Suggestions on a new 10" tablet?

[dibblebill]

I have an Acer Iconia a500 and its still going strong (ANDROID 4.2 REPRESENT and all that). However, its getting on in age, and there's bugs w/ 4.2 on the Tegra 2 chipset.

Here's why I bought taht Iconia. 10" tablet with 720p screen... The full USB port at the time was a must, no longer is a must-have. Build quality was and still is good. Also, open platform. Alas, official support has ended and I'm tooling with mostly stable (good enough for daily use ) 4.2.1 ROM's.

Here's my requirements.
-It must be 10"
-Definitely want it to be $499 or below.
-Heavily skinned tablets are not a consideration unless its easy to root and replace the ROM
-Rootability (Can it be rooted, and does it stick?)
-Do NOT want a 3G tablet, or 4G

Would LIKE but not required:
-MicroSD card slot (Not required... Streaming media and cloud storage offset normal use, use it for Titanium backup mostly)
-CM10 availability
-Full-sized USB port, or a microUSB that has a full USB adapter (adapter can be separate), as I use it with cameras, keyboards, etc sometimes (though again, not required... WiFi, cloud storage, Bluetooth, etc)


What suggestions do you guys have? Also, should I hold out for Android 5 (Key Lime Pie) and/or Tegra 4, at this point?

 

[jhawkkw]

I have an Acer Iconia a500 and its still going strong (ANDROID 4.2 REPRESENT and all that). However, its getting on in age, and there's bugs w/ 4.2 on the Tegra 2 chipset.

Here's why I bought taht Iconia. 10" tablet with 720p screen... The full USB port at the time was a must, no longer is a must-have. Build quality was and still is good. Also, open platform. Alas, official support has ended and I'm tooling with mostly stable (good enough for daily use ) 4.2.1 ROM's.

Here's my requirements.
-It must be 10"
-Definitely want it to be $499 or below.
-Heavily skinned tablets are not a consideration unless its easy to root and replace the ROM
-Rootability (Can it be rooted, and does it stick?)
-Do NOT want a 3G tablet, or 4G

Would LIKE but not required:
-MicroSD card slot (Not required... Streaming media and cloud storage offset normal use, use it for Titanium backup mostly)
-CM10 availability
-Full-sized USB port, or a microUSB that has a full USB adapter (adapter can be separate), as I use it with cameras, keyboards, etc sometimes (though again, not required... WiFi, cloud storage, Bluetooth, etc)


What suggestions do you guys have? Also, should I hold out for Android 5 (Key Lime Pie) and/or Tegra 4, at this point?

It sounds like the Nexus 10 is almost the perfect device for you. Outside of the micro sd card, it has EVERYTHING you desire. No skin whatsoever, is 10", starts at 399 for 16gb, 499 for 32gb, is quite possibly the easiest tablet(along with Nexus 7) for rooting and romming, it has CM 10.1, no cell radio, and has a micro usb instead of a proprietary port. Because of this, you can buy a USB OTG cable to allow you to mount usb storage or other usb devices.

 

[ocnbrze]

to be honest i would wait and see what comes out of the MWC in a few weeks. i know that asus and samsung will be announcing new tablets then.

but as of now i would think that google's nexus 10, asus transformer infinity, and samsung's note 10.1 are great devices. now none of them have a usb port built in. the note has an adapter that you can plug into the charge port to get usb. the infinity has the keyboard dock that has a full usb port. not sure about an adapter for the nexus 10 though.

 

[shelliewnj]

I am slowly becoming a samsung fangirl, so i vote for the tab 2 10". i have the 7" and love it. it comes in 16 and 32 from what i understand, and also has a micro sd slot. no micro usb tho.

 

[ocnbrze]

I am slowly becoming a samsung fangirl, so i vote for the tab 2 10". i have the 7" and love it. it comes in 16 and 32 from what i understand, and also has a micro sd slot. no micro usb tho.

for the price of the tab 2 10. it is a good deal. but the note 10.1 is much better then the tab 2. i mean quad core vs a dual core. the note is going to be more faster. plus the note has photoshop and the s pen which is integrated into the tablet really well.

the note 3 is supposed to be announced during the MWC coming up. i'm curious to what the specs on it will be.

 

[dibblebill]

Question on the Note 2: What is its retail/Where do I find a new one w/ the pen and premium suite (and cost)? I can only find refurbs. So far it looks like the Note 10.1 or the Nexus 10.

 

[ocnbrze]

Question on the Note 2: What is its retail/Where do I find a new one w/ the pen and premium suite (and cost)? I can only find refurbs. So far it looks like the Note 10.1 or the Nexus 10.

the s pen will only work with a note 10.1 and will not work with the tab 2

here is the Samsung - Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with 16GB Memory - Titanium Silver

 

[dibblebill]

the s pen will only work with a note 10.1 and will not work with the tab 2

here is the Samsung - Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with 16GB Memory - Titanium Silver

My mistake. The new (not refurb, though if I were guaranteed the refurb included the pen I'd consider it) Note 10.1 is the one I'm having trouble finding... I keep coming across refurbs. Do all refurbs have to come with the pen?

 

[ocnbrze]

My mistake. The new (not refurb, though if I were guaranteed the refurb included the pen I'd consider it) Note 10.1 is the one I'm having trouble finding... I keep coming across refurbs. Do all refurbs have to come with the pen?

Samsung - Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet with 16GB Memory - Deep Gray

 

[dibblebill]

Thanks. I saw tihs one, as well.

Samsung Refurbished Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet with 16GB Memory GT-N8013-EA16ARB - Best Buy

I may go for a refurb model. I've never purchased refurb phones/tabs, just desktops... Should I avoid refurb, or is premature MMC death not an issue?

 

[ocnbrze]

i would stay away from refurbs, but that is up to you. you still have manufacturer's warranty and you could get the geek squad protection just in case. but they can more of a headache if you do get a lemon. new ones, i think there is less chance of getting a lemon IMHO.

 

[dibblebill]

At that price tag... I'm going to wait a few months. Want to see if KLP debuts this spring, and if a new Nexus 10 running KLP debuts. Then, hoping it retains the current $399 price tag and gets new specs, I may get it. If not, maybe a new Note will make the current 10.1 come down in price. However, it'll def. be eitehr a Nexus 10 or Note 10.1... The Note is skinned, but in a good way.

 

[ocnbrze]

yeah i would wait at least until after MWC, we will know more about some of the new tablets coming out.

and keep in mind that the nexus 10 or any nexus device is very easy to root. once KLP source code is released you will see roms available with KLP before the actual release.

not sure on how rootable the samsung note is or will be.

 

[dibblebill]

The Note is rootable and already has CM distro's. I just wouldn't, because I really, really like that window feature...

More likely will be the Nexus 10. I'd LOVE to get my fiancee the Note 10.1 for an anniversary, but that's too pricey (she just got a Asus TF300 off of Woot anyway), even though she'd love sketching on it... We'll see.

EDIT: Belay that. Just in time for my next paycheck!

 

[ocnbrze]

Mobile World Congress Feb 25-28,2013 Preview

 

[dibblebill]

Mobile World Congress Feb 25-28,2013 Preview

yeah... My quesiton was a derp one. I googled it immediately and had my answer (hence the edit ) Thanks anyway! I'll wait and see... Maybe grab a new Nexus this summer. I love the ported ROM's, but if I can get a Nexus KLP factory, I'd rather do that than have a ported one. More stable.

 

[dibblebill]

Update: Went to Best Buy and played with the Note 10.1. LOVE the S Pen... Not enough to justify +$100 (that and Window and Photoshop not enough at ALL) extra, when I can get a Nexus 10 32GB for the same price.

 

[ocnbrze]

did you play with the transformer infinity? it is the one i have and i love it. i also bought thre keyboard dock as well. i use it more then i do my laptop.

but yeah the nexus 10 is a great tablet.

 

[dibblebill]

did you play with the transformer infinity? it is the one i have and i love it. i also bought thre keyboard dock as well. i use it more then i do my laptop.

but yeah the nexus 10 is a great tablet.

I did, but I've seen horror stories about cracked screens via the dock. I was sorely tempted by it (sans dock). But the higher DPI of the Nexus 10 swayed me this time. Asus powers my laptop (n56V) and my desktop (Sabertooth X58)

 

[ocnbrze]

really? i have not heard of those. my dock kicks ass!!!!!! when i first got it, i freaked my friends out by detaching it and showing them that it is not a computer but a tablet.

plus with the dock i get almost 15 hours of battery life with a heavy amount of streaming music, watching movies, and surfing on the net. plus the usb port is amazing!!!!! i can attach my ps3 controller and play some of my games with it. not to mention that i can use my portable hard drive to swap files and stuff if i need it.

the keyboard dock is the main reason why i bought the infinity. however, the nexus 10 was second in my book and then the note 10.1 would be next.

 

[dibblebill]

really? i have not heard of those. my dock kicks ass!!!!!! when i first got it, i freaked my friends out by detaching it and showing them that it is not a computer but a tablet.

plus with the dock i get almost 15 hours of battery life with a heavy amount of streaming music, watching movies, and surfing on the net. plus the usb port is amazing!!!!! i can attach my ps3 controller and play some of my games with it. not to mention that i can use my portable hard drive to swap files and stuff if i need it.

the keyboard dock is the main reason why i bought the infinity. however, the nexus 10 was second in my book and then the note 10.1 would be next.

That heirarchy is almost what I came to. What I kept seeing with the TF700 and the TF300 my fiancee just got was that the dock woudl crack the screen, sometimes while closed, sometimes while left open for extended periods of itme. Because honestly, I love hte idea of the 15 hour 'netbook' But for what I do with my hardware, the Nexus is probably best since I put it through a lot. My Acer's gone through 4-5 ROM's, 3 boot loaders, 8 recoveries, etc...

 

[jhawkkw]

That heirarchy is almost what I came to. What I kept seeing with the TF700 and the TF300 my fiancee just got was that the dock woudl crack the screen, sometimes while closed, sometimes while left open for extended periods of itme. Because honestly, I love hte idea of the 15 hour 'netbook' But for what I do with my hardware, the Nexus is probably best since I put it through a lot. My Acer's gone through 4-5 ROM's, 3 boot loaders, 8 recoveries, etc...

I've owned both the TF700(still do) and TF201 with a dock, and I never cracked my screen while closing it. There are little guards to prevent this located on the keyboard so that it's not flush against the keys. Unfortunately, the TF700 doesn't quite last 15 hours, only about 8-10 because the 1080p screen uses a lot of juice. The Tf201 was much better because it was only 720p and it would last close to 20 hours.

 

[dibblebill]

I've owned both the TF700(still do) and TF201 with a dock, and I never cracked my screen while closing it. There are little guards to prevent this located on the keyboard so that it's not flush against the keys. Unfortunately, the TF700 doesn't quite last 15 hours, only about 8-10 because the 1080p screen uses a lot of juice. The Tf201 was much better because it was only 720p and it would last close to 20 hours.

Strange. I wonder what people were doing, then. I was seeing reports (granted, mostly of the TF300) where it'd be sitting in the dock, they'd go to bed, and wake up with it cracked, stuff like that. I'll save up and in a year or two, upgrade my fiancee with Asus's newest if she lieks it

 

[ocnbrze]

OK LOL well lets see what comes out at MWC. there is supposed to be a new nexus 10 to come out. its only a rumor so we shall see in a bit.

 

[jhawkkw]

Asus has a really nifty new tablet coming out soon, but it's kind of on the large side and might be rather expensive. The AIO will be a full fledged laptop/tablet combo with the ability to dual boot both android and windows 8.