Android-based Tablets

[AFrostyOne]

Any recommendations on budget tablets? Hopefully this thread can become a good support center for all the various models.

Been looking on some android forums and it seems like some models can be made good with some tweaks, but is it worth the work? Turning a chump into a champ, so to speak.

Got a 1st gen iPad not too long ago and really got hooked on the tablet experience. Now want to tried a Droid based tablet, just don't want to drop big bucks on another tablet to replace a net book.

This got me to look at the low priced models that are out there; stuf in the 100 - 150 range.

So, any CAGs have experience with any budget models and would you say it's a fairly easy process. I am a bit hesitant to plunge into a purchase since I'm now a lazy fool when it comes to tweaking electronics. Not sure if it would be a mistake.

 

[DKYang]

IMO, the best chepest android tablet would be the Asus Transformer if you want Honeycomb. Otherwise there is the Nook Color and Gtablet which is cheaper and good if you are willing to root the device. I honestly don't know of any decent Android tablet in the $100-150 price range. I saw that there was a Galaxy Tab (the old one) for 100 refurbished on slickdeals today.

 

[AFrostyOne]

After spending some time on other Android forums, I think I've found a good starter tablet

It will most likely be the Coby Kyros 7015. From the research, it seems to be pretty solid and there's alot of support behind it to root and improve the tablet's performance. Should come out to $140 approx.

Did get distracted by a Sylvania express tablet that is sold at CVS. That one is $99 and I have a 25% off coupon. But the low price isn't enough to offset the issues with it.

As I have an iPad for my main tablet needs, I'll use this as my intro to Android. Plan to customize it as much as possible for improved performance and make my netbook obsolete, without bricking it hopefully

 

[GrilledWitOnions]

I am interested to see what you.come up with and how your cheap tablet handles, so keep us posted. I plan to buy a transformer as soon as I have the money, but am thinking about getting a cheaper tablet to stick directly in my car for navigation, music etc.

 

[Clak]

Most of those cheap tablets have resistive screens, and no way am I touching that. You could probably get a used Galaxy Tab (original one) for pretty cheap soon. Maybe even a new one if some places are trying to dump extras.

 

[AFrostyOne]

So, I had mentioned the 7015 as the tablet I would get and I was ready to place an order last night for one. But I decided to look thru the other Android forum and found out about the new Coby 7022.

Nice thing is the it has a 1 ghz processor, 512 megs, 2.3 OS and a capacitive screen for $179. It's so new that apparently TRU is the only store to get them in at this time. Went down today and grabbed one for 179 ( got a 25 gift card back as part of their fathers day sale).

Only drawback would be that as a new model, there isn't much support out there for it at this time. But it should provide a better experience out of the box.

Next step for me is to do some research and try to get the official google market on it