Tablet purchase advice

Hardware
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Ok I know this is a Linux forum so questions should relate to that but as android is a type and in the community we have a vast level of knowledge experience and involved in different aspects I am going to ask…

My tablet is dieing and looking to replace, thinking 8 inch for portability, 4gb and 64 as a minimum spec plus android 11 or 13 but then look at cost against this
Don’t want to pay a fortune as tablets appear to run for 2 years for me then die, yes use it a lot.
Not going to buy apple as over priced.
Questions
Amazon fire does not have Google store so perhaps limited
Kids version of tablets tend to be cheaper and have drop protection but can they be used by adults
Sub 100 euros exist but are they any good are they up for the job
Samsung galaxy A7 lite is it worth spending another 50 euros on

I don’t watch films or play games it’s mainly email or web surfing so no real demands

Comments please and which you use

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What about a Raspberry based device?
It could uniqe, as you have full control over OS (Linux), and I bet it would last more than an Android tablet.

Something like this:

Or a Pinetab maybe?

I’d definitely go for the Raspad thingie, because I like that there’s some thinkering with it… :smiley:

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We have two 10in Samsung tablets. They have lasted a lot longer than 2 years, so they are older models but still work with everything except our Telco’s app.
We only use them in the house on the wifi modem, they do not have mobile phone … you can get them with a modile phone… I have a friend who uses one for a phone.
We charge them every night , overnight. My wife will flatten hers during the day… she watches lots of youtube stuff.

I would buy another Samsung, because we have had no trouble. That is not to say other brands are not as good.

If you dont want portable, consider a 10 inch… Your eyes are not getting any younger.

Android is probably the most successful linux ever.

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That is interesting. Better connectivity than an Android tablet by the look of it. Lower price too.
I wonder if it allows root access?

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It’s Raspbian (Debian) under the hood, so root access is automatic, or via sudo, at the very least.

When that Raspad first launched on Kickstarter maybe 5 years ago, I was tempted - but - one problem - it’s only 720p and the “lofi” nature of 720p would show up on a 10" - IMHO. Before opting for something like this - I’d check out reviews for things like battery life - because a tablet is only as good as its battery - nobody wants to use a tablet that lasts less than 2 hours on a full charge…

But it’s ideal if you want to “bring your own O/S”.

Or check out @Sheila_Flanagan 's threads on running Linux on Lenovo tablets.
You could probably get a 2nd hand Lenovo x86 tablet for a reasonable price, and run Linux on it.

Lenovo also have cheap Android tablets - e.g. here in Au OfficeWorks outlets are advertising two Lenovo Android tablets for under $200 AU (what’s that in Euros? 100 Euros?).

Despite (or in spite of) @nevj’s advocating Samsung - I wouldn’t recommend them. I’ve had two Note series Samsung tablets - a 10.1" I bought new, and a 12.2" which I bought 2nd hand.

Even before I dropped the 10" one and destroyed it (iPads can take a lot more punishment than Galaxy tablets) - it would sometimes go through the infamous Samsung “boot loop”.

The 12.2" one also would go through that “boot loop” constantly. Would happen soon as battery dropped below 60% - one time I couldn’t stop it doing the boot loop on 100% battery charge - ended up having to factory reset it - that got it working, but I lost ALL the data stored on the internal storage! I stopped using it - I didn’t trust it NOT to lose all my data.

Didn’t our esteemed leader Abishek recently publish an Its Foss story on Linux tablets?

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Liked the look of the raspberry
But two issues
The customs in France are playing silly with tax for imported goods and blocking at the point of distribution to release you pay a tax
The airline we use to travel on only offer on line boarding passes on either android or Mac tablet phones not on Linux or desktops
Which is stupid, as last flight we took. Downloaded the app, got the boarding passes in a wallet which refused to open, the pdf I also got would not scan at the gate entry, and they printed them out for us anyway dispite saying it was extra 10 euros per ticket per person.

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I started with a very cheap tablet but speed was a let down so upgraded to Samsung but that got stuck in the boot loop and no matter what I did could not get out of it. Currently have a Lenovo 10 inch but the screen is ghosted everything appears double (cross eyed). I have a old Samsung but it’s on android 4 and cannot be upgraded will not connect to email so old.
My Nokia phone does everything I need really but as pointed out screen size is difficult with age falling eyesight and lack of dexterity in the keypad for typing.
Not see the tablet article will go and look

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Before I got RTSP working on my IP security cameras - I was seriously considering buying a dirt cheap bargain basement Android tablet - minimum 8", but probably 10" - looked at no-name brands on Amazon - but if I do that - I think I’ll go for Lenovo, either new, or pre-owned off e-bay…

But : here’s the caveat : I’ve found that RTSP feed from these shonky cameras a bit substandard - they end up getting like 10 seconds behind the same view on my iPad…

What I’d MUCH rather do, is stick a 2nd hand iPad mini 5 there - but - FFS! They’re still over $400 2nd hand, same goes for mini gen4 - $350+ WTF? This is Apple gear… and there’s probably a good reason for that - most of their stuff can last 10+ years or more! And they provide software support for their tablets and phones WAAAAY longer than Android vendors… I could still run the latest iOS (rebranded iPadOS) on a gen3 iPad mini…

For the tablet experience, give me an iPad ANYDAY over some shonky Android device… I have a gen3 iPad - I think software support for these stopped at iOS 11 - but - it still works! I use 2 iPads - my iPad Pro 12.9" from 2018, and a 2nd hand iPad mini gen5 I got last year off a refurbish reseller (an Au mob called Rebeelo - who do a stirling job of diverting potential landfill to useable devices - but - they’re not cheap).

I use both iPads with my Apple Pencil for pursuing my hobby (drawing and sketching), and the 12.9" is great for reading e-comics, and I use the mini gen5 to read e-books (mostly epub files I upload to my Google Play [yes on Apple ecosystem!] account)…

So - I may sing the praises of iOS on tablets (it craps on what I’ve seen from Android) - I DETEST it on smartphones - and will probably be an Android phone user till I fall off this mortal coil (BTW - I had 2 non-android smartphones before Android, but they were Windows CE and I quite liked it - the “killer app” for me was Microsoft Age of Empires!)…

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Here I am again with the same question

For Christmas 2023 I replaced my Lenovo tablet with a Samsung A9+ new as it had a good spec . Thinking my problem was over. But now some 19 months later and back to the drawing board as the Samsung has died. Well almost it just will not charge tried several different cables and adapters and sockets in the house none charge the tablet. Yet I know these adaptors and cables are good as I use them to charge my Kindle and phone without issue.

Tried cleaning the socket in the tablet but no difference. This model does not offer proximity charging.

Question now is

Take it for repair

Buy a very cheap tablet at 100 euros and be ready to throw it away after 18 months as I am about to do with the Samsung

Buy another Samsung A9+

My wife has a 6 year old Samsung which works fine hence thought it would be good.

Friday afternoon or Monday morning model in my case !

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My wife has an A9+. About 12 months. No issue so far. Her previous Samsung lost battery after about 5 years. My even older Samsung ( Galaxy Tab A) seems like it will go forever ( runs Android7) … what will stop it is lack of Android updates.

So, it is a lottery with batteries. Buy another A9+. Charge it slow overnight every night.
Try and get a genuine charger.

There are people who can open it and fit new battery.

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I’m really happy with my Amazon Fire tablet.

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I’ve had 2 Samsung tablets (10" and 12") - swore off Android tablets after that…

First one was to use in place of my 3rd Gen iPad… the iPad was heaps better really… I just got the Samsung 'cause it was pen enabled… Dropped the Samsung 2 feet and the whole screen shattered… Replaced it with a 12" pen enabled Samsung tablet… Outside of warranty - it went into a “boot loop”… The only way to resolve that was to factory reset, then it happened again… So I gave up… Both of those Samsung tablets were stuck on Android 4 - forever!

The 3rd gen iPad got dropped once - at an airport (I was mostly using it to read e-books) - it cracked the glass at the side - but was still 100% usable - but it stopped getting iOS updates after 9.x (and I’d already jailbroken it - so no updates).

Got a 12.9" iPad pro - and it’s still going after 7+ years - and - STILL GETTING UPDATES!

That was a bit unwieldy for reading e-books (it’s great for comics though!) - so I got a 2nd hand 5th gen iPad mini… that’s still going 3 years later - and - still getting updates…

Note: I got a Kobo paper-white e-ink ebook reader in the interim - but - it was too limiting - could only get DRM books from Rakuten bookstore, or try and find books with no DRM as epubs (never did get the DRM removal plugin to work in Calibre). With an iPad - I can upload epubs to my Google account and read them in the iOS Google-Books app - or - open epubs directly - and if an ebook is only available on Kindle - I can buy it - and read it using the iOS Kindle app (same for Rakuten)…

I started getting really annoyed with it though - it would sit idle all day - doing nothing - and I’d go to bed intending to read and the battery would be dead! I fixed that - I installed an app called “Shortcuts” and created a shortcut / automation - so that when it’s not connected to a charger - it goes into “low battery mode” and stays there! Hasn’t happened again for months!

So : gimme an iPad over an Android tablet anyday! Sure they’re a bit pricier - but worth it in the end I reckon… And 2nd hand ones are very affordable… We have a refurbished supplier of electronics in Australia called “Rebeelo” - I’ve bought two phones (Android), and two iPad minis from them (got one for my wife recently - also to read e-books - it was only $200)…

I guess another option might be a convertible chromebook? Some of the Lenovo ones look okay - I actually have one - when my younger sister passed away last year - I got her 9" Lenovo Chromebook - can be used as a tablet - or a ChromeOs laptop with keyboard… But still - I find iPadOS easier to use…

Note: I don’t do any music listening or playing on my iPads - I only use them mostly for reading ebooks - and - drawing with my Apple Pencil… And sometimes video streams, online, or free to air TV via my TVHeadEnd server (Pi3 with a TV-tuner).

Note : neither of my iPads will be getting iOS / iPadOS 26 (Apple are merging O/S versions so that all their phones, tablets, TV boxes and laptops will be on OS 26) - but I reckon iPadOS 17.x or 18 will plod along for at least another 5 years of being usable…

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Sadly its not the charger or batteries but the usb 3 connexion to the outside world at fault think the connection to the motherboard board has become unsoldered so it moves about.

Youtube says discount and replace but my fine motor skills on soldering have left me and the cost of repair against buying new for perhaps a few more months makes me question the solution

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Our Amazon Fire tablets are way less expensive than any other tablets. The Silk browsers work exceptionally well, comparable to Firefox. We have 1500 or so Kindle books in our shared library and happily spend a nominal fee to get new stuff through Kindle unlimited. We can even download books from the library through Libby which are formatted to Kindle. I’ve also been using Calibre to download ebook or pdf books on my computer. I don’t have any need for a tablet that costs over $100 USD.

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They are so attractive at the price offered. My main concern is if they would run the app that my bank insists I use to access my account without that I cannot confirm a payment. Yes I can access the web site now matter what browser but the app is like a double check on security.

Plus some other sites offer through the apps store tools I don’t use many but ….

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I fear it is like printers… the cheaper the printer the dearer the ink

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Paul, I only use the Fire to browse the internet and read books. Sometimes I stream football if none of my regular streaming channels carry the game. It’s also useful for Youtube. But I’d never use it for banking or anything important. That’s what my computer is for.

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I do this on laptop, phone, and tablet. My only problem with the tablet is that it’s slow. Mine is a Samsung A7 and a few years old. I don’t use it much. The processor is pretty slow. It seems like I can’t find one that size and yet higher end CPU, RAM, and storage. That size is what I prefer for reading ebooks.

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Can you visit and download from the Google play store or are you blocked to using Amazon only. Have you installed some sort of jailbreak to allow access to play store

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Have not seen a need to do such a thing. Why would I need to?

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