Ipad Alternatives.

Ichy · World Chat Champion Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Karma :

Despite not particularly liking Apple I've been using a Ipad for some months now. They do what they do just fine but I still believe that they are overpriced.

With that in mind does anyone have experience of any of the plethora or Android Pads? Price wise they seem very competitive but what about functionality, apps, battery life? Any really good ones out there? Which ones should be kept well away from?
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Scotsman37 · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Karma :

Here's a new contender on the market by HP coming soon!

https://www.palm.com/us/products/pads/touchpad/index.html

P.S. I mentioned in another thread that that Ipad 2 will be announced next week by Apple and therefore Ipad 1 will no doubt come down in price in the later half of the year!

schooleydoo · Trackday Trickster Joined: 31 Mar 2009 Karma :

I bought an Advent Vega in December. Aside from the iPad, its the best specced tablet on the market for the least money. DSG buy them in bulk and rebadge them. There are a few variants of the same tablet sold in other countries under a different name.

https://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/advent_vega-1002-commercial.html

I then flashed it with a ROM from Modaco, speeding things up and unlocking some options...

https://android.modaco.com/category/474/advent-vega-vega-modaco-com/

Good thread here with examples of what it can look like with a few simple tweaks...

https://android.modaco.com/content-page/324700/post-your-vega-desktops/page/140/

panrider_uk · World Chat Champion Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Karma :

I have the 7" Scroll as sold by Dabs, Maplin, Tesco etc.

Pretty good for the £130 I paid.

Android 2.1, webcam, USB, micro-SD slot, Wireless, HDMI, 1080p video. and an aluminium casing.

Mark
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Stevie GooGs · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Karma :

AndyCr15 · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 20 Feb 2011 Karma :

I have an Advent Vega too. Quite nice, but a few big flaws. (Click the link in my sig and search for my review if you want)

The screen is the biggest disappointment, very poor viewing angles, but what do you expect for £240 I guess.
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Ichy · World Chat Champion Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Karma :

Nice review.

What do you think of it now that you've owned it for a few weeks? Any good in sunlight?
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AndyCr15 · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 20 Feb 2011 Karma :

I haven't even tried it outside to be honest.

I've had it on Gumtree for the past month or so, but tbh the last few days I've started playing with it a bit more, setting it up how I want it, kinda liking it again.
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t121anf · World Chat Champion Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Karma :

had a play with an Advent Vega today, in the process of applying the software mentioned above too (friend from works so doing it for him)

seems ok, but as polished as an iPad though

Oldie · Brolly Dolly Joined: 05 Dec 2010 Karma :

If you want an inbuilt 3g modem, then the Huawei S7 is not bad for about £240. Only downside is poor battery life.

I like it because I dont need a telephone line for broadband, just plug in a cheap Three sim card (£9 for 3 months mine was) and browse away.

However, my daughter has an iPad and it's way better, but bloody expensive to buy.

Speedy3 · Traffic Copper Joined: 13 Aug 2006 Karma :

Blackberry Playbook looks quite nice too

https://us.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/
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Neorion · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Karma :

Im looking towards this https://reviews.cnet.co.uk/ipad-and-tablets/motorola-xoom-review-50002121/

EDIT better video here https://cnettv.cnet.com/motorola-xoom-tablet-hands/9742-1_53-50098295.html

The motorola xoom that has 3.0 on it.

My issue is I want to do gaming on a unit as well, the iphone does this ok but the games are a bit "young".
I had an ipad 16Gb wifi got it for a great price at the time and sold it about 2 months later after jailbreaking it and finding I used my iphone more.
Flash is the killer for me on IOS devices if Apple would allow flash OR HTML5 was taken on more mainstream the IPAD would be a winner. I dont believe the reason Apple shy away from it is battery life 100% I believe its down to them having a digital market share they dont want to give up with free online content.
If flash is such a cpu/battery hog, why not just have an option to turn it off and on in the settings, if it warned you that battery would be affected you can complain when it dies 2 hours later?

Broken sword on the iphone is the best game I have played on any mobile device including Ds and PSP.

A handheld device seems more suited to RPG or puzzle games, if they can bring a device that can play almost desktop games possibly with external devices I will be happy.

I love the new macbook air and we may get one for travelling but a device like this may do the job if the software is up to par.

Whats the android app store like? I have a mac household now, imac, macbook pro, iphone etc I do find an app for almost anything now which is great when we city hop or just want a muck about with a little game but the iphone OS has some functional flaws (no shortcuts to each mailbox for example).

I think I want to try android as I am a gadget geek and always want the SHINEY SHINEY in my hands to play with Rolling Eyes

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Oldie · Brolly Dolly Joined: 05 Dec 2010 Karma :

Android market is pretty poor. Way behind the App Store.

AndyCr15 · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 20 Feb 2011 Karma :

I would disagree. Most companies know now Android is the bigger market, that they need to make an Android version of their app.

There are even some apps available on Android and not on iOS.

Yes, iOS has more and there is a greater chance you'll find what you need on your iPhone than Android, but the gap is getting smaller and smaller.
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jackw72 · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Nov 2006 Karma :

So I am guessing the general consensus here is to go with an Advent Vega? Tempting at such a low price...

It has good reviews but has some real flaws as previously mentioned, but are these flaws overcome-able?

Could you not just add a G-mail button on the GUI to the browser taking you immediately to G-mail?

Surely there are ways to access all the content on the android market?

Are there any sub £300 tablets with 3g + Access to android market?

Thumbs Up

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AndyCr15 · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 20 Feb 2011 Karma :

Oldie · Brolly Dolly Joined: 05 Dec 2010 Karma :

Neorion · World Chat Champion Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Karma :

not having used an android tab yet or an android phone except for a friends very quickly, can I ask if you can skin the interface easily? I love the iphones look and I am not a fan of the Android squared off icons (that I have seen) they remind me of low res textures.

I have seen a couple of apps not on IOS I like one is a text to speech and one if swype that looks cool.

The iphone and having to jailbreak it everytime is getting tedious!
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Ichy · World Chat Champion Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Karma :

https://www.totalpda.co.uk/Huawei/Huawei-S7-Android-Tablet.8862.html

The opening line of the first review I found. With poor battery life and unresponsive screen, this device just doesn't cut it. So at least it's cheap
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Oldie · Brolly Dolly Joined: 05 Dec 2010 Karma :

Yep, as I said before, the Huawei battery life is poor although I use it with the power cord if I'm browsing for a while.

I got mine at Christmas and it was the cheapest one I could find with a 3g modem. Got used to the screen although the latest ones are capacitive, not resistive, afaik.

If you want a top end gadget, the iPad takes some beating although if you want cheap broadband access anywhere, then the Huawei is worth considering.

schooleydoo · Trackday Trickster Joined: 31 Mar 2009 Karma :

AndyCr15 · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 20 Feb 2011 Karma :

panrider_uk · World Chat Champion Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Karma :

So how many apps does a person need?

Seems to me that people get suckered into buying these things because they can download a multitude of apps they don't need.

Mark
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AndyCr15 · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 20 Feb 2011 Karma :

I have 106 apps installed.

Probably around 15-20 of them I use reasonably often. (DropBox, Spotify, BeyondPod, Sleep As An Droid, Google Goggles, TweetDeck, Gmail, Astrid, TV Show Favs)

Some are there for emergencies (e.g. AA Roadside app, very useful for next time I breakdown)

Some are useful maybe once a month (bus timetable, unit conversion, Movies, Ocado, Trip Journal)

Then I have a few games, but hardly ever play them, the most used being Wordfeud (Scrabble).
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panrider_uk · World Chat Champion Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Karma :

I do have the AA's phone number in my phone's contact list Smile

The only 2 apps I've added to mine are Tomtom and Viewranger (mapping for walking). Everything else I'd do on the PC - my job means I have constant PC access.

Mark
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