What is the Life/ Robustness of Chinese Tablets?

[kahafeez]

Hello All,

As everyone knows, there are tons of Chinese Tablets out there. Some 7 inch, some 10 inch. I have a question, whats the life of these tablet PCs? do the functions (like G Sensor, capcitive touch, wifi etc) keep on working or do they stop working in a couple of months?

By the price, I am guessing that the PCs will only work for a month or two and then I will start having problems like WiFi not working, buttons not working etc etc. Plus it might not be able to bear a drop also, a drop might prove deadly for it.

I would like to have comments from people who own such tablets pl!

Thanks

 

[mikedt]

Hello All,

As everyone knows, there are tons of Chinese Tablets out there.

Yup.

Some 7 inch, some 10 inch. I have a question, whats the life of these tablet PCs?

Short...often just days or weeks. If you get a good one and it lasts beyond the first couple of months, it should go on working fine.

do the functions (like G Sensor, capcitive touch, wifi etc) keep on working or do they stop working in a couple of months?

Usually it's the wifi that packs up first or the software(ROM) is buggy and becomes corrupted, so the device wont boot and bricks itself. It has to be re-flashed, often ROMs are not available or one has to follow a convoluted procedure, with the instructions in Chinese....good luck!!

By the price, I am guessing that the PCs will only work for a month or two and then I will start having problems like WiFi not working, buttons not working etc etc. Plus it might not be able to bear a drop also, a drop might prove deadly for it.

Hard impacts can prove deadly to expensive Apple iPads as well.

I would like to have comments from people who own such tablets pl!

Thanks

I don't actually own one myself, however the above mentioned problems are frequently posted here on General Tablet Talk. e.g. "Help....I bought this cheap tablet from China and it doesn't work!!!" Plus I live in China and know first hand what cheap Chinese tech products can be like....absolutely awful sometimes.

With devices intended for export and sold in another country by a reputable importer, dealer or retailer, e.g. Best Buy. The agent usually takes care of warranty, support, approvals, localisations(e.g. Google), updates etc. The importer will often work with the Chinese manufacturers, to ensure that the quality and workmanship is of a satisfactory and consistent level.

 

[kahafeez]

Thank you Mike. Then I guess, the only decent option I am left with is the Kindle Fire. Awesome Tab in $200. I shall drop the idea of buying a Chinese Tab now!

 

[mikedt]

I think the Kindle Fire is a good device. I've not actually used one myself, but everything I've read and seen about it seems positive.

BTW a good example of what the quality of tech products can be like here. Just after Xmas I bought a cheap MP4 player, for a long train and bus journey I had to make, so I could watch some movies without having to use my phone. I went through four the things before I found one that worked properly. Two where DOA/stillborn, third one packed-up within less than three hours. Fortunately I bought them locally, so was able to take them back to the store for replacement. Bummer if one is in the USA though, and one has to send them all the way back to China for replacement.

Couple of years ago, I was given a PMP. It would only work properly in Chinese. Set it to English, it would just crash and reset itself back into the factory default Chinese. Buggy software, no fixes available. I've also lived in Shenzhen for a while, that's either tech heaven or tech hell, depending on how you look at it.

 

[mrspeedmaster]

Avoid the chinese ones and go for the refurbs.

hang out on some of the discount coupon deal sites (wont mention names). There are a few of them. The ones that cover black friday are the ones I bookmark.

set an rss feed and watch deals come and go. E.G. Acer Iconia A100 7" tablets for $150-160. HTC Flyer for $139. Kindles Fire for $130. I've seen Asus Transformers for $200, 10" Galaxy Tabs for $250.
For example, Acer will post a refurb deal on their outlets or Dell has a coupon code and these boards get the info instantly.

You will also see the low name brands - Polaroid, Sylvania ones for $80-$140.


These are legit deals. The posts usually gets enough thumb ups, I choose to read. Cowboom ( I think they're own by Best Buy) has weekend fire-sales on returns.
Cowboom grades their returns class 5,6,7,8. Class 8 returns are practically like brand new.

 

[kahafeez]

Thanks for the insight gentlemen!