Cheap tablets to replace O2 Jogglers?

[QuackingPlums]

Hi,

I'm looking to replace my O2/OpenPeak Jogglers (I'm running ICS on them) with cheap android tablets and would appreciate some recommendations.

I don't do much with them - most of the time they will just display the lock-screen clock (screen stays on 24/7) though I have widgets for monitoring my Ventrilo/Game servers and the usual collection of informational widgets (mail, calendar, weather, news, etc).
I do use Chrome to access my sync'd bookmarks and a reasonably good capacitive touchscreen is essential for the occasional browsing I do (mainly for displaying maps, character sheets, etc when I'm playing games), again nothing really strenuous.
If I could run a shopping list app that can scan barcodes (such as MyShoppi) then it would be very useful for the kitchen.
I'm not really interested in hacking them, and I don't see having them locked to ICS/JB for the foreseeable as a particularly massive problem. I'll never use them for video so high res, HDMI and SD expansion also not essential. Jogglers are 800x480 which is fine, though 1024x800 would be better I guess.

My Jogglers cost me

 

[mikedt]

As you're in the UK, you could have a look at some of the lower cost tablets that Argos, Maplin, PC World, Currys have to offer. These are Chinese devices, but at least you'll have full UK warranty and refund options if they do turn out to be crap.

Is O2 finally pulling the plug on the walled-garden Joggler service? - rendering them useless?

 

[QuackingPlums]

I don't know if O2 is pulling the plug, or if the plug has been pulled already. The stock Joggler interface was always pretty limited so I haven't used it for a long time. Having gone through various alternatives I've finally settled on running the x86 version of Android ICS on them, but the implementation isn't perfect and the age of the devices is starting to show.

Not so sure if the refund options extend to me returning the device if it's merely not as I expect, as opposed to actually faulty, but the likes of Argos/Currys etc tend to sell the same tablet for far more than HK sellers on Amazon so I'm not sure the approach would work anyway.

Thanks for the suggestion though, I might just wander into one of the larger branches and see if I can have a play with some.

 

[mikedt]

I don't know if O2 is pulling the plug, or if the plug has been pulled already. The stock Joggler interface was always pretty limited so I haven't used it for a long time. Having gone through various alternatives I've finally settled on running the x86 version of Android ICS on them, but the implementation isn't perfect and the age of the devices is starting to show.

I heard about that with the Jogglers, Intel Atom and Intel GMA500 GPU. basically the same hardware as PC netbooks. I've got a Fujitsu UMPC here, based on same Atom and Intel GMA, usually it runs Windows 7. However I did find Android-X86 2.2 and 2.3 actually runs very well on it from a USB stick. 4.0 not so well, mainly because there's no networking support yet with PCs.

Not so sure if the refund options extend to me returning the device if it's merely not as I expect, as opposed to actually faulty, but the likes of Argos/Currys etc tend to sell the same tablet for far more than HK sellers on Amazon so I'm not sure the approach would work anyway.

Thanks for the suggestion though, I might just wander into one of the larger branches and see if I can have a play with some.

That's it you can go try them out, and with Argos you got 30 day money back as well. The tend to be more expensive from UK retailers, because you should get support and full UK warranty etc. As well as the UK Sale Of Goods Act, which is supposed to protect consumers from shoddy products. When you buy directly from HK or Shenzhen, it's caveat emptor, and many of the devices you might buy from China, do not have Google either.

 

[QuackingPlums]

I've got a Fujitsu UMPC here, based on same Atom and Intel GMA, usually it runs Windows 7. However I did find Android-X86 2.2 and 2.3 actually runs very well on it from a USB stick. 4.0 not so well, mainly because there's no networking support yet with PCs.

I've heard that said before about the networking support but I don't know what it means.

I ran 2.2 on my Joggler originally but thought I'd try 4.0 when it became available. It certainly looks prettier and as a simple clock I think it looks very elegant. I don't think it runs any slower for me but that might be because I've had to mess with it a lot less in order to get it running how I like it.

I've been looking at the Ainol Novo7 series of tablets which look like they might suit my needs, but there are way too many models and no easy way of comparing the differences! Anybody had experience of these? Do they have Google Market/Play on them?

 

[mikedt]

I've heard that said before about the networking support but I don't know what it means.

It means there's no internet, either WiFi or Ethernet.

I ran 2.2 on my Joggler originally but thought I'd try 4.0 when it became available. It certainly looks prettier and as a simple clock I think it looks very elegant. I don't think it runs any slower for me but that might be because I've had to mess with it a lot less in order to get it running how I like it.

I've been looking at the Ainol Novo7 series of tablets which look like they might suit my needs, but there are way too many models and no easy way of comparing the differences! Anybody had experience of these? Do they have Google Market/Play on them?

The Ainol Novo7 is a reasonably well-known and supported Chinese tablet. There's some useful information around about it. We do have a sub-forum for it as well.
http://androidforums.com/ainol-novo-7/
Although it does seem to come in several variants.