7" Tablets - As @ 8th Jan '11

[Meegies]

That tablet market is moving fast!

So I've been doing my research, and trying to keep up with what's current news and what's old news.

I'm looking for a tablet that I can use to;
1) read ebooks, and,
2) watch high quality .avi files. (Is it possible to not have to convert 400MB-4GB files down in size? /me lazy.).

$250 - $400USD (shipped to Australia).

It would be nice to have the option to tether it to my phone for internet, but not essential. Otherwise happy with wireless-only versions.

Also happy to root/hack etc to get things working.



So let me know if I've got this right:

Galaxy tab = awesome/perfect. But out of price range

Archos 70 = pretty much on the money. But concerned about low RAM, and unable to upgrade much further. (Now this isn't a problem if it can happily play my avi files as they are, but slightly concerned that if I start using higher quality / larger files, the device/software won't keep up??). Understand that stocks are low, but I can wait a bit.

eLocity 7A = looking almost too good to be true. Waiting to hear more user reviews? Amazon have a hiccup at the moment (BJ's doesn't take international orders and have to call and check per product with TigerDirect).

Notion Ink Adam = looks great. But when will it happen? And will it live up to the hype. lol.

Viewsonic = gtablet too big for handbag. ViewPad is 600MHz (pfft!).


I've looked at a bunch more, but most are either <1GHz, <512MB, resistive screen etc.

If all I wanted was to read books, than all would be good, but throwing in the desire to watch movies without having to scale them down ups my requirements. Is this right?

Views, people?

 

[gamul1]

Just for clarity - the Notion Ink Adam is not a 7 inch device but a 10 inch device. Yes - it will live up to the hype and I would guess it should in full production be June but will probably have availability before then, maybe March or April.

This is my guess so if it does not happen blame me not them

 

[Meegies]

Just for clarity - the Notion Ink Adam is not a 7 inch device but a 10 inch device. Yes - it will live up to the hype and I would guess it should in full production be June but will probably have availability before then, maybe March or April.

This is my guess so if it does not happen blame me not them

How did I miss that? Thanks for pointing that out. I think I was distracted by their clever marketing.

Probably you can take a look at this one. I think it's a great deal for a 7" Android 2.2 tablet based on the price and specs. though it's not perfect as much.

2.2 is good. But you're right about it not being perfect. For less than $200 you can't expect much.

Who makes this? And I've heard this site isn't too great to buy from. 256MB flash memory? No thanks. Plus 6 hours should be bare minimum battery life on any device and this one only achieves that if run on half-power. I highly doubt watching a movie can be done on half-power. So battery life is probably more like 3 hrs :/ That would be frustrating to say the least.

 

[WhistlingWishes]

I love my A7, but there are some significant caveats. The lack of Android marketplace access remains a major nuisance to me, though not an insumountable problem; downloading apps just isn't spontaneous and takes planning. And I don't know what Elocity is shipping now--my tablet arrived before Christmas--but I had to install an update to make the tablet function properly. Like apps, that takes downloading to a microSD on another device and then installing on the A7. And also, as I understand it, Android 2.2 doesn't support multi-core processors, so my tablet won't fully utilize the Tegra2 CPU--which has 8 A9 cores built into the one die--until I upgrade to Gingerbread (Android 2.3), whenever that comes out.
All that said, I do love this tablet. Despite the lack of multi-core support, this baby hums along on the web at laptop speeds. I have a bluetooth keyboard that folds up nicely into the case I velcroed the tablet into, and with that it's at least as functional as a netbook for productivity. I'm writing this with the on-screen keyboard while laying in bed without much problem, either.
There are a few design issues which need refining still. Like the side buttons are all but invisible in the dark, and the charger uses a dedicated power brick instead of a universal usb interface. Then again, it charges pretty fast for the power it has: if I leave Wi-Fi and bluetooth on constantly, I can get four or five hours of surfing, and more than twice that when it's in airplane mode.
The A7 is definately a hack device, but that makes it fun for me overall, rather than irritating. Of course, not everone will feel that way.
And, yeah, as it's roughly the same size as a paperback, it does make an excellent ebook reader.

 

[projectpaki]

I love my A7, but there are some significant caveats. The lack of Android marketplace access remains a major nuisance to me, though not an insumountable problem; downloading apps just isn't spontaneous and takes planning. And I don't know what Elocity is shipping now--my tablet arrived before Christmas--but I had to install an update to make the tablet function properly. Like apps, that takes downloading to a microSD on another device and then installing on the A7. And also, as I understand it, Android 2.2 doesn't support multi-core processors, so my tablet won't fully utilize the Tegra2 CPU--which has 8 A9 cores built into the one die--until I upgrade to Gingerbread (Android 2.3), whenever that comes out.
All that said, I do love this tablet. Despite the lack of multi-core support, this baby hums along on the web at laptop speeds. I have a bluetooth keyboard that folds up nicely into the case I velcroed the tablet into, and with that it's at least as functional as a netbook for productivity. I'm writing this with the on-screen keyboard while laying in bed without much problem, either.
There are a few design issues which need refining still. Like the side buttons are all but invisible in the dark, and the charger uses a dedicated power brick instead of a universal usb interface. Then again, it charges pretty fast for the power it has: if I leave Wi-Fi and bluetooth on constantly, I can get four or five hours of surfing, and more than twice that when it's in airplane mode.
The A7 is definately a hack device, but that makes it fun for me overall, rather than irritating. Of course, not everone will feel that way.
And, yeah, as it's roughly the same size as a paperback, it does make an excellent ebook reader.

since it wasnt stated, i am assuming the a7 does not come with gps? if not, is there any technology that allows an external gps reciever to be connected (lol longshot but finger crossed haha)... this tablet is perfect for what i need minus gps...