Hudl 2

[Smudger]

So, the old Nexus 7 2012 had a meeting with some water and now just permanently gets the 4 circles boot screen.

I needed something at short notice, Nexus 7 2013 seemed to be in short supply for the 32Gb option, so I got a Hudl2. In blue. I have to say I'm quite impressed. I didn't expect it to be up to much, but the screen seems good and the whole unit is not too much bigger than the N7.

So, anyone got one and can share some tips? I've installed Google Now launcher so most of the Tesco gumph is gone...

Edit - I've also bought a 32Gb SD card, only 4gb left on the machine after all my installations...

[MrRockliffe]

Tip - don't put a screen protector on it! And keep an eye on the charging as there's an issue with them.

My nan is on her second hudl, with exactly the same problems as the first, but she can't be bothered to take it back (silly really).

[Smudger]

I didn't go for a screen protector as I've got the folding case. I have noticed it does seem to take an age to charge though, I thought it was because I wasn't using the Tesco charger for it, but it shouldn't make any difference...

[MrRockliffe]

It depends on the charger. The tesco one is a 2A charger (I think - Biscuit can confirm) so if you're using a 1.5A charger, it will take longer.

[Biscuit]

I have an Anker multiport charger that kicks upto 2.4 amps on a port, up to a maximum of 8A across all of the ports, which is what I usually use. I have tested many permutations of charger (inc the included one, which is 2A)and cable and basically, the damn thing will not charge if you are using it for anything that stresses the chipset, it will work whilst being charged without draining but you have to have to be idle to get it to charge.
Occasionally it will just stop charging entirely, but if you switch it off and on it will start charging again. This has only happened twice to me.

Make sure you are using a decent quality cable to charge it, it does make a huge difference. I bought a few of these recently and they work well with all devices i have tested so far.

It will actually take a 64GB card, the only issue is that you are limited by FAT32

[Smudger]

I had noticed the 'not able to charge whilst doing stuff' issue, thought it was a bit weird...

Once the SD card arrives, I'll have to find a way of getting Google Play Music to store to SD rather than local...

[Smudger]

...and it's very easy. Once the SD's installed, it comes up as a storage option in all the Google Play apps. It must not have been an option in previous iterations of the Google Play apps as I've seen threads on forums about rooting and changing settings via root browsers.

[Biscuit]

There has been an update that apparently improves charging, should be interesting....

[Smudger]

Yeah, I got it this morning. The issue? My Hudl's on 49%, and you can't start the update unless you've got 50% battery. Thanks to the battery issue that's supposed to be fixed by this update, unless I'm using the 2A charger that came with the Hudl, it doesn't charge, only slows down the rate of usage. Catch 22...

[666moe666]

Holy thread revival batman!

Just got my Hudl 2 due to finding an online coupon for £10 off a spend of £75 or more, coupling that with staff discount I obtain and doubling up some clubcard vouchers.

Very impressed with the tablet that cost me only £11.30 of actual cash (and thats because I just wanted to save some clubcard vouchers to 'boost' on other things).

Installed google launcher and apex launcher as soon as I got it and removed all Tesco bloatware so it's pretty much just a standard android tab. With an at least a once year guarantee, and the fact that this isn't probably one of the first Hudls off the production line, it should last me quite a while. Will update with any problems/questions as/when they arise.