Resistive touchscreens can be good - looked at 4 android tablets today

RussJK

Whenever I see a budget android tablet discussed on a forum, one of the most common responses someone will give is "resistive screen, yuck" or "resistive screen, avoid" etc with a recommendation of getting a capacitive screen. Is it really true that a resistive screen is automatically bad? Apparently not, as I discovered today.

Basically I wanted to try out some android tablets in person, as the main thing that matters in getting a tablet is how usable it is. I was able to try out some models of tablets and Maplins and Currys:


1. CnM Touchpad II (£130 in store Maplins) 7" resistive

This was the first I tried out, and despite the resistive screen I found it VERY responsive. There was minimal pressure needed to do anything - I mean I was just tapping the screen gently and it responded quite quickly. Typing was quite easy - just tapping on a text box would quickly bring up a little type writer, and it was hassle free to type. The screen quality looked fine, nothing amazing, the apps were basic but you could do all the main things (browse, video, audio, books, email, chat). It could do 720p video output, but we couldn't figure out how to get anything off the USB drive I'd brought in order to test it out. The salesperson suggested it might need 2.2 android instead of 2.1; the USB port may have been a slave port instead of host. Still, the menus and apps were very speedy to load. I was very surprised at how easy the touch screen was to use, as I've previously used an iPad. The device had a little rubber knobbly thing that you could also control the menu with, but I used it only briefly before just using the excellent touch system. It wasn't a display model, and was pulled out of the box, so the touch presumably hadn't been calibrated. I don't remember if it allowed multitouch or not (which yes, is possible on resistive).


2. Storage Options Scroll tablet (£130 in store Maplins) 7" resistive

Now this is the older generation resistive, and yes it really was 'yuck' in terms of the touch screen. Not terrible and it worked, but you had to press down hard for the touch to register. That's not necessarily a dealkiller for someone on a budget. While we were trying to get some movies off the USB drive I brought, I ended up using the soft end of a pen as a makeshift stylus, as the small buttons in some parts made it more of a hassle to quickly get things done. Since they were the same price, you'd probably get the CnM model to be honest (cheaper online) - or if on a really tight budget, there is a B-graded item cheaper on Maplins. Ebuyer are selling the 2nd gen version of this tablet as well, which can do 1080p video, and probably has a much better resistive screen and all round better. The display model of the 1st gen Scroll kept giving some android errors every few minutes, which was hardly inspiring.


3. Advent Vega (£249) 10" multi-touch capacitive

Very nice to use, and very speedy. Primarily I want something for videos, and web browsing, and this does both quite well. The camera was pretty poor tbh, but still Skype is possible. The screen seems a good size for using at home (a 7" screen imo seems more useful for trips or work). The screen was decent quality, and videos looked great and very smooth. The screen seemed to attract fingerprints. Text quality wasn't perfect, but I'm spoiled by having a high resolution netbook (12" @ 1366x768 res). I'd find it handy to put 1080p onto the tv, and the battery life is rated 6.5hrs for 1080p video. The touch was very responsive, and took me awhile to get used to as any accidental brushing would lead to something being pressed - I'm used to only purposeful presses being registered. I have a feeling the price will come down this month or the next, with all the new Android 3.0 tablets set to be released this month.


4. Samsung Galaxy tablet (£450) 7" multitouch capacitive AMOLED

This was much smaller than I was expecting in person (despite having just seen two 7" tablets), but the screen was WOW. Beautiful quality screen, I couldn't get over how great the screen was - it wasn't bothered at all by being in harsh lighting. It looked like when they stick a picture on top of screens that you know are a lot better quality than what the screen is capable of - yet it was the screen itself. I didn't give it much of a go as by this time I realised I would rather something 8" or greater - and if I wanted a tablet to bring with me to work, I'd sooner just get a smartphone. The price tag is well out of what I can justify to myself (but well done to everyone who got one from HMV for £250!). Also the connectivity wasn't what I was after. But seriously - it was an excellent screen.


If you are looking for a less expensive tablet and some uninformed person tries to put you off because of a resistive screen, then the best thing is just to try it out yourself in a shop - as the resistive touchscreen technology has gotten much better. I hope anyone reading gets something useful out of this. Budget androids aren't necessarily useless, and resistive screens aren't necessarily difficult or frustrating to use.