Selecting the right Android Tablet

[tgald]

I am in the market for an android tablet to present to my company. Once I find the right one the company will purchase around 30 to 50 tablets for my field reps.

What I need this tablet to have: Android 2.2+ (must be Android not windows [upper mngmt wants this]), large memory (8/16gb and expandable), USB connection(s), Has to be 10" screen!!!, OfficeSuite (installed preferably) or easily downloadable (some field reps aren't that knowledgeable) and preferably a good brand name.

What it needs to do: View video files (YouTube and files from a USB device), View company website as well as other sites that have flash graphics and apps in them that the ipad won't view, or be able to view a flash website that lives on a flash drive (I have a lot of flash driven product demos that would be great for my guys to view in the field), and have the ability to view/edit office documents.

From my reseach I have come across the Viewsonic G-Tablet 10.1, Archos 101 (16gb) and the Coby MID1026. Trying to keep it in the $300-400 range (if possible).

 

[Steven58]

Welcome to Android Forums!

 

[gamul1]

Welcome Welcome! Hope to see you and your coworkers around more.

Well, the first thing I would say is you will get what you pay for on tablets. The Xoom, the upcoming Toshiba and LG tablets look like they would make your team quite happy. Maybe even the upcoming ASUS tablets. But they will certainly all be higher than your price.

In your price range I don't know if you have a lot of great options. The Archos 101 does look pretty decent. The viewsonic I have hear some folks complain about a bit as having lousy screens, but a few people seemed to like the G tablets more when they put some of the Notion Ink adam apps on them. Go figure.

How tight is that price range? And when is your deadline?

I think really no matter what you get at that range many of your users will not enjoy them. Probably several of them have iPads and the iPad is probably better than the low range tablets out there. If you can hold off until June there will probably be another half dozen tablets of decent quality out there running Honeycomb and maybe closer to the top end of your range. Ok, maybe a bit over. But maybe if you negotiate a deal in quantity you can get closer to your goal price.

What you really should at least do is convince them because you worked so hard to get them a great deal, they should spring a Xoom for you. You know, for R&D purposes.

 

[xmr405o]

There aren't really too many 10 inch devices for under $400. Out of the box, I'm guessing your field reps won't be rooting their tablets...I suggest the Archos 101. The gtablet needs to be rooted for it to be an option. However, a rooted Gtablet performs better than an Archos 101. The Gtablet is freakin fast with the Tegra 2 chip. I'm not exaggerating either.

I really like my Gtablet for what I paid for it even without the Notion Ink apps. It's not an elite tab like the Xoom.

There really isn't a big difference in screen quality from the Archos and Gtablet except the gtablet uses glass which makes it more sturdy. The Gtablet and Archos have USB connections and they can use them for thumbdrives, Keyboards, external harddrives, etc. They both can play flash just fine. They can stream video from PC to tablet.

The Gtablet and Archos are bargain tablets but they're not cheap tablets. They don't have the nice look, the nice screen, Honeycomb etc as the Xoom and G-slate but that's why they are priced under $400.

I agree these two tablets aren't Ipad killers based on looks and feel but touchscreen responsiveness is as good, functionality is there so they might enjoy them.

If you're price cautious, these two tablets are not bad options actually they are great options.

 

[tgald]

After doing a little more research and visiting a microsoft store in the mall. I got the chance to play with the windows tablets. I must say very nice!!! Of course the cost is different. But when talking with some people they recommended that I should wait til around June when alot of other 10" tablets will be released with "Honeycomb". What I've been finding out about Android 2.2 is that it really isn't designed for the 10" tablets. Then the rep at Best Buy told me that the cost of most of the tablets that are going to come out around June will be the same cost as a Windows 7 tablet. I mean after playing around with the windows tablet and the android tablets I was leaning more towards the windows. Either way waiting for Honeycomb tablets or windows tablets I am going to have to increase my spending. Any input on windows tablets vs. Android tablets.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

Windows is still not as touch friendly as Android, even though that was a main goal of 7. Aside from that, if you are wanting to run Office apps, they are much better on Windows 7 than having to run Documents To Go on Android. DTG is a good program, but it is not nearly as functional as the full Office programs it tries to emulate.

At this time I have to say Windows is the better choice for business use, but that is changing fast, and I haven't had a chance to play around with Honeycomb yet.