Which Tablet Should I Go for? (Yet Another Post about Budget 7-9 Inch Tablets)

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  iridiumstem on 07/02/2015 - 15:31

  Hmmm, I forgot to add this, but Venue 8 Pro (Refurbished) was around $220 from Dell Outlet as well.

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  Axelstrife on 07/02/2015 - 17:03

  http://m.geekbuying.com/item/Teclast-X98-Air-II-Dual-OS-Inte…

  I'm not an expert on cheapo tablets but this one is on my wishlist Dual Operating system both Windows 8.1 and android.

  • 

    iridiumstem on 07/02/2015 - 17:16

    Hmmm, I've seen that model as well, but I didn't include it because it is slightly too big. I already have Surface Pro, so I feel like it might clog up my bag too much. Though I've heard decent things about X98… Maybe I should look into it more. Thanks :D

    • 

      Axelstrife on 07/02/2015 - 17:27

      Why not change your mobile phone instead to something like the Galaxy note 4 or nexus 6 since you have the surface pro.
      one less device to carry.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 07/02/2015 - 17:32

        I go on flights that lasts 10 hours, Surface Pro lasts around 4 hours so I usually am left with nothing for half the trip. Also, it weights around 900g, so it is really cumbersome to put it out and put it back in during the flight. I don't like using my Surface on the airplane, since I may need to use it right after the landing as well. So I wanted to get something light for entertainment.

        I could get Note 4 or Nexus 6, I haven't thought about that. Thanks for suggestion.

      • 

        Axelstrife on 07/02/2015 - 17:35

        @AznMitch: http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Teclast-X89-Dual-OS-Android-W…

        never mind that stupid idea lol

        i found a smaller telcast dual os
        pretty much the same specs as the other one i linked.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 07/02/2015 - 17:48

        @holden93: Wow, that looks really decent… Thank you so much :D

      • 

        Axelstrife on 07/02/2015 - 17:55

        @AznMitch: http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Teclast-X80H-8-Inch-Dual-OS-A…

        another option but lower screen resolution.
        I like the one one in my post above though.

        just giving you some options.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 07/02/2015 - 19:29

        @holden93: Hmmm, you got me interested in Teclast X89… Do you know what is the general consensus with Geekbuying when it comes to servicing (I am assuming crap, but still, it's better to check I guess).

      • 

        Axelstrife on 07/02/2015 - 19:33

        @AznMitch: No idea mate
        http://www.banggood.com/Teclast-X89-Z3735F-Quad-Core-7_9-Inc…

        also as Banggood for same price.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 08/02/2015 - 00:56

        @holden93: Hmmm, I've sent an email to Geekbuying, hopefully I get a straight forward answer… Banggood live chat gave me iffy answer so I might wait for Geekbuying's reply.

        Hmmm, I am now concerned about high res. Do you think Baytrail can handle 2K? Hmmm.

      • 

        Axelstrife on 08/02/2015 - 01:14

        @AznMitch: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/11/4718650/intel-launches-bay…

        Hefty apps like those games still took a long while (well over a minute) to load on a Bay Trail prototype, but as long as the games are fairly basic (like Portal and Torchlight 2) they're moderately playable. That's because while previous Atom processors used the same PowerVR SGX graphics you might find in an iPhone, they now use the same Intel HD graphics as the company's desktop and laptop chips, with support for DirectX 11, OpenGL ES 3.0, and displays up to 2560 x 1600 resolution. Intel says we can expect to many of the first Bay Trail tablets ship with 1920 x 1200 displays. Those graphics also make for smooth video playback: we saw a 4K video running on a Bay Trail system with no noticible stutter.

        "and displays up to 2560 x 1600 resolution."
        Resolution 2048*1536

        Id say that's a yes.
        btw the price dropped slightly on the 7.9" tablet it's now just under $200
        Damn there makeing it hard for me not to buy one lol.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 08/02/2015 - 01:16

        @holden93: :( I come to Ozbargain hoping to save, but it makes me want to spend… :'( Ozbargainers' dilema I suppose.

      • 

        roiboi123 on 17/02/2015 - 15:20

        @AznMitch: why not just buy a couple of XiaoMi 16000mah or 10400 powerbanks for your surface pro?

      • 

        scrimshaw on 17/02/2015 - 15:40

        @roiboi123:

        Because ordinary cell phone / tablet powerbanks only output 5v, Surface Pro 1/2/3 requires 12 volts.

        Keep in mind the Surface Pro has the guts of an ultrabook in a tablet form factor.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 17/02/2015 - 15:53

        @roiboi123: Scrimshaw said what I wanted to say, also, surface pros have fans and they are fairly cumbersome (compared to a tablet)

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  shaybisc on 07/02/2015 - 17:07

  The Chuwi seems to be so new nobody has tried it out so you are flying blind on that one.

  • 

    iridiumstem on 07/02/2015 - 17:18

    Hmmm, I've been searching Windows Tablet forums and the general consensus was, its build quality/screen quality is worse than Venue 8 Pro and the android part is fairly gimmicky, if not useless, but at this price, it's a steal. The people who have it seems to think it is reasonable as well.

  • 

    uminan on 17/02/2015 - 17:08

    +1

    Some guests from Beijing brought me a Chuwi Vi8 8" Windows 8.1 only version. In short, I am pleasantly surprised. It is actually of reasonable build quality. (I asked my guest to order it from jd.com, a Beijing website。） Its main limitation I think is the microUSB OTG port - if you wish to use both OTG USB devices (e.g. usb drive/hub) at the same time charging the unit you will have to search pretty hard. (There is something available on alied express but I haven't got around to order the sub USD$20 charger/hub yet.) Although there is always support for Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. The unit I bought can be configured to use English at the beginning so I don't think it will be a problem for anyone to use in Australia. It comes with Office 365 subscription for a year but I haven't activated it to save some space. Screen quality is excellent and Windows 8.1 is responsive. Battery - I haven't really been using it a lot but it is 5,000 mAh. In all I am not disappointed at all for the AUD$100 or so I spent. Trying to use it as an economical, light-weight alternative to a Windows notebook will take some fiddling yet.

    U

    EDIT: I am currently looking at a PIPO W3 (10.1" with both USB 3.0 and MicroUSB　ｐｏｒｔ） and a JUMPER Ezpad. My favourite (if Windows compatibility) for daily use is still my old trusty iPad 2 though - that thing is a work horse.

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  OverburdenedWarrior on 07/02/2015 - 17:12

  Edit: This is a 10.1" Recommandation, running full Windows 8.1. You can grab them online for around $400 - $450.

  Edit 2: Nexus 7, the newer model, gets a +1 from me. It's fast, runs latest Android 5.0, and is generally a blast to use.

  You could go for an Asus T100 Transformer Book. I grabbed one yesterday from The Good Guys for $415. It also contained the newer CPU. (Z3775 instead of the older Z3740)

  If you do go for one of these, and are buying it at a store, always ask them to double-check the box. The newer model with the Z3775 is running under the same model-number, so the only way to check for sure will be on the side of the box.

  • 

    iridiumstem on 07/02/2015 - 17:26

    Thanks for the recommendation, but I feel that's slightly over my budget.

    Though, at that price, you've got yourself a quite decent bargain. I thought they sell the older ones for around $400.

    • 

      OverburdenedWarrior on 07/02/2015 - 17:38

      Because it wasn't a major revision, and it released under the same model-number, it was supposed to replace the old stock at the existing price-point. It's a big enough spec boost however to be significant.

      I understand your budget considerations, and think that either the Nexus 7 would be best bang for buck, or something from the Galaxy Tab range. I believe many stores have them for around the 250 - 300 price range. I've heard good things about them.

      The VivoTab came up in my searches a bit, so that one might be worth checking into.

      Don't forget to run prices all around the net, including Google's shopping tab, and those pricing websites like shopbot and staticice.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 08/02/2015 - 08:04

        I just remembered one thing, did you know that you can run android on your T100? :) (well it's still WIP but still, it looks cool.)

      • 

        OverburdenedWarrior on 08/02/2015 - 10:26

        @AznMitch:

        Really? Is that through BlueStacks or something else? I used to have it running through a VM on my main PC.

        I'd love to get it up and running, Got some old Kairosoft games I'd love to play.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 08/02/2015 - 10:28

        @OverburdenedWarrior: Nah, apparently, some people are trying to dualboot Android x86.

        It apparently still needs fair bit of optimisation though.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIWAOu0jAMw

      • 

        OverburdenedWarrior on 08/02/2015 - 10:29

        @AznMitch: Sweet, thanks for that. I heard BlueStacks is okay to run through as well, so might try that one out first.

        How is the search going for the tablet?

      • 

        iridiumstem on 08/02/2015 - 10:34

        @OverburdenedWarrior: It's going fairly messy. I am thinking about getting Teclast x89 (thanks to holden93), but it seems that most people who went for Teclast tablet went for slightly larger variant X98 II Air. Knowing these tablets, more people usually means better support, so I am tempted to go for that. So yeah, I am still considering my options.

        Also, the fact that I probably wouldn't be able to get it fixed is making me feel slightly iffy. So if I go for Australian stock, it feels like everything in Australia is slightly overpriced… Perhaps I should wait more till Cherry trail comes out.

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  mooney on 07/02/2015 - 18:03

  Having owned many tablets for me the experience lives or dies by the screen quality.

  I currently use an iPad air and nexus 7 2013. Whilst the nexus is 'budget' the experience is anything but. The screen is amazing. It blows away any of the options you've listed.

  If you're worried about lack of memory card it's easily circumvented with the 'nexus media importer' app.

  • 

    ChrisLevo on 07/02/2015 - 18:14

    I second the Nexus 7 2013.

    Love mine.

  • 

    iridiumstem on 07/02/2015 - 20:56

    Screen, I will always keep that in mind.

    I've been thinking about getting a high res tablet as well, but usually at $200~$300, it's hard to find a tablet that doesn't compromise between performance and screen res. If I can find Nexus 7 2013, I'd probably go for it or Teclast x89 (as recommended by holden93)

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  slknv on 07/02/2015 - 19:00

  I had a pendopad for a couple of days, couldn't wait to get rid of it - awful viewing angles. Picked up an acer iconia a1 8", much happier with it. Usable screen and microsd, but battery life only about 6 hours.

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  ShamelessBargains on 07/02/2015 - 21:22

  The current deal for the HP Stream 7 Tab looks good.

  Looking at the tasks you listed, I would focus on battery life, screen resolution and brightness.
  Nexus 7 2013 edition is your best bet I reckon.

  • 

    iridiumstem on 07/02/2015 - 21:27

    Hmmm, I've actually seen that, I've reported the old deal (to be changed by the mods or something) before that deal was up…

    Anyways, I really hope I can find Nexus 2013; I found few refurbs at around 200~300 range, but I think I'd rather go with Teclast x89 or WinBook TW801 at that price range…

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  parson on 08/02/2015 - 10:46

  +1

  Samsung tab 3 or 4 8 inch $200-330 takes up to 64 class 10 they say only 32 but mine works fine light reliable long life

  • 

    OldBugger on 08/02/2015 - 11:19

    I was in the same boat as the OP and got a tab 4 after a lot of research. I went the 10.1" though and it was $248

    • 

      iridiumstem on 08/02/2015 - 16:26

      Hmmm, I was thinking about getting a Galaxy Tab 4, but Samsung is notorious for updates on their non-premium lines. The spec is slightly lower than what I want for that amount of money, which doesn't necessarily line with user experience, but still… Thanks for the advise though.

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  Kikkoman56 on 09/02/2015 - 03:40

  Just FYI, not sure how it is with the Chuwi and Winbook but with Chinese tabs you run the risk of the OS being stuck in one language especially if bought from a place generally selling only to their domestic market. I was recently in China so I took the opportunity to grab a tablet at real chinese prices. I got a Cube Iwork8 2gb ram/32gb rom for 599 yuan = about $120 AUD, great tablet and suprisingly capable but owing to the OS SKU it's not a simple matter to change the OS language.

  There are guides on how to manually install the language pack via command prompt but many users with chinese tablets are reporting issues when attempting the work around such as failure to boot. At the moment I'm just bearing with it but it means I can't delve deep into settings as I'd like to. If you can read chinese all good then though. Regardless, the device is still perfectly capable to me and able to do what I want it to do. Not quite sure if these models have the same quirk. But with mine charging via usb is significantly slower than DC even with a charger capable of 2 amps. The DC adapter provides 9V @ 2 Amps which explains it but still, something to possibly keep in mind.

  Also I hope you've taken into account the agent commission price for buying on taobao unless you have a friend to do it for you. Alot of agents seem to charge around a 5-10% commission of the price of the item.

  When it came down to choosing which chinese windows tablet to pick (as there are so many), I let the rom support sway me. So I chose the Cube mainly because they're one of the few manufacturers who have uploaded an image of the Win8.1 OS incase anything goes wrong and you'd like to factory reset. You should check out the chinese Chuwi website and see if they provide theirs.

  edit: also in regards to similiarly priced android tablets, probably be hard to find much better than the price the HP Windows tablet is offering with similar specs. There was a tablet that was recently reviewed by Gizchina about 10USD cheaper than it that received a decent review and had 3G capability built in if that's a valuable thing for you. http://www.gizchina.com/2015/02/08/colorfly-g708-review/

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    iridiumstem on 09/02/2015 - 03:51

    Thanks for the advise :) I might check those Chuwi and Teclast (which was suggested by holden93) webpage later for the ROM. I have heard bad things about Chinese tablet.

    I think Teclast has some user base, if my quick search on XDA is right. Also, I think I've seen people things for Chuwi as well, but I will do more searches on it before I finally pull the trigger.

    WinBook I believe is distributed in US by a US retailer called Microcenter, which is why I thought it might be better (with a full USB 3.0 port and all). I know that they are not the manufacturer, but usually those companies have better policies on quality control and return policy. I have my worries with Chinese tablets (based in China) and their loose quality control. :S

    I am still weighing my options, I am weighing between Windows tablet (for productivity and bang for the buck) or the Android tablet from Australia (for better support, better content consumption and better usability)… With Chinese tablets, I think I simply added more variables into the equations, when all I wanted to is simplify the equation.

    How do you find your Cube Iwork8? What is your main concern other than the OS language issues?

    Anyways, thanks again for your insight :D

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  lord henry on 09/02/2015 - 15:56

  Thought about Jolla?

  • 

    iridiumstem on 09/02/2015 - 16:48

    My thoughts on minor OS, if you want my thoughts, is this. Don't get them expecting a support from the user base, and don't expect it to do more than what you've received when you first received it. A lesson I've learnt from Windows Phone. It can run Android apps it seems so it wouldn't be too much of an issue. It might be better to buy an Android tab that runs apps "natively" though; Compatiability issues might be a problem, with intel chip it might be worse.

    The tablet itself looks amazing, though it might be an hassle to send it back, if it breaks down. Though I think at that price range, I think I would be asking too much if I expect a pleasant experience with warranties.

    Just my thoughts on Jolla.

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  plapic on 12/02/2015 - 11:24

  How about a Bauhn AWT101-215 for $249 with optional keyboad $39.99

  • 

    iridiumstem on 12/02/2015 - 19:27

    Hmmm, that one looks promising, but I think the RAM is too low for a Windows Tablet.

    Thank you for the suggestion though, I may have forgotten that Aldi sells tablets :S
    Might look into them as well.

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  tonyjzx on 17/02/2015 - 20:31

  i hate saying this but the Nexus 7 pretty much does it best although i would buy one of them 32gb micro usb things

  also the price has gone up by a lot

  i bought a 16Gb one for under $200 last year

  dunno if you can even get a 32gb nexus 7 for under $300 now

  • 

    iridiumstem on 17/02/2015 - 20:34

    True, other than the size, I would've loved Nexus 7 2013… I think XDA is amazing.
    Now I am sort of looking at MemoPad8 (ME518CL) and Lenovo S8-50 which are not available in Australia (though I can get my hands on them). The problem for me now is, in Android, all XDA people seem to go for Nexus.

    • 

      scrimshaw on 17/02/2015 - 21:11

      Nokia N1? Apparently it sold very well in China.

      Not sure where you'd import it from though — I can see accessories being sold already but no sign of it on any website.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 17/02/2015 - 21:14

        Nokia N1 looks amazing as well. It really does fit my needs (reading books/PDF which 4:3 is good at), but I'd need to grey import it. For that reason I ruled out Xiaomi MiPad as well.

        The two tablets that I've mentioned are released in Korea and my parents are planning on sending me a parcel anyways, that's why I am considering those two. Also, I will be going back there this November, so if something happens, I can just wait til then as well. Whereas China and other places, I cannot really send them back, because of the Australian Post not accepting batteries.

      • 

        scrimshaw on 17/02/2015 - 21:20

        If Korea… hmmm, LG G Pad then? It's a discontinued model but still pretty up to date with Lollipop being rolled 2 months ago.

        It did also come in a Google Play Edition (sold by Google) so there will be a few AOSP roms floating around for you to tinker with.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 17/02/2015 - 21:30

        @scrimshaw: G Pad is around $367.27 AUD in Korea. Even with the horrendous exchange rate AUD is facing (at the time when AUD was good, it would've been like $300 AUD), I personally think that's slightly overpriced for a LG product. Especially when it is worse than Nexus 7, 2013.

        I think I am being really picky, when you are spending your time to help me. Sorry about that and thank you for the suggestions.