Decent tablet for under $500?

[MortonH]

I fancy a cheap tablet for astronomy. Something that will run something like SkySafari and also a allow me to carry a collection of ebooks around.

General requirements are:

10" screen or thereabouts
Accepts memory expansion cards
WiFi only
Not a piece of cr@p :lol:

Any suggestions?

[absolut]

Hey Morton!

I'll be heading down the tablet road myself eventually. I'm loving the Samsung Galaxy phones and I've had a play on one of the tablets and it was excellent. Turns out you can get the latest 10" Tab 3 for under $500...
http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/samsung-galaxy-tab-3-101-16gb-wi-fi-white/
Name brands without the Apple logo are still cheap. :thumbsup:

Let me know which way you go! :D

Rob

[glend]

You can run Sky Safari on Android or Apple tablets. The trend seems to be for more 7" tablets in the Android world, and I find that a good size for mounting on the stalk attached to my dob mount.

I'd recommend the fastest processor you can get, and your right there are heaps of Chinese knock offs that are terrible. If you go Android then try to get Android 4.3, as some earlier versions have wifi drop out issues, especially with slow processors.

[MortonH]

Looks like an interesting trade off in my price range will be screen size versus processor speed. I prefer the 10" screen for general use, but under $500 they come with lower-spec processors and often Android 4.1.

Guess I'll need to go play with some in store to see which screen size is best for me. The Galaxy Note 8" might be the go.

[Camelopardalis]

Under $500 gets you the latest iPad mini with retina display and latest processor, foregoing the memory card slot and in the smaller form factor...but it's not a piece of garbage :D

I was in JB the other day and it makes the note 8 look overpriced with its plasticy feel (subjective of course) and low resolution screen. Depends on its target purpose, but the new mini is better future proofed with the combination of hardware and Apple's OS update cycle.

Apple or Android often draws the fanboys/trolls out on both sides...but I've seen nothing from the competition that has made me switch so far.

[04Stefan07]

Any particular features you are after?

- Screen size
- Storage
- Android/iOS

I have a Nexus 7" and it is a great little tablet!

[RobF]

+1 for Nexus 7. Under $300, fast home delivery if you order online, ALWAYS the latest Android, fast. I sometimes thing my next purchase might be a 10", but I've never seen one you can hold in one hand for reading and surfing like you can the Nexus.

Only problem is finding the damn thing - the kids and wife love it too :mad2:

[tlgerdes]

Google is set to release the updated Nexus 10 in about 2-3 weeks as well. Though the existing Nexus 10 isn't bad either.

The main differences I see between the Apple and Android camps, outside of app ecosystems is
1) the ability to get your own content on and off the device. Because Android has an exposed file system, you can plug it into any PC and drag and drop content, to or from the device, without aid or interference of 3rd party applications.
2) the ability share information is significantly better on the Android platform. Sharing is a native function of just about all apps as it is a native exposed API within the OS itself, ie click on any webpage and you are listed with every app that has information sharing capability, like Twitter, FB, printers, LinkedIn, Email, SMS/MMS, Skype, BT, Dropbox, Google+ Google Hangouts, etc etc. whatever you have loaded the exchanges information. Same happens for other information displaying apps.

[glend]

Just be careful about what version of the Nexus 7 that you look at - if your considering that format. The new version (2013) model is preferred as it has the faster processor, later version of Android, longer battery life and much improved display. It's selling at JB Hifi for around $330, the old version is also still on sale for around $280. It's not a bargain as it will require an ANdroid upgrade, and rumours persist of it dropping wifi connections. Remember you want a tablet platform that can hold up the Sky Safari telescope connection for hours without dropouts (which may mean a re-alignment). I have three Android tablets, and only the 2013 Nexus 7 seems to be capable of holding up the telescope connection for hours at a time.

[chrisp9au]

+1 for the Nexus 7.

I have the older Wifi 32gb version, rooted and with CyanogenMod installed.
Runs Sky Safari Plus perfectly; I've removed all other astronomy apps because they just don't measure up.

I also have a 10" Asus Transformer TF101G, older Android tablet, rooted and with the Katkiss Mod installed. Also runs Sky Safari perfectly.
The display is bigger of course, but the 10" tablet is a lot heavier, to the extent that I'm probably going to sell it.

I find I use the Nexus 7 for just about everything these days, and can really recommend it! :thumbsup:
It doesn't have an extension port for SD cards, but I've got stacks of ebooks, music and pictures on it, no problems with drop outs at all.

Chris

[tlgerdes]

Never had a problem with Wi-Fi on my "older" N7. Never had connection drops and I stream movies regularly to it from my media server.

The size of the N7 is great, not too big, not too small.

[MortonH]

After playing about with a few today, the 7" ones seem slightly small to me. The 8" screens seem to be a sweet spot for screen real estate and ease of use.

Now to decide on Android or iOS. I have Macs for my desktop and laptop but Android on my phone, so either one will be fine.

[04Stefan07]

+1. Never had a problem either.

[Steffen]

A lot (all?) of the 7" tablets also have an unfortunate screen aspect ratio, which makes the screen even smaller than it sounds, especially for apps like Sky Safari.

Me? I'd get the new retina iPad mini when it comes out later this month, that's a no-brainer. Actually, I'd take the iPad Air, but that would blow the $500 budget cap.

Cheers
Steffen.

[MortonH]

Yep, the Retina mini is very tempting...

[Camelopardalis]

If you're a Mac user, you already know what you want :D

[MortonH]

Maybe. I'm happy with my Android phone, although I chose it simply because they're available on cheaper contracts than iPhones (I'm a light user so don't need a big plan).

But any tablet I get will be WiFi only, so I guess it's all about the functionality.

I did like the feel of the iPad mini in the store this arvo. Can I hold out until the Retina model is available...? :P

[tlgerdes]

I'm curious about this unfortunate screen aspect ratio you talk about, wide-screen movies and TV fit perfectly without black bars top and bottom :P

[Camelopardalis]

It's unfortunate for reading books and web browsing, too wide or too narrow, pick your poison :P

[Steffen]

TV productions, yes. Wide-screen movies not, unless they've been cropped to fit the TV format (most movies thankfully haven't). CinemaScope and Panavision are a lot wider than 16:9. If they show on your device without black bars then your device is cropping the content.

Even with wider black bars an iPad mini will show a larger movie picture than a Nexus 7.

Cheers
Steffen.

[MortonH]

and using an astronomy app like SkySafari you want as much height as possible in the display. I don't like all the new laptops with 16:9 displays for that reason. Same goes for viewing and editing photos.

[skysurfer]

The problem is that most modern devices have the narrow 16:9 ratio.
Sometimes 16:10 such as the Galaxy Tab 3 8.
And otherwise an iPad Air ($480, a decent 4:3 ratio) is an option but you have to live with the limitations of iOS (no shared folder, no USB or external SD card connect).

[MortonH]

What do you mean by "no shared folder"?

[skysurfer]

Under Android (and OSes like OSX, Windows, Ubuntu) any app can store files under a 'shared folder' such as '/sdcard'. iOS can only store files in their own space so when one opens an file with another app, e.g. a PDF attachement to an email, the file is copied to the space of the other app which consumes extra space.
For that reason it is also impossible to upload files from a web browser.

[MortonH]

Thanks for the explanation.

[04Stefan07]

That's one of the reasons why I chose android over iOS for a tablet. iOS has too many restrictions (which is basically what Apple is all about) whereas android you can go crazy!

Two companies with two different philosophies.

[andrew2008]

I am an Android phone user, Windows PC user and ipad tablet owner.

Basic 16GB ipad is under $500 now and is hard to beat.

[Camelopardalis]

iOS = walled garden, Android = share everything

Security vs convenience is always a challenge in corporate IT. Apple believes in security through lock-down, apps can only share what they allow them to share and don't have any shared space where any potentially "risky" data can be kept that could taint other apps or the OS itself. It's the traditional UNIX way. Apple's approach to the shared folder is sticking it in their iCloud service. Does the same thing and it works really well.

But I also think it's partly a generational thing...Apple's paranoia about secrecy and privacy is very middle-aged, whereas giving up all your personal data and information to the advertising overlord and/or FB is much more a youngster approach. Maybe it's just my random sample of the people I know, but I know more people (obviously, middle aged or thereabouts!) who don't want their whole life out there for all to see, they don't want their emails trawled to provide better banner ads, they just want to get on with their lives with the minimal amount of fuss and hassle. Philosophical indeed.

[04Stefan07]

I can relate to that!

iOS phone, Windows phone, Android tablet, Windows PC, Mac Laptop.

[rogerco]

Don't be too put off by the lack of a shared folder. I have used an iPad for business for a number of years now and have never come across a situation which it was a problem. You have an "Open in" option for email attachments that will allow you to transfer data from email "in most cases". You also have a clipboard that will get data from one place to another.

The big issue with iPads is the lack of a USB port that can accept a lot of devices, the difficulty in printing directly to a non Apple network. I have the iPad 2 and with it and the older iPads you have to get the 3G option as the GPS is in the 3G chip, I think they might have changed that with the new iPads.

No experience with the Android tablets but even with someone elses money in my pocket I couldn't bring myself to fork out the money for the Microsoft offerings.

[Astro_Bot]

Maybe it's the way I read that, or maybe there's punctuation missing that'd change the meaning, but, just to set things straight ...

Android is released by Google - it's loosely based on Linux. It has nothing to do with Microsoft.

[OICURMT]

I suspect you have another issue... I have the 2012 N7 (Wifi, 3/4G) and have never had any problems with Wifi dropout (rooted or non-rooted). I also run multiple APs in the house and it transfers seemlessly between them (Cisco/Linksys main router with two Dlink APs).

The 2012 version with "G" was $348. Don't know what the 2013 goes for, but it can't be much off of that.

[rogerco]

Sorry AStro, I shouldn't have put two ideas in the one sentence. I know Android is Linux based and nothing to do with Microsoft. The comment about Microsoft was purely for their lower priced Tablet "Surface" which has Win 8 as an operating system. I don't care what they say, it still isn't a touch screen operating system. The one thing it has going for it is compatibility with other things MS and a USB port. But as someone else has commented it has that long format which makes it seem like it has less real estate space.

I am not averse to the Android platform (I have used Linux on desktops) I just haven't tried one yet. The iPad I love and would be lost without it, I have been around since punched cards and this is the first development to really excite me in a long time. General microcomputers have become a bid "Ho Hum" while I find the way the tablet changes the way you blend a computer - communication device into your life exciting. As they say the iPad "Just works". :thumbsup:

[Astro_Bot]

No worries, I'm just being a bit pedantic today. :)

---------

Though I have no plans to buy a tablet, if I did, it'd be an iPad, not because I like Apple products (I don't own any) but because I prefer the iPad achitecture and ecosystem over that of Android tablets.

[issdaol]

Hi Morton,

Specific to your point on having a tablet to use SkySafari I have used the Ipad Version since its first release. On the first gen Ipad, Ipad 3 retina and now Ipad Air. Both the iPad and the software are very stable and the iPad retina screen is very easy to view. Plus you can use the wifi connection or the iPad serial cable converter.

I would not be too worried about getting other information on or off as it is very easily archived via the memory card reader converter or wifi sharing apps or iCloud.

I don't have ay specific allegiance to Apple but it just works without too much hassle and very reliably in my experience.

Cheers

[Camelopardalis]

On the subject of Sky Safari, apparently it won't be a free upgrade from v3 to v4, so hold off just a little longer as v4 is due out soon...

[MortonH]

Thanks for all the useful info so far.

As is so often the case with me, I get excited about buying a gadget for a few days then I put my sensible head on and start questioning whether I actually need it!

I am only considering a WiFi model since I'm happy with my phone for checking emails, etc when on the go, and I'm not someone who updates Facebook every 5 minutes (more like twice a year). Therefore if I'm away from home it's likely to be in offline mode much of the time.

So I can see it would be useful to have SkySafari, etc with me in the field instead of books, and I can also imagine starting to read ebooks generally, but what else might I use it for to justify the expense? Or put another way - I can justify around $350 for casual use, which gets me a Galaxy Tab 10, or the new Galaxy Note 8, but I couldn't justify $600 for the new iPad Air unless I was going to make real use of it.

[Camelopardalis]

Educational tool for your youngster? :) maybe the mini is a middle ground here, on price and hand-holdability :D

[MortonH]

Unfortunately my wife already has an iPad 2 and my daughter has her own LeapPad tablet, so the educational argument is out the window!

It's more likely that my wife will end up with a new iPad and I'll get her old one. :rolleyes:

[Camelopardalis]

You don't need the retina display to enjoy Sky Safari... can't imagine it'd make much difference in the dark ;)

[04Stefan07]

Do you know which one you are leaning more towards?

[MortonH]

Possibly a refurbished iPad 4th gen (9.7" Retina and A6 chip)

[Brettstar6754]

Can I just ask which tablet is best for GPS mapping.
For 4wd in remote meteorite strewn fields. Hema compatible or oz exp.

[MortonH]

Resurrecting this thread...

Haven't bought anything yet as I'm debating the compromises involved in every available option. Big dilemma over screen size. 7" definitely too small for me. 8" perfect for portability but 10" would be better in many cases (magazines, etc).

I've been considering one of the Asus Transformer Pads with Android. There are some reasonably cheap refurbished models, and I like the idea of the keyboard dock, but the tablet itself is on the heavy side (similar to iPad 3 & 4).

Another strong contender is the Sony Xperia Z 10.1. I like the water resistance since I wouldn't have to worry about dew if I used it in the field. If it drops in price after Christmas it might be hard to resist.

However, despite the variety of Android offerings, I keep coming back to the iPad Air. But $699 for the 32GB model is a bit steep.

Maybe I need to wait until the Air starts appearing in the refurbished section of the store. Patience not one of my virtues though...

[Wavytone]

Morton there are quite a few places online still offering iPad3 under $500, depending a bit on which model you want (wifi or 3G, and storage).

Were still using iPads 2 and 3 at home, no reason to update. But if buying new, yes I think an iPad Air is top of the pile.

[dannat]

Have had all three OS, here are some thoughts:
8" is the size for me, 7 too small & 10 too big
Android needs good hardware to run fast/well, others require less
Windows store is rubbish, Apple the best , android reasonable

I now have a full win8 tab, the RT are to be avoided.
It has a micro to USB adapter, can install any windows program - windows 8 for me runs fairly well, I can't complain about it.
The touch interface isn't as nice as IOS (for eg I have a problem zooming on stellarium-means I have to call up full screen keyboard )

Apple for me have gone away from there roots-constant updates, large downloads (iTunes used to be 50-70mb, now +200)
Apple used to just work, increasingly I am frustrated by it-windows 8 seems good, and windows 8phone is quite good.

Android often needs a custom install to get rid of company bloated-Samsung are bad but they all do it-the generic ones can be underpowered as android can be thirsty for a decent engine under the hood-the free play store apps are a big plus (eg data free navigation apps)

[MortonH]

Yeah, a few weeks back there was 4th gen refurb on the Apple store for $449, 16GB wifi only. Presumably the 32GB wifi model would be around $500 so I'm keeping an eye out.

[AG Hybrid]

What about the Nexus 10? Did anyone mention the Nexus 10? Can I mention the Nexus 10? OK, I'll mention the Nexus 10.
Check out the Nexus 10.






Nexus.





10.

[absolut]

I'm with Adrian... :D

Plus...

http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/google-nexus-10-16gb-wi-fi-android-tablet/
$399 Nexus 10 right now... :thumbsup:

If I hadn't just had my pc's video card die this weekend, I'd be ordering one of those right now!!... That and I'm waiting for the orion/starseek android version to be finished... :confused2:

Pre Christmas or post new year sales will be your best bet for new hardware Morton.

Happy shopping! :D

[MortonH]

Unfortunately that Kogan deal*for the Nexus 10 is the 16GB model and they don't take expansion cards. the 32GB model was only $429 but is sold out :-(

[Camelopardalis]

JB claim to have the 16gb for $448.... but it's the weight of an old iPhone heavier than Air :lol:

[killswitch]

I bought one of these (http://www.meenova.com/st/p/m3r.html) to solve my storage issue with the nexus 7. Its cheap and tiny, not much bigger than the microSD you put in it.

[MortonH]

What a cool accessory. Thanks.

[absolut]

Update: Kogan has the Nexus 10 (16GB) for $329 with free delivery...

[Camelopardalis]

Deleted by me.

[MortonH]

No scope control required for me. I'm alt-az and push-to.

[MortonH]

Tempting, but will wait till all the sales kick off. :D

[04Stefan07]

Surface RT 32GB is down to $223 again at JB.

[AG Hybrid]

That's because its a Microsoft Surface.

[MortonH]

Ended up buying a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1" as my money was running low. Got it for $290 at Bing Lee and added a 32GB card for extra capacity.

It's a bit underpowered (only dual core) but fine for what I need. Works well for e-mags and books so I'll taking it on my forthcoming work trip to India. Stellarium looks very nice on it too.

[04Stefan07]

I purchased one. It's actually a pretty decent tablet for what I use it for. Plus I can access my home storage hard drive on the network and runs perfectly.

For this price it's a steal!

[04Stefan07]

Nice! Not bad tablets at all, I have had a play around with it and it's decent.

[AG Hybrid]

Got my mother one of those. Only it was version 2 not 3. She loves it. Its a lot of tablet for an inexpensive price.

[MortonH]

After spending two weeks overseas for work, I can't imagine life without a tablet now! I took it almost everywhere. I love reading magazines on it - definitely glad I went for a 10" screen. And it's great to be able to buy mags online whenever you feel like it.

Not so sure about reading books on it. For long reading sessions I still prefer the dead tree version at the moment.

Haven't used it for astro in the field yet, but playing with Stellarium seems promising.

[mbaddah]

Another great tablet for under $500 is the Toshiba Encore. It's an 8" tablet which runs FULL version of Windows 8.1 :)

[Glenhuon]

Had a look at a few tablets, mostly ones that are brought to me by owners who want it repaired. That's what makes me avoid them, if they play up/die, they are uneconomic to repair most times. Much rather stick to me little laptop, at least I can take it apart and fix it if required. Chucking a $400 purchase in the bin goes against me little Scots heart. :)
I use an Acer Aspire One for astronomy, has Win7 installed, runs anything I want to throw at it, gives me 4 hours+ running on battery, and is no bigger than a 10" tablet, with the added advantage of a real keyboard.
Might end up with a tablet eventually, but, "Not today" :)

[MrB]

Like you I have a netbook for field-astro use, the 10" HP Pavilion dm-1.
It's a couple of years old now but still kicking strong. Has Win7 Home Premium, three USB ports, 8Gig of Ram and a half decent CPU(AMD E-450, not an Atom!).
It's almost a real laptop in mini-form, without the pricetag and short battery life of an ultrabook.
I can run Cartes du Ciel, ASCOM platform, PHD guiding and APT(Astrophotography Tool) all at the same time, and also surf the net while its all running.
I get about 8 hours from the battery with management.
All that for about $400, one of the best purchases I've ever made.

BUT... I still really like the idea of having a 'pocket sized'(ha!) tablet for flicking thru the backlog of astro mags I have, and for the multitude of android apps available.
Been looking at the new Nexus 7 for quite a while but just haven't been able to commit due to the screen size. If it was 8" I'd be sold.

[Glenhuon]

Mine cost me less than $100. Got it from a lady here after the screen went Psycadelic while still under warranty, the shop wouldn't fix it and gave her a voucher for another instead. I swapped her for a couple of bags of rock crystals I had lying about. $70 for a screen, 10 min replacement job. Works great :)

[MrB]

Typing this post on my new Nexus7 that I got today.
Just charged it up and got the Google account info sorted.
Must say I'm pretty happy with it so far, tho I do have to get rid of the `tick` sound when typing!

Edit: By the way, got it for $284 at Good Guys, about $50 cheaper than the other stockists I checked.
Sale ends on the 27th apparently.

[04Stefan07]

First gen Surface Pro 128GB are cheap now!

Use one for work and is fantastic. Full Windows 8 and is bloody fast.

http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers/tablet/microsoft/surface-pro-128gb-with-windows-8-sku-355585/

Need to stretch the budget another $200 but well worth it.