Looking for an Android tablet under £200

[gino_76ph]

Hi there!

It has been 2 (long) weeks since i sold my HTC Flyer and i'm starting to regret it. had an Advent Vega and the original Galaxy Tab before and so far the Flyer was the best.

It is january and keeping an eye out for the new iPad 3 supposedly coming this march if the "release cycles" are to be followed.

Now, i'm looking for a cheap Android (2.3/2.4/2.5/3.0) tablet under £200 which i can use (to pass the time perfect for basic surfing, Twitter, Facebook, youtube, photos, watching movies, etc.) till that certain Apple device comes out.

Questions: any suggestions please?

Stupid question: shall i just wait for the iPad 3 instead?

[HSK]

Can you go to 250?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Stupid question: shall i just wait for the iPad 3 instead?

Probably. Ebuyer has the iPad2 for around £360:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ipad...-store-1121886

BTW,having used the HTC Flyer - it is a very nice tablet. They were going for under £200 during late December too.

[Pilgrim_uk]

Does seem like a waste of money for 3/4 months but it's your cash.

If you must buy:

As HSK mentioned £250 will get you a Motorola Zoom which will be getting the Creamy sandwich update. Then you will have tested a wide selection vega, tab, and flyer. Very tempted to get one myself.

Under £200 what about one of those Archo's types although the touchscreen is not the best. I would look into them as they are relatively cheap

[HSK]

Yup that's the one.

although, I feel it will take at least 4/6 weeks till the update lands here in the UK - unless you go via a root method.

[gino_76ph]

I'm looking for a compact under 10" screen Android tablet only under £200 please.

Shall i go for something a bit well-known like Samsung, Viewsonic, Archos (or Arnova) or those equally well-specced chinese brands?

[Pilgrim_uk]

Personally I would go with a brand name. You could struggle to get a viewsonic/samsung for under 200. Maybe some of the 7" ones in certain brands but don't think the 10". Also those cheap chinese brands usually only come with android 2.2.

Maybe some deals are out there but I am unaware of them.

[[GSV]Trig]

As long as its a capacitive screen and has a decent amount of ram in there you shouldnt have too much of a worry imho, just see what you can find in your local cash converter etc, might be worth taking a mSD card with you with a few movies on so you can test them in shop..

Personally I have a Xoom and with the EOS ICS ROM on it its sweet as a nut and certainly worth putting a bit more into your cash fund to get, depends on you though, if you are already invested in the Apple way then spend as little as possible and get the iPad3 when it comes out, failing that, and having already used a Flyer and liking it maybe it would be worth getting something similar, or even another Flyer and sticking ICS on it, certainly better than HC..

[scaryjim]

If it's for a short period and you're mostly doing web based stuff, you could do a lot worse than a Blackberry Playbook. I've been using one for a few weeks now and it's a great device with a beautiful OS, currently suffering from a lack of app support from developers. Assuming it gets the promised Android Player in the near future that'll be resolved though, and given the web price at PC World is £169 I'd have difficulty looking past it if I was buying a tablet again...

[scottxxx]

How about the Archos 80 G9? Slightly over budget for the newest one (£224 compared to £200 for the 1.2GHz one) but its got a dual core TI OMAP4 1.5GHz CPU, 16GB storage and a 8" 1024 x 768 4:3 screen so better for browsing the web, reading books, but probably not as good for movies. Its got USB, microSD and HDMI.

I've played about with the old 1GHz model and it seems really good for the money. Everything seems snappy on it, viewing angles and screen are decent, unlike the Vega, and its also got a little kick stand . I was tempted to get the old 1GHz model when it came out but I was holding out for the 1.5GHz version. Now that its here, tempted to take the plunge myself.

The optional 3G adapter is available for an extra £50 that plugs in underneath with a 3 SIM card I think. Honeycomb is coming soon to all of Archos' G9 models.

[DannyM]

If it's for a short period and you're mostly doing web based stuff, you could do a lot worse than a Blackberry Playbook. I've been using one for a few weeks now and it's a great device with a beautiful OS, currently suffering from a lack of app support from developers. Assuming it gets the promised Android Player in the near future that'll be resolved though, and given the web price at PC World is £169 I'd have difficulty looking past it if I was buying a tablet again...

The Playbook is a fantastic multimedia device and the hardware for the price is fantastic, great screen, and surprisingly great stereo sound. As said though the apps are severely lacking in comparison to Android and iOS. It should suit your needs fine though, you can get the 32GB version for not much more if your wanting more space.

[mikerr]

I recently bought a £120 Ainol Novo Elf 7" tablet, which came with android 4.0 ICS installed.
(1GB of RAM - 1.2GHz ARM CPU - 1024x600 )
I had to run a script to add market on to it, but its great.

Note: this is an ARM device, so is compatible with just about all apps, unlike the slightly cheaper MIPS based tablets which aren't.

TBH I find its size more convenient than my ipad - so I may not be going for ipad3 unless apple release a 7" one

[pp05]

If it's for a short period and you're mostly doing web based stuff, you could do a lot worse than a Blackberry Playbook. I've been using one for a few weeks now and it's a great device with a beautiful OS, currently suffering from a lack of app support from developers. Assuming it gets the promised Android Player in the near future that'll be resolved though, and given the web price at PC World is £169 I'd have difficulty looking past it if I was buying a tablet again...

Jim I hope for you and every PB owner that the Android update comes in February. They keep delaying the updates and it's hurting them. Some are predicting Kindle Fire will have 50% of android tablet market by end of 2013 which doesn't look great for Samsung and co.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I recently bought a £120 Ainol Novo Elf 7" tablet, which came with android 4.0 ICS installed.
(1GB of RAM - 1.2GHz ARM CPU - 1024x600 )
I had to run a script to add market on to it, but its great.

Note: this is an ARM device, so is compatible with just about all apps, unlike the slightly cheaper MIPS based tablets which aren't.

TBH I find its size more convenient than my ipad - so I may not be going for ipad3 unless apple release a 7" one

Supposedly it also has an IPS screen and a MALI400MP GPU too!

[redddraggon]

Maybe a Bit late now, but I bought an Advent Vega for £130 from the Currys outlet.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1108210959...ht_1838wt_1199

Put Android 3.2 on it and it runs very nicely. I got it to see if I'd use a tablet much. I'd really like an iPad, but I'm sure how I'd handle the lack of expandable storage and USB port, without them it just seems like a big iPhone.

[c12038]

http://www.prestigio.com/products/pe...tiPad_PMP5080B less than £200 good spec