[ale] need tablet buying advice, bought nook, liked it, returned it

Thu Apr 5 06:40:03 EDT 2012

On Wed, 2012-04-04 at 23:39 -0400, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
> On 4/4/2012 3:18 PM, Scott Castaline wrote:
> > On 04/03/2012 05:58 PM, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
> >    
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> I'm back on the tablet hunt again.  I bought a Nook yesterday, used
> >> the SD card trick to put CM7 on it without affecting the original
> >> system, really liked it, then returned it.  BN works so hard at
> >> foiling anyone trying to run something else, it's a major pain.  I
> >> got CM7 to boot, then shut down the tablet.  Rebooted into BN,
> >> since I wanted to be able to flip back and forth, and then tried to
> >> boot CM7 again.  I never got it running again.  I reflashed the SD
> >> card and tried again.  Again, I got CM7 to boot only once.  The BN
> >> software was 1.4.1 I think.  Anyway, while I really like the
> >> tablet, I just don't want to be fighting the big corp all the time
> >> to keep my alt version of the software running.  So, I'm back in
> >> the market and, if you all have experience with such things, I'd
> >> like some advice.
> >>
> >> I'd like to get the following minimum features.  The Nook didn't
> >> have some of these, but I wanted the ability to read BN books in
> >> the BN store.  I realize I won't be able to do that with another
> >> tablet.
> >>
> >> 7" or 10" screen (10" is probably not possible in my price range.)
> >> capacitive touch screen Android 3.2 or 4.x, or at least upgradable
> >> to 4.x. 1 GHz processor, preferably dual core 1 GB ram 16 GB flash
> >> sd or micro sd card slot front and back cameras microphone
> >> headphone jack hdmi output usb port (full USB functionality is
> >> preferable) access to full android market and google apps
> >> accelerometer wifi b/g Thin is good.  The nook is .48" and feels
> >> good in your hand.
> >>
> >> The following features would be nice to have but not critical.
> >>
> >> haptic feedback wifi b/g/n gps gyroscope ? (I saw this on a spec
> >> sheet somewhere.  Is that different from an accelerometer?  If so,
> >> what's it for?)
> >>
> >> I'd like to keep the price of the tablet itself under $ 320.
> >>
> >> I haven't studied all the specs yet on these, but my current
> >> candidates are:
> >>
> >> Acer Iconia 7 - Best Buy - $ 259 (or was it $ 269) Samsung Galaxy
> >> Tab 7 - Best Buy $ 300 (currently, normally $ 350)
> >>
> >> By the way, Best Buy now has 30 day returns, 30 day price match,
> >> and 30 days of tech support by phone.
> >>
> >> I'm sure there are other tablets which meet this criteria.  I'd
> >> appreciate your thoughts on this.  I don't want to root anything or
> >>   fight the designers to make it run.  The tablet has to run
> >> Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich natively.  I could go slightly
> >> higher in price, but I want to also have some money for a case,
> >> android book, etc.
> >>
> >> Sincerely,
> >>
> >> Ron
> >>
> >>
> >>      
> > I had done the same going the external route with the SD chip, but was
> > sort of restricted to using it when the significant other is not home
> > as the Nook is hers. Well I have been successful in being able to cold
> > boot Android multiple times. My only issue is that it seems more
> > geared up for phone than tablet. Is there a way to remove the phone
> > stuff as klutzy me tends to hit the spots for phone use and of course
> > it seems to be laughing at me that I don't have a phone. Also I have
> > noticed that I lose my WiFi when I wake it up from it's nap, and then
> > later it works. At best I would say WiFi is a bit flaky.
> 
> Hi Scott,
> 
> I don't know about the phone features.  I think Michael T. and Michael 
> W. use Cyanogenmod.  Maybe they can tell you how to deal with those 
> functions.  You can delete items from the home screens by tapping and 
> holding an icon until a menu appears, then tap the delete icon or 
> continue holding the original icon and drag it to the trash can at the top.
> 
> I'm making some progress narrowing my selection of tablets by the 
> process of elimination.  If you don't know exactly what you want, 
> sometimes it helps to know what you don't like or can't do without.  
> Reading the spec sheets can be quite confusing and tedious.  Here's some 
> of what I've learned.  I'm eliminating the tablets from consideration 
> with the following features.
> 
> eliminate - tablets without 2 or more CPU cores - I think good CPU's 
> include but are not limited to: Tegra 2, Rockchip RK30, TI Omap 4.
> eliminate - tablets with less than 1 GHz CPU frequency
> eliminate - tablets with less than 1 GB RAM
> eliminate - tablets with less than 8 GB Flash Memory
> eliminate - tablets with no front camera - I figure I'm more likely to 
> video chat than use a tablet for photography.
> eliminate - tablets with screen size less than 1024 x 600 if a 7" screen
> eliminate - tablets with less than 6 hr battery life playing video - 
> Goodbye Acer Iconia A100.
> eliminate - tablets with less than Android 3.2 (Honeycomb)
> eliminate - tablets without a capacitive touch screen
> eliminate - tablets without an SD card slot (32 GB capacity)
> eliminate - tablets without auto screen rotation - This means they have 
> a "G Sensor".
> eliminate - tablets without speakers (if there are any such tablets)
> eliminate - tablets without a microphone
> eliminate - tablets without Bluetooth
> eliminate - tablets without HDMI output - Goodbye Acer Iconia A100 and A200.
> eliminate - tablets with funky proprietary large connectors instead of 
> multiple small individual standardized connectors - Goodbye Samsung 
> Galaxy Tab.
> eliminate - tablets that cannot play 1080p video smoothly
> eliminate - tablets with a price over $ 400
> 
> Apparently, the "G sensor" could be an accelerometer or a gyroscope.  As 
> I understand it, the accelerometer senses MOTION, or more accurately, 
> change in motion in one direction.  A gyroscope can sense position, 
> whether motion is involved or not I think.  Some tablets have both.
> 
> If the unit has a proprietary connector, you have to buy expensive 
> custom cables and adapters to attach anything to the unit.
> 
> In terms of price, I'd really rather it be $ 300 or less, because I'm 
> not sure that the functionality a tablet provides, above that of a 
> laptop, is worth $ 400 to me.  I may even consider an Android netbook if 
> I can find one.
> 
> I'm pretty sure about the above criteria.  Here are some others I'm not 
> so sure about yet.
> 
> potentially eliminate - tablets without a full USB port, to attach a 
> keyboard to, for example
> potentially eliminate - tablets without IPS screens, which have wider 
> viewing angles
> potentially eliminate - tablets which can't or won't be upgraded to 
> Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
> potentially eliminate - tablets without gps - I'd usually have it off, 
> but if you need it, it's nice.
> potentially eliminate - tablets without haptic feedback - Gives nice 
> confirmation when pressing on screen buttons.
> potentially eliminate - tablets without wifi N in addition to B and G
> potentially eliminate - tablets without a flash if there is a rear 
> facing camera
> potentially eliminate - tablets without an IR tranciever - for intra 
> device comm and using tablet as a remote control
> 
> As you can imagine, that narrows the field quite a bit.  So far, I 
> haven't found what I want to buy.  There should be some more really neat 
> ones coming out this year.  I've found engadget and cnet reviews quite 
> helpful in looking at these.  Of course, there are many other sources of 
> reviews.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Ron

Again, I HIGHLY suggest the Le Pan II.  It is minus the regular usb,
but, hey, use a blue-tooth keyboard.  It matches all other criteria on
your list and at $279.00 at Microcenter, it matches your price.

It is NOT ICS, but the MFG claims they will provide an update.
> 
> 

-- 
Damon
damon at damtek.com