Ipad Alternatives

holypockets

Hi everyone,

I was a regular user of this site a while ago (different username) and got loads of great help and tips to get debt free and I have almost done it (from paying out about £1100pm-£1300pm of my £1200pm wage on bills and debts, to less than £500, over the space of about 6 HARD, but totally worthwhile months)

I'd though I'd would just pop back with a few techy tips for anyone interested in decent Android tablets - amazing value.

A few months ago, when I started to free up some cash I decided to treat myself to a tablet PC. I used to have an iPad but sold it to pay bills off, and although I could now afford a new one I wasn't keen. I found the iPad 'magic' but ultimately a bit useless for £400.

I started looking at cheaper alternative android Tablets - but to be honest the prices were not relatively cheaper to warrant such a downgrade in spec.

Then I discovered the Chinese Tablet import market. I'm surprised MSE hasn't cottoned onto this as much as they have the Region 1 DVD market in the UK yet - but the buzz around lots of these tablets is getting louder and as a user of them, its justified.

Most won't recognise many brand names - such as Ployer and Anoil, but I can see them taking off over the next year mainly due to the Price Vs Spec. The latest Anoil 7" almost outspecs the new Google Nexus 7, at half the price (about £95 including delivery if you look hard enough) Thats not to mention the Anoil has an SD slot to expand the memory upto 32g.

The first tablet I picked up was the last Momo8 - at slick 8" running ICS, for about £90 from Amazon. If you've not heard of it, check out the 98% (at the time of writing) 5* reviews. About half the price of a similar spec product bought in a UK highstreet.

Since then I have a YuanDao N90 10.1" - duel core, 1.7 ghz, IPS screen at a higher res than Ipad2, expandable storage, HDMI out - for less than £170 - and I have a Anoil Novo7 2 (7") on the way next month.

All these three will have cost LESS than a new iPad, thats including the cost of extra storage and cases.

The great part however, is the performance. All these run great - the N90 is super smooth running ICS. My biggest worry is that they were 'Chinese knock-offs' but after lots of hands on use, they are anything but.

I think the point of this post - if you have made it this far, is if you're looking for good tablets at low prices - start digging around the sites importing the Chinese models, you can get some top of the range tech for a fraction of the price you pay for mid-range tech here. If anyone else has any other hands on experience with any Chinese tabelets - please let me know, I'm already eyeing up my next purchase. (I know no-one needs 4-5 tablet PC, but the beauty of them being £60-£150 rather than £300-£400 means you can keep upto date with the latest innovations rather than hope you're £400 purchase will still be relevant by the time you can afford another)

Lifeforms

Just as a question, you've spent out around £350 on three tablets trying to follow top specs. Three tablets, you've bought one, then bought another, and are seeking out the 3rd in a few weeks. Why? Are you purely just seeking technology?

The reason I ask is because you buy an iPad and it does last, it's proven to last. People are still using iPad 1 and are fine with it. People still buy iPad 2 (and it's the old model compared to the new iPad now) for only a small difference between 2 and 3.

Can you say your tablets have lasted the length of time an iPad would've? (it seem because you're replacing when something new and shiny comes along, that you're not giving it total use/full life use) which is something that is also MSE like. Not just the cheapest, but the one that will also last a good time.

Not an apple nerdfan, but by that price you've posted on buying all three, you could've bought an iPad for that as well. And no it wont be top notch 6 months down the line, but in 6 months it should be working, and you'll be reasonably confident that it does actually stay supported for a decent time after too (iOS updates)

That is usually the issue with Chinese based tablets. Yes they are cheap, but quite often it's a PITA to actually seek help for warranty issues alone (usually eBay sellers, Amazon market sellers, as opposed to a shop somewhere based in the uk.)

Two pronged fork really. For them to provide reliability (ie last long enough to be considered by the public as good value) and good customer support in the UK, more people need to buy them, but they're put off by the very nature of what they are. Sometimes the adage that if it seems too good to be true, then it generally is too good. <-- trying to get away from that, and believe that actually sometimes something that looks too good to be true, is good too, is very hard for cynical people

All that, and the population who want an iPad typed tablet wouldn't want anything else.
You see the threads on here all the time. "Help, I want an iPad, but can't afford an iPad, what other tablets are like an iPad?" >.<

[Deleted User]

You were in large debt, and you continuously buy new tablets to keep up with technology. Do you not see a connection there?

I've used my ipad2 for over a year now, and I expect another couple of years out of it. By then, i'll have spent £400 on one useful tablet, whilst you might have spent £1000 chasing cheapo Chinese tablets. My ipad will probably also be still running a fairly up to date version of iOS. Good luck upgrading those tablets.