The confusing Android tablet landscape

Mr. Bigglesworth · October 12, 2014, 06:07:16 PM

I'm looking for a cheap media tablet +ereader. Something for music while I am driving. Having had windows smashed for 2 decks in the past I am not going to buy a car deck. Something lighter than a laptop for reading in bed at night.

The latest Android is Kitkit 4.4 - means nothing to me, so can we take it for granted it has good improvements over old versions?

There seem to be many processors with unknown relative power Intel Atom, Nvidia, Arm, etc. Where is there a good comparison?

My default would be to go with the kindle fire since I have many books in that format. The libraries seem to use epub. Now there seems to be software for running epub on kindle. You can also run the kindle app on Android. Reviews still say the kindle OS is shopping focused compared to a regular open Android. Android store apps may not work on the Fire. You may have to pay for a kindle version of a free android app.

How do you make good decisions in this very complex landscape?

Staggerwing · October 12, 2014, 06:36:51 PM

If you are primarily interested in listening to your tunes and reading books there is a new 6" Kindle Fire tablet for $99US.

I have bought a Kindle Fire twice (the original 7" back in 2011 and the 8.9" HD this past winter) and returned each one w/ in 30 days because I found the interface annoying and the tablet slightly slow to respond to commands. I was also frustrated to find that several of the Android wargames which folks here touted were not available from the Kindle Store and that you cannot access Google Play on Kindles. I also bought refurbished a 8" Nook HD+ during a flash sale last year which I did keep. I rooted it after the 90 warranty expired following directions from the web and got a nicer interface much more like the pure Android tablets have. Sadly the Nook has some sort of problem which causes it to start registering ghost screen presses after being used for a while, eventually acting like it is possesed. I now use it only to stream bluetooth music with Pandora. It's a shame because it's a nice no frills tablet with a big screen and most folks don't seem to have the problem I have with it. Just another cautionary tale about buying refurb tec I guess... :(

bayonetbrant · October 13, 2014, 05:17:55 AM

I've got a non-refurb Nook here that I 'inherited' from my son when he got his Kindle. I'm thinking about rooting it and turning it into a regular tablet, but I'm curious about how my Google acc't will recognize it on my Google Play acc't.

Anyone got any experience with hooking a Google acc't to rooted hardware?

Biggsy - my plan is far less grandiose than yours, but I'm interested in what recommendations you get. This year at Christmas I want to pick up some el-cheapo no-name tablet somewhere like Big Lots or something. I'm thinking this year I can get something pretty basic for about $30, based on the way the prices have been dropping for the past 3 seasons.

I intend to hang it on the wall in the kitchen with the home screen having a big-ass calendar app for the family calendar, and include sports schedules, weather forecasts, etc on that calendar, too.
I want a slideshow app for a screen saver, and the stock MP3 player will work fine for the kitchen. Generally, I'm after a family organizer that can play some tunes while I'm cooking, look up recipes or traffic, and maybe stream a show every now and then. I won't spend $100 on this, but I'll spend $20-30 and if the experiment fails, I'll let the 4yo have it as her 'car tablet'

Staggerwing · October 13, 2014, 05:58:22 AM

Brant, the 'El cheapo' android tabs seem to have an extraordinarily high early failure rate. I'd consider getting a used name-brand instead. It may be older but hopefully user-tested and more reliable.

GDS_Starfury · October 13, 2014, 06:47:57 AM

ah... excellent partenting. handing down your adult life choice failures to your kids. ::) O0

Mr. Bigglesworth · October 13, 2014, 11:50:55 AM

Grandiose? I'm looking for something under $100, with $150 the absolute kill/ no go line. I can continue to use the laptop. I will not use it (laptop) driving. I bought a basic MP3 player for trips already. It's a bit of a pain with a disfunctional interface. You press the buttons, you are lucky if something happens. POS.

I have a large music library of CDs I want to load onto one device.

mirth · October 13, 2014, 12:03:29 PM

I'm looking for something in the $100-150 range that I can get for my kids.

BanzaiCat · October 13, 2014, 12:07:00 PM

I have a Kindle Paperwhite (Wifi version, not 3G), which of course is only an e-reader, but I love the lighting feature and it's easy to use. I've had a Nook and a regular Kindle previously.

steve58 · October 15, 2014, 08:22:48 AM

Another possibility is to pick up an HP Touchpad (lots of 'em on Ebay) and put Kitkit 4.4 on it. I just recently did that for my 2 Touchpads. Process was pretty simple and only took 15-20 minutes. Granted I'm still trying things out, but I can access GMail, the internet, etc. Also, I don't stream movies, so can't speak to that.

bayonetbrant · October 15, 2014, 08:55:03 AM

Quote from: Staggerwing on October 13, 2014, 05:58:22 AM
Brant, the 'El cheapo' android tabs seem to have an extraordinarily high early failure rate. I'd consider getting a used name-brand instead. It may be older but hopefully user-tested and more reliable.

the key factor there is going to be price - as long as it's under $30, I'm game to give it a try.

mirth · October 23, 2014, 09:09:04 PM

I picked up a 2012 model Nexus 7 tablet off Amazon to try out. It was in the price range of what I was looking to spend for the kids Christmas presents.

I've only just started playing around with it, but so far I'm quite happy. The evaluation process requires me to download and play some of the John Tiller games that are available on Google Play.

Mr. Bigglesworth · November 02, 2014, 12:32:08 AM

I got a hipstreet titan 2 at walmart. Nice and cheap with 8gigs, 32 gig sd card. This means I can put my music on it, then play in the car or anywhere with no HD being shredded by bumps. I also loaded my kindle library onto it. Cool.

Now I need to understand internet tether. I dont use wifi due to not really trusting the security. The tablet does not have an ethernet plug or bluetooth. It does come with a usb cable for the PC. Bugger all happens when i plug it in, even with tether enabled in settings. That is one thing i hate about android (i am android newb) it never seems to work with windows PCs. So how did I get my files on it? I loaded them on the sd card. The stupid play store wont let me do the same trick to get the kindle reader installed. I either have to go to a wifi hotspot or somehow get internet through the tether. There was a program called tether that i tried, installing in on the pc. then it says to install it on the smartphone [android device] which i cannot see from the pc. uninstall....

Staggerwing · November 02, 2014, 08:10:04 AM

Does your phone offer the option to put up a WIFI hotspot of your own? Then you can connect to it with your android tab just like it would any fixed-base hotspot. If you worry about security put up your hotspot somewhere away from everyone else such as a quiet park or, if you are really paranoid, a hiking trail where you can still get cell service.

As long as you are a few hundred feet from any persons/structures the signal will be only seen by you due to the shorter range of a phone-based hotspot.

Mr. Bigglesworth · November 02, 2014, 08:34:22 AM

The cell is a phone,text only. It's not a big deal, i will just download kindle from a starbucks or something. Done. no more need to be connected.

Mr. Bigglesworth · November 03, 2014, 12:27:28 AM

Update on the tablet-
It is android 4.4.2, fairly new if not the latest. Im not sure when 5 comes out.
Loaded kindle onto it at Starbucks. Had to put up with a gawd-awful burnt tasting latte. It seemed to ignore my downloading of the my kindle folder from the pc, uploading everything again.

I a reading Ebola (fiction) in bed. Its nice to turn the text white on black, turn out the light, enjoy. The size is about like holding one side of a paperback.

The music plays through the car with a headphone jack cable. I filled most of a 32gig card with mp3.

Not bad for $60+22 for the micro SD. If you dont have a small tablet, consider the convenience. The hipstreet titan 2 feels pretty solid. The touch screen works well, unlike my phone that often needs several swipes to listen. Only warning is the screen seems to micro-scratch easily. One day and I already have a few fine lines in it.

Now back to Ebola...
:-)