touch, or hear from someone with experience on the matter who endorses the touch quality.

Oh, and as of yesterday I decided I need 1-2 more for HUD purposes in my car. Works so well at night http://goo.gl/1lx5oY

 

[Rachel1496]

Which one of these tablets would you buy for a 4 year old who primarily uses it for Minecraft, My Little Pony games and YouTube? Is there anything else in this price range I should look at?

Hisense Sero 7 4GB
Acer Iconia B1-710
Ematic 7" 8GB
HipStreet Titan 2 8GB

She's been using my old Kobo Arc but it refuses to charge anymore. The Hisense has good reviews but the 4GB worries me, a lot of her games are Gameloft and they're massive.

 

[DarthNaga]

I'm looking to get my fiancee a sub £200 tablet for Xmas and wondered which is the best for performance?
Been looking at the Hudl 2 and Memo pad 8 (me181c) And these seem to be the best bang for buck, but which is the better of the two? And are there better ones for similar money?
She'll be using it for general use, web browsing and apps and such, we live in the south of England, fareham to be precise
Thanks in advance

 

[metaturbo707]

Hello,

CRITICAL / MUST HAVE:
1. 4:3 aspect ratio screen !
2. ~8-9" display size
3. Micro HDMI for projector / external display
4. Bluetooth - latest spec
5. Micro USB

WOULD REALLY LIKE / NOT CRITICAL:
1. Multi-Window capability
2. White color
3. Stylus storage in tablet
4. NFC
5. Active Stylus & palm rejection

Price: would prefer ~$200. I am considering previous model year's designs. This is more for productivity usage and video.

 

[Awesome1986]

Hello, I would like to here your recommendations, which tablet can I buy for 300-400$ I need very speedy, for games and work and I would like it to be among Samsung, apple is it possible to buy something good for this amount of money? I do not want it to be very big or heavy! I am from Ukraine

 

[Dawnstar]

Hi
nice topic, I like the new forums btw

Maybe this spec of a tablet is a bit OTT for some, but for me it has to be a tablet with a brand name I would like to use a tablet like this to do photo edits/graphic work on when I am outside and away from the computer having to carry a laptop is dead weight something like a 11.2 tablet with these specs would be nice for my photographic work, I know I would have to wait in the future for one of these tablets to be release or not, because the all companies today are still blind with there head stuck in the sand to listen to people who uses them more.

Screen size 10.6/12.5 not to big there's no point and behind
Android 4.4.4 kitkat operating system JB is old now.
Resolution 3840 x 2160 UHD (Ultra High Definition) for graphic work/games/web/movies, for too long we are still in HD on most things it's time to change.
CPU 6 Multi-core processors I would like the speed to be higher the better because we are still stuck in the same 2. something?
Snapdragon Qualcomm considers Snapdragon a platform for use in smartphones/tablets, and smartbook devices with 400/800/801 and in the year 2015, Sd810 will be release with 4K 64bit we hope, but I will like to see a 128 bit with 4K in the near future but why the wait?
Touchscreen Multi-point touchscreen
Stream 4K it would nice to see in the future.
Pixels per inch 610 ppi higher the better makes the screen more sharper
Storage 128/256 GB more the better because for some it will never be enough!
Micro SD up to 256/512G or more would be nice to add movies/work files/pictures/games
Direct USB to the computer that don't need a update driver
Bluetooth Not needed unless you like to use your phone or TV for video or pictures
Support, firmware updates most of the time
Memory 4GB RAM because most only come with 1GB, 1.5GB, 3GB to give more speed to Games/apps/media/make's web browser more quickly.
HDMI Not much use for me unless you want to use it with a large TV (but I see no point have one)
GPS without Wi-Fi been on only to use Wi-Fi updates only
Wi-Fi with better hot spots/Direct/Wi-Fi changing the battery like Nokia
Replacement battery?
Battery life Up to 15 hours would be nice, the battery is the first thing to read about before buying a tablet.

The price 450.00GBP

 

[Awesome1986]

Hi, The price 450.00GBP what is GBP here?

 

[A10]

Hi, The price 450.00GBP what is GBP here?

British POUNDS

 

[Spider]

Approximately $700 USD

 

[groucho]

Hi everyone. Thanks in advance.
1) what you will be using the tablet for. list any features you need, such as g-sensor, gps, bluetooth, Adobe Flash, or any specific apps general web surfing, videos, light office work, photos; retina display, bluetooth, Abobe flash appreciated
2) how much you are willing to spend around $200
3) if you have an idea, what the size of the tablet should be 9.7"
4) how much you know about Android, or just whether or not you are computer literate have Android phones & TV
5) Please list your location somewhere. (You should really include it in your profile, by the way) Canada

I have been researching for weeks, going in circles and confusing myself (let me know when this sounds familiar) and narrowed it down to 2.

I cannot make up my mind between Cube U65GT TALK9X 3G and ONDA V919 3G Air. Help me choose please.

 

[Jiafei]

Hi everyone. Thanks in advance.
1) what you will be using the tablet for. list any features you need, such as g-sensor, gps, bluetooth, Adobe Flash, or any specific apps general web surfing, videos, light office work, photos; retina display, bluetooth, Abobe flash appreciated
2) how much you are willing to spend around $200
3) if you have an idea, what the size of the tablet should be 9.7"
4) how much you know about Android, or just whether or not you are computer literate have Android phones & TV
5) Please list your location somewhere. (You should really include it in your profile, by the way) Canada

I have been researching for weeks, going in circles and confusing myself (let me know when this sounds familiar) and narrowed it down to 2.

I cannot make up my mind between Cube U65GT TALK9X 3G and ONDA V919 3G Air. Help me choose please.

I am new here to this forums.I am crazy about the tablet PCs,just read about your comment.
I order an Onda V919 3G Air, it is amazing.
Win8.1 + Android 4.4;
2 + 64GB
9.7 inch Screen
Intel CPU
What is more, I got the Onda V989. It is worth $189. I love it, too.
Hope it is helpful for you.

 

[safian]

Hey guys!
I am looking for a tablet with HDMI output that will allow me to send camera image live.
It will be the only thing this tablet has to do. I need it to show live image on screens while I'm walking with it instead of using heavy camera rig. I was going to buy small camera just for that, but if there is a tablet that will allow me to do that, that would be much, much cheaper.
I would like to output the HDMI image to a wireless HDMI transmitter and then show it on few screens live.
What would be the best tablet for that purpose? It would be nice if it was 7, maybe 8 inches.
Thanks

 

[Spider]

I'd suggest you look into using Chromecast as an alternative to HDMI and a wireless HDMI transmitter. It would require that you have WiFi available at the location you're shooting, but would allow you to use just about any tablet. I just tested it with my Nexus 7 (2013) running Android 5.0.2 and it worked great. Just turned the camera on and cast the screen to my flat screen TV.

If you're interested, scroll through the Android Tablet News Depot section of the forum. There are several articles about Chromecast there.