Android tablets?

[ffutures]

Welcome to the latest installment of "Marcus wants a supercomputer in his pocket for 50p..."

Currently I own two Windows CE PDAs which for one reason or another I'm not making much use of:

An HP Jornada 728 - nice pocket PC with a good keyboard but not a lot of software, and the weird screen resolution (640 x 240) means that that you can't see a lot of text while typing / reading. It's OK for notes but I'm not really using it seriously. WiFi but seriously unreliable, especially when connecting to new networks.

A no-name 5" tablet - works, but I seem to be using it more to play games than anything else. Wifi works much better but a low-res screen makes for eye strain. It's seriously difficult to install software because of weird design decisions, and bottom line, I simply don't like it much.

So I'm thinking in terms of selling both of them and going for something like a 7" Android tablet - yes, I know certain people think a 7" iPad is on the way, but I probably wouldn't be able to afford it.

So - bearing in mind that I probably don't want to use this as a phone, much more as a WiFi web browser / notepad / ebook reader, is this a good idea or is android more trouble than its worth.

What I definitely need

• WiFi
• good web browser, preferably with ability to show YouTube etc.
• ebook reader with multiple formats including mobi, pdf, etc.
• word processor with some ability to save files locally (I don't trust clouds)
• A GOOD onscreen keyboard, plus the ability to use a real keyboard.
• Ability to use USB memory sticks
• Reasonable battery life
• A few good games e.g. sudoku, bejewelled, spider solitaire

Is this asking for the moon, or are there tablets around that might meet my needs? Preferably low priced, e.g. I notice Morgans have something for £72 but the battery life is a little short. I probably need to sort this fast because the price of 2nd-hand Windows CE kit is falling fast and I'd hope to recoup some of the cost by selling the old stuff.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[gbsteve.livejournal.com]

No thoughts as such but when I upgrade from my Nokia N800, which has done sterling work, I'll be looking for an Android tablet too. I've got an iGo bluetooth keyboard that's great but stupidly they don't make them any more. It more than makes up for any dodgy screen keyboard (my N800 uses a stylus).

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

Ars Technica has had a couple of reviews of Android tablets in the past couple of months, but even at the high end they sound unimpressive (and at the low end they suggested that the best way to get value from the tablet in question was to set it on fire for heat).

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Remember what I've been using - almost anything is probably an improvement.

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

The tablet that got the "set it on fire" comment had a battery life of less than an hour. From their review, it really seemed to be completely unusable. IIRC, the only reason they were reviewing it was that it was the only one on the market for less than US$100.

The review in here.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Ewww... looks a LOT like most of the android tablets on eBay, thanks for the warning.

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

I've been watching, and no signs of ipad beaters yet, and I won't have another OS in my life.

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

Am I to infer that all your current computers run Android?

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

(Also, I would expect that in your life so far, you have used a large number of operating systems. What kind of trauma-- or perhaps ennui?-- has led you to say "and I won't have another OS in my life?")

[nojay.livejournal.com]

I think it's more that they don't want to keep on hopping between different OSes and GUIs; I'm comfortably esconced with Windows for example and have disconcerting problems using Mac or Linux-based systems because my fingers don't work right. Other folks I know are Mac-heads and can't cope with a two-button mouse but refuse to give up two-finger trackpad gestures.

iOS is actually nothing like OS/X under the hood but it looks and behaves similarly (gestures, shinies etc.). Ditto for WinMobile 7 and Win7 hence the tempttation for folks to stick with one interface and one OS (sort of).

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I'm best with windows, use OS/X enough that I'm more or less used to it, and have endless trouble with very similar operations on Ubuntu. For three superficially similar interfaces there are a LOT of annoying small differences!

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

I use all three on a daily basis, and from what I can see they're dovetailing.

I'm not sure how long Mac OS X has supported multiple button mice, but it has been awhile. The default Mac mouse now don't have buttons on top (crass!) but if you click on the right side it does different things (that you can customize).

Of course, the top of that mouse is also a touch pad ;-)

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I've used a two button mouse on the ibook since 10.3

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Just grinding me down. I wouldn't mind new OS if they abandoned old ones (Aix, I'm looking at you...)

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

YET another. Currently Aix, RHEL 4, Ubuntu 10.10, Android, Windows XP and Maemo!

[armb.livejournal.com]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/15/nook_froyo/ looks interesting, but the "Android Marketplace won't be available" combined with "word processor ... locally" might rule it out, depending on what's in the "own application store run by Barnes & Noble".

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Sounds like it might be a bit of a kludge.

[cobrabay.livejournal.com]

None of the reviews I've read of Android tablets have been that complimentary. Most seem to contain the phrase "let down by", where that is one or more of something like an outdated version of Android being used, lack of Android Market, poor graphics performance, poor battery life, unresponsive touch screen, poor build quality, or in the case of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, high price. I'm thinking of getting a 10 inch tablet as a replacement for my netbook, but I'm resigned to waiting until mid-2011, when there will hopefully be more choice, less vapourware, and more detailed reviews to read.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

There's always a temptation to wait and see what comes next - I may simply sell off the old kit now and wait until something better comes along.

[cobrabay.livejournal.com]

Of the stuff currently available, the only thing I seen that I liked (and have had a chance to play with) is the Dell Streak, but being a 5 incher it is outside what you are looking at. Very nice, responsive screen though, I could read text on it comfortably without my glasses, which is a struggle on my (3.7") phone. It's almost the same size and heft as a Psion Revo if that helps. Price-wise, only makes sense if it is also a phone replacement too.

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

"I probably wouldn't be able to afford it."

The prices on the current models will come down after they release the 2nd generation (in the spring?). There should be a flood of them on the secondary market as current users upgrade. I did notice that they seem to be retaining the "use the price the same as the US but in pounds" structure that I found so alarming when I was over there before.

Really, though, with your list of requirements what you really want is an iPad (except for the USB thing).

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Size and price are also issues.

[raygungothic.livejournal.com]

Thanks to a wonderful combined late birthday/early Christmas present from my wife I have a Galaxy Tab, which is superb, but expensive. (I do not understand the mixed reviews of this device, which is bloody marvelous)

I did look at all sorts of Android tablets beforehand. Most are awkward compromises. Android interface is a poor match for resistive touch screens, which makes all the cheaper options not be much fun to use. Unfortunately that means Tab is the only good 7"er - there is little middle ground between Happy Fun Co of Shenzhen tat and the expensive option. In 10" tablets there is more choice, and it's more continuous, but you would need bloody enormous coat pockets for one to count as "portable". I know several people with ipads who never take them out of the house.

For pda replacement, an older Android phone with a real keyboard might be a better option than a tablet? I seem to recall from your earlier posts that your portability requirements are quite strict.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I've decided that I can live with anything up to about 7" - that'll just about fit into a big pocket, and I've put a top boxe on the bike which would make it easier to carry routinely. A full-sized iPad or similar is more problematic.