Alternative 7" tablets to the Vox

[taming]

Go to the play store and download/look at the free N7 book. There is a section on privacy and the N7 that you may find interesting, Tony.

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by TonyToews

Very nice. And it has Bluetooth so I can use it with my vehicle OBDII Bluetooth device.

However as I dislike Google spying on me I think I'll wait until the Asus MeMo 370T is available.

Well, you could always root it and add the various google-analytics addresses to its /etc/hosts file...

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by taming

Go to the play store and download/look at the free N7 book. There is a section on privacy and the N7 that you may find interesting, Tony.

Well, the section on Google Now basically says it'll access all your data. (chapter 4/page 27 of the preview) They claim they won't share it with anyone or marketers (not that they'll count their ads division as marketers, of course).

I'll give them props, though, for the manual. Far better than that you seem to get with most devices. Pity, though, that it's not hardcopy, and that the section on securing the tablet is buried deep (did not know you could password protect Android devices - thought there was only that slide to unlock crap). Ditto for the Accessability instructions. Both of those should be near the front.

[paulsalter]

Originally Posted by Reader Paradice

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Oh...er...I wouldn't do that if I were you. That was my downfall.....

Be warned....and ah...bring cash or plastic with you, and save yourself some gas having to go home to get either....lol!

Be warned, the Nexus 7 doesn't take prisoners....

I tried to take notice of your warning

had plastic in wallet today and came home with a Nexus, looks very good, charging now so will set it up later

[Reader Paradice]

Originally Posted by paulsalter

I tried to take notice of your warning

had plastic in wallet today and came home with a Nexus, looks very good, charging now so will set it up later

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Welcome to the Dark Side,....

Ain't it a beaut?

BTW, I was amazed to find out that when in the store a couple of days ago, I stacked up my Nex's font clarity against none other than the latest iPad, and lo and behold, I found (and did not expect to...) that the little devil is equal to, or slightly exceeds the font clarity and tightness of the iPad's vaulted retina display. I am not comparing actual pixel count on a one-to-one, but in how clear the font appears to the eye. Even if you do a double tap to bring the font up quite large, there is no discernible pixel that the eye can detect within the font edges. At the price point where the Nexus 7 sits...this is simply incredible value/performance. I'd say that I am WAY beyond satisfied. This little baby has totally put the other manufacturers on notice of what the public shall clamour for..and expect at the $260.00 price point. Asus, you have chewed them all up....

[taming]

If you do decide that you need/want more storage space, rooting on this device could not be easier. Then all you have to do is add the StickMount app, plug in a cheap OTG cable, and you are good to go with USB storage devices.

The videos on rooting and use of the OTG on the Reverend Kyle site are very, very good.
http://www.reverendkyle.com/

[cypherslock]

Not sure about the Asus. Nexus comes with 8-16 gb storage. the Asus apparently 1 gb? hmm... Had the chance to play a little bit (and I mean very little, couldn't go online, apps) liked what I saw from Nexus.

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by cypherslock

Not sure about the Asus. Nexus comes with 8-16 gb storage. the Asus apparently 1 gb? hmm... Had the chance to play a little bit (and I mean very little, couldn't go online, apps) liked what I saw from Nexus.

No, the Asus would have 1GB of *RAM*, not storage. The Nexus also has 1GB of RAM. (whoever it was that started calling flash storage "memory", likely a result of them being descended from EEPROMs [Electically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory], really needs a kick in the teeth for the confusion he/she/it has caused over the years)

[wilbrich]

If you know someone at RIM, they're able to get you the 64gb Playbook for $199. Accessories are discounted too. I picked up the 64 gb, an HDMI cable, 3 coloured sleeves, a zipperred case, a leather case/stand and a rapid charging doc all for $262 including tax. Only u to Aug 20th.

[46jimbo]

For anyone who is willing to take a more daring leap into the unknown, I can recommend a quite inexpensive Chinese tablet , the Ainol Novo 7 Aurora II. It's a very light 7" tablet with a fantastic screen, 16 GB of memory, a microSD card slot, USB port- everything except Bluetooth and GPS for $153 US delivered.

http://www.gadgetgreats.com/ainol-no...-aurora-2.html

I've had mine for a few weeks now and I must admit that it's pretty good. If you go on Slatedroid, there is a forum where others are developing better rom's for the device and working out the quirks. So this is really a tablet for people who like to tinker with the device.

Delivery was only 1 week to Canada. I ordered another for a friend and the delivery was just as prompt, so I believe the company is very reliable.

I also ordered a case off eBay with a built-in usb keyboard, and this works really well, I must say, once you adjust to the tighter layout. The cursor keys will also allow you to jump from icon to icon, like the tab key on your PC, or to scroll thru a long webpage.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-USB-Keyb...02644231763464

It's amazing what you can get for just $10 these days!

By the way, I use my Kobo Touch for most of my reading. The tablet is for web browsing and reading newspapers on line.

Hope this is of interest to some of you.

[oldyellr]

This being the Kobo Vox forum, how are all these other cheap tablets as e-readers? I can get a 7" tablet for as little as $58.91 US, free shipping, but will it read all the books I can read on my Vox?

http://www.focalprice.com/categoryli...by=lowestprice

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by oldyellr

This being the Kobo Vox forum, how are all these other cheap tablets as e-readers? I can get a 7" tablet for as little as $58.91 US, free shipping, but will it read all the books I can read on my Vox?

http://www.focalprice.com/categoryli...by=lowestprice

Everything except the Kobo Vox exclusives (limited to mostly some specially-formatted graphic novels and kid books with that voice reading feature), sure. Most of these cheap Chinese tablets have Google Play, at least the ones I've seen reviewed. Really, the biggest problem with those tablets is finding one of those tiny little import/reseller companies you've never heard that you think (after research) may be trustworthy.

(as for the other poster getting his Aurora II in a week, he got very lucky - that site must've had some on-hand, which is rather rare for importers, as far as I can tell)

[46jimbo]

Any android device can download the Kobo app and you're good to go.

Complaints about the cheap tablets have usually been about the screen resolution, touch sensitivity and lack of processing power (the latter being the most common complaint about the Vox). A $58 tablet obviously has cut back on a lot of stuff. Beware!

Most of these brands are unknown to us, so the trick is to find info where others have tested and reviewed them. This was the case for the Aurora II, where I found very positive reviews and a large support group. I can only vouch for the model I purchased.

The new Google Nexus7 looks impressive, but in Canada, a 16GB version plus taxes will come in at almost double the price of the Aurora. (And no sd card slot!)

[oldyellr]

Yes, I'll concede that the $58 tablet I linked above is a cheap toy compared to the Vox (and other higher priced tablets). I have no desire to dump my Vox for the "next new thing" now that most of the bugs have been fixed and Google Play added. However, http://www.focalprice.com/ is a reliable site with fast, free shipping. I've purchased many knickknacks from them with no complaints. It amazes me that they can ship free from Asia when shipping from the US is often more than an item is worth.

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by 46jimbo

The new Google Nexus7 looks impressive, but in Canada, a 16GB version plus taxes will come in at almost double the price of the Aurora. (And no sd card slot!)

$297.85 here in Nova Scotia. *shudder*

*sigh* Wish I weren't too paranoid about Chinese tech importers, else I would definitely grab that Aurora II... (it'd be nice to have something to use on my nice and comfy couch so that I don't have to stay glued to my desktop to keep in touch with the world :P)