Recommend a 7 inch tablet

[fhills]

I realise that this has been asked before but have looked back to the beginning of April and cannot find the same subject  - and things move on/prices down.

I realise that there is not a lot of mainstream activity in 7 inch tabs these days but the format suits me for what I need it for - see below.

Will probably be buying the thing late summer or September time.

I already have a Chromebook and a ten inch tab (Samsung) but am looking for a 7 inch tab for cycle touring/ramming in a pannier in my brutal way and I don't trust myself with the ten inch.

I stress that I don't need ultimate performance. It will mainly be used with OSMand for showing maps offline - though not navigating which will be handled by a Garmin. It will only be periodically connected to the internet.

So I want something

@ Cheap
@ Tough
@ 1 gig of RAM fine
@ 16 gig onboard storage
@ card slot for more storage
@ Good battery life

Weight is not an issue. As anyone who saw me ride the Dynamo the other week will know.

Argos have this:

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6263418

For a shade under £70.

Looks decent. It is Android 5 I gather.

My ten inch Samsung updated to 4.4.2 to cause issues with progs writing to the built in card and then refuses to update any more.

Am I right in thinking that by Android 5 google re-allowed apps to write to the card?#

This is important to me as I want to store the OSMand maps and additions to them on the card. My current 10 inch Android 4.4.2 has issues with this and I suspect that this accounts for the app's frequent crashes.

There is also this for less from Acer - Android 6:

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/tablets-and-ereaders/tablets/acer-b1-780-iconia-one-7-tablet-16-gb-black-10151338-pdt.html

My Acer Chromebook 14 is a wonder but I am concerned by a fair few of the reviews for that unit that say the battery life is poor. And it's not as if they claim a wonderful life for it in the specs.

So, over to you folks, and I stress that I'm now after anything flash or super whizzy.

I am prepared to consider unbranded anonymous type stuff as long as folk have experience of the unit and seller and aren't just quoting specs off a web page.

Thanks in advance folks.

[Kim]

The security model for accessing the card changed between Android 4 and 5, which sorted out the mess in 4.4.  This breaks some older apps (which expect it to just be part of the filesystem, rather than something they need special permission to do), but seems to have stabilised.  I can confirm that OSMAnd works fine with maps stored on the card under both Android 5 and 6 (as do Viewranger and Memory Map).

[fhills]

Many thanks for that Kiim.

So that establishes that I'm OK with 5.

And in future I'm going to check things very carefully before updating any Android.

Over to folks for tab suggestions but if nothing else is suggested I suppose I'll just go with that Argos special, which may even have dropped in price by September. I always buy tech at the last possible minute and I don't need it until lSeptember for a planned freewheeling trip.

If anyone has used that Lenovo tab, I'd be particularly interested.

Any other suggestions welcome ..

edit - just realised that that link above I gave for the Lenovo is 8gig internal - could have sworn it was 16gig - maybe could get away with that if I could put loads of stuff on the card.

But off to check this out:

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6801069?cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59158|cid:200223050|agid:12488287490|tid:pla-336842617184|crid:66128552450|nw:g|rnd:11544514638563677627|dvc:c|adp:1o1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI55jzqtuf1QIVz5ztCh0qFg2SEAYYASABEgLvj_D_BwE

[ian.r.mcdonald]

I am new to tablets, but am really pleased with my Lenovo. Aftet a month my wife bought one ss well and she is also p!eased.

I am sure a tech wizard will come on telling me i should have bought something four times the price?

I suspect half if the price difference is getting a flash brand badge!

[fuaran]

Android 6 has some improvements for using SD cards. It lets you format it as "adoptable storage", which makes it more like an extension of the main memory. So it is easier to move whole apps to the card. In older versions, it only moved part of the app data to the card. So probably worth looking for a tablet with Android 6, especially if it has limited memory.

No experience of that specific model, but I think most of the Lenovo tablets are pretty good, and reasonably priced. They are mostly standard Android, without added bloat.

[Kim]

I am sure a tech wizard will come on telling me i should have bought something four times the price?

Something four times the price will likely last twice as long before the inevitable software bloat renders it unusable.

(Yes, this is usually a false economy, unless there's some other difference you actually care about.  For example, I bought a relatively high end tablet because I wanted something that had a GPS chipset, an SD card slot and its own cellular connectivity.  And I have to be twice as careful not to drop it.)

Hm, note to the OP: Many cheap tablets lack GPS.  This may be suboptimal if you're going to be using it for mapping a lot.

[fhills]

Hi kim

Both of those listed have gps. I wouldn't buy one without even though i rarely have the gps switched on on my current tab and in fact usually have location switched off.

What is this inevitable bloat you speak of? Can't you delete apps that start to get bloaty? And surely you don't even have to update the operating ststem?

[Kim]

Both of those listed have gps. I wouldn't buy one without even though i rarely have the gps switched on on my current tab and in fact usually have location switched off.

Apparently so.  It wasn't obvious from the listed specs.

What is this inevitable bloat you speak of? Can't you delete apps that start to get bloaty? And surely you don't even have to update the operating ststem?

That you're suggesting those might be things you'd want to do is sufficient evidence of bloat, I think.  It's no good deleting an app if you want to be able to use it.

[frankly frankie]

I've just bought a Lenovo 7" tab.  Too early yet to say whether it's an improvement on my old tired Nexus but I like that it's noticeably smaller (thinner bezels) and Android 6 is going to be an improvement.  So far I haven't got it to see my wireless N router though    - it's OK with my parallel-running wireless G connection but that feels a bit limiting these days.

[fhills]

Can I ask which modelnframkie? Specs, price, where you got it?

Please update this thread if you would be so kind with evolving impressions.

One plus over your nexus I guess is that it has a card slot?

Am looking forward to my osmand+ working properly. Clearly a great app if android allows it to be.

[Basil]

I'm watching this thread with interest.  I may have to replace my Nexus 7 soon as it is now almost impossible to charge.
I understand that it is possible to change out the daughter board that contains the charging socket.  Is that simple enough for a duffer to attempt?

[Chris N]

I'm watching this thread with interest.  I may have to replace my Nexus 7 soon as it is now almost impossible to charge.
I understand that it is possible to change out the daughter board that contains the charging socket.  Is that simple enough for a duffer to attempt?

It certainly is possible, though mine failed after only about 18 months and the parts were replaced under warranty.  I got the feeling when I looked into the issue that it was tricky, but can't remember for sure.

[jsabine]

Googled instructions make it look fairly straightforward, and the parts are only about three quid. I wouldn't hesitate.

(Never taken a Nexus apart, but I've done a charging port and screens on a couple of phones.)

[fhills]

Both of those listed have gps. I wouldn't buy one without even though i rarely have the gps switched on on my current tab and in fact usually have location switched off.

Apparently so.  It wasn't obvious from the listed specs.

What is this inevitable bloat you speak of? Can't you delete apps that start to get bloaty? And surely you don't even have to update the operating ststem?

That you're suggesting those might be things you'd want to do is sufficient evidence of bloat, I think.  It's no good deleting an app if you want to be able to use it.

Sorry, don't understand why that bloat would be more of an issue with a cheaper one Kim.

I quite often delete apps - decide I'm not really using them anymore (and can always redownload when I need it) or there is a less annoying permission hungry one that does pretty much the same thing. I also often decline to update one - they seem to often update without having the grace to tell you what advantage there is and quite often ask for unnecesary permissions. I also often switch an app for a shortcut to the relevant web page.

Anyway the search for the September purchase goes on - if anyone spots something likely or a good discount, by all means shout and I am sure it will be useful to others - 7 inch is ideal for cycle touring I think.

If nothing else appears I will probably go for the 2 gig 16gig android 6 Lenovo.
Chances of a reduction before September ?

[Kim]

Sorry, don't understand why that bloat would be more of an issue with a cheaper one Kim.

Cheaper usually implies lower spec.  Lower spec CPU memory and storage means less headroom for the increased demands of bloaty software and websites.  Which means the inevitable bloat limits the useful life of a cheaper device sooner.

Of course, it may be that you can buy two cheaper devices for the cost of one higher-end one, in which case you can keep ahead of the curve by upgrading more frequently, while hedging against the risk of theft or damage.  This is why I don't buy high-end phones.


I don't think it's wise not to update software on a machine whose very existence is to serve as a networked communication device.  If it's truly functioning as little more than an offline map-viewing device, then that's different (barakta has an ancient Android phone that won't run modern apps and is too underpowered for web browsing, which is living out its days until battery death as an ebook reader).

[frankly frankie]

Can I ask which modelnframkie? Specs, price, where you got it?

Sorry yes its the Lenovo TB3-730F 2G+16G bought from Amazon UK.  Don't know how much because 1-click buying from Amazon is a bit like that 
Yes it has a card slot and there is another model the 730X which also accepts a micro-SIM card for 4G connectivity.
I'll admit I haven't downloaded the manual yet so it may be me missing something in the setup which is preventing WiFi N connectivity. G works fine for my purposes, but even my tired 4-year-old Nexus can do WiFi N so I probably am missing a trick.  If not, I'd call that a serious drawback for a potential buyer.
User Guide:
https://download.lenovo.com/consumer/mobiles_pub/lenovo_tab3_7_ug_en_v1.0_201605.pdf

[fhills]

Thanks for the reply frankie.

If yours is this one:

https://www.johnlewis.com/lenovo-tab3-7-tablet-quad-core-processor-android-gps-wi-fi-splash-proof-7-2gb-ram-16gb-hard-drive/p3125410?colour=Slate#tabinfo-ratings

The spec seems to show wifi n.

[fhills]

By the by, I understand that the latest Which has a report on sub £100 tablets.

I think my local library has stopped its subs.#

If some soul on here gets it and could maybe tell me what its top 3 or whatever recommendations are for a 7 inch tab I would be grateful.

[frankly frankie]

The spec seems to show wifi n.

As I would expect in this day and age!  I can only report that mine is only seeing the 'G' leg of my dual-band router.  Whereas my old Nexus sees both legs.  And I can't find anything in the setup menus to fix it.  And the User Guide is rubbish by the way - not worth the bandwidth to download it.

[fhills]

Any more impressions of the thing after a bit more use frankie?

As for the mobile sim version. That would be handy for my intended application, but I have only managed to find it being flogged from some somewhat distant places like India.

This by the by comes from my aging samsung tab which has been miraculously rejuvenated by uninstalling that previously good app ES File explorer.

[fhills]

Update - bought the Lenovo thing from John Lewis as linked to above.

Seems to boot rather slowly (but then I can never figure out what Android tabs are doing that makes them so slow to boot compared to my Chromebook) but once going it is a joy to use.

Possibly I could have squashed an 8 inch into my panniers without busting that but basically am well pleased. Seems to, so far, recharge pretty quickly from my Anker 20100 powerbank.

[telstarbox]

Off the back of this thread I bought the 2GB sister version of the Tab3. Impressed with its performance so far (mainly to display recipes in the kitchen).

[Kim]

(mainly to display recipes in the kitchen)

People have been predicting this since well before the dawn of personal computing.  It's good to see that it's finally happening.

[fhills]

It's the 2gig, 16 gig memory I got. Yes it's fine, though some folks seem snobby about its performance. That link now pointts to 20 quid more than mine cost, methinks  I beneffited from some short term John Lewis price matching. For cycle touring I think it is near perfect.

Edit, telstar, I see that you were probably looking at my original spec in my original post. As itbturns out I would recommend 2 gig, which is what we both got. My ten inch struggles at times with its 1 gig, particularly with outlook email.

[fuaran]

The Lenovo Tab 4 looks pretty good. Though only available in 8" or 10". It is a newer Android version, and faster processor and higher resolution than the Tab 3.
Argos have it for £100, I might buy one.