Looking for a 7-8 inch tablet ...

[thg]

Hi everybody,

I'm looking for a small Android tablet to be used with a moving map app.

Personally I like 4:3 screens more, because video has no importance for me at all and for everything else the 4:3 screens are just better.

The display has to be very good, even in sun light and I need a very good GPS receiver and a long lasting battery, price around 300 EUR.

I'd like to have a higher resolution than 1024x768 or 1280x800, more than 16 GB flash would be fine, a MircoSD-slot too, but I do not need 3G/4G/LTE.
And no Samsung, Android 4.2 would be fine and with little modifications and "manufacturer addons".

Right now I found two devices, that come quite near to my wishes:

HP Slate 8 Pro 16GB (2013) 350 EUR
pros: fast, HiRes 1600x1200 4:3 bigger screen, BT4, MircoSD, not from Google ;-)
cons: only 1GB/16GB, not that small (220x142x10mm, 450g), from HP (well they killed webOS and the TP Go :-( )

Google Nexus 7 32GB (2013) 270 EUR
pros: 2GB/32GB, fast, HiRes 1920x1200, quite small (200x114x9mm, 290g), always newest Android, BT4, not that expensive
cons: 16:9, no MicroSD, from Google (don't like to be monitored from "all sides")

Acer Iconia Tab A1-810 3G 16GB, 190 EUR
pros: 4:3 bigger screen, BT4, MicroSD, really cheap
cons: 1GB/16GB, not very fast, not that small (209x146x11mm, 410g), 1024x768 low resolution

I have TouchPads with webOS for my daily use, even a 7" TP Go and I have a 7" BB PlayBook too and personally I don't like Android very much, but this one moving map app does not work on both of these tables as desired, so I am looking for a native Android tablet for this one app.

What would you prefer or do you have other thoughts?

Thanks a lot,

thg

 

[mrsmumbles]

If I were getting a tablet I'd most likely get a nexus 7. I can't really advise except to say the n7 won't have manufacturer bloatware. But I don't think it has the sdcard slot.

Sent from my C5170 via Tapatalk 2

 

[B. Diddy]

I was going to suggest the Acer A1, but it's only 1024x768.

Acer Iconia A1 review | budget Android tablet - PC Advisor

 

[thg]

I was going to suggest the Acer A1, but it's only 1024x768.

the A1 is 10" and the B1 is 7" but only 1024x600 and that's a no-go. The absolute minimum would be 1280x800 if the screen is really good, but I would prefer a higher resolution!

Thanks a lot,

thg

 

[thg]

If I were getting a tablet I'd most likely get a nexus 7. I can't really advise except to say the n7 won't have manufacturer bloatware.

I have read that they have still unsolved problems with the touchscreen and that there where GPS problems too?

But I don't think it has the sdcard slot.

Yes, it has none, Google prefers that you store all you data on there servers. But this is not what I want ...

 

[B. Diddy]

There is an 8" A1--that's the one that's 1024x768: Acer | Iconia A | Iconia A1-810-L416 | Overview

 

[thg]

There is an 8" A1--that's the one that's 1024x768

OK, this could be a (cheap) option too, the Mediatek is quite slow compared to the others and the resolution is low, mostly what I have right now on my TouchPads too.

It has only 1GB/16GB but a MicroSD-slot and it is really cheap.

How is the build-quality and the display? And what about the GPS receiver?

And what is the difference between the A1-A810 and A1-A811 besides the CPU (MTK8125 vs. MTK8389)?

Thanks a lot,

thg

 

[B. Diddy]

The A811 is 3G capable, while the A810 is Wi-Fi only.

I only played with one briefly at a store, but the screen seemed fine. It didn't have the terrible viewing angle that the Acer A100 and A110 have. Can't comment on the GPS.

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[thg]

Hi,

there was "one more", the "Leonvo Yoga Tablet 8" with 16GB for 230 EUR, that should come in November and was very interesting for me:
pros: big screen, very good to handle, BT4, MicroSD, very long battery lasting, quite cheap
cons: 1GB/16GB, not that small (400g), 1200x800 low resolution

Yesterday I was in a shop for "touching" some of them, the Acer A1 I didn't liked very much, there was an other ASUS tablet, quite similar to the old Nexus 7, but with SD-card slot and "extremely" cheap, just 100 EUR, what was quite interesting, but it had a slow (and unknown CPU) and a bad screen.

The HP Slate 8 Pro unfortunately was not available, but the old and new Google Nexus 7 for 200 EUR and 270 EUR (32GB/Wifi).

Finally I decided to get the new GN7, it is small and light and has a very good screen, but the main reason for getting this, was the very good support in the community. It is easy to unlock, easy to root, you get early updates from Google and if they do not support it anymore, there are a lot of custom firmware's for it.

But I already found some disadvantages, while it was clear that there is no SD-card-slot, it is even not possible to access the internal flash as mass-storage device via USB (that's just stupid :-( ), the widescreen has only disadvantages for most apps, like maps or ebooks/emagazins, I really love my TP Go with 4:3 and the battery lasting seems to be acceptable and good enough for what I need, but not "outstanding", I switched it on this morning with mostly full battery and started a map-app with screen always on, 2:30h later I am at 40% battery now, so will see when it's at 10%.

Edit: OK, after 5h+ I only have 5% battery left ...

Thanks again for your suggestions,

thg

 

[B. Diddy]

Glad you're enjoying your N7 so far!

The reason you can't access the whole storage via USB is that the device connects using MTP (Media Transfer Protocol), which is pretty much standard now. This allows the whole storage to be used in a unified way by the tablet. If you wanted a big chunk of storage to be accessible as an external drive via USB (like older devices), it would require separate partitions, which would reduce the area where you could install apps.

Try an app like AirDroid, which allows you to explore your device using wifi from a desktop interface. I think you can explore the whole storage area this way, but I'm not entirely sure.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[thg]

Hi B. Diddy,

thank you very much for your suggestion.

Try an app like AirDroid, which allows you to explore your device using wifi from a desktop interface. I think you can explore the whole storage area this way, but I'm not entirely sure.

it seems to work as it should, the web-app is nice and quite comfortable to use, still far away from a direct access to the media, but seems to be good enough in most cases.

But there is one concern I have: what is the price for this app?
Yes, it does not cost any money, but what are they asking for to finance their company?

I couldn't find anything negative about it, but who knows?

Thanks a lot,

thg

 

[B. Diddy]

From their website: http://forum.airdroid.com/discussio...etween-airdroid-premium-and-free-users#Item_1

They have a paid premium version that gives you 1 GB/month of file transfers. It looks like the free version limits you to 100 mb/month.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[thg]

Hi,

They have a paid premium version that gives you 1 GB/month of file transfers. It looks like the free version limits you to 100 mb/month.

OK, that seems not to be a problem, because this is only valid, if your PC and your tablet are in different networks.

Yesterday I transfered some hundred MBs to my tablet without any issues!

 

[B. Diddy]

Interesting, thanks for the update!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Antonio Ferreira2]

The a1 810 is good for your everyday task i do own one and im replying from it right now about the screen it has great viewing angles due its ips display about the chipset it supports 3g or wifi it comes 1gb ram and 8\16 gb of internal storage it comes with a cortex A9 quad-core cpu clocked at 1:20 ghz it comes with an external card slot expandable up to 32GB if im not wrong it has a micro HDMI port wich the nexus 7 doesnt it supports OTG cables because i use those everyday its a solid construction tab with a back made from plastic and 2 cameras a 5mp rear and a 0.3 mp front camera about the gps i never used it a lot but from what it seems it isnt very good :-\ battery life its decent i get problably 9 hours of misc usage from one battery charge.
It posesses a gyroscope and an acelerometer.
If you want a cheap reliable tablet this is your go 2 for!!

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