Which Tablet

[Robert]

Received my dongles in 2 weeks in NZ. Cautiously waiting to apply them.

I need to purchase an Android device. I'm thinking cheap and basic to only perform remote tasks for XXhighend. Can get Archos by mail order but have noticed cheaper devices in discount computer shops.

Is there any minimum requirements or traps I need to watch out for?

[Calibrator]

I need to purchase an Android device. I'm thinking cheap and basic to only perform remote tasks for XXhighend.

For those still undecided on what tablet to get, if indeed you want to use one rather than a laptop, then the Google Nexus 7 announced last week ticks ALL the boxes at an impressive price and a small form factor. This eagerly awaited collaboration between Google ( the creators of the Android OS ) and ASUS, is richly featured and rumoured to be priced at a nil profit point.

There are a number or reviews appearing on the net for it; the following is just one typical .... ( http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2406552,00.asp )

Should start shipping in a week or shortly afterwards via Google's online store .. ( http://www.google.com/nexus/#/7 )

Cheers,

Russ

[PeterSt]

I think it is a good time to wait a few weeks; what I notice (and this is only from the last 3 weeks or so) is that the tablets emerge all over now for up to under a 100 euros. Two major concerns :

How do they really behave regarding speed;
How is the screen's performance. So, there's another subject I didn't mention earlier and this is the view angle of the screen. For example, my Archos is close to impossible to watch from the right side even at some 10-20 degrees off axis only. From the left side it's okay (up to 180 degrees). And this wasn't even such a cheap thing.

Also, those 100 euro babies all seem to be 1024 x 768 (@9.7 inch (same as iPad)) which is a good (no, the best) aspect ratio IMHO.

For 100 euro you can try one or two.

Knowing the screen's performance in advance will be tough. But look for a 2 core processor. That it's 1GHz (while it can also be 1.3Ghz or around that) is not the most important. The 2 core is.

To give an example : The Medion (or anyway what we tend to call "From Aldi" overhere), will be reviewed quite "badly" but only because it's much less feature rich than its predecessor. But watching closely - none of that you will need for this little task. It would be my typicle advice right now, weren't it that I can't tell how the screen (angle) operates and whether it's smoothly operating in the first place. That latter too is a kind of moot *IF* you only use it for this remote control.

HTH
Peter

[PeterSt]

For those (from this area) who are interested in Medion/Aldi (always appreciated as the best stuff at super low prices), the one I am talking about is hard to find on the web if you don't know that it exists. It is this one : http://www.diskidee.be/2012/06/22/aldi-medion-tablet-is-goedkoop-maar-geen-goede-koop/26975/
(299 euro and not the 399 euro you will find easily)

What people may not know either is that Medion can be obtained via a webshop, and that it is not at all so that you *will* be in a queue in the physical shop to find out that whatever it was already has been sold out. See here : http://www.medion.com/nl/electronics/prod/MEDION%C2%AE+LIFETAB%C2%AE+P9514+Tablet+%2810+inch%29/30013887A1?category=tablet&name=Tablets (which is NOT the tablet I was referring to above - it is not there yet (but should be since 4 days or so)).

Peter

[PeterSt]

The only reason I might stick to the tablet is because it's easy to lay in a convenient corner in the kitchen while "working" there. And yes, nice that the coverart mirror back (Unattended) shows me the tracks. But I really first need to increase the font size of that before I can ever read it from a normal distance, and *that* will cause much not to fit (read : no solution).

By now I'd like to withdraw this - mainly because I have it all working now such that it is a pleasure to use. Also, this is not only for laying in some corner for easy access and it is merely about carrying it anywhere and in the mean time select some music. So, stupid example : you are sitting outside, hearing music as background music. Of course your tablet is always near you, and it will at least tell you what is playing at the moment, no matter it is bearly audible because you are outside. Next of coure you can put some other album on the fire.
And put up the volume.

All the most obvious to those using it already - and then especially in the Apple environment. But for us poor bastards that is not so obvious at all. It is also not so obvious that what you're in fact doing is working on your Windows PC - or at least you can (this is more tedious but with some experience quite doable).

But still I'd say it is better to wait it out a bit. That will just save you money (for Androids - not for Apples). For example, I can't advise my Archos really. But worse, I now like the new ones on the market which are way cheaper. In how much time ? the date when this topic started I suppose.

Peter

[PeterSt]

And another criterion I can think of :

Once the tablet is going to be in the 600-700 gramms range (1.3 - 1.5 lbs), it is no fun anymore. It should be into the 500's (1.1 lbs) (or less).

[PeterSt]

[...] then the Google Nexus 7 announced last week ticks ALL the boxes at an impressive price and a small form factor.

(the emphasis is mine)

Ok, who is funny here, you or me ?

Am I wrong at saying : the larger the better ?
Or are we looking for an e-(book-)reader ?

No. This really can't do the job. 7" and 1280x800 ? waaaay too low. Draw yourself this AR and the 7" and see what's left.

This Nexus is to read books and hold it in portrait mode.
Of course this is my totally personal opinion and I don't have time to read books. But of course we have such a 7 incher somewhere, and it really is a no go.

Eh, a Nexus 10 maybe ?

[Calibrator]

No. This really can't do the job. 7" and 1280x800 ? waaaay too low.

Perhaps we should simply agree to disagree on this size point Peter The AMOLED screen on MY tablet is superb, and almost universally acclaimed as the best in the business. I have no issues browsing websites with small text, and everything is crystal clear, even at very oblique angles nearing 90 degrees. It all comes down to readability in the end, and if a particular tablet has a cr*ppy screen, regardless of size, then the usability is certainly compromised.

Cheers,

Russ

[PeterSt]

Perhaps we should simply agree to disagree on this size point Peter 

Oh no, that is not going to happen. I NEVER agree to disagree - I just want to be right. Didn't you know that ?

So Russ, what you obviously can't see - thus know, is that we need some physical height to complete our operations. So, imagine as a first, that anything in whatever XX-Remote will look like, will NOT operate by zooming. Oh you can, but if we want people to be hospitalized - ... no.
Next, you have a physical height again of the screen. You do that math or measure. Then we have the physical thickness of fingers, and of course I don't know about yours, but assumed you are not a woman, they will have "some" size, and a number of them will fit in a row in the height. I'm sure you get what I mean. Finally we have a couple of controls to do our thing. So, it is assumed that about the same number of controls can fit in the height as the amount of fingers you just carefully put together for that same height. Not quite, because the controls need a distance in between them or otherwise you will be tapping the wrong one.

Now imagine something which allows everything and all for music selection and playback. Yes, incorporate picture sizes as well, and understand that one picture is better visible than two under eachother (which obviously will be half the size as one only). But also envision some scrolling which will go 1 by 1 if there is 1, or 2 by 1 when there are 2, or 3 when there are three. Don't forget those "some controls".

8" for this at 1024/768 is quite okay. 8" for 1200x800 already will not be okay at all *is less tall). Not many will understand this easily without sitting back and think a lot, but I am sure you do. Remember, it is me who says that 1024x768 at 8" is quite okay. Not you, and you will have to believe me. Oh, "quite okay" means "rather bigger please".
And now we have to do this with *and* 1280x800 *and* at 7" ?
No way ...
There's just no vertical space.

Of course, it is not necessary to do everything and all (like I intend it) and so your phone will do the job just as well. But I will not try to tell anyone that it will be a convenient thing. Use Play, Stop, VolUp and that sort of stuff - all right. But music selection as well ? nope.
I am not saying that I couldn't have made something more smart - just that I did not and that this is explicitly *not* made for anything that small.

Now people can go out and get their Nexus7 if they want. I have said my thing ...


Peter

[Gerard]

For those (from this area) who are interested in Medion/Aldi (always appreciated as the best stuff at super low prices), the one I am talking about is hard to find on the web if you don't know that it exists. It is this one : http://www.diskidee.be/2012/06/22/aldi-medion-tablet-is-goedkoop-maar-geen-goede-koop/26975/
(299 euro and not the 399 euro you will find easily)

So you have this one Peter? And it works fine??

Looks nice for the price and if it is only meant for remote.

 

[PeterSt]

No, I don't have that one. But I think it would be a nice option *if* you'd use it for remote alone. There's nothing much further in/on that tablet, but this is exactly why the price is nice for its job. Plust that "Aldi" always presents fine stuff (IMO).

Peter

[PeterSt]

Now I'm typing in this topic anyway ...  This is what happens with sizes and inches and stuff :

iPad2 (9.7" @ 1024x768) 19.5 x 14.5 = 282.75
iPad3 (9.7" @ 2048x1536) 19.5 x 14.5 = 282.75
General (8" @ 1024x768) 16.0 x 12.0 = 192
General (7" @ 1280x800) 15.0 x 8.5 = 127.5


The size measures are in cm, but it is not important because it is about the relations. Now, a few things to take notice of :

- Using the tablet in portrait position (holding it upright) makes the width too small to be usable. Thus it must be used in landscape position
 
- The usable area of the 7" compared to the 9.7" is more than twice less (the 127.5 vs. the 282.75)

- The resolution is totally unimportant for the subject "controls and being able to tap them easily". The physical size is. But :

- The resolution determines the Aspect Ratio, which is why the 1200x800 loses height so fast. Thus, the 7" emerges because of teh "oversized width".

So it's a strange thing for you maybe, that the resolution doesn't tell a thing about the usefulness, but, as I told, without taking zooming into the equation. Thus, the higher the resolution the better the sharpness is kept when zooming - but zooming isn't in order because that is the most inconvenient thing. It works, but preferrably you are looking at a fixed screen and tap what you want to tap right away. When zoomed, the control concerned must first be "swiped" (dragged) into view by means of moving the whole screen until you see the control appearing.
Far sought it can also be taken into account that something like the iPad3 may have that high resolution all right and thus zooming doesn't degrade (much), but the source must have this resolution first, and that means that the source must have a 21" monitor attached as a prerequisite, or otherwise the resolution will be just that 1280 x 1024 or whatever it normally is - but low(er).
Keep in mind that we keep on talking "RDC" here, where the source PC determines everything. Normally browsing the internet is a complete different story and this post is not about that at all.

So, it is about the height we always need, because the width is to be assumed fixed because of using the tablet in landscape position. Of course we could use it portrait just the same, but it needs the experience to know that you won't want that. Thus, looking at e.g. the iPad with its 14.5cm width and seeing that this is about the same as the height of the 8", it almost becomes a phychological thing to not use the iPad upright just the same while having that 8" at hand with the same width and you use it like that. Almost impossible to explain, but still the iPad is used landscape, unless it is about reading a book because that depicts upright reading because of its measures (the height being taller than the width).

From this point of view it is me who decided that everybody uses his tablet in landscape position, but combined with the sheer resolution capabilities of the source PC as well. This is also a bit complicated to explain and see through, but when you want to use your remore control with a PC as source and what to do that in portrait mode, you first have to set the program concerned (your XX-Remote program in this case) in upright position so it will match the tablet's position. If we now look at our general 1280x1024 source (or otherwise a landscape source which will make the story worse) we have 1024 in the height and according the AR of the tablet 768 in the width *if* the tablet would be a 1024x768. You'd be using a surface of 768 (width) x 1024 (height) and on the source PC's monitor it will be clear that all the space to the left and right of your XX-Remote is left unused. So, available space in pixels is 1024 but you use only 768 of that. When the source monitor is a widescreen like 1280 x 768. the available space in the width is 1280 but you use 768 of it only.
Here too it is a psychological thing becase when you do the math, and the tablet is 1024x768 only anyway, it won't matter a thing because looking at the result the number of pixels used stay the same anyway.

Okay, I better stop because it becomes difficult for me to follow myself, so let's stick to those physical sizes and what they may do to you. Thus, that 7" widescreen has 8.5cm (3.5") in height and now look at your fingers to judge how many controls can be in view and which must be tappable. But not only that because there's informative stuff as well, like coverart or playlist or whatever you are actually used to. As said/implied in my earlier post - nothing wrong when a bunch (or even all) of playback controls and shortcuts are there as the only controls. All will fit easily and that will be usable (could be control by a smartphone), but if there's even one picture needed all stops. That is, if you want to see what's on the picture as well.

Lastly, and to urge you to understand and not make mistakes, would a 7" be 1024x768 it would be way better already. Is this clear ? So, never look at this 10" or 9" or 8" or 7". You must look at the aspect ratio and actually the physical width x height at the first thing. Actually the only thing, because the diagonal measure is a very moot thing.
Compare it with obtaining your first widescreen TV while being used to the old 4:3 AR, and while the old TV could be 24" and usable, the same 4:3 pictures/movies now suddenly need a mayb 34" screen to show the picture as large (with black at the sides). It is the same story.

Peter

 

[Gerard]

For those (from this area) who are interested in Medion/Aldi (always appreciated as the best stuff at super low prices), the one I am talking about is hard to find on the web if you don't know that it exists. It is this one : http://www.diskidee.be/2012/06/22/aldi-medion-tablet-is-goedkoop-maar-geen-goede-koop/26975/
(299 euro and not the 399 euro you will find easily)

What people may not know either is that Medion can be obtained via a webshop, and that it is not at all so that you *will* be in a queue in the physical shop to find out that whatever it was already has been sold out. See here : http://www.medion.com/nl/electronics/prod/MEDION%C2%AE+LIFETAB%C2%AE+P9514+Tablet+%2810+inch%29/30013887A1?category=tablet&name=Tablets (which is NOT the tablet I was referring to above - it is not there yet (but should be since 4 days or so)).

Peter

Here it is. Little more expensive.

 

http://www.medion.com/nl/electronics/cat/Tablets/tablet_33;jsessionid=9A49ABC1BA5950CAF97A00B1EEE2B26C.appserv14

[juanpmar]

Hi Gerard,

It looks that the MEDION® LIFETAB® P9514 Tablet can only be found in Medion NL, I wonder if the tablet will have installed other languages ​​such as Spanish or English

Regards,
Juan

[Gerard]

Hi Gerard,

It looks that the MEDION® LIFETAB® P9514 Tablet can only be found in Medion NL, I wonder if the tablet will have installed other languages ​​such as Spanish or English

Regards,
Juan

Hi Juan,

I don't know but Peter does i think. 

Grtz Gerard