Got an Android Tablet (Lenovo Ideapad)

covingtoncat73 · 05-11-2012, 10:08 AM

Okay. It is basic, it runs 2.3 and not 3, and it is 7'' not 10'' but I only paid $200 for it at Best Buy. They had to order it.

I am going to see how it goes. I splurged on a keyboard (a $70 logitech that comes with something that doubles as a case for the keyboard and a stand for the tablet) because I want to use it as my primary home computer. The reason for this is that I dropped and killed my beloved HP laptop, for which I hate myself.

Anyway, I had some difficulty pairing the keyboard with the tablet and, looking online, saw that this was a common complaint with the Ideapad. However, I brought the keyboard and tablet back to Best Buy and the guy was able to fix it in less that 15 minutes. I have had no problem since with the Keyboard.

It has no USB, of course, so I have set up the necessary software for my Kobo (ADE, Calibre) and my Walkman MP3 (Overdrive, iTunes) on my work computer (I have a private office so hopefully won't get in trouble). If I run into problems with that, I'll try and set that stuff up on my mom's little netbook, which already has iTunes anyway (I'd have to put ADE and Calibre on it and Overdrive).

The little touch "buttons" at the bottom for menu, back, and home take getting used to and the touchscreen isn't as responsive as the one on my phone (have to do multiple taps a lot).

However, I am pretty comfortable using it to browse the Internet and have managed to get most of my music (I have mostly bought physical CDs and not iTunes, though I have managed my music that way) on the Amazon MP3 cloudplayer and that works great. This little tablet has great sound and plays Netflix quite well, too.

More to point, I have several reading apps on it, of course. I have the Kobo app, the Kindle app, the Overdrive app (for the library books), and the Moon+reader for the Gutenberg books (been meaning to read some E.R. Burroughs and Jules Verne).

The bottom-line is I think it is a decent value for the money.

So, what Android reading apps are your favorite?

Cdesja5 · 05-11-2012, 10:47 AM

Aldiko is my preferred app but I understand Mantano is good too. If you use Calibre with Aldiko, you can set up your tablet to download your books wirelessly using the Calibre server (by setting it up as a catalog). You can also set up your Aldiko app to get and read your library and DRM'd books (it uses your ADE account to authorize them) using the catalogue function.
There's a lot of details in the Kobo Vox threads about this, it would work the same way on your tablet. Just search for Aldiko and Calibre in those threads.
I use only Aldiko instead of several different apps (for epubs and pdfs).
PS. Aldiko Premium is optimized for tablets and well worth it's tiny price

covingtoncat73 · 05-11-2012, 10:54 AM

Thanks. I'll try it for sure.

=X= · 05-11-2012, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

So, what Android reading apps are your favorite?

I use Moon for reading pretty much for everything except PDF. For PDF I use RepliGo and ezPDF.

afv011 · 05-11-2012, 03:17 PM

My vote goes to Mantano.

Sweetpea · 05-14-2012, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

It has no USB, of course,

Weird, as my husband's A1 does have USB... It even charges through USB!

Quote:

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

More to point, I have several reading apps on it, of course. I have the Kobo app, the Kindle app, the Overdrive app (for the library books), and the Moon+reader for the Gutenberg books (been meaning to read some E.R. Burroughs and Jules Verne).

The bottom-line is I think it is a decent value for the money.

So, what Android reading apps are your favorite?

Mantano. I removed all the others from my device. Only left the Kindle app, but I can't remember when I used it last...

And yes, the A1 is a very nice tablet for the money you pay for it.

covingtoncat73 · 05-15-2012, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Weird, as my husband's A1 does have USB... It even charges through USB!

Mantano. I removed all the others from my device. Only left the Kindle app, but I can't remember when I used it last...

And yes, the A1 is a very nice tablet for the money you pay for it.

Yeah. I rhink I could have Been happy with it but I have to admit that, after a week, part of the screen (about 10% down the left side) became unresponsive. I returned it and got a more expensive, 10'' Acer. It was about $130 more but it is larger and comes with a USB. I don't think I'll be able to manage the Kobo and Walkman on it even so but I'll be able to transfer docs with a jump drive.

Sweetpea · 05-29-2012, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Yeah. I rhink I could have Been happy with it but I have to admit that, after a week, part of the screen (about 10% down the left side) became unresponsive. I returned it and got a more expensive, 10'' Acer. It was about $130 more but it is larger and comes with a USB. I don't think I'll be able to manage the Kobo and Walkman on it even so but I'll be able to transfer docs with a jump drive.

Ah, you meant an USB host... I doubt I'd ever use it if I ever got a tablet that had one...

macuser88 · 06-13-2012, 03:20 PM

The Amazon Kindle Reader App is by far the best reading app. You can take notes, highlight sections, bookmark different sections, and read from anywhere.

It has seriously changed the way I read.

BUT, be forewarned that the more apps you install on your Ideapad A1, the worse it will get, and the slower it will run. I have mine for about 5 months now and it has all sorts of problems -- apps will not work, the sd card slot does not work, gps has been not working since day 1.

Oh and did I mention that the customer service blows hard?!

covingtoncat73 · 06-13-2012, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macuser88

The Amazon Kindle Reader App is by far the best reading app. You can take notes, highlight sections, bookmark different sections, and read from anywhere.

It has seriously changed the way I read.

BUT, be forewarned that the more apps you install on your Ideapad A1, the worse it will get, and the slower it will run. I have mine for about 5 months now and it has all sorts of problems -- apps will not work, the sd card slot does not work, gps has been not working since day 1.

Oh and did I mention that the customer service blows hard?!

Oh, I agree. And the screen on mine was malfunctioning after just a week so I returnned it to Best Buy, actually, and upgraded (paying more) to a 10' Acer Iconiatab.

The Acer is working out. I've had it for exactly a month. I like having the USB and I am able to do stuff like download podcases from Beyondpod and put them on my MP3 player (a Walkman MP3) as well as moving documents to and from it with a usb drive.

Anyway, I also agree the Kindle app rocks. I love how relatively seamless it is to read the same book on 2 devices (my phone and tablet). I still think that my Kobo is a better reading device (I sent it on vacation with my mother, though, so I am without that) and my Walkman is a better music device but I am liking the Acer so far.

covingtoncat73 · 06-13-2012, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macuser88

The Amazon Kindle Reader App is by far the best reading app. You can take notes, highlight sections, bookmark different sections, and read from anywhere.

It has seriously changed the way I read.

BUT, be forewarned that the more apps you install on your Ideapad A1, the worse it will get, and the slower it will run. I have mine for about 5 months now and it has all sorts of problems -- apps will not work, the sd card slot does not work, gps has been not working since day 1.

Oh and did I mention that the customer service blows hard?!

Oh, I agree. And the screen on mine was malfunctioning after just a week so I returnned it to Best Buy, actually, and upgraded (paying more) to a 10' Acer Iconiatab.

The Acer is working out. I've had it for exactly a month. I like having the USB and I am able to do stuff like download podcases from Beyondpod and put them on my MP3 player (a Walkman MP3) as well as moving documents to and from it with a usb drive.

Anyway, I also agree the Kindle app rocks. I love how relatively seamless it is to read the same book on 2 devices (my phone and tablet). I still think that my Kobo is a better reading device (I sent it on vacation with my mother, though, so I am without that) and my Walkman is a better music device but I am liking the Acer so far.

As far as reading, a 10' Android Tablet is great for Comics and Graphic Novels. I certainly don't mind reading a regular book on it too much but it is a bit big and heavy, though not as much so as a big hardcover, as well as having that shiny, shiny screen and much less battery life than the Kobo. It does have better battery life than my phone, though.

macuser88 · 06-13-2012, 03:48 PM

Yea, I see how 10" would be great for reading more books with graphics, however 7" i think is a perfect size for a tablet, especially to hold with one hand.

I am also hearing a lot of great things about Acer, and am considering switching over. But I definitely will never buy another Lenovo product again. I saw this article and was not surprised in the least: Lenovo Sucks.

Battery life I have come to realize just sucks on most of these devices and either way I am most likely going to charge it everyday.

I just hate that more and more of these tablets keep getting replaced and still don't know which to move over to. I have been reading a ton of articles on which to buy and the benefits of each.

05-11-2012, 10:08 AM	#1
covingtoncat73 Wizard Posts: 2,745 Karma: 83407757 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Lenovo Duet Chromebook, Moto e	Got an Android Tablet (Lenovo Ideapad) Okay. It is basic, it runs 2.3 and not 3, and it is 7'' not 10'' but I only paid $200 for it at Best Buy. They had to order it. I am going to see how it goes. I splurged on a keyboard (a $70 logitech that comes with something that doubles as a case for the keyboard and a stand for the tablet) because I want to use it as my primary home computer. The reason for this is that I dropped and killed my beloved HP laptop, for which I hate myself. Anyway, I had some difficulty pairing the keyboard with the tablet and, looking online, saw that this was a common complaint with the Ideapad. However, I brought the keyboard and tablet back to Best Buy and the guy was able to fix it in less that 15 minutes. I have had no problem since with the Keyboard. It has no USB, of course, so I have set up the necessary software for my Kobo (ADE, Calibre) and my Walkman MP3 (Overdrive, iTunes) on my work computer (I have a private office so hopefully won't get in trouble). If I run into problems with that, I'll try and set that stuff up on my mom's little netbook, which already has iTunes anyway (I'd have to put ADE and Calibre on it and Overdrive). The little touch "buttons" at the bottom for menu, back, and home take getting used to and the touchscreen isn't as responsive as the one on my phone (have to do multiple taps a lot). However, I am pretty comfortable using it to browse the Internet and have managed to get most of my music (I have mostly bought physical CDs and not iTunes, though I have managed my music that way) on the Amazon MP3 cloudplayer and that works great. This little tablet has great sound and plays Netflix quite well, too. More to point, I have several reading apps on it, of course. I have the Kobo app, the Kindle app, the Overdrive app (for the library books), and the Moon+reader for the Gutenberg books (been meaning to read some E.R. Burroughs and Jules Verne). The bottom-line is I think it is a decent value for the money. So, what Android reading apps are your favorite? Last edited by covingtoncat73; 05-15-2012 at 01:59 PM. Reason: Changed "I" to "I'll" and "Thinkpad" to "Ideapad."

05-11-2012, 10:47 AM	#2
Cdesja5 Wizard Posts: 1,117 Karma: 2094306 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Montreal, Canada Device: Lots and lots of electronic gadgets...	Aldiko is my preferred app but I understand Mantano is good too. If you use Calibre with Aldiko, you can set up your tablet to download your books wirelessly using the Calibre server (by setting it up as a catalog). You can also set up your Aldiko app to get and read your library and DRM'd books (it uses your ADE account to authorize them) using the catalogue function. There's a lot of details in the Kobo Vox threads about this, it would work the same way on your tablet. Just search for Aldiko and Calibre in those threads. I use only Aldiko instead of several different apps (for epubs and pdfs). PS. Aldiko Premium is optimized for tablets and well worth it's tiny price Last edited by Cdesja5; 05-11-2012 at 10:52 AM.

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05-11-2012, 10:54 AM	#3
covingtoncat73 Wizard Posts: 2,745 Karma: 83407757 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Lenovo Duet Chromebook, Moto e	Thanks. I'll try it for sure.

05-11-2012, 03:17 PM	#5
afv011 Captain Penguin Posts: 2,947 Karma: 2077653593 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kobo Libra 2, Nook Glowlight	My vote goes to Mantano.

06-13-2012, 03:20 PM	#9
macuser88 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: Lenovo A1 Ideapad	The Amazon Kindle Reader App is by far the best reading app. You can take notes, highlight sections, bookmark different sections, and read from anywhere. It has seriously changed the way I read. BUT, be forewarned that the more apps you install on your Ideapad A1, the worse it will get, and the slower it will run. I have mine for about 5 months now and it has all sorts of problems -- apps will not work, the sd card slot does not work, gps has been not working since day 1. Oh and did I mention that the customer service blows hard?!

06-13-2012, 03:48 PM	#12
macuser88 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: Lenovo A1 Ideapad	Yea, I see how 10" would be great for reading more books with graphics, however 7" i think is a perfect size for a tablet, especially to hold with one hand. I am also hearing a lot of great things about Acer, and am considering switching over. But I definitely will never buy another Lenovo product again. I saw this article and was not surprised in the least: Lenovo Sucks. Battery life I have come to realize just sucks on most of these devices and either way I am most likely going to charge it everyday. I just hate that more and more of these tablets keep getting replaced and still don't know which to move over to. I have been reading a ton of articles on which to buy and the benefits of each.