tongue_of_colicab
Veteran
I've been looking at getting a tablet for a while now but I'm shocked that even today it seems impossible to buy a tablet that doesn't have one or two major downsides.
Basically I'm looking for something around 8 inches that I can use when traveling or for some light browsing at home. I won't use it for anything demanding, only movies, browsing and maybe some simple games.
I've been looking at tablets costing around 400 euro's. For that kind of money I expect a decent soc, screen and build quality. My three year old HTC One M7 still checks all those boxes and that was something like 500 euros when it came out so I was under the impression 400 euro's should get me something decent.
It seems not.
I started out looking at Windows tablets because I already have a Android phone so I really wanted to try something else. Another major plus for me is support for files over 4gb.
Well, looking at Windows tablets around 400 euro's that came with some kind of physical video out (like to be able to hook it up easily at hotels) you really only have two choices.
- HP pro tablet 408 G1
- Lenovo Thinkpad 8
The HP comes with a crappy low res screen that isn't usable in direct sunlight and the Lenovo comes with a crappy HD screen that isn't usable outside. On videos the Lenovo also looks like it has the same build quality as a cheap laptop rather than the pretty good finish you get on Android devices in this price class.
So the only decent Windows tablets you can buy is MS's Surface line but than you're looking at spending at least 600 euro's and there is no 8 inch version.
In other words, Windows tablets are a no go.
That leaves you with Android. Okay, fair enough. Except I don't think any Android device will accept files over 4gb on the sd card which makes the whole thing useless because I'm sure as hell not going to bother with converting media.
Other than that there are some nice devices. Got a look at the Galaxy tab S2 at the airport the other day and though I'm not a big fan of Samsung this one looked pretty decent. Too bad about the 4:3 screen though, won't be very good for watching movies on long flights. Though probably still better than those crappy airplane screens.
I did watch some videos on my girlfriends iSomething and 16:9 content is doable. Looked at the Z3 tablet compact as well, the design is neat and the waterproofing is a nice bonus (even though Sony is no claiming their waterproof rating doesn't mean their devices are actually water proof lol...) though I'm not sure if Sony is any good when it comes to software updates. XDA seems pretty dead as far as custom roms go.
Long story short: Why can't Windows tablet manufacturers make tablets with decent screens and why don't Android tablets have support for files over 4gb? It's 2015 for Christs sake.
Basically I'm looking for something around 8 inches that I can use when traveling or for some light browsing at home. I won't use it for anything demanding, only movies, browsing and maybe some simple games.
I've been looking at tablets costing around 400 euro's. For that kind of money I expect a decent soc, screen and build quality. My three year old HTC One M7 still checks all those boxes and that was something like 500 euros when it came out so I was under the impression 400 euro's should get me something decent.
It seems not.
I started out looking at Windows tablets because I already have a Android phone so I really wanted to try something else. Another major plus for me is support for files over 4gb.
Well, looking at Windows tablets around 400 euro's that came with some kind of physical video out (like to be able to hook it up easily at hotels) you really only have two choices.
- HP pro tablet 408 G1
- Lenovo Thinkpad 8
The HP comes with a crappy low res screen that isn't usable in direct sunlight and the Lenovo comes with a crappy HD screen that isn't usable outside. On videos the Lenovo also looks like it has the same build quality as a cheap laptop rather than the pretty good finish you get on Android devices in this price class.
So the only decent Windows tablets you can buy is MS's Surface line but than you're looking at spending at least 600 euro's and there is no 8 inch version.
In other words, Windows tablets are a no go.
That leaves you with Android. Okay, fair enough. Except I don't think any Android device will accept files over 4gb on the sd card which makes the whole thing useless because I'm sure as hell not going to bother with converting media.
Other than that there are some nice devices. Got a look at the Galaxy tab S2 at the airport the other day and though I'm not a big fan of Samsung this one looked pretty decent. Too bad about the 4:3 screen though, won't be very good for watching movies on long flights. Though probably still better than those crappy airplane screens.
I did watch some videos on my girlfriends iSomething and 16:9 content is doable. Looked at the Z3 tablet compact as well, the design is neat and the waterproofing is a nice bonus (even though Sony is no claiming their waterproof rating doesn't mean their devices are actually water proof lol...) though I'm not sure if Sony is any good when it comes to software updates. XDA seems pretty dead as far as custom roms go.
Long story short: Why can't Windows tablet manufacturers make tablets with decent screens and why don't Android tablets have support for files over 4gb? It's 2015 for Christs sake.
No I won't buy a fucking iPad.
