Android tablets

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epr

260 posts

Ultimate Geek

#242881 18-Nov-2018 20:43

Just wondering what is good among android tablets as my Samsung galaxy s2 is slowly showing its age so I am thinking about a new device. It is 8 inch and fairly light weight wise I have taken my eyes off this market for a while so wondering what is out there. Looking at the 500 and under price range.

TYVM in advance.

timmmay

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#2129050 18-Nov-2018 21:09

I have an older Lenovo Tab2 that I really like. The later Tab4 has a lower resolution screen and is more cheaply made, but is worth considering.

d3Xt3r

688 posts

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#2129093 19-Nov-2018 00:42

Xiaomi Mi Pad 4. Decent specs for a good price, easy to root and supports Treble so you can load a Treble GSI easily. Lots of working AOSP ROMs already available.

1101

3122 posts

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#2129236 19-Nov-2018 10:30

timmmay:

I have an older Lenovo Tab2 that I really like. The later Tab4 has a lower resolution screen and is more cheaply made, but is worth considering.

I have a Lenovo Tab4. I really like it, the lower res isnt an issue at all, being only 8". The display looks really good.
Its considerably faster than my old Samsung tab7 , but still low end speed wise compared to expensive Tablets
They can be had for $250ish on sale .
Mine is starting to have issues with the headphone jack though .

robjg63

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#2129298 19-Nov-2018 11:03

d3Xt3r: Xiaomi Mi Pad 4. Decent specs for a good price, easy to root and supports Treble so you can load a Treble GSI easily. Lots of working AOSP ROMs already available.

Was really hoping the mi-store at Sylvia Park would start stocking the Mi-Pad.

Really want a 10" tab though - Appears to be a Mi Pad 4 10.1 inch - but it seems to be only an LTE model (ie its a 4G phablet)

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

driller2000

935 posts

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#2129329 19-Nov-2018 11:29

You can get some well specced tablets from Chinese online stores from the likes of B*nggood and G*arbest- eg. ordered 2 of these for the kids @ $208NZD landed:

Brand – Chuwi
Model – HiPad
Device Type – Android 4G Tablet
CPU – Deca-Core 2×2.6GHz Cortex-A72 + 4×2.0GHz Cortex-A53 + 4×1.6GHz Cortex-A53
Chipset – MediaTek Helio X27 (MT6797X)
GPU – ARM Mali-T880 MP4, 875 MHz, 4-Cores
Camera – 5 Megapixel Rear Camera | 5 Megapixel Front camera
Memory – RAM- 3GB| ROM 32GB ROM with microSD card slot up to 128GB
Display – Screen size 10.1 inches IPS, LCD FHD Screen (1920 x 1200 Pixels)
Battery – Non-Removable Lithium-Polymer 7,000 mAh battery
Sensors – Accelerometer
Color – Gray
Operating System – Android 8.0 Oreo
Dimensions – 252.5 mm x 162.9 mm x 9.4 mm
Weight – 490 Grams (With Battery)
Port – 1xMicro USB Slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack, TF Card Slot, 1 x Micro HD Port
More Features – Metal and Plastic Body Design, IPS Screen, Computer Sync, Tethering, OTA Sync, Audio Jack, 3.5mm Earphones Port, 110-240V | 5V/2A Charger Output Power, OTG Support, eMMC 5.1 Storage.

d3Xt3r

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#2129391 19-Nov-2018 12:45

driller2000:

You can get some well specced tablets from Chinese online stores from the likes of B*nggood and G*arbest- eg. ordered 2 of these for the kids @ $208NZD landed:

Brand – Chuwi
Model – HiPad
Device Type – Android 4G Tablet
CPU – Deca-Core 2×2.6GHz Cortex-A72 + 4×2.0GHz Cortex-A53 + 4×1.6GHz Cortex-A53
Chipset – MediaTek Helio X27 (MT6797X)
GPU – ARM Mali-T880 MP4, 875 MHz, 4-Cores
Camera – 5 Megapixel Rear Camera | 5 Megapixel Front camera
Memory – RAM- 3GB| ROM 32GB ROM with microSD card slot up to 128GB
Display – Screen size 10.1 inches IPS, LCD FHD Screen (1920 x 1200 Pixels)
Battery – Non-Removable Lithium-Polymer 7,000 mAh battery
Sensors – Accelerometer
Color – Gray
Operating System – Android 8.0 Oreo
Dimensions – 252.5 mm x 162.9 mm x 9.4 mm
Weight – 490 Grams (With Battery)
Port – 1xMicro USB Slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack, TF Card Slot, 1 x Micro HD Port
More Features – Metal and Plastic Body Design, IPS Screen, Computer Sync, Tethering, OTA Sync, Audio Jack, 3.5mm Earphones Port, 110-240V | 5V/2A Charger Output Power, OTG Support, eMMC 5.1 Storage.

Personally, I'd avoid random no-brand devices like the above, due to potential malware/spyware (generally loaded by the reseller). At least for popular brands like Xioami you have the option of reloading the factory firmware or a custom ROM, but with no-brand devices you're stuck with whatever the OEM or reseller loads.

kobiak

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#2129399 19-Nov-2018 13:05

d3Xt3r:

driller2000:

You can get some well specced tablets from Chinese online stores from the likes of B*nggood and G*arbest- eg. ordered 2 of these for the kids @ $208NZD landed:

Brand – Chuwi
Model – HiPad
Device Type – Android 4G Tablet
CPU – Deca-Core 2×2.6GHz Cortex-A72 + 4×2.0GHz Cortex-A53 + 4×1.6GHz Cortex-A53
Chipset – MediaTek Helio X27 (MT6797X)
GPU – ARM Mali-T880 MP4, 875 MHz, 4-Cores
Camera – 5 Megapixel Rear Camera | 5 Megapixel Front camera
Memory – RAM- 3GB| ROM 32GB ROM with microSD card slot up to 128GB
Display – Screen size 10.1 inches IPS, LCD FHD Screen (1920 x 1200 Pixels)
Battery – Non-Removable Lithium-Polymer 7,000 mAh battery
Sensors – Accelerometer
Color – Gray
Operating System – Android 8.0 Oreo
Dimensions – 252.5 mm x 162.9 mm x 9.4 mm
Weight – 490 Grams (With Battery)
Port – 1xMicro USB Slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack, TF Card Slot, 1 x Micro HD Port
More Features – Metal and Plastic Body Design, IPS Screen, Computer Sync, Tethering, OTA Sync, Audio Jack, 3.5mm Earphones Port, 110-240V | 5V/2A Charger Output Power, OTG Support, eMMC 5.1 Storage.

Personally, I'd avoid random no-brand devices like the above, due to potential malware/spyware (generally loaded by the reseller). At least for popular brands like Xioami you have the option of reloading the factory firmware or a custom ROM, but with no-brand devices you're stuck with whatever the OEM or reseller loads.

Chuwi is around for 10+ years. not as big as xiaomi, but does huge range of devices. and there's always xda-devs topic for custom roms.

helping others at evgenyk.nz

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dafman

3926 posts

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#2129400 19-Nov-2018 13:10

I recently purchased the Huawei Mediapad M5 10.5" from Amazon.co.uk

This is a great tablet for media consumption and I highly recommend it. It has the best speakers on the market - 4 in total, and at 10.5" and 16:10 ratio, it gives you a little more screen for your money. I have installed a 256 GB SD card, so have been able to save a ton of movies for offline watching when travelling (YouTube and Netflix both can be saved for offline watching).

It is on sale at Amazon at the moment and can be landed in New Zealand for $550 (including import fees). This is a big discount, I think I paid mid-$700 for mine.

Plus, my import fees were refunded by Amazon a month or so after purchase, so the final cost may be less than $550.

d3Xt3r

688 posts

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#2129415 19-Nov-2018 13:44

kobiak:

Chuwi is around for 10+ years. not as big as xiaomi, but does huge range of devices.

The main problem here is when you're buying it from non-official sources, re-sellers are known to load malware on to them. Heck, Huawei is a one of the top OEMs but my Huawei Mediapad M3 (Chinese version) came preloaded with malware and porn. I wasn't aware Chuwi has been around for that long but that doesn't mean when you're buying it it's spyware free:

eg: Chuwi tablets comes with Android spyware preinstalled

Malware pre-installed Chuwi hi10

Can we get rid of the AdUps spyware??? [Chuwi Hi12]

and there's always xda-devs topic for custom roms.

XDA isn't a panacea - you'll only find support for popular devices, it's very rare to find someone maintain a clean/working ROM for random-brand devices. There are no ROMs on XDA for the tablet OP posted about, for eg, and there likely won't be one as it's a Mediatek SoC - they typically don't release any kernel sources, making it very difficult to make a proper custom ROM.

1101

3122 posts

Uber Geek

#2129550 19-Nov-2018 16:17

Buying from China , be willing to risk loosing your money . factor in the risk.

BG & GB sell alot of fake items. No guarentee you are getting the brand you think.
And good luck getting warranty , ha .
Ive a couple of mates who have bought cheap weird brand Tablets. They rave about them...untill they die. One friend bough 3 from GB, all
3 failed .

bigalow

566 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2129667 19-Nov-2018 17:26

best one i think is nexus 7 2013 but they stop making them

winnie88

9 posts

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Inactive user

#2129875 20-Nov-2018 03:25

Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus. It is quite good and the price is not bad.

driller2000

935 posts

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#2129925 20-Nov-2018 08:24

d3Xt3r:

kobiak:

Chuwi is around for 10+ years. not as big as xiaomi, but does huge range of devices.

The main problem here is when you're buying it from non-official sources, re-sellers are known to load malware on to them. Heck, Huawei is a one of the top OEMs but my Huawei Mediapad M3 (Chinese version) came preloaded with malware and porn. I wasn't aware Chuwi has been around for that long but that doesn't mean when you're buying it it's spyware free:

eg: Chuwi tablets comes with Android spyware preinstalled

Malware pre-installed Chuwi hi10

Can we get rid of the AdUps spyware??? [Chuwi Hi12]

and there's always xda-devs topic for custom roms.

XDA isn't a panacea - you'll only find support for popular devices, it's very rare to find someone maintain a clean/working ROM for random-brand devices. There are no ROMs on XDA for the tablet OP posted about, for eg, and there likely won't be one as it's a Mediatek SoC - they typically don't release any kernel sources, making it very difficult to make a proper custom ROM.

Appreciate the links re previous Chuwi issues - will definitely check...

driller2000

935 posts

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#2129931 20-Nov-2018 08:39

1101:

Buying from China , be willing to risk loosing your money . factor in the risk.

BG & GB sell alot of fake items. No guarentee you are getting the brand you think.
And good luck getting warranty , ha .
Ive a couple of mates who have bought cheap weird brand Tablets. They rave about them...untill they die. One friend bough 3 from GB, all
3 failed .

Noted - I have however had pretty good exp with both - incl 100s of items and several; $k spent - tablets, phs, drones etc.

But yes if a BG/GB item borks then yeah you are fully stuck - but i factored that in ie. i could sometimes by 2 or even 3 from China and still be ahead spec vs. spec - for the same money - but yes YMMV.

Admittedly the tablets I am replacing came from china but they have been used for a couple hrs a day - everyday - and by kids (so not gentle) - for over 2 years now - and now the batteries are not bouncing back as well. Plus I want a new toy :)