Poll - Best Budget Tablet (play, plan, Internet, install)
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When you get into budget tablets... or anything really... they all kind of just blur.
Samsung is the only one that has consistently been making Android tablets since the very first tablet came out so they are, without question, the best. Lenovo would be #2 as they are a top tier manufacturer.
The Amazon tablets are fine, but way too integrated with Amazon to be anywhere on my list of tablets to buy. And I've simply never heard of Dragon so that also wouldn't be on my list. I would jst assume they are one of the million other knock off no name brands selling cheap crap.
The problem with this poll is that you can have the best budget 7 inch and best budget 10 inch tablets... Screen size is a very personal choice depending on the person's usage. My family mostly consumes movies around the house. So no tablet would be considered unless it was 10 inch. Mine is a companion when I am out of office. So I only considered 7 inch.
Amazon tablets can be made to look and act just like regular Android tablets like the Samsung and their specs are pretty respectable. You can literally wipe away all of the Amazon crap and install Google Play quite easily. I ought to know, I have done that to over 30 tablets here at work. I've been buying them for around $100 on sale believe it or not. I'm about to set up 4 more tablets as we speak.
We also have purchased quite a few of the Samsung Tab A's (not A7), refurbished, starting back in 2016. They were rock solid, still have a few of those around. We put them through quite a beating.
I googled the A7, not sure how that differs from the regular Tab A.
Approaching 100 tablets that I've set up for production work. We quit printing on paper for the most part, have gone electronic.
Amazon tablets can be made to look and act just like regular Android tablets like the Samsung and their specs are pretty respectable. You can literally wipe away all of the Amazon crap and install Google Play quite easily. I ought to know, I have done that to over 30 tablets here at work. I've been buying them for around $100 on sale believe it or not. I'm about to set up 4 more tablets as we speak.
We also have purchased quite a few of the Samsung Tab A's (not A7), refurbished, starting back in 2016. They were rock solid, still have a few of those around. We put them through quite a beating.
I googled the A7, not sure how that differs from the regular Tab A.
Approaching 100 tablets that I've set up for production work. We quit printing on paper for the most part, have gone electronic.
All of these work well.
That is what I have experience with.
The A7 is a newer model that was introduced in 2020. It has a slightly higher resolution display, slightly faster processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 vs. Samsung Exynos 7904), higher capacity battery, and comes with 3GB RAM standard.
What I want a tablet for is to use as a travel computer. Windows machines won't do, as I insist on having GPS mapping available, and they never have GPS. I also want a real keyboard, and after trying a Bluetooth-linked keyboard years ago, I feel that I need one that's integrated with the tablet. That makes it a 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 computer, if you want to call it that. So the one I use now is an RCA Viking, which cost me $90 complete, but it certainly comes with frustration attached. The main problem is that although mapping apps work OK, it's unbearably slow on the Internet. I think that happens because it's just plain underpowered in terms of processor and memory space. And startup is so slow you can sit there wondering if it'll finish the same day. Plus it runs Android 6. But I do have to say it's worked for me and crossed oceans with me multiple times, without letting me down seriously. It even has a (micro sized) HDMI port, which I've used. However, its reviews on Amazon are generally poor.
Now there's a much more modern equivalent, the Vastking K10 Pro. (Note that it has to be the "Pro" version, or it won't have the keyboard.) It runs Android 10, it has a better screen, and in spite of being a minor brand, reviews on Amazon are generally good (but there's no HDMI). Price is $220 or thereabouts, but compared with some of the big guys, it's still a cheapie machine. I'm somewhat tempted.
Sorry, I just can't get motivated to spend over $200 on something that I don't expect to have a need for any time soon. As I said, what the RCA Viking really fails at is internet usage, and I only want it for that when I'm traveling. With no trips planned, I can't see a reason to buy a replacement.
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