got an offer of one of these
www.digimate.com/en/productDetail.asp?prod=726
brand new, loaded with Android 4.2, delivered to my door for 45 quid.
Ok its not top spec, but at 45 quid it was worth a punt as a toy and to get familiar with the Android technology.
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Well it arrived this morning.
Have to say I am deeply impressed in what you get for the money. Ok the camera, at 0.3mps is as bad as the spec suggests, but then a 7inch tablet is such a useless thing to hold it would never get used for that anyway.
Build quality is not bad, its clearly plastic but fit and finish is good and it doesn't creak too much with handling.
The screen resolution looks poor on paper, and clearly not up to retina display levels but its actually quite useable, with pretty wide angle of view, and the touch is good and accurate - speaker tho is pretty poor - make that really poor. It found and connected to my home wifi easily, and has been stable in connection. Its full blown generic Android 4.2, with access to the google play store and I have download the Kindle reader, purchased a book through it (the latest Jack Reacher) and it works admirably at that.
The browser looks good, connected to TV catchup, watched a prog there OK, you tube is OK, just downloaded and installed Iplayer.
Only real major bugbear is that it has a separate charging jack and wont charge through the USB port.
All in all, for 45 quid delivered, its a peach.
(quite like Android too - it may well be my next phone of choice)
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I did much the same about 18 months ago but with a 10inch tablet for £95. Would echo all that you say - but it has been a worthwhile option especially when killing time waiting for the kids somewhere and tethered to my HTC or on holiday via WiFi etc.
Its in no way a replacement but just a useful extra option.
Blimey never expected the Android phone comment !
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Zed - do share where you got it from please?
I can only see one for £99.80
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When I was last in Aria I looked at those tablets and they weren't bad.
My decision to get a 7" Nook and install stock Android 4.3 was a good one for me. It is better than I thought it might be. Not as fast as my 10" Android tablet but not bad. Resolution of the display isn't too bad - it is 1440 x 900, so 243 pixels/inch.... not quite as good as the 468ppi display on my phone.
It's a shame it has a proprietary USB charging cable. It would be impossible to charge if the cable got lost or was stolen so I got a spare one now for £10 with the USB charger plug direct from B&N UK.
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>(quite like Android too - it may well be my next phone of choice)
Halleluja, another fanboi is beginning to see the light ;-)
I have one of the original Nexus 7's and I've just bought Mrs K the 2013 version, both running 4.3.
Mine is used primarily for work where it is probably the ultimate TimeManager/Filofax (remember them?)
The 2013 version is faster and the display (1920 x 1200) and audio are noticeably better, you can see every feather in Angry Birds.
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Nice one Zero.
For those of us who wouldn't get the value out of an eye pad it could be useful as an instant internet access device at home, with more screen than a phone.
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And now it's only £35 too. Zero lost out there :-)
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>> And now it's only £35 too. Zero lost out there :-)
check the postage.........
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Then delivery is a bit expensive and they must be making some money on that.
Shame their super specials can't be collected otherwise I'd offer to get someone one and post it onwards for less.
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and they do the add postage to the price, then add vat to the total trick
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I spotted that too. Still a good price I guess. You'll not get a tablet much cheaper.
It's a shame Aria won't let you get the super special prices by turning up at the warehouse/retail side. I could have saved some money over the years.
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I have an Anroid tablet but got conned a bit with it, its a very basic 7" 1Ghz single Core/1GB RAM affair, its basically Galaxy S1 hardware.
Still I used it a lot on the coach journey, and is brilliant for watching documentaries which I didn't rip from Youtube (honest!).
I am still very much a desktop man though, I have a netbook I use in bed too, but for some reason I always end up using my desktop with its 22" screen and proper keyboard and mouse.
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And this reply is posted using said pad using my iPhone as a personal WiFi hotspot
Testing from somewhere near ivighoe beacon
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>> Testing from somewhere near ivighoe beacon
Something steam running on WCML today Z?
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Bought one of these thinking it would be handy, but it doesn't appear to work. 10 minutes, and still stuttering on the start up picture. I hope they refund my postage.
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The first power up takes a while. The lock screen is confusing, you need to drag the icon of the padlock towards the icon of the unlocked padlock on the ring on the outside.
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Thanks. It did fire up eventually at the fourth go - maybe I didn't wait long enough.
For the first hour of trying to use it, the apps kept closing, especially the browser. It seems to have settled down now. I'm hoping it was just overloaded with downloading its updates rather than actually having a fault.
The calendar synced on signing in to Google which surprised me, as did the email. That didn't happen the other day when I set up a new HTC Desire C for the boss, using 4.0 rather than 4.2.
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my niece she just turned 6 her da bought her a kindle hd, I find it limiting as it has only 16gb and no way to upgrade the memory the best tablet would be if you can upgrade the memory and if it boasts a tegra 3/4 chip then it be a good handy gaming tablet
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My Nook HD came with only 8GB internal storage but I added 32GB via SD card. It's not the fastest but has a good screen. No cameras but that can be a good thing.
Despite the latest Nook variant of Android supporting Google Play (so you could add Amazon Kindle)... mine is reliably running Android 4.3.
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>> My Nook HD came with only 8GB internal storage but I added 32GB via SD
>> card. It's not the fastest but has a good screen. No cameras but that can
>> be a good thing.
>>
>> Despite the latest Nook variant of Android supporting Google Play (so you could add Amazon
>> Kindle)... mine is reliably running Android 4.3.
The 'Digimate' is looking knackered. It got stuck on the startup screen for 10 minutes twice this morning, then I got it going and having crashed its browser a couple of times the system crashed back to the start up screen, where it still is after several attempted restarts. When it does work, it's very slow.
The Nook HD is now down to about £80 so looks a much better bet as a handy browser.
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Yes the Nook HD 7" 8GB is £79 if you can get hold of one. You can get a case for £10. And a spare charger for £10 too. Things it does not have are GPS and cameras. Well I don't use a camera on the other tablet and you can use a Bluetooth GPS receiver (TomTom works fine like that).
Putting Android 4.3 Cyanogenmod on it was easy too. Still have a backup of the Nook's original software - and you'd want to do that to make sure you get the warranty.
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>> The 'Digimate' is looking knackered. It got stuck on the startup screen for 10 minutes
>> twice this morning, then I got it going and having crashed its browser a couple
>> of times the system crashed back to the start up screen, where it still is
>> after several attempted restarts. When it does work, it's very slow.
Well I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Thought you'd be pleased to know mine is working fine. When it arrived I slapped a 4gb tf card I had lying around into it. I am not up enough on Android memory usage to know if this is a factor.
Its not the fastest thing on earth for sure, but not to the stage of being annoyingly so, battery life is short tho, and the charging socket is an annoyance.
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No problem, not your fault.
I suspect the slowness was exacerbated by whatever the problem was, it was extremely laggy.
It's gone back this morning. The refund options were only under the distance selling regs (not eligible as "used"!) and return for repair. I called customer services who said just put in the notes that you want a refund. When I got the return code, the conditions say they can take up to 28 days to check it, will charge me £20 if they find no fault, and at their discretion they will repair or replace, so we'll see what happens. Reminded me why I use Amazon.
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I got a cheap All Winner tablet on ebay a few months ago, abut £35 brand new. It's ok but very slow and I rarely use it. The touch screen is not my thing, I prefer something with a keyboard.
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Son has a acer iconia at the moment, does everything he wants it to for a 11 yr old but now wants something he can put movies and music on so he can watch or listen to on a journey, or when he stays at the grand parents rather than take the laptop.
We are looking at getting him a new one for christmas maybe a nexus 7 or samsung galaxy.
Looking on Amazon they have a lenovo
tinyurl.com/oyjctfk
Question is are their tablets as reliable as their laptops or would one of the other two i mentioned be better?
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>> Son has a acer iconia at the moment, does everything he wants it to for
>> a 11 yr old but now wants something he can put movies and music on
>> so he can watch or listen to on a journey, or when he stays at
>> the grand parents rather than take the laptop.
>> We are looking at getting him a new one for christmas maybe a nexus 7
>> or samsung galaxy.
>> Looking on Amazon they have a lenovo
>> tinyurl.com/oyjctfk
>> Question is are their tablets as reliable as their laptops or would one of the
>> other two i mentioned be better?
The old Nexus 7 was better than the Lenovo in nearly every way, and now of course there is the even better new nexus.
Nearly every way, the Nexus does not have a memory card slot.
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The niece bought a nexus last year and its been reliable. i will go with your knowldege and wisdom and look into the new nexus. I only asked about the lenovo because of the price really thanks.
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>> Another one that looks good value, with good reviews:
>> www.ebuyer.com/521621-hisense-sero-7-pro-32gb-tablet-m470bse
>>
Thanks missed that one when i looked a couple of days ago. Does seem a decent bit of
kit for the money.
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I have a Samsung Tab 10.2 tablet and don't think I would want to go down to the size of a 7 inch.
Do the 7 inch users (steady....) find it ok screen size or is there some sacrifices?
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I'm £14 down after Aria sent me a non-working £35 tablet - they haven't refunded the £10 postage they charged me or the £4 odd it cost me to send it back. When I have time I'll have to email to see if I can get it back.
Buy from them if you would be happy with that :)
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As a counter point, I have had nothing but excellent service from Aria, Which is why I buy from them.
The only thing manatees experience has taught me, is not to recommend anything to anyone.
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I wasn't holding you responsible in any way Z, I have had some very good tips from this forum. You can only speak as you find.
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>> FWIW Tesco have just brought one out, for £120:
>> www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/tablets/3470163/tesco-hudl-hands-on-review/
On display in my local Tesco, and available to buy from 9am on the 30th Sept.
Build quality seems ok from the brief mauling I gave it. Touch screen also seems responsive.
Would I buy one? Not sure. I've spent long enough debating whether I should get an iPad or not. Mind you I could get it for approx £60 if I double up my clubcard vouchers that I haven't spent yet.
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It's a tablet computer. Can someone please explain to me what the point of such a device is? It hasn't got a "proper" keyboard; it's got a small screen, but it's bulkier than a mobile phone. I've got an "unsmart" phone, a digital camera, a PC which I leave at home and a laptop when I travel, if I feel I absolutely must have a computer with me.
SWMBO has a smart phone and I tried using it on holiday to check e-mails. It is an absolute PITA. I cannot get on with the virtual keypad (I don't think my fingers are that fat, actually) and it is a real time-waster.
Explain, somebody, please.
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>> I've got an "unsmart" phone, a digital camera, a
>> PC which I leave at home and a laptop when I travel, if I feel
>> I absolutely must have a computer with me.
>>
I have all that on my smart phone.
Dont need to cart all that crap.
>> SWMBO has a smart phone and I tried using it on holiday to check e-mails.
>> It is an absolute PITA. I cannot get on with the virtual keypad (I don't
>> think my fingers are that fat, actually) and it is a real time-waster.
And I know how to use it.
>> Explain, somebody, please.
There - all explained for you.
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Thank you, my dear chap. I knew you would rise to the... occasion.
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Just joined the PAD generation. - Dog
