Cheapest half decent Android Tablet?

Dampsquid

Got my Flytouch 3 yesterday. Only ordered last saturday from ChinaGraber, paid extra for express delivery. It was marked as a DVD value $25, didn't have to pay any duty or vat.

Pros: Looks great and touch reponse is quite good.

Cons: Can't install from Market because free space is over 2GB - 16GB SD card is partitioned into 4GB and 12 GB. Haven't found a fix for it yet. 3.2GB free on the partition, can't see a way to copy data onto that partition, anything i put on it goes onto the 12GB partition.

Battery is only charging to 57%, when plugged out it jumps to 40% and is discharging very quickly to 0% Might just need to charge it for a whole day to get it fully charged, only tried a couple of hours so far.

GPS seems to be locked to china, haven't really tried it yet.

There is a 3rd party ROM to fix all of these, but don't want to flash it just yet.

neacy69

Hey all

im in china at the moment and thinking of picking up one of the Ipad knockoffs in the market...

They all seem to be running 2.2 and from playing around with them in the stalls they seem fairly decent. The screen seems like a resistive one which isnt ideal but then i reckon i could get a 10" one for about €60/70. The seller says they have 64GB memory but i reckon thats up to. and i'm not sure how to check...

They all look like IPad (ie one big button at the bottom) with various buttons around the bottom/sides...


Any advice on what i should look out for/be wary of? I have a HTC hero for a while now so I am familiar with most of android but i dont know much about tablets.

How can i tell if its able to run flash properly?

srsly78

To test flash try watching video off the aljazeera website. Also try "kongregate arcade" app from market. Note you will probably need flash 10.2 or 10.3 installed (get from market).

ED E

Dropad A8. Looks nice, but doesnt work yet

When it arrived it had a cyclic error on boot(in Android) that I couldn't get past, so I assume the manufacturer had bolloxed the install so I flashed it, several times, but no matter what fw I use I only get as far as the splash screen. Then I realised it may not be properly updating, it goes through the first few steps, then splashscreen, then it locks up. Looking at YT clips on it there is a second set of update actions, which mine appears to never perform...

Kinda lost, totally new to Android, could do with a finger in the right direction.

Thanks,
Lethal.

EDIT: Got it!

Dampsquid

Dampsquid wrote: »

Got my Flytouch 3 yesterday. Only ordered last saturday from ChinaGraber, paid extra for express delivery. It was marked as a DVD value $25, didn't have to pay any duty or vat.

Pros: Looks great and touch reponse is quite good.

Cons: Can't install from Market because free space is over 2GB - 16GB SD card is partitioned into 4GB and 12 GB. Haven't found a fix for it yet. 3.2GB free on the partition, can't see a way to copy data onto that partition, anything i put on it goes onto the 12GB partition.

Battery is only charging to 57%, when plugged out it jumps to 40% and is discharging very quickly to 0% Might just need to charge it for a whole day to get it fully charged, only tried a couple of hours so far.

GPS seems to be locked to china, haven't really tried it yet.

There is a 3rd party ROM to fix all of these, but don't want to flash it just yet.

An Update.

I flashed it with Tim's 4e rom.

It has fixed the market.

Battery will now charge to 100% but seems to drop in jumps, it could be 90%, then a minute later it will be 75%. Overall with light usage, browsing, the odd game. it will last 3 hours. it will take 6+ hours to charge.

The GPS doesn't work. it will pick up 8 satelites after turning it on, but within 10 seconds it will lose them all. it might pick one or 2 of them up again but not for long.

The screen has very poor viewing angles, you would think that mightn't be a big problem, try reading it in portrait and the angle to each eye is a problem.

I am less and less impressed with this every day.

On the plus side, its input response time isnt too bad and haven't had any issues with the wifi. bought it to read a few PDF's and watch the odd movie on. Angry birds works great on it too (have to have it plugged in while playing though-it eats the battery).

Ste-

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

EDIT: Got it!

For others that might come across this thread might you explain how you got it working ?

ED E

Good point.

Not 100% sure what exactly will and wont work.

What I did:
1. Use a scalpel to remove the back plate, be careful, its easy to damage.
2. Unscrew the panel underneath
3. Take out the SD card from its holder, use DISKPART to delete all partitions.
4. Replace SD
5. Load the March 15th MID ROM onto your external SD
6. Boot into upgrade mode and wait.
7. When its done it will shut down. Power it back on and wait, it will be slow first time.


Planning on getting 1/2 16GB SDs(Well, microSDs) for it if she holds her own over the next few weeks.

Lady Chatterton

Hi Guys,

I'm really hoping that some of the people who purchased tablets from China might be able to help me.

Two weeks ago, I ordered a tablet from China for my five year old as she was always using her uncle's iPad. It arrived yesterday and she was absolutely thrilled until we discovered that the tablet came with a foreign two pin plug that obviously doesn't work here. All my good work was undone in an instance and my daughter was in tears.

Can someone please please advise me on the adapter I need and where I could get one?

Thanks in advance,

Mrs D

mickoneill30

Check the powersupply of your tablet. If it says it'll work at 220 - 240 volts getting an adapter will be easy. Most power supplies generally will have numbers written on them like 100 - 240V.

If it has that bring it into your local Power City or equivalent and you should be able to get an adapter for the plug for €3 - €10. If you bring in the power supply with you the assistant should be knowledgeable enough to tell you if it'll work in Ireland.

irishchris

just purchased this from amazon { http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tabtech-M009S-Google-Android-Tablet/dp/B004RAN7VI/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1307906523&sr=1-1 }which means it has a guarantee and is same price/cheaper than china although obviously is a chinese tablet. awaiting delivery so will report back when i get it but reviews are nearly all 5 star on amazons site for supplier wendy lou so am fairly confident should be ok but we will see fingers crossed i don't get burned

pickarooney

You just need something like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/US-UK-Plug-Travel-Adaptor/dp/B0006OFKNC

The Chinese tablets all ship with US plugs and are compatible with European and North American voltage.

Lady Chatterton

pickarooney wrote: »

You just need something like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/US-UK-Plug-Travel-Adaptor/dp/B0006OFKNC

The Chinese tablets all ship with US plugs and are compatible with European and North American voltage.

Thanks very much for your reply Pickarooney

I've checked the plug I have received with the tablet and it states 100-240/VAC, now I really don't understand the ins and outs of voltage but I do know that sometimes you need to use a transformer.

In this particular case, can I just purchase the adaptor you have suggested from Amazon or do I have to purchase a transformer too?

mickoneill30

MrsD007 wrote: »

In this particular case, can I just purchase the adaptor you have suggested from Amazon or do I have to purchase a transformer too?

If it says 100 - 240 then you don't need a transformer. Your local electrical shop will have ones like the ones listed above. They'll be a couple of quid dearer but you can have it today.

Wcool

Has anyone figured out a way to buy a Nook Color cheaply in Ireland? (NOT USD = EUR?)
I am convinced it's a great tablet if you put Cyanogen Mod on it.

Except for relatives or friends in the States, it seems impossible to get it cheaply...

irishchris

irishchris wrote: »

just purchased this from amazon { http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tabtech-M009S-Google-Android-Tablet/dp/B004RAN7VI/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1307906523&sr=1-1 }which means it has a guarantee and is same price/cheaper than china although obviously is a chinese tablet. awaiting delivery so will report back when i get it but reviews are nearly all 5 star on amazons site for supplier wendy lou so am fairly confident should be ok but we will see fingers crossed i don't get burned

that's the exact same one that I got from buyincoins.com for €65 (that's including paying the customs - if customs don't intercept it would be €50) delivered.

pickarooney

I saw these two wee beasties for 220 and 170 euros respectively earlier

Updated Flytouch 2 with a 10" capacitive multi-touch screen
http://chinagrabber.com/flytouch-4-tablet-pc---10-2-capacitive-multi-touch-flytouch-3-w-built-in-gps-android-2-2---flytouch4-3g.aspx

Meiying M11 8" capacitive screen with 1.2GHz (single core) processor

http://www.prlog.org/11597282-meiying-m11-12ghz-android-23-rk2918-apad-beats-herotab-m8-sampad.html

The 8" looks like an interesting size. I'd like to handle one to see how it feels. The bigger tablet is virtually identical to the previous Flytouches but that capacitive screen sounds like a nice upgrade for about 50 bucks extra.

Newtown90

Been looking at one of these guys: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/101616/210982192-458781243/NEW-7-Android-2-2-VIA8650-Tablet-PC.html

going back to college soon and wouldn't mind one, for the money it looks great...

All it would be used for really would be msn, skype and web browsing..

What are the views on it? Or is it a waste of money?

Brian

Tablets like that one give Android a bad name.

Newtown90

Baza210 wrote: »

Tablets like that one give Android a bad name.

That bad then?

Brian

It will be slow, buggy, poorly made, with hacky drivers and out of date software, topped off by an unresponsive resistive screen.

Newtown90

Baza210 wrote: »

It will be slow, buggy, poorly made, with hacky drivers and out of date software, topped off by an unresponsive resistive screen.

Not even worth €60 for basic use so?

charlesh

Glenviewjf wrote: »

Baza210 wrote: »

It will be slow, buggy, poorly made, with hacky drivers and out of date software, topped off by an unresponsive resistive screen.

Not even worth €60 for basic use so?

Yeah .... I wouldn't recommend a resistive screen for college

Red Silurian

The problem with android tablets is they try to compete with the fruity iPad! Including the same price point

pickarooney

Well, when you're entering a market which is absolutely dominated by another company you're kind of forced to compete with it, no?

Red Silurian

pickarooney wrote: »

Well, when you're entering a market which is absolutely dominated by another company you're kind of forced to compete with it, no?

Yes... But compete with it using a product that's cheaper than the dominant Market force

toby2111

irishschris-whats your opinion on the NATPC M009S that you got from amazon?I'm looking to get the wife a basic,good value tablet that she can read books on and do a bit of general browsing on the net.Would you recommend this?

Discodog

Wcool wrote: »

Has anyone figured out a way to buy a Nook Color cheaply in Ireland? (NOT USD = EUR?)
I am convinced it's a great tablet if you put Cyanogen Mod on it.

Except for relatives or friends in the States, it seems impossible to get it cheaply...

They sell for loads more because they are incredible value at the US price. I hunted everywhere & couldn't find a European seller. Nook could make a fortune if they released this worldwide.

Craigels

I have flash installed on my XOOM but when I go on a site with flash I getba green arrow which I have to click for the flash too load why wont it load automatically?

Duiske

Craigels wrote: »

I have flash installed on my XOOM but when I go on a site with flash I getba green arrow which I have to click for the flash too load why wont it load automatically?

What browser are you using ? If Dolphin, try menu --> more--> settings-->
enable plugins--> always on.

Craigels

I have that setting correct i still get the green arrow pointing down when i click it the flash loads straight away Im using dolphin