Small Tablets 2019

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shk292

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#257343 26-Sep-2019 19:01

So, my wife has had an Asus 8" tablet for a few years and it's been great but like all such devices it has gradually slowed down to the point of being annoying.

Use is mostly reading e-books borrowed from the library, photo viewing from the Amazon app, a few undemanding games (Sudoku etc) and web browsing.

There don't seem to be many 7-8" tablets on the NZ market now, and those that are seem to be cheap with low-res displays, eg the Samsung A8. Options for importing include the Huawei Mediapad M5 lite and the Xiaomi Mi pad 4, but both these seem a little obscure and unsupported in NZ. This seems the best option and the seller gets good reviews:

https://www.geekbuying.com/item/Xiaomi-Mi-Pad-4-WiFi-Tablet-PC-4GB-64GB-Black-399473.html

I'm normally averse to Apple, but from the reviews I've seen, the new Ipad mini seems the best option, even with its huge bezels. Anyone have any other suggestions?

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#2325527 26-Sep-2019 19:26

IMO the iPad is the only really decent tablet ecosystem around. Some hardware is OK from Android manufacturers but Google has given up on a tablet optimised version of Android. App support is rubbish as well.

The Fire tablet devices are cheap crap (they are fine for my kids but the latency and screens are horrible).

Given the relatively reasonable price of iPads now it's hardly worth going anywhere else.

mdav056

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#2325629 26-Sep-2019 22:04

You hardly need a hi-res display for that sort of use! The 2019 Samsung A 8" with LTE is a great buy -- just bought one for email, kindle reading, newspapers, casting, and the occasional video, and it works superbly. Screen is absolutely fine. Can't go wrong.

gml

Dingbatt

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#2325636 26-Sep-2019 22:20

I'm writing this on my 8" Samsung Tab S2. It's getting a bit slow and battery life is average at best, but its OLED display is still awesome and it is a perfect size. I wish Samsung had continued with this size for it's successors. The Tab S2 replaced my Note 8 (not Galaxy Note 8) and I was disappointed it didn't have an S-Pen like the Note 8 did.
Android tablets have been neglected and mostly abandoned by manufacturers, particularly in the smaller one-hand size.
Guess I'll have to wait for the Fold to come down in price.

Sorry, no helpful suggestions. There just aren't any decent smaller Android tablets on offer (imo).

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Tzoi

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#2325648 26-Sep-2019 23:31

I have the mipad 4 plus which is pretty good for the price, presume the normal one is equally good. I bought mine from a xiaomi store in China

shk292

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#2326071 27-Sep-2019 14:39

Thanks for all the replies
I'm erring towards the IPad mini at this stage. Partly because I know they just work, and will continue doing so reliably for several years. I'll check out the Samsung but having had a FHD+ display on the Asus for the last few years, I don't think I'm happy to drop to 800res. My wife likes browsing and editing our photo collections and the high res display is really nice for that.

1eStar

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#2326216 27-Sep-2019 22:17

Do check out the latest s4 or s5e or s6 whatever is the latest. I have the s4 and it's footprint is not much bigger than my old 8.3 LG. With smaller bezel it's quite nice to use. And the screen is gorgeous.

kiwimustang

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#2326919 30-Sep-2019 06:45

I've just purchased the Samsung S6 tablet and love it - this coming from an Apple fan changing from an iPad Pro.

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shk292

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#2327239 30-Sep-2019 18:07

kiwimustang: I've just purchased the Samsung S6 tablet and love it - this coming from an Apple fan changing from an iPad Pro.

I had a look at one - very nice but both too big and too expensive for what I want in this case.

mudguard

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#2779748 17-Sep-2021 09:57

Asking for an unlock.

My venerable Nexus 2013 LTE is still creaking on. Speed wise it's pretty good, battery is average obviously and I'm having more frequent issues with the SIM not being recognised.

Where are we at on small tablets? I emphasis small as I have a full size laptop, mid size phone and I travel for work. My main use for the tablet is when I'm away, I like to have it in the glovebox, and then in my pocket when I walk out for dinner. I tend to have emails and apps that I don't want on my phone as I don't like the interruptions. I don't anything demanding on it, chrome, youtube and the stock gmail client and that's about it.

I'm possibly more open to an iPad mini than I was, though I prefer Android. The small Samsung tablets seem to have quite poor resolution compared to my existing tablet (1200x1920). Every time I think about rooting the Nexus to get a newer version of Android, I take one look at the instructions and think it's beyond me.

mentalinc

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#2779749 17-Sep-2021 10:01

Have you tried a factory reset at all?

Sometimes they can give it a lease of new life.

Have you also looked to see if you;'re still getting OS updates? There maybe a lineageOS 18.1 version available as well...(check xda as well )

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shk292

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#2779753 17-Sep-2021 10:10

Two years on and my OH is still very pleased with the mini iPad. The new minis also look nice, albeit expensive.

mudguard

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#2779754 17-Sep-2021 10:16

mentalinc:

Have you tried a factory reset at all?

Sometimes they can give it a lease of new life.

Have you also looked to see if you;'re still getting OS updates? There maybe a lineageOS 18.1 version available as well...(check xda as well )

Yeah normally reset it once a year. No OS updates since 6.01 which it went to when that OS was released. I still think I should try rooting it to give it one last crack.

davidcole

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#2779767 17-Sep-2021 10:40

What about a kobo since they are supposed to support library books as well. Or are there other non ebooks things that occur? I only ask as i was looking at a kobo for my Son. But we do have an old ipad mini here I coul drepurpose.

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jonathan18

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#2779775 17-Sep-2021 11:14

shk292:

Two years on and my OH is still very pleased with the mini iPad. The new minis also look nice, albeit expensive.

Yeah, I'm no Apple fanboi but tablets are the one device type that I'm unlikely to stray from buying from Apple. I'm just not sure I'd be comfortable paying those prices for a Mini - the cheapest is $849 (new iPad starts at $569), but if the price is not a concern and small form factor was critical then I'd bite the bullet... It's a bit wider than the Nexus (135mm vs 114mm), if that affects pocketability (but the screen's a decent-sized larger - 8.3" vs 7").

mudguard

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#2779829 17-Sep-2021 11:27

davidcole:

What about a kobo since they are supposed to support library books as well. Or are there other non ebooks things that occur? I only ask as i was looking at a kobo for my Son. But we do have an old ipad mini here I coul drepurpose.

I should mention I have a Kindle already!

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