~$200 Android tablet

[McDougal]

Hey all,

I might be considering a tablet. I am not looking for that much......just for some web browsing, maybe some basic games, and document viewing.

I can't spend more than $200, maybe more if it's worth it. I am looking for an Android device.

I also was wondering if it would be possible to view Word, Excel, PDF documents etc. on an Android device? Would I have to pay for this feature? And would it work with .docx (Office 2010) files?

Thanks everyone for the help !

[CrowdAds]

[steinburger1109]

I've found several apps that let you VIEW those (not sure about Excel, though) on here but none for free that allow you to edit.

[McDougal]

Yeah I figured that would be the case. Because of that I'm willing to pay for this app now. Anyone have recommendations?

And I also thought the Kindle Fire looked like the best deal.

[sideways]

Asus 370T, should be out soon and near your price point. Best 7 inch budget tablet I have seen so far but no tablet can replace microsoft office on a desktop with a large screen and purpose designed keyboard. Firepower vs mobility applies, document viewing gets better the larger the screen.

http://www.nothingbuttablets.com/9172

[Mikerman]

I still like the Barnes and Noble Nook Color. A refurb (which typically seems like a new unit) is under $150 and, unlike the Fire, has an expansion slot. Also, it feels very sleek and nice in the hand, in the class of an iPad. And it can be easily rooted for full Android capability.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by McDougal

Yeah I figured that would be the case. Because of that I'm willing to pay for this app now. Anyone have recommendations?

And I also thought the Kindle Fire looked like the best deal.

Oh hell no....lol. Only 6GB of storage available for your content and no card slot?
Screw that. Spend the extra $50 for a Galaxy Tab 2 over a Kindle Fire, and you can add a 32GB card to it.

The Nook Color is old and slow.....the CPU is better in the Samsung Galaxy 4.0 and 5.0 than in a Color.

[JxK]

^Agreed about the nook color. I bought it on sale for $119 and rooted it, but it doesn't compete with modern tablets. I still like it, but the poor specs can be frustrating on occasion. I'd suggest waiting for the Asus/Nexus tablet, or getting the galaxy tab 7.0 plus. In the US it's only $35 more than the tab 2 7.0, and considerably better in terms of specs.

The kindle fire is a different category. It's less a tablet and more a media consumption device, like the ipod touch. There's nothing wrong with it, and quite a few people actually end up getting one in addition to a regular tablet to complement it. But I don't think, based on your question, it's quite what you're looking for.

[McDougal]

After doing some more research it does sound like the Kindle Fire isn't a good choice.

But, the Google Nexus tablet to be released this summer looks like an awesome deal. Plus it comes with Android 4.0.

It looks like I've found my tablet . Oh and FYI about the office stuff, I only plan to use the tablet in addition to Microsoft Office. I have the full Office 2010 suite on my computer which I use all the time. I would never want to type a 5-paragraph essay on a touchscreen !

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by McDougal

I would never want to type a 5-paragraph essay on a touchscreen !

You might be surprised.....https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...4IGJSNPrlYo%3D

[JxK]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

You might be surprised.....https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...4IGJSNPrlYo%3D

Heh. Tried swiftkey, didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Right now I'm using Ice Cream Sandwich Keyboard on my nook color. It's become my favorite version. I got the free version, but I use it enough that I'm going to go and purchase the donation version.

[McDougal]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

You might be surprised.....https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...4IGJSNPrlYo%3D

Meh....maybe that would do it, but I still much prefer an ergonomic keyboard .

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by JxK

Heh. Tried swiftkey, didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Right now I'm using Ice Cream Sandwich Keyboard on my nook color. It's become my favorite version. I got the free version, but I use it enough that I'm going to go and purchase the donation version.

I had the swiftkey trial on both my Tab Plus and SGP 5.0, and after two weeks I was sold enough to purchase it. I never tried the ICS keyboard.

Not a fan of Swype at all, unlike several of my coworkers.

[musichound]

I also was wondering if it would be possible to view Word, Excel, PDF documents etc. on an Android device? Would I have to pay for this feature? And would it work with .docx (Office 2010) files?

Check to see if OfficeSuite Viewer6 is available. If it is, it should provide this function.

[The DarkSide]

I ONLY used swiftkey,...it's great on Android.

[JxK]

Try ice cream sandwich keyboard (the one by johntanmi). It may surprise you. Plus, it's free, so there's no reason not to.

[Mikerman]

A very nice deal today at 1saleaday.com: a refurb Toshiba Thrive, 16GB, at $230 shipped. Thicker, but still fine, and with a 10" screen and lots of consumer-friendly slots/ports, including a full SD card slot and an HDMI port and USB 2.0 port. Plus, the battery can be swapped--a rarity.

[McDougal]

Originally Posted by Mikerman

A very nice deal today at 1saleaday.com: a refurb Toshiba Thrive, 16GB, at $230 shipped. Thicker, but still fine, and with a 10" screen and lots of consumer-friendly slots/ports, including a full SD card slot and an HDMI port and USB 2.0 port. Plus, the battery can be swapped--a rarity.

That is a pretty good deal. Unfortunately though I don't have the cash to buy it now .

[TexasRockbox]

The Samsung Galaxy 2 7 is a good choice. Great sound, screen, fast GPS, front and back camera (no LED flash), ICS is already installed. It's not the fastest, thinnest, etc. but it's a decent device and better than any Nook or Fire. Accepts 64gb microsdxc also!

[reventon]

At $250, i feel Galaxy 2 7.0 is a perfect tablet for you. some good points
* Price.
* Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich OOB.
* Apps launch fast. * Speech recognition is available in most cases where the keyboard pops up, and works really well.
* KeyBoard always includes a number row at top, so no need to switch from alpha keyboard to number keyboard to enter digits. This is a Samsung mod to Android, I believe, and it's a good one. I have it on my SGS too. But i use Skype which is good too and has similar row at top.
* Free Polaris Office preinstalled; allows viewing of MS-Office docs. not sure abt editing.
* Preinstalled Dropbox gives free 50 GB in the cloud for one year.
* Slot for 32 GB microSD at least. i have tried it. don't know about 64Gb.
* Pairs easily with Bluetooth keyboard.
* Get a female USB Dongle adapter and transfer files to and from flash drives.
* Connectivity works well. For instance, free file manager apps ( I use ES File Explorer) had no trouble accessing shared files on my LAN via WiFi and files on my phone via Bluetooth and my laptop.
* sometimes it gets slow or app may crash. won't blame tablet. it is more related to which app. a reboot smooth things out. imp to root and remove junk, useless apps.
* IR blaster for controlling TV, satellite box, etc., is a neat option.
* no flash but good back camera.
* screen is decent for price. if u expect something like prime or ipad, u will b disappointed. in sunlight, it is ok too.
* Needs higher voltage to charge so have to use adapter. pc charging is slow.
* speakers are not loud enough for my ears. quality. hah! its a tab afterall.
* front camera not good.
* too much space occupied by pre-installed apps. u need to root it and use ti backup to remove useless apps.
* haven't tried gps. but a-gps support is there.
* if you want to see benchmarks. see below link. they have it covered. i feel real life use is pretty good for $250.

a good review and comparison with nook and kindle fire.

http://liliputing.com/2012/05/samsun...-0-review.html

[McDougal]

Thanks reventon for the info. It does sound like a good deal, but I'm going to wait until the Google tablet comes out and see how they compare. I can't get anything now until the beginning of next year anyway.