Looking for Android Phones and Tablets

[XCVG]

This is kinda actually two posts in one, kinda.

I'm tired of my flaxty J706 retardphone, and disappointed by the epic failure that was the release of the Galaxy Player. I figured I'd go the same route as 90% of people and just bite the bullet for a smartphone. At this point in time I've pretty much decided what I want.



It's a Samsung Galaxy S2. It's purdy. It's fast and powerful. And it's relatively slim and small. I've actually played with and held one, and it is REALLY nice. The AMOLED screen really is as epic as the reviews make it out to be. TouchWiz+Gingerbread is kind of a fail but it's slated to receive an official ICS upgrade, and if that turns out to be flax Cyanogenmod 9 seems to be coming along. There are several versions, I've pretty much decided on the factory-unlocked i9100 international variant.

Problem is, it's currently hovering between $500 and $600. Similar phones, like the LG Optimus 2X and the Motorola Atrix, are below $400. Even the Sensation is a hundred dollars or so cheaper. Now, I'm hoping that the price will go down as next-gen phones are released, but I would like to have the device before I visit Japan in March-April. Should I wait, bite the bullet and buy it, or consider other options?

The second part goes something like this. I'm looking for a Tablet. I know, you're all going to be like, holy flax, XCVG wants a tablet? Isn't he the biggest tablet-hater in the world? Well, that's true to an extent. I want a small, cheap tablet that I will use primarily for reading and internet browsing. This one I have four specific criteria for:

1. 7" size
2. ARM processor Wait, isn't XCVG an ARM hater too?
3. Tablet OS (3.x Honeycomb or 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich)
4. Below $200

The only thing that I can get here is the Acer Iconia Tab A100. It's a much better device than any of the other ones I've looked at, with a Tegra 2 processor and whatnot. Honeycomb, with an Ice Cream Sandwich update coming (eventually). Problem is, it's $279.99 CAD, which means it doesn't meet the fourth requirement. The smartphone takes priority over the tablet, and I'm not willing to spend that much. I almost did, but got sticker shock and backed out.

There's also the Kobo Vox, which is like a poor man's Kindle Fire, except at $199 it's still not cheap. It's slow as *Can'tSayThisOnTV* and runs a horribly outdated OS, 2.2 with garbage customization IIRC.

I could eBay me a Nook Color, which I thought was my best option until I looked a little deeper. With shipping, it would cost me nearly as much as the Iconia Tab, neither the Honeycomb or ICS ports work properly, and the thing is apparently pretty slow.

Kindle Fire is even worse off, because although it's faster it's only 8GB and has no expandable memory and that's a deal-breaker for me. Also expensive. Not sure about Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich ports.

Finally, we move into the cheap Chinese tablets from China. There's one that I can get really cheap and from a trusted seller- the Novo 7 Paladin. It runs Ice Cream Sandwich for $130. However, it uses a MIPS processor which means a lot of apps, including Flash, don't run. There is a cheapy tablet that satisfies my desires, the Ramos W6HD. But I don't know where to get it that doesn't involve shipping from China, something me and everyone I've asked IRL is afraid of. I could wait, as there are several other ARM/ICS tablets coming in February, but I suspect they will be in the same situation. I also wonder about the quality of these tablets. Has anyone used one? How are they? I want something with a screen nice enough to look at for longish periods of time, and won't fall apart instantly.

So, uh, help?

 

[Mako321]

The Galaxy 2 is *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing nice, I'd try for that if I was willing to put the money towards it.
Tablet wise, look on Craigslist or Kijiji for a cheap HP Touchpad. After the firesale, they're dirt cheap and they perform as well as any other Tegra 2 tablet on the market. They can dualboot WebOS and Android, with a big community around them so you won't easily run into problems as there's a lot of support out there.

 

[Zero]

Galaxy 2s are probably going to stay expensive retail just because of the newness and the Galaxy name being so well known now. I'd either bite the bullet and get on contract, or look for something slightly older on Craigslist (you may even get lucky and find a Galaxy 2 cheap enough). If you have until March, that should be plenty of time to score on a good deal if you look hard enough.

As for the tablet, I've actually looked into it very recently myself. With Mako's help I decided on an HP Touchpad with CM7 installed. Because of the whole WebOS death scare thing awhile back they are probably one of the most powerful tablets you can get in your price range. Luckily for us though, it runs Android like a pro, can OC very well with little effort (seeing a lot of people running them at 1.7ghz), and has a great battery to compensate for OC'ing. The only issue is it might be a bit larger than you wanted, but for all the power you're getting it's worth it. You can snag one brand new for $200 or less on CL, or a little bit more online.

 

[XCVG]

I'd really rather not buy a used phone. I don't have as much of a problem with other devices, but there are a lot of things that can be wrong with a phone. It could be stolen, broken, still on contract, or all of the above.

As for the Touchpad... I looked into it. It's powerful, for sure, but only if I could get it REALLY cheap would I go for it. It's bigger than what I'm looking for, but most worrying is the state of the Android port. Cyanogenmod is nice, but it's Android 2.3, IE not a tablet OS. I've tried Honeycomb in store, and I really like it. It's an interesting device, for sure, so I'll keep watching it. If there's a stable ICS port, I'll reconsider.

For now, I'm going to wait for the Galaxy S2 to drop below $500, and probably jump on it once it does. The tablet is less of a priority, I'll wait for something more appealing.

That doesn't mean shut up! If anyone's had experience with Chinese tablets, I would like to know how good they are. I could live with something bad, but not REALLY bad.

 

[Zero]

Well, there is no HC/ICS yet, but because it has so much support and runs CM, you can be sure it'll get at least ICS soon because CM9 is already in the works. Besides, I don't know if you've seen what it looks like stock on CM7, but it looks like it'll work more than well enough until CM9 comes out.

There was recently a new Touchpad locally here on CL for $120, and had it not been for the fact I had just spent all my money a week or so earlier, I would have gotten it. So look around, you may get lucky, but even at $200 its an amazing value for what you're getting.

I personally would not bother with the Chinese tablets, but that's just me.

 

[bic]

I think the Galaxy Player's main problem was the reviewers. "Oh well it's a smartphone with no phone and overall it's okay I guess but it's not an Apple so don't bother" was the general message I got out of the tech site reviews.

Check out the Samsung Galaxy W on Bell. 1.4 ghz Snapdragon, Adreno 205, Gingerbread with $200CAD with a 2 year contract. ($250 without.) It's not a fire-breathing quad-core gaming monster but it's 90% of what you'll use every day for 1/3 the price. Here in the States we get a nearly identical phone (Exhibit II 4G) on T-Mobile for about $200 at Wal-Mart, and development for both seems to be chugging along hand-in-hand. I know the Exhibit II has been rooted, ODIN can flash it back to factory, and people are working on building custom ROMs, so the Galaxy W should at least be rooted.

Don't waste your time thinking about cheap Chinese tablets, or devices you see advertised for $100 at the drugstore.

Motorola Mobility is running on a shoestring budget and has little quality control. Don't bother.

No matter what phone you get you're going to be slammed with international roaming charges if you use it in Japan unless you sign up for an expensive international calling plan. My advice would be use Skype on WiFi whenever possible, or to pick up a cheap burn phone to use when you get there.

Do you need both? Can you combine the budgets and get either a really nice phone or a really nice tablet?

 

[XCVG]

http://www.intomobile.com/2012/01/09/as ... ablet-249/

I think I'll wait, at least on the tablet. If they can really sell it for $249, that would be

 

[vskid3]

Do you need both? Can you combine the budgets and get either a really nice phone or a really nice tablet?

Or get a Dell Streak 5 like me and have both.

If the Galaxy S2 is anything like my Galaxy S (Fascinate), its amazing. Many people comment on how thin and light my Fascinate is. I have it OC'd to 1.3GHz and it performs like a champ, can't imagine what another core would do.

 

[DK]

Never met another person with a Dell Streak

Love mine so much but I do want to upgrade to a Galaxy Note soon.

 

[XCVG]

I like the Galaxy Note, but it's very expensive and I'm afraid it might be too big. Right now, my priority is the phone. The tablet can wait until there are newer, better, cheaper models that seem to be right around the corner, and I'll have more money then too.

I've pretty much got my heart set on a dual core smartphone. Single core might be snappy enough now, but dualies have more room to grow, and perform better with intensive applications. Plus, I have a disturbing tendency to load things up with bloat and heavy, slow apps.

 

[DK]

Just buying the Galaxy note would be cheaper than buying a phone and a tablet. My steak fits in my jeans pocket easily, and the Note is smaller and thinner than that.

 

[XCVG]

I guess the question that I'm really asking is this. Is the Galaxy S II good enough to warrant the price difference between it and other, lower-priced alternatives, such as the LG Optimus 2X and Motorola Atrix?

The tablet I'm kind of pushing to the side for now. There is a lot of exciting stuff coming in the tablet world, and I want to see how good the new products really are.

 

[Σigma]

If you're looking for a cheap tablet, I'd look for an HP Touchpad (or PM me about one), the android port is really stable, and the ICS port should be out in the next week or so.

Edit: I totally didn't read the above posts.

 

[Mako321]

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD
CYANOGENMOD 9 ALPHA 0 FOR TOUCHPADS

 

[Σigma]

GREAT SCOTT! I MISSED IT!
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