Are Cheap Tablet Pcs Worth It?

[SeaVisionBurma]

The battery life is not very good on these tablets.

On what tablets? Be specific. What model(s) are you referring to?

[iluvbeaches]

The battery life is not very good on these tablets.

It depends from brand to brand.

My current Ainol 10 Hero will last 9 hours continious usage with graphics, or more than a week on standby, while the Onda v712 I had previously would struggle with 3 hours of usage and 24 hours standby.

I find that an acceptable battery life.

Never had a Samsung tab or Ipad, but do they have much better batterylife than the Ainol ?

That's very good for a no name brand. I get 12hrs or so with my iPad never really checked because I never use it that much in under a few days but 9 hrs sounds fine.

I think you should compare side by side high quality tablets with cheaper ones and usually the quality difference will be obvious. Then if you prefer to save the money it is a better choice. Silly to buy one, hate it and end up buying another one.

[jbrain]

The battery life is not very good on these tablets.

It depends from brand to brand.

My current Ainol 10 Hero will last 9 hours continious usage with graphics, or more than a week on standby, while the Onda v712 I had previously would struggle with 3 hours of usage and 24 hours standby.

I find that an acceptable battery life.

Never had a Samsung tab or Ipad, but do they have much better batterylife than the Ainol ?

That's very good for a no name brand. I get 12hrs or so with my iPad never really checked because I never use it that much in under a few days but 9 hrs sounds fine.

I think you should compare side by side high quality tablets with cheaper ones and usually the quality difference will be obvious. Then if you prefer to save the money it is a better choice. Silly to buy one, hate it and end up buying another one.

Well as I mentioned in an earlier post, the Ainol has 16Gb internal memory, dual core 1 Ghz A9 cortex processor, 1 Gb DDR3 ram, dual camera with 2Mp rear camera,1280 x 800 Ips screen with 10 point multi touch, bluetooth, wifi, hdmi and usb with support for 3G dongle and allows sd card up to 32 Gb. Operating system is Android jelly bean and frequent updates.

I never noticed any lags in screen touches.

How does that compare to a double priced Samsung ?

[iluvbeaches]

The battery life is not very good on these tablets.

It depends from brand to brand.

My current Ainol 10 Hero will last 9 hours continious usage with graphics, or more than a week on standby, while the Onda v712 I had previously would struggle with 3 hours of usage and 24 hours standby.

I find that an acceptable battery life.

Never had a Samsung tab or Ipad, but do they have much better batterylife than the Ainol ?

That's very good for a no name brand. I get 12hrs or so with my iPad never really checked because I never use it that much in under a few days but 9 hrs sounds fine.

I think you should compare side by side high quality tablets with cheaper ones and usually the quality difference will be obvious. Then if you prefer to save the money it is a better choice. Silly to buy one, hate it and end up buying another one.

Well as I mentioned in an earlier post, the Ainol has 16Gb internal memory, dual core 1 Ghz A9 cortex processor, 1 Gb DDR3 ram, dual camera with 2Mp rear camera,1280 x 800 Ips screen with 10 point multi touch, bluetooth, wifi, hdmi and usb with support for 3G dongle and allows sd card up to 32 Gb. Operating system is Android jelly bean and frequent updates.

I never noticed any lags in screen touches.

How does that compare to a double priced Samsung ?

Not sure, I bought a low tier Samsung 7.0 tab when they first came out and didn't like it too much and when I used it side by side with my friends iPad I was sold. I assume the high end samsungs at a similar size to the iPad are very good though I have lots of friends who prefer android and use them.

In the end specs are one thing but I think it's best to just use them side by side and see what works for you. Similar argument to why some people spend more on a German car even though arguably a cheaper Korean one would have similar or better specs. Money is one consideration.

[Pib]

The battery life is not very good on these tablets.

It depends from brand to brand.

My current Ainol 10 Hero will last 9 hours continious usage with graphics, or more than a week on standby, while the Onda v712 I had previously would struggle with 3 hours of usage and 24 hours standby.

I find that an acceptable battery life.

Never had a Samsung tab or Ipad, but do they have much better batterylife than the Ainol ?

Just as crossfeed, I've never really checked that closely as to how long the battey on my Onda V971 Dual Core 9.7" tablet lasts in just everyday usage...that is, using various Apps throughout the day, etc., but it's definitely more than enough. The tablet uses a 6000mah battery. I did do one test where I played a movie in full screen on continuous replay...brightness and sound set to normal (approx. 75%)...it took 6 hours and 51 minutes for the battery to go from 100% to dead. I expect in day-to-day usage of using various Apps it lasts "quite a bit longer" than approx. 7 hours...how much longer I couldn't say as I usually go days between recharges based on my usage habits. Above based on ICS 4.0.3 which I still run on the tablet...I tried several of Onda's JB 4.1.1 releases for the tablet and even a custom JB 4.1.2...but each JB version had significantly shorter battery life and lower Antutu and Quadrant Standard benchmark scores...so, I'm back to running Onda's stock ICS 4.0.3 and perfectly happy especially since it comes prerooted which allows me to remove the Chinese bloatware.

Regarding standby time it's got some really high rating like most tablets/smartphones (athough we all know some ratings are perfect world/laboratory environment ratings), but last night at 11:41pm I looked to see what the charge level was...it was 71%...I left it on and just checked the charge level at the time of this posting (11:30am next morning) and it says 69%....so just short of 12 hours it has used 2% of it's charge in standby/sleep mode...in standby/sleep mode I have it set to turn off the wifi radio.

Now for those of you which saw my V971 posts in another, earlier thread on Android tablets you know the battery had to be replaced (under warranty) shortly after I bought it in Nov 12...it just wouldn't reach 100% charge and take way too long to recharge about a week after I bought the tablet, but the battery replacement fixed that...been OK since.

[borovik]

The battery life is not very good on these tablets.

It depends from brand to brand.

My current Ainol 10 Hero will last 9 hours continious usage with graphics, or more than a week on standby, while the Onda v712 I had previously would struggle with 3 hours of usage and 24 hours standby.

I find that an acceptable battery life.

Never had a Samsung tab or Ipad, but do they have much better batterylife than the Ainol ?

That's very good for a no name brand. I get 12hrs or so with my iPad never really checked because I never use it that much in under a few days but 9 hrs sounds fine.

.......

It is very good,but AINOL - is not "no name" brand.

Your world begins and ends on Apple?

[iluvbeaches]

The battery life is not very good on these tablets.

It depends from brand to brand.

My current Ainol 10 Hero will last 9 hours continious usage with graphics, or more than a week on standby, while the Onda v712 I had previously would struggle with 3 hours of usage and 24 hours standby.

I find that an acceptable battery life.

Never had a Samsung tab or Ipad, but do they have much better batterylife than the Ainol ?

That's very good for a no name brand. I get 12hrs or so with my iPad never really checked because I never use it that much in under a few days but 9 hrs sounds fine.

.......

It is very good,but AINOL - is not "no name" brand.

Your world begins and ends on Apple?

My world doesn't start and end with any brand but in my opinion they make a quality tablet. If you don't like their tablets I respect that opinion. I just made I looked at I mobile and several Chinese cheap models, a few Samsung models and my iPad side by side and I like the iPad best. That's all.

As for "anaol" being a no name brand, well I guess that's each to decide for themselves but I think most of the population would consider them not a reputable world-wide brand, yes.

[JimShortz]

Please don't just write this off as Apple fan-boy. I am not, BUT, having owned a cheap Android tablet (Ainol) and dealt with its miserable performance, constant app headaches, need to reinstall, etc. and eventual demise (after about 6 months), I bought a good secondhand Ipad 2 for 9k.

With the Android tablet I was also astonished that you could purchase apps (and even in-app purchases) without having to enter a password. In other words, enter your credit card once, give the kids the machine and they can just buy away! That is ridiculous - and not easy to remove. I had to google how to remove my financial info, and then simply never entered it again, so couldn't buy anything. Annoying... With Apple the password is required for each purchase, so I do keep my info in and buy the odd app for a dollar or two from time to time.

Can someone tell me that Andropid have fixed this? Or is it still such an absurd system - seemingly designed to con you into "kiddy in-app purchases", but with me having the reverse effect, of never buying anything. Maybe this is why Android owners buy very few apps, hence designers almost always designing for Apple first (or only, in some cases) - very little money to be made from Android. I get most of my apps for free (see below), but don't mind buying the occasional app for a couple of dollars. Developers need to eat too... (and the sums involved are tiny).

The Ipad is the best tech decision I ever made... Superb system, controlled through itunes on computer so super easy to add my music playlists (not stuff bought from Apple by the way, my MP3s). NEVER missed a beat or been laggy or annoying. Synced and backed up through itunes to my PC, so IF ever has a problem it's super easy to reinstall to exact same state - no tech knowledge required. Battery lasts 10 hours or so. They are a good secondhand buy as they rarely have problems (none I am aware of amongst my friends).

I use Linux Mint all day at work (and promote it widely), have recently built myself a Hackintosh (since getting the Ipad I thought I would check out OSx - it's okay, but not amazing, by the way...), and have several Windows pCs in the house. I am open to all, but for tablets I really think the Apple operating system and the machines themselves are miles above all competition - both parts of the equation are needed for a pleasing experience imho. Get a good one secondhand for a few thousand more than a cheap Chinese tablet and you will be very happy. There is a good reason why it's Ipads that you see everywhere...

Oh, my old Ainol tablet. I took it apart, threw away the insides and put a piece of glass and a photo in it. It finally has good resolution and does it's job (as a static photo frame) faultlessly. Bloody expensive plastic photo frame though!

Lastly, for Ipad/Iphone owners out there. If you haven't yet installed "appsgone free" do so, and check it each morning to see what is free that day. I get ALL of the games that the kids like to play this way, including many top titles, and many apps for myself - check it out! they do it just for one day as a promotion to get sales (and hence their position in the listings) up.

Now that's a long post. I hope I haven't wasted my time completely!

[cbuddha]

Just want to offer my two cents here: I recently decided to ditch my smartphone and replace it with a tablet, a cheap phone, and a camera if I want to take decent photos. I already have a camera and plan to buy a Samsung clamshell or equivalent for under 1000 Baht. That leaves the tablet.

I tried out various 3000 to 6000 baht models in stores and checked out ones my students and friends have. My take on them is that the cheapest ones are too low-spec and frustrating to use, with sluggish performance, horrible touch screens, and inadequate battery life. They might be useful in a pinch just to look up something on the Internet, but not much else. The more expensive models were better, but usually lacking in some area (no GPS, poor video performance, poor Android update support, etc.)

I figured I would be using the tablet for at least a couple years, so decided I should invest a bit more money in it. After thinking about size factor, I decided I wanted about a 7" screen. I was aware of the iPad mini, but wanted something with better cost performance, standard connectors (standard for a person with a small collection of Android chargers and peripherals), and a replaceable battery for long road trips.

Long story short, I found an ad for my local Tesco (Maha Sarakham) a couple days ago for a Google (ASUS) Nexus 7 3G 32GB for 10,900 Baht. This model can use wifi and has a microsim slot for 3G data connection as well. I looked it up online and they were being sold cheaper, but decided to go take a look at the one in-store anyway. As it turns out, they had only one left in stock and were willing to knock off another 1,500 Baht. I took that as a sign that it was meant to be and bought it on the spot. This morning I took it to a True shop just upstairs from the Tesco, and they had an unlimited internet (2Gb 3G usage/month) + 400 min. voice package + unlimited True wifi AP usage promotion for 499/month for first year (iSmart 699 plan). Took that deal as well (They for some reason also gave me a truelife+ DSR box, a Jiuzhou DTS5418. I have an unused True dish, so I guess I can use it).

I also just ordered a case and OTG USB cable to be able to connect external storage (via Nexus Media Importer), a mouse, and keyboard.

If there is one regret I have with this tablet, it is that it's not a phone, so my 400 free voice minutes will go to waste.

TL;DR: For just over 10,000 baht (plus 500 baht/month) you can buy a 7" tablet with kickass specs that can connect to high speed (for TH) internet anywhere. If I had the choice of buying two (or even three) less expensive tablets or this one for the same price, I would choose this one every time*.

*The one scenario where I think a cheap tablet might be useful to me is as a starter device for my kids, but I'm really limiting the time they spend on computers every day, so have decided they can use mine here and there instead of buying them their own.

[sammycic]

jimshortz in playstore settings you can switch on or off whether you want to use password everytime.

"Use password to restrict purchases" and tick the box.

[jbrain]

jimshortz in playstore settings you can switch on or off whether you want to use password everytime.

"Use password to restrict purchases" and tick the box.

Of course you can, but as an Apple fanboy it makes more impression to say that Android is a second rank operating system.

[JimShortz]

cbuddah - nice review of the Nexus 7 - and I agree, a very good Android device. I have made my choice and bought quite a few Apple apps now so will be staying with where I am invested, and with what I like. If USB connectivity was important to me the nexus would be a great choice; in fact it is in many ways one of the best alternatives to the Apple route, as you nicely explain - a quality product too.

You makes your choice... :-)

jimshortz in playstore settings you can switch on or off whether you want to use password everytime.

"Use password to restrict purchases" and tick the box.

Of course you can, but as an Apple fanboy it makes more impression to say that Android is a second rank operating system.

sammysic - thank you for that; shocking really that neither myself, my wife, or my son found that - we must be dumber than we thought... I wish it was locked on by default - they lost our family as customers by defaulting to off. I wonder how many others!

Talking of dumb, p(j)brain, cut the fanboy rubbish. I try to give an honest opinion to help others make informed choices (from my viewpoint, as I think I made clear) and all you can do is throw the standard childish fanboy snipe. A shame... Do you have anything useful to add to the discussion?

[chris2004]

I am definitely NOT an Apple fan but i have to sing the praises of the ipad (or maybe the new Sony Xperia tablet Z when it comes out). It is a joy to use and (hopefully) will last several years. By buying a cheap tab you might save 7-8,000 baht but over time what does that amount to, maybe a few baht a day. Is it worth having a crap product to save 7 baht a day.

[jbrain]

Of course you can, but as an Apple fanboy it makes more impression to say that Android is a second rank operating system.

Talking of dumb, p(j)brain, cut the fanboy rubbish. I try to give an honest opinion to help others make informed choices (from my viewpoint, as I think I made clear) and all you can do is throw the standard childish fanboy snipe. A shame... Do you have anything useful to add to the discussion?

Sorry, but I didn't realise this was YOUR thread.

Apart from that I think I have contributed some useful info to this thread earlier, other then posting things like Android can get their act together and Ainol is only useful as a Photo frame

[Turkleton]

I personally think, the question should be:

Are Cheap Tablet Pcs Worth It?

Over the last 18 months, I bought three of them (5000/6000/8000 Baht)

Only the last one, (an Onda V972) is really halfway usable for e.g. Internet browsing.

The other ones are too slow or poor battery life, or both.

This one is more or less fluid.....(Quad Core CPU)

But, I find web-browsing and everything else very tiring because of the small display.

It's not usable without glasses, even it has a "Retina Display" resolution.

Relatively heavy, so I need a "stand" after a few minutes.

95% of the time, I just tinker around with it.

Flashing/modifying Firmwares, and this and that...

Didn't find any *real* intended purpose, so no "real-life" use.

The 6000 Baht device, an Allwinner A10 (10'' display) is crappy slow and the battery life is about three hours. (In the best case)

But it has an HDMI connector, so I use it as an (expensive) Youtube Videoplayer/Internet-radio in my wife's shop.

Always connected to a charger.

Even HD-Videos playing fine, because the hardware acceleration works good on the GPU (Mali400)

But useless for anything else.

The 5000 Baht device, a "Gpad 8 extreme" is used only as an Ebook-reader on overseas flights.

It has an acceptable battery life and with it's 8" display its not too bulky.

In summary:

IF you see a real purpose in a tablet, buy at least a midrange product.

The cheap ones are just frustrating and annoying.

Buy a 7/8'' device, they will fit easily under most motorbike seats.

The bigger ones are too heavy and cumbersome if you have to hold them.

Tablets are just (nice) toys, but I suspect, most of them ended as a "dust collector" after a few days/weeks.

The Onda was my last tablet. I tend to a bigger (5-5.5") Smartphone

[howto]

^bump

@JimShortz
Whew, I am sure you are not a apple fanboy.
A real fanboy would have written a 700 word dissertation
eschewing the accolades of an apple product.
You only did 609 words...
and slammed the Ainol tablet in the process.
Note, you did not mention the model of the Ainol
which is now a picture frame.

@jbrain
I do revere your posts...
too that end, we just got a Ainol Hero 10.
Only diff from yours is it comes with a
dual core 1.5 Ghz A9 cortex processor.


NOW, whats up...
3 Saturdays ago,
I had 3 kids constantly fighting
to use the Asus i5 laptop.
(This is prior to this thread.)

So back then, I decided to buy Tablets,
rather than more desktops.
I asked the 3 kids...
8 year old girl said YEAH
10 year old boy said OK, reluctantly.
13 year old boy said NO.

So I asked the boys why...
A friend of ours has a IPad.
They played it, and did not like it at all.

Next day, we bought 2 tablets, both
Samsung Galaxy Tab v2 7.0
from JIB for 6K THB each.
Extras, outfitted each with
- 32 GB MicroSim
- OTG adaptor
- 32 GB USB Thumb

WELL, One Week later...
the Asus laptop has not been touched.
5555.
The 13 year old is commadering a tablet when possible.
Regrets he said no, he did not want one.
Tough titty.

Oh yeah, must be sumpting in the water...
The wife, no, all these women here,
are suddenly on a Diet/Exercise bingh.
Wife, nanney, maid,
26 year old anjarn tutor
and the 16 year old girl next door.
It's really weird.

So now it's almost 3 weeks on...
the wife is doing aerobics/palaties at 5:30 am,
from a samtab v2 7 tab.

This is all happening at the same time.

So this TV thread pops up.
I read 'jbrain' comments...
I tell the wife, 'honey, need another tablet 4U',
and tell her 'bout 'the Ainol 10 Hero',
(for her exercise of course).
She likes the idea.
So she jumps on the I'net,
researchs the thai sites,
Seems everybody LUVS it, no neg comments.

So she found a respected on-line dealer,
and ordered one.
For 6K THB (same price as the Sam tab's)
Extras...
Got a protective coating on the screen...
Got a 32GB micro sd
Got a mini USB adaptor.
Don't have a mini HDMI yet.

Wife really luvs it.
So does the 13 year old (and the 10 year old).

Thinking 'bout getting another.

I am really impressed,
for me, thats hard to do (40+ years of tech).

Only thing not tested yet is the micro-HDMI.

So now here at the SOHO, we have
6 desktops
2 laptops
3 tablets (need another)
5 smartphones

Almost everone is happy.

[ThaiLife]

Hope this is not too off topic

Cheap Chinese Tablet PC production Line