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tablet

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:43 am
by x9200
I am looking for a tablet, 9-10", Android based preferred but not a must (iOS jailbreakable ok), budget: $S300-500, no Chinese no-names please (wifey just killed one this morning).
Now, I see some ads on locanto.sg offering fully boosted ipads 2 (64GB, wifi, 3G) for $S450 and I've been trying to figure out what's the trick. One very obvious is the carrier (US based, AT&T for example) so it is probably sim-locked, but this still does not explain why the price is that low. Any thoughts? Any hints for some different brands/models? The tablet is for my kid, mostly for watching some movies while traveling in the car, but also for some simple baby games/puzzles etc.

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:51 am
by zzm9980
GSM iPads are not sim-locked, even the AT&T ones in the US.

I would suspect if the price is too good to be true, it's a scam *or* they're very nervous about the iPad3 rumors. If the rumors are true (Retina display, 8mp camera), the current iPad2s will plummet in value in a few weeks.

Now, due to a previous position at a "very famous" produce vendor, I'm quite familiar with the Apple rumor cycle. My opinion of these rumors based on previous experiences is that they're "likely true", and the only thing up in the air is that early March timeline for announcement.

If you don't need a front-camera or 3G/4G, check out the Nook Tablet or Kindle Fire? you can probably get one to Singapore for S$300-400

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:11 am
by x9200
Both the Kindle and Nook are 7" only.

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:24 am
by ecureilx
x9200 wrote:Both the Kindle and Nook are 7" only.
if you are 'still' okay for 7" give some serious thought to Huawei - of course, Made in China (as is Ipad and all .. ) but with the same quality standard as you would expect from iPad and Galaxy.

Bought it, after reading a lot of good reviews, and Huawei is giving Cisco a run for it's money, so you can judge the quality there.

After looking here and there, the 7 inch is good, to hold in the hand, and not too large, and not too small, and Huawei comes with 3G module, and .. Android 4.0 !

See the numerous youtube reviews .. for some consideration.

At 499 S$ it is value for money ..

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:25 am
by nakatago
You may have problem buying these here but here we go anyway:

Notion Ink Adam - slightly more expensive but does the job
HP Touchpad - as is, already great for multimedia. Android ICS already available from CyanogenMod
Archos Tablets - there are several; take your pick. They're available in MemoryWorld (Funan/SimLim) and also in Challenger (there may still be demo units in Funan).

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:47 am
by zzm9980
ecureilx wrote:
x9200 wrote:Both the Kindle and Nook are 7" only.
and Huawei is giving Cisco a run for it's money
Sure helps when your government is helping you commit industrial espionage against your competitors :P

Back to the topic, sorry missed the size constraint. Really, to me it comes down to what you want: Better Apps, or more OS customization and flexibility. (iOS or an Android) Your best deal for Android will be one of those random Chinese brands. Some are just as good as the Samsungs, Toshibas, etc. You need to just go play with them and see the build quality. I just picked up a Xiaomi phone and it is one of the best built Android devices I've ever seen.

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:32 pm
by x9200
zzm9980 wrote: Back to the topic, sorry missed the size constraint. Really, to me it comes down to what you want: Better Apps, or more OS customization and flexibility. (iOS or an Android) Your best deal for Android will be one of those random Chinese brands. Some are just as good as the Samsungs, Toshibas, etc. You need to just go play with them and see the build quality. I just picked up a Xiaomi phone and it is one of the best built Android devices I've ever seen.
The one that died this morning was a Chinese brand that looked very robust until my wife just hit it (she claims it was gently :)) with her open hand trying to stop it buzzing. And I don't blame her as this junk was just freezing randomly and loosing files with every single boot. I paid SGD170 for this marvel of Chinese engineering and would like to have a break from such inventions for a while. I am not against it in general but having a kid immobilized in the baby car seat and getting more impatient every 10s while we are fighting to switch the bloody tablet on taught us that this area of family entertainment needs perhaps some better investments.
The practical difference between iOS and Android is for me rather cosmetic for what the tablet is needed for. There are plenty of baby applications, same for both systems. I am a linux guy so I prefer Android but overall choice comes down to the price - robustness - battery life circle.
What I like in the ipad2 is the battery life and overall quality. I am not sure about the robustness though.

@Nak - all of them you mentioned are almost as pricey as a new ipad2 16GB wifi directly from apple.com.sg but thanks anyway for the names - I will go now to Challenger/BD/Courts/HN now to see what do they have aboard.

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 1:20 pm
by nakatago
x9200 wrote:@Nak - all of them you mentioned are almost as pricey as a new ipad2 16GB wifi directly from apple.com.sg but thanks anyway for the names - I will go now to Challenger/BD/Courts/HN now to see what do they have aboard.
The 9-10" constraint can be severely limiting. However, a hundred dollars is not insignificant.

Moreover, I saw this: http://www.memoryworld.com.sg//index.ph ... ls&pid=578

Oh well.

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 1:34 pm
by ecureilx
nakatago wrote:
x9200 wrote:@Nak - all of them you mentioned are almost as pricey as a new ipad2 16GB wifi directly from apple.com.sg but thanks anyway for the names - I will go now to Challenger/BD/Courts/HN now to see what do they have aboard.
The 9-10" constraint can be severely limiting. However, a hundred dollars is not insignificant.

Moreover, I saw this: http://www.memoryworld.com.sg//index.ph ... ls&pid=578

Oh well.
Then again, if x9200 needs longer batter life, or not having to worry about low batt, iPad may still be tops, compared to less than 6 hours or so for android tabs.

Ipad may still be tempting !!!

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 1:37 pm
by x9200
Yeh, I saw it when googled after the names you gave me but comparing to the said ipad2 it has a few disadvantages (less flash, resolution, predominantly plastic body, niche or unknown brand), and the advantages mostly in the i/o area within the said $100 price difference. For $450 I would probably buy it :P

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 1:44 pm
by nakatago
x9200 wrote:Yeh, I saw it when googled after the names you gave me but comparing to the said ipad2 it has a few disadvantages (less flash, resolution, predominantly plastic body, niche or unknown brand), and the advantages mostly in the i/o area within the said $100 price difference. For $450 I would probably buy it :P
You just may be able to get it for that price if you order it online (Amazon). I got my tablets for significantly less (> 100 SGD) than if I got them here, already accounting for shipping and GST.

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 1:59 pm
by Mi Amigo
It's a tricky one, trying to find a relatively inexpensive tablet that's not 'Acme' (i.e. unknown) brand. I know you said you wanted to stay away from obscure Chinese products this time round, but FWIW I bought one of these last year for my brother in law in Europe, who didn't want to spend too much:

http://www.apad.tv/apadforum/entry.php? ... let-Review

It cost me $280 at Sim Lim and TBH I was a bit dubious, but after playing around with it, including installing a custom Rom...

http://public.timduru.org/Android/Flytouch3/

.. I was actually quite impressed. It worked surprisingly well and had all the connectors, micro-SD slot, etc. that you'd ever need. And I believe it's still working fine. I'd done a bit of research beforehand, from which I'd learned that there are actually even cheaper knock-off versions of this model. So (as with everything like this) it's important to make sure you are getting the 'real thing', even if it's a cheapo model.

Chances are there's a newer version of the 'Superpad' out there, so if all the known-brand options turn out to be more that you want to pay, you might want to consider this. Or maybe that's what you had before that just went t!ts-up?

I'm still stuck in 'hurry up and wait' mode on a tablet purchase. Currently I'm thinking of buying an Asus Transformer Prime, probably when I next go to the states as they are cheaper there. But I think the price is outside of what you're looking to pay for this particular purchase.

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 2:06 pm
by x9200
Yep, pretty cheap at Amazon. Locally I managed to found @499.

Another candidate in the meantime:
http://sg.store.creative.com/entertainm ... 20230.aspx

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 6:15 pm
by the lynx
Hey x9200, just in case this will interest you.

Lenovo A1-59306927 tablet for $299. 7" 16GB Android. Only available on Friday 24th at Courts Clementi near Clementi MRT station for grand opening sale. Saw it in my mailer and it reminded me that you happen to be searching for one.

Not familiar with Lenovo though so you might wanna read up about this model.

Edit: Oops just realised you are looking for 9" so this may not be what you're looking for. Plus this type of sale tend to draw all the kiasus. Imagine all the jostling and pushing... Nah!

Posted: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 6:48 pm
by zzm9980
x9200 wrote:
zzm9980 wrote: Back to the topic, sorry missed the size constraint. Really, to me it comes down to what you want: Better Apps, or more OS customization and flexibility. (iOS or an Android) Your best deal for Android will be one of those random Chinese brands. Some are just as good as the Samsungs, Toshibas, etc. You need to just go play with them and see the build quality. I just picked up a Xiaomi phone and it is one of the best built Android devices I've ever seen.
The one that died this morning was a Chinese brand that looked very robust until my wife just hit it (she claims it was gently :)) with her open hand trying to stop it buzzing. And I don't blame her as this junk was just freezing randomly and loosing files with every single boot. I paid SGD170 for this marvel of Chinese engineering and would like to have a break from such inventions for a while. I am not against it in general but having a kid immobilized in the baby car seat and getting more impatient every 10s while we are fighting to switch the bloody tablet on taught us that this area of family entertainment needs perhaps some better investments.
The practical difference between iOS and Android is for me rather cosmetic for what the tablet is needed for. There are plenty of baby applications, same for both systems. I am a linux guy so I prefer Android but overall choice comes down to the price - robustness - battery life circle.
What I like in the ipad2 is the battery life and overall quality. I am not sure about the robustness though.

@Nak - all of them you mentioned are almost as pricey as a new ipad2 16GB wifi directly from apple.com.sg but thanks anyway for the names - I will go now to Challenger/BD/Courts/HN now to see what do they have aboard.

Robust as in surving being smacked "gently" by a frustrated woman? The iPad is probably the best compared to any tablet I've seen.