What's a good 10" android tablet these days?

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Quattro Pete

Quattro Pete

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I've got a 12.5" Lenovo notebook that I could technically travel with, but it's somewhat on the heavy side with its extended battery and all.

I was thinking of picking up a 10" tablet for up to $200. Not a big fan of Apple in general (flame suit on), so I'd probably want android-based one. Primary uses would be email, web browsing, occasional video watching, and some light photo editing. It'd be nice if I could edit RAW files on it, but something tells me this might be unrealistic, and that's OK I guess.

This Lenovo Tab 2 A10 spiked my interest, but I'm certainly open to other suggestions.

Thanks!
 
Going pure Android has always been my preference. So a Nexus 9 would be my first choice (apparently they don't make the 10 anymore). The Lenovo you linked looks nice and has good ratings so it may work great (plus it's half the cost of the Nexus), but I always get concerned when I see "premium apps" in the description. That means manufacturers own apps that generally are not as good as the equivalent Android app, and they aren't easily removed (but you can at least disable them).

I have a older Samsung Tab 2 that has been hijacked by my daughter and a Nook HD, both have been rooted and had the latest stable version of Cyanogenmod on them. This gives me a nice vanilla Android experience. But that may be more than you are willing or wanting to do.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
You don't want to step up to the Nexus or Samsung ones? I guess they're more expensive.

Yes, these are roughly twice the price of the Lenovo one I mentioned. Are they twice as good?
 
We have 3 tablets in our house. 2 RCA's for the kids which have both broke and took 6 weeks to get replaced (you get what you pay for). And an ASUS Transformer with a keyboard dock. I have to say that the ASUS is awesome in every way. Pretty indestructible and preforms well to boot.
 
Originally Posted By: BikeWhisperer
but I always get concerned when I see "premium apps" in the description. That means manufacturers own apps that generally are not as good as the equivalent Android app, and they aren't easily removed (but you can at least disable them).

Thanks. According to Amazon reviews, all the preinstalled apps on this Lenovo can be easily and completely removed.
 
If you're not in a big hurry, keep an eye on sites like dealnews.com and slickdeals.com for price trends. Dealnews lists how much cheaper the on-sale item is than normal price, and whether it was cheaper or more expensively offered in the past. I've been keeping track of laptop prices for the past 6 months to get a feel for what different specs and configurations are going for.

I've also research specific offerings to see which manufactures are generally better regarded or rated, and which features are more appealing for the price.


Amazon is also holding its Black Friday in July event this Wednesday, so if you're in the market for something soon, then I suggest you narrow down your list, since this may or may not be a really great opportunity to buy tech cheap (I personally have my doubts and will be waiting for August back-to-school, Black Friday, or Xmas deals to buy, at the earliest.
 
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I don't have experience with those tablets, but I would second the thought to find one with "stock" or "pure" Android on it. The best Android experience I've had, by far, has been with my current Motorola Droid Mini, which is as pure of a form of Android as I think there is on a phone. I've not been impressed with various "skins" of Android in terms of reliability.
 
I bought a Digiland DL1010Q at Best Buy for $99 and it works just fine unless you want to stress it out with intense programs.
E-mail-Facebook-surfing works just fine. Good crisp sharp display.
 
Much as I hate to support the Evil Empire, if you want to do photo editing, have you considered a Windows tablet instead? Even the cheap ones should run most Windows software, if not terribly fast.
 
Yeah what about a surface? I get it that it isn't a $200 gadget, but likely more useful.
 
I'm not usually against Microsoft stuff, and happily use Windows on my computers, but I don't see the value in a Windows tablet personally. You'll be stuck with Windows Update issues (WU has broken many a good-running computer), potentially fewer quality mobile applications (Windows Store is not well populated in my opinion), and potentially also virus protection issues, if you want anything other than the built-in Windows Defender. All for at least twice the price of an Android tablet.

I am curious about the photo editing -- what is the desired software here? Unless you can interact with it with a stylus or mouse anyway, I think it'd be fairly awkward to try to edit photos on a tablet, unless it's just very basic brightness/contrast edits.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Yeah what about a surface? I get it that it isn't a $200 gadget, but likely more useful.

More like $500 I guess?
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I am curious about the photo editing -- what is the desired software here? Unless you can interact with it with a stylus or mouse anyway, I think it'd be fairly awkward to try to edit photos on a tablet, unless it's just very basic brightness/contrast edits.

That's a valid point. A mouse would be helpful (via bluetooth I guess).

Anyway, the photo editing requirement was just a nice to have, not a must.
 
I know this isn't a tablet, but have you considered a Chromebook? We have a cheapo $180 Acer Chromebook and for email, web, and video it is really hard to beat. In fact, we have a bunch of ultrabooks running i7 processors and everyone, including my daughter, fight to use the Chromebook because it boots up so quickly, and is so fast.

I think some 2 in 1 convertible chromebooks are launching soon if you must have the touch screen.
 
I bought a refurb Dell Venue 8 7000 a few weeks ago when there was a deal for $185+tax. The first refurb unit was bad and had to get an exchange, it had burn in on the screen that said "Experience Tablets Try This Device" so i'm guessing it was a store display unit, they probably missed the screen burn in during the refurb because it was really faint and only seen against a white background. The second unit has been a really nice and solid tablet, fast and with an awesome screen. The thing people don't like about it is it's tough to hold because there's no bezel other than the bottom side with the speakers, but for me i don't have any issues with it, i just hold it by speakers whether i'm holding it landscape or portrait.

Looks like there's another repeat of a similar deal here http://slickdeals.net/f/7977135-dell-ven...-at-dell-outlet
 
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