Acer Aspire One v Samsung Galaxy 16GB WIFI 7" Tablet

Steve_xx
Steve_xx Posts: 6,979 Forumite
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edited 23 August 2012 at 11:15AM in Techie Stuff
Tesco are doing a Samsung Galaxy 16GB WIFI 7" Tablet for £199.It might be good value?

I'd like to buy one of these tablets to replace my Acer Aspire One notebook. Two reasons for doing so are that the battery life on the notebook is poor, about 40 minutes and it has a really old version of Linux on it and it wont allow me to update to a newer version of Mozilla and some web pages no longer display correctly.

If I buy one of these tablets I'd like to be able to upgrade it's operating system and be able to choose which browser I want, and be able to upgrade that too. Is it possible to update these tablets in this way?
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  • penrhyn
    penrhyn Posts: 15,215 Forumite
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    The Asus/Google Nexus 7 is the same price and runs Jelly bean.
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  • Steve_xx
    Steve_xx Posts: 6,979 Forumite
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    penrhyn wrote: »
    The Asus/Google Nexus 7 is the same price and runs Jelly bean.
    Yes I just noticed the Nexus. What is the significance of Jellybean?
  • Cisco001
    Cisco001 Posts: 4,126 Forumite
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    Nexus 7
    Or Acer A110 releasing next month
  • flashg67
    flashg67 Posts: 4,118 Forumite
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    Jellybean is a later version of Android. You are unlikely to be able to change the operating system further without some knowledge/risk/possibly voiding the warranty. Unless the manufacturer supports further updates, at some point, like everything, it will become outdated.

    However, there is a good choice of browsers available in addition to the standard browser - eg Firefox & Opera - have a look on Google Play for some examples.
  • epz_2
    epz_2 Posts: 1,859 Forumite
    jelly bean is meant to be faster, also the nexus 7 has a better CPU.

    The BIG downside is you are limited to the on-board storage, nowadays you can get a 64gb micro-sd for 50 quid so if you want to watch a lot of movies or keep a big music/games collection then its not a good choice.
  • Steve_xx
    Steve_xx Posts: 6,979 Forumite
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    flashg67 wrote: »
    Jellybean is a later version of Android. You are unlikely to be able to change the operating system further without some knowledge/risk/possibly voiding the warranty. Unless the manufacturer supports further updates, at some point, like everything, it will become outdated.

    However, there is a good choice of browsers available in addition to the standard browser - eg Firefox & Opera - have a look on Google Play for some examples.
    I see what you mean. I was trying to guard against obsolescence for as long as possible. I don't mind if the OS has an upgrade path allowed. My current Aspire One notebook constantly tells me the OS is up to date, but that's solely due to the fact that whoever penned the orginal version hasn't updated it and some web pages don't display correctly. Also it wont allow an update/change of browser.
  • Steve_xx
    Steve_xx Posts: 6,979 Forumite
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    epz wrote: »
    jelly bean is meant to be faster, also the nexus 7 has a better CPU.

    The BIG downside is you are limited to the on-board storage, nowadays you can get a 64gb micro-sd for 50 quid so if you want to watch a lot of movies or keep a big music/games collection then its not a good choice.
    Ok I understand what you mean. I don't use games at all, and I'm not wanting to store masses of information either. My main use is to take it with me when holidaying so that I can read email, plan things to do while I'm away etc. I like to be able to be in the internet when I'm abroad, and that's basically my requirement. So I'm interested in long battery life between charges and perhaps the ability to have Skype.
  • Steve_xx wrote: »
    If I buy one of these tablets I'd like to be able to upgrade it's operating system and be able to choose which browser I want, and be able to upgrade that too. Is it possible to update these tablets in this way?

    You can get OS upgrades for specific devices from the Samsung website. I don't know what upgrades are available for that tablet, but I recently upgraded my Galaxy Note to Ice Cream Sandwich with a minimum of faff.
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  • Steve_xx
    Steve_xx Posts: 6,979 Forumite
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    You can get OS upgrades for specific devices from the Samsung website. I don't know what upgrades are available for that tablet, but I recently upgraded my Galaxy Note to Ice Cream Sandwich with a minimum of faff.
    That's the kind of thing I'm looking to be able to do. With my current Acer Aspire One it runs whatever it was shipped with and it seems that there's no updates available and consequently, some web ages no longer display correctly and try as I might, I cannot get it to instal a different browser than the Firefox version it was shipped with.
  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    Steve_xx wrote: »
    That's the kind of thing I'm looking to be able to do. With my current Acer Aspire One it runs whatever it was shipped with and it seems that there's no updates available and consequently, some web ages no longer display correctly and try as I might, I cannot get it to instal a different browser than the Firefox version it was shipped with.

    What is the full model number of your ACER?
    It is currently running Linpus Lite, but there is no impediment to installing Ubuntu or similar or even Windows XP, dependent on the specific model.
    Very easily done.
    I still use my Aspire One ZG5 for travel and to that end have purchased an extended battery.

    It comes with a poor 2200 mAh battery, which goes some way to explaining the poor battery life.
    A 6 cell battery should give you perhaps 3 hours or more.
    Example here. Black, blue and white available.
    A six cell battery will look like this:
    aspire_one_6_cell_battery.jpg
    or this:
    acer-aspire-one-a150.jpg
    Still looks good.

    If you need five hours, there is this option for under £30.
    9/12 cell looks like this:
    9cell-acer-aspire-one-battery-2.jpg
    Chunky, but functional. :)
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