Need help with choosing a new tablet.

Shout It Out on 14/09/2015 - 21:53

Hi everyone, my trusty Galaxy Tab 2 died today after 2 years of daily service. I use it for work and study and am a bit lost as to what to replace it with.
It needs to be 10.1 inch with WiFi, 4G/3G and expandable memory (Micro SD).
Also easy to root as I like to personalise my gadgets.
I am on a budget as this came pretty unexpected, so I prefer to not pay more than $400,-

(I have a soft spot for Samsung's after owning the original Galaxy Tab and the S1, S3 and now the S5. All those devices are still working. So obviously they're good quality or I'm extremely lucky. Yet there's so much more choice these days. Also happy with LG, Nexus, etc as long as they're of good quality).

Any help and suggestions are very much appreciated.

Cheers.

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • CyberMurning on 14/09/2015 - 21:55
    +1

    galaxy note 10.1 (2014) edition 4G. on ebay, second hand can be bought around $280-$300-$330.
    reviews says the screen digitizer are one of the best. if you like stylus…

    • Shout It Out on 15/09/2015 - 01:15

      Just found some for sale on Ebay. Thru have a few days to go still, but they're on my watch list :o)

  • Shout It Out on 14/09/2015 - 22:12

    I found a new Galaxy tab 4 with 4G for $400 posted. Is that a good deal?
    Have only seen a handful of second hand ones on ebay. I'll have another look.

    • oztonyau on 15/09/2015 - 20:22

      During the last big ebay sale picked up a Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 LTE Model SM-T535 for just under $360, with ebay also giving a $50 voucher. The seller was Kogan. Would suggest that something closer to $350 than $400 would be closer to the right money.

      • Shout It Out on 15/09/2015 - 20:51

        Kogan is grey import though? Meaning they're not Australian models but rather Asian or European, so you don't have the 2 year Samsung warranty.

        • oztonyau on 16/09/2015 - 15:47

          That's right, it came from OS. Bought a 5 year warranty from Kogan for it for just under $80.

        • oztonyau on 18/09/2015 - 09:06

          Samsung Australia states that their warranty is one year http://www.samsung.com/au/support/warranty/

        • iridiumstem on 18/09/2015 - 11:28

          @oztonyau: It says two years for Mobile Phone and Tablet, if you go down and read MOBILE PHONE, TABLET, GALAXY CAMERA AND ACCESSORIES section (near to the bottom). Though it does say battery (under accessory) is only covered for 1 year.

        • oztonyau on 18/09/2015 - 13:02

          @Oversimplified: Yes, it appears to be two years. It's confusing and contradictory information.

        • iridiumstem on 18/09/2015 - 15:17

          @oztonyau: I don't find it that confusing, since batteries usually are expected to start dying from 1 year mark (if you have an old device and think "it's going fine", try replacing the battery, you'd get huge improvement on battery life).

    • Shout It Out on 15/09/2015 - 01:14

      Thanks! Seems like a legit seller, will contact them to ask about scratches and whatnot of the actual device they have up for purchase.

  • Mad Max on 15/09/2015 - 14:06

    Any chance to get a decent 10" android tablet for $200 or under?

    • Shout It Out on 15/09/2015 - 19:38

      Not a brand-new big brand one like Samsung. Also depends on the features you want like WiFi only or LTE as well.

  • Shout It Out on 15/09/2015 - 19:40

    Ok, so I have decided to go with a Galaxy Tab A 9.7 inch with S pen for $370,-
    I'll tether it to my S5 for internet purposes.
    It's heaps cheaper than buying something with LTE built in.

    Unless anyone know of a better deal? If not, I'll order the Tab A on Thursday :o)

    • iridiumstem on 15/09/2015 - 19:48

      Hmmm, Tab A is worse than Tab 4 in few regards (i.e. worse resolution).
      I'd not grab Tab A if you can find Tab 4 at reasonable price. That said, I wouldn't grab a budget tablet since budget tablets are meh, imo.

      Also, if you open your option to WiFi models, then your option does become better.
      If you are going to buy a WiFi model, then wait for other people to pitch in more options.
      LTE option makes price ridiculously high, so yeah.
      Even Tab S 10.5 came down under $400 once, it's likely to come down again when Tab S2 comes out.

      Xiaomi MiPad is in your budget, so is Shield tablet as far as I remember.
      Many of the Chinese tablets that can be dual booted are within your budget easily as well.
      All of the options I've mentioned will be better than Tab A or Tab 4 in terms of spec.

  • Shout It Out on 15/09/2015 - 20:04

    Those cheap Chinese tablets, are they easy to root?
    Yeah I'm going WiFi only. The S2 has already been released. Saw one today at JB hifi

    • iridiumstem on 15/09/2015 - 20:06

      Have they released in Australia? Huh, didn't see them last time I went to JB.

      Anyways, MiPad uses MIUI and many people choose to use CM.
      I've not looked into it but I think that Shield tablet will be rootable.
      Dual boot Chinese tablets, I think they can be? I've seen rooting method for tablets with Intel chip so yeah?

      • Shout It Out on 15/09/2015 - 20:08

        Yes, JB got it in yesterday.

        The cheapest Tab S 10.5 is $495,- at Computer Alliance plus postage on top. I looked with staticice.com.au as well as getprice.com.au

        • iridiumstem on 15/09/2015 - 20:18

          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/samsung-galaxy-tab-s-10…

          It has been cheaper in the past, it will likely to come down to similar price (especially with newer model).
          Tab Pro 10.1 got reduced to $350 this year, when it got discontinued as well.
          So I don't think expecting a price drop in near future is unreasonable.

          If you are going to grab Samsung tablet, I personally think it'd be better to grab one on KitKat.
          Samsung lollipop does have several issues that was fixed on 5.1.1. I don't think rooting method for 5.1.1. is found yet.
          Samsung tablets in your budget would've all been released in KitKat, so it doesn't really matter.

        • Shout It Out on 15/09/2015 - 20:52

          @Oversimplified:

          Yeah I have an S5 on lollipop and it has issues installing some apps that I didn't get from Google play

        • iridiumstem on 15/09/2015 - 20:54

          @Shout It Out: I've rolled back to KitKat for my S4 Active, the battery lasts far longer than it used to with lollipop (that said, I think it was mixture of Googly Play Service waking the phone up constantly and other things).

        • Shout It Out on 15/09/2015 - 21:13

          @Oversimplified:

          My S5 is awesome, but I'm considering rolling back to Kit Kat as well. It had also started to make random screenshots, even when I'm asleep in the middle of the night.
          I wake up in the morning with a message on my lock screen saying my screenshot has been saved. Never had this with my tabs nor my S1 and S3.

        • iridiumstem on 15/09/2015 - 21:22

          @Shout It Out: Hmmm, that's something that I've never heard before. Maybe try wakelock detector and see what's waking your phone to track what app is causing that?

        • Shout It Out on 16/09/2015 - 15:47

          @Oversimplified:

          Yes, I'll try to find out as it's also draining my battery.

        • iridiumstem on 16/09/2015 - 17:30
          +1

          @Shout It Out: Wakelock detector with Greenify and Amplify, those will help you find what's waking your phone up. Sometimes it might be something else you've not expected. I've had problems with my tablet constantly resetting its wallpaper, realised it was Titanium Backup shutting down Nova Launcher or something (I don't know what it exactly it is) while backing stuff up that was causing that.

  • Shout It Out on 17/09/2015 - 12:01

    Thanks for the tip. Downloading the apps now.
    Still looking for a tablet. Waiting to see if anyone is going to drop the price on the Tab S 10.5, now that the S2 has been released.

  • Shout It Out on 19/09/2015 - 13:58

    Never mind, my S5 just died as well. Won't charge anymore. Waiting for a replacement from Optus.

  • Shout It Out on 19/09/2015 - 13:59

    Still no price drop in the Galaxy Tab S series, despite the release of the S2 on Monday. Not sure if I should just get the S2 for 100 bucks more.

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