discussion Looking for cheap 10" tablet

[Nodscene]

I've been looking for an inexpensive 10" tablet just for watching movies and playing Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and Raid Shadow Legends...neither of which are demanding games I don't think.

I just got an offer from Fido for a Huawei MediaPad T5 but was disappointed in the specs. It was Android 7 and only supported Wifi G. It has 2gb of ram and 16gb of memory which may be standard but seems low for a $300 unit. Especially when I see the cheap ones for half the price like this

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B07VWJ5R2G/ref=sspa_mw_detail_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&th=1

I understand it's missing HDMI compatibility, probably has a poor screen and lacking in graphics capabilities....also, it doesn't support Chromecast which would be a nice feature but not a deal breaker.

I have to travel every month or two so it would be nice to have a tablet to watch movies on so a decent screen would be nice. I noticed on another device that it had Atmos or some other 7.1 audio enhancement which would be nice since I'd be using my V-Moda M100 headphones.

So besides a nice screen, Android Oreo min, surround audio, and n wifi support (well it must be 10" as well or I'd just use my LG V20 phone...I don't think an 8" tab will be worth it).

I have a feeling ill be stuck buying a super expensive tab even though I only need a few specific things. Maybe there is a free or cheap audio app that will take care of the surround part.

Ideally I'd like to stay around $200 max. I don't think I'd be able to get a name brand for that amount but I'm ok with the cheap Chinese versions as long as they can do what I want. I'd even consider something used (Kijiji Toronto) if that's my only option.

Thanks for your time and help, it will really make a difference as I'm essentially bedridden now due to spinal issues.... which is why I have to go to Toronto so regularly and need something that will help pass the time.

David.

 

[Marzipan]

you probably would do better looking for a good used tablet or perhaps grab an Amazon Fire Tablet 10?

https://www.amazon.ca/Fire-Tablet-1080p-Display-Black/dp/B07G3WWRQQ

 

[JD]

The Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus is probably close to what you want, except for price and Oreo. And something like the Huawei M5 or M6 probably ticks all your boxes, but you'd have to order it from China and it's also outside your budget too. The Xiaomi MiPad 3/4 would be possibilities too, but again, China order and they are only 8", but closer to 4:3.

I wouldn't expect the "no-name" brands to be very durable or reliable. The Amazon FireHD is probably all that will fit your $200 budget from a known brand, but it's lacking in a lot of places.

And a 7-8" tablet is still a big step up from a phone IMO. It might not seem like much, but it makes it a lot easier to read things on. I keep a Lenovo Tab 3 8 Plus in my living room to use for looking things up and casting.

 

[Nodscene]

Thanks for the replies.

My problem is that I know zero about tablets..except the OS. Only reason I don't want Android 7 is that its old and will probably be an issue at some point when trying to play games or whatever.

I've looked at the Fire tablets and they'd probably do what I'd want but I don't know how much of a problem it is side loading the Play store and if it would support all the programs.

I don't mind if I have to order from China and wait a month for it to come in if it's worth it.

As for the reliability of the cheap ones, I don't care too much as long as it does what I want because it's not going to get used a lot. At most 6hrs every 2 months. There was one I was going to buy but the manufacturer said it doesn't support 3D games (referencing the Final Fantasy game which I don't even thing is 3D) so I skipped that. The problem lies in knowing which GPU will handle which games.

Like I mentioned, aside from 10", movies and audio are priority, then games. Even then I might just use the phone for games since a 10" tablet might make playing games awkward...I don't know as I've never tried.

I might be able to stretch it to $250 if it helps that much. And as for used...I wouldn't even know what to look for. I tried once but even the Samsung's looked to very expensive for what you get and are on Android 7 or even as low as 5. But then again, what do I know.

 

[JD]

Both those games run in portrait on your phone by the screenshots? I think they'll be a bit unwieldy to play on a 10" tablet personally.

 

[Nodscene]

One is portrait and one is landscape but either way I'm thinking they may be unwieldy. In a way that could be a good thing so that limits my requirements to a 10" tablet for watching movies and I may get by with just Android 7. Now if I can find some software to emulate surround sound that isn't too costly then there is another requirement down.

For some reason I've been turned off by the Fire tablets, in the end they may be the best choice for me.

Does anyone know how their screens are, what to look for in a screen (if that info is provided), who makes the best screens, and are they one of the most expensive parts of a tablet which would mean the cheap Chinese ones would chop those first to reduce price?

Looks like we are making some good progress here.... thanks and please continue to share your knowledge as it's really helping.

 

[JD]

My main issue with the Fire HD is that it's a 2017 model. It's CPU is obviously going to show its age.

Might be worth waiting for a sale on a Galaxy Tab A (2019), currently its $299, but perhaps it will come down closer to $250 for Black Friday/Boxing Day.

This is intriguing, in that maybe having the Alexa-enabled dock setup you might use it more often: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1462476-REG/lenovo_za480122us_10_1_smart_tab_m10.html, though after conversion it's getting close to $300 too.

I don't think any tablet manufacturer really offers details on the screen used. At best you might see IPS or AMOLED advertised, but you won't really know until it's in your hands. The one you linked originally, I would imagine is the cheapest screen they could find, and it's using a MediaTek processor which generally are not the best performing. I aim to buy devices with Snapdragon processors as they are usually well supported by apps and perform well.

 

[Izerous]

About android versions....

Distribution dashboard | Platform | Android Developers

An overview of device characteristics that are active in the Android ecosystem.

developer.android.com

Realistically
API 16+ (4.1.X) is ideally what a developer wants to target to ensure a 99.4% coverage of users
API 21+ (5.0+) drops an app to 92.2% covereage that is a lot of potential users someone is alienating but unfortunatly this is almost manditory anymore due to faults in function handling (65k limit) and MultiDex support doesn't always work correctly in 16 -> 20 depending on what the app is written in.
API 23 (6+) setting this as minimum support is already alienating 25% of users dropping coverage to ~25%.

I have watched these numbers for years since it effects how much effort I should put into trying to support API versions. It literally took years for API 8 to drop off the chart to be "unmeasurable" and it wouldn't surprise me for 21+ to be the ideal target for another 2-3 years if not longer since the multidex support is so much better. The 65k limit and poor multidex support for <20 really causes some interesting nightmares. And 65k functions seems like a lot to anyone with even basic programming backgrounds, but things like Faceboook SDK, advertising networks and even some of the official Google SDKs can consume 20k function just for minimal functionality and not all development programs are great at filtering out the bloat. Start doing things in say Unity and 100k isn't that hard to hit.

 

[moocow]

You're looking at Chinese tablets for that kind of pricing. Teclast and Onda comes to mind. Be warn these brands have extremely poor support. I have a Teclast device and couldn't even find official firmware on their site and need to dig thru forum post that leads to sketchy AF websites. Despite being Windows 10 device, they won't bother testing it with the latest build or have driver packs. Also, the hardware can be really cheap as well, for example the Realtek 8723BS wifi/bluetooth combo card is nasty as hell.

 

[CMetaphor]

Maybe try the used market? An old Nvidia Shield won't have everything super up-to-date, but it's still plenty fast for everything you're looking for.

Otherwise, I'd say a good Galaxy Tab 2/3 is your best bet.