off-brand tablets?
 

Has anyone did a mini-splurge on an off-brand tablet? I'm thinking of surprising my guy with a tablet for his birthday but can't justify iPad prices on this kind of item. I've been looking at an 8" capacitative screen (5 touch, not just 2 touch) called the Blitz RS8 for $200. Anyone tried something like this? Any recommendations?

I've been hearing good things from a price concious techy friend about his Motorola Xoom. He seems to really like it.

Might also be worth considering the Kindle Fire although I don't know anybody who owns one.

Yeah Honeycomb 3.0 was only released to a few top brands for their tablets. 2.3 and the coming 4.0 are open source, which is why they're featured on so many of the 'other' brands. Xoom is one of the 3.0 tablets. the Kindle Fire is what got me started on this hunt, but it's apparently going to be a bit problematic in Canada.

If you're going to spend the $200 or so, get the Amazon Fire or better yet, the Nook Tablet.

The popularity of both models pretty much guarantees that the eventually they will be able to run the latest and greatest Android builds.

These no-name models often have outdated versions of Android and no real future upgrades and real support.

The Kindle Fire comes out today I believe. It really depends on what your needs are. If you are just looking to read books and magazines, check your email and play some simple games and apps it might be worth checking out. Reviews are positive or negative depending on what the reviewer is comparing it to. It's not an iPad, but it might fit your needs. Here's Cnet's take:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7...-for-everyone/

I hope that helps Elli! I miss you and hope to see you LA & Vegas in January :thumbsup
-Chi.

hmmmmm good points. Miss you too Chi!

nice tablet, my neighbor have one... great device for that price! :thumbsup

You can get the android tablets cheap as hell, Just check the specs, the more expensive the more powerful. You get what you pay for.

Well, that seals that. the Fire has no cameras, no bluetooth, no card slot, and clunky interface. http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/14/a...e-fire-review/

What tablet is nice?

Wait a bit. Google never released the code for Honeycomb so off-brand tablet makers were forced to use Gingerbread, which was not tablet optimized.

Just yesterday Google released the source code for Ice Cream Sandwich, which is tablet optimized, meaning those off-brand tablet makers can make some great tabs.

Or just buy the Galaxy tab now.

Looks like I found a winner: the Lenovo A1. I heart Lenovo. And for $250 I get card slots AND cameras and wifi and bluetooth. Eat that, Fire.
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/tablet/ideapad/a1

I can't see any reason to buy a tablet unless I want to look even more important than the asshole with the bluetooth earpiece chattering to himself who was standing behind me at No Frills today.

Shit, I have two laptops upstairs that I never use. I don't even know if they work anymore.

What use are tablets? To stay in touch? When I go outside I don't want anyone bugging me (unless they're there in person), and I certainly don't want to haul around a 7 to 12 inch slab of plastic.

Their only purpose is to make you look special. I'll buy a tablet when they make 22" screens that fold down and fit in my pocket. Until then, I'm not lugging that shit around.

i got a xoom and its great

Android or No Android, the off brands are pieces of shit. I have a friend who purchased one, it was flimsy as can be and just made terribly. Batteries dont last to long. Even the HP one that was discontinued was a piece of shit. Stick with Ipad Xoom Or Galaxy. You can probably pick up an Ipad 1 somewhere for a good price.