Apad? Epad? Oh my head!!

[Irish_PXzyan]

Well hello laddys and ladieeesss

Well firstly, let me say! My brother Just received his APAD from ebay for 180 Euro, Tiz 10.2", 1ghz CPU/ 512mb DDR2 memory and 1024x600 Resolution.
I checked him using it.. And I'm like.. ohhhh... I like this thing!
How much?? 180 Euro HUH!!! Really? Deadly!!!
He was playing some of these very nifty looking games! I... i wanna play!!!
very fancy animated wallpapers... I want them!!!!!!

It's very nice! Very useful! I don't have a laptop.. I have been considering buying one! But this thing can do what a laptop can do!! and it's only 180 euro!!! Well why not go for this!

Ugh!! ok I sound like a kid now.. I'm 23 btw


ok So why did I make this thread?
Simple!

I went onto ebay, checked out the tablets, and 1500 items appeared
Oh dear... I see all sorts of Apads and Epads!! like.. they look the same!! WHy so many!!

Well I must ask. Is there any differences?
Any ideas which I should be looking at?
Discuss!

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

Anandtech has some really good reviews on new pads. Not sure if I have seen any from TPU yet.

There are huge differences in hardware specs, memory, OS's.


http://www.anandtech.com/tag/tablet

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

I shall check them out!! Anandtech xD

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

I would wait honestly. There will be some monsters coming out with dual core + seperate gpu. Should smoke the atoms and on chip gpu's that are currently out. Like the ipad2. Plus Andriod is getting better and better with each revision. Microsoft should be launching one shortly as well that will run the same mobile os their new phones use, but expanded.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

AHh! Any idea when the dual core monsters are out? But it must be cheap! 200 euro.
I Do not want to spend more than that on such a device.

I checked Nvidias Tegra 2 with dual core and 1gig of ddr2 memory but it's 350 euros!!

But an APAD with a GPU! Would be very nice xD

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

I would expect around xmas time. The tegra 2 is a nice chip no doubt. But still I would rather have something that was meant for a PC vs a mobile chip. Like atoms, tegra 2, qualcomm. AMD has some really nice mobile solutions coming out now that Llano is shipping. Then you have intels CULVs which are pretty dang awesome also.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Very true!
But XMAS!!! man! I would like one now xD
Perhaps I could just grab what my brother has.
Then once the beasts arrive. I can go and get myself one of them and sell off the older one?
I don't see why not!

At least his is Android 2.2 and 3.0 capable xD

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

Check out the Motorola Zoom, Samsung Galaxy and the Dell Streak. Although I have no idea if those are available in Ireland, or could be better stuff over there.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Phones?!?! No no! I don't want phones xD I am aware of these items! they are nifty expensive feckers! But no thanks
APAD all the way man!

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

Phones?!?! No no! I don't want phones xD I am aware of these items! they are nifty expensive feckers! But no thanks
APAD all the way man!

Well they are tablets, with cell capabilities.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

here's a question lads, Would.. lets say.. A 1ghz Dual Core CPU + 256mb Ram be better than a 1Ghz Single Core + 512mb Ram???
I am unsure... 256mb just seems way to low, 512mb is barely acceptable as it is!!
What are your thoughts?

 

[human_error]

here's a question lads, Would.. lets say.. A 1ghz Dual Core CPU + 256mb Ram be better than a 1Ghz Single Core + 512mb Ram???
I am unsure... 256mb just seems way to low, 512mb is barely acceptable as it is!!
What are your thoughts?

RAM below 512MB will significantly impact how well a tablet can handle webpages with lots of images or multitasking. Moreso than the number of cores when below 512MB (if it has 512MB or more RAM then obviously a second core will make a big difference).

There is also a massive difference in speed clock for clock between the different ARM architectures - a cortex A9 is a lot faster than an ARM 11 cpu core for example.

As for the rest of the tablet - screen type (capacitative vs resistive) also plays a big role - capacitative is easier to use and is seen as "better".

If you want to get a good tablet really cheap then look at xda developer forums and see which cheap tablets have a lot of modding community support - you can get a nook color imported from the US for about £160 which on its own is not bad, but when modded to run a new version of android is a brilliant piece of kit. May be worth seeing which tablets there are good for developer support.

As for dedicated GPUs all tablets have a "dedicated" gpu as the SoC (system on a chip) contains a cpu, gpu and ram which is shared between the cpu and gpu. As for good GPUs the mobile kings at the moment are the PowerVR SGX540 and adrino 220. The nVidia chip in the tegra 2 is over a year old now, and although decent isn't quite as fast as the other top-end mobile GPUs (it is still a very good piece of kit for mobile though, as it can decode 1080p video @ <100mv which gives it a massive battery life).

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Thanks for that information!

I am checking out those more fancy tablets! I am just not willing to spend 300+ Euros on them!! I just want to keep it cheap. I am not going to be using it that much.

Only for doing college work on when I need it done, some internet web surfing, spare time at college! take a game out xD

I am certain that this will do just fine?

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180644982647&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Tiz only 127 euro

 

[Frick]

THose things are often chinese knockoffs and they can be good.. or horrible. Looks good on specs though, but that's no guarantee.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

It's the exact same model as my brother, and he bought it from a Uk seller for 180 euro!
It's very good! Nothing wrong with it at all.

It does look odd to see it at 127 euro compared to 180! Big price difference really.

I guess it's all alright to go for it tho??

 

[Frick]

If you have the money and want one, go for it. I want one of those myself, perfect to read books and comics on.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Agreed xD

I have the money for it, I could get the Uk one too. It would arrive within a week.. the Asian one will take 2-3 weeks tho! But it is cheaper!

hmmmm!!

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

I second the waiting

here's a question lads, Would.. lets say.. A 1ghz Dual Core CPU + 256mb Ram be better than a 1Ghz Single Core + 512mb Ram???
I am unsure... 256mb just seems way to low, 512mb is barely acceptable as it is!!
What are your thoughts?

Hello,

While it may seem cliche, waiting for the end of this year is in your best interest. Tablets generally experience large amounts of wear and tear, so their resale value is minimal. You could buy now, but you would be better to place the money toward a higher end tablet later.

As far as ram, don't ever allow anything below 512 mb. Even simple programs run horribly when you go below 512 mb. Single core processors work for tablets, but they will soon be gone. Apple introduces the Tegra, and the competition will follow suit. The difference is that competitors will have the same hardware, or even better, for less. Patience will give you a fatter wallet, or a much more capable piece of hardware.

The best news is that the end of this year should give us something that can finally put a nail in the biggest name in the tablet market. I just can't tell which of the various competitors will do it the best.

 

[pantherx12]

Order from mp4nation.net they have some crackin tablets available, delivery is free.

I was thinking of getting this
http://mp4nation.net/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68&products_id=496
As I think with some fiddling I could use it as a wifimedia streamer as well : ]


Or this. http://mp4nation.net/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68&products_id=486 as the processor is better known.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

lilhasselhoffer: I agree that by the end of the year it will be better!! It's always the same way with everything thing!! GPU's! CPU's! Monitors! HDTVs! you name it xD
The matter of fact is.. we are here now!! and that's all that matters!!!
That might have sounded pretty bollox! but I just want to grab one as soon as possible xD

@pantherx12 Do they sell to Ireland for free too? Those pads are pretty nifty! 7" is a bit small compared to the 10" ones, How ever it has 1.2Ghz CPU and a 3D capable GPU which sounds quite impressive! And it's Capacitive which is a HUGE plus!!
Now my choices have seriously grown!!

 

[pantherx12]

lilhasselhoffer: I agree that by the end of the year it will be better!! It's always the same way with everything thing!! GPU's! CPU's! Monitors! HDTVs! you name it xD
The matter of fact is.. we are here now!! and that's all that matters!!!
That might have sounded pretty bollox! but I just want to grab one as soon as possible xD

@pantherx12 Do they sell to Ireland for free too? Those pads are pretty nifty! 7" is a bit small compared to the 10" ones, How ever it has 1.2Ghz CPU and a 3D capable GPU which sounds quite impressive! And it's Capacitive which is a HUGE plus!!
Now my choices have seriously grown!!

Have a browse around man, some 10.1 inch ones on there too.

Although those two are the best budget picks in my opinion. Likely to have custom roms on slatetab ( I think that's the website) as a few others of this type have become popular.

Some have video reviews, reviewer is refreshingly honest often laughing at how shit some features are. For

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Ahh lovely!
I watched his review and he did laugh at the shitty paint job!! But he does say it's a solid kit for a generic item! Which is good news xD

The 10.1" are just too pricey!
So right now, I could buy this item for 161 Euros. Or go for the 10.2" one on ebay for 127 Euros. But it's 1.0Ghz compared to the 1.2ghz CPU and resistive compared to the capacitive! But it is bigger than the small 7" one!
hmmm!!

 

[pantherx12]

Ahh lovely!
I watched his review and he did laugh at the shitty paint job!! But he does say it's a solid kit for a generic item! Which is good news xD

The 10.1" are just too pricey!
So right now, I could buy this item for 161 Euros. Or go for the 10.2" one on ebay for 127 Euros. But it's 1.0Ghz compared to the 1.2ghz CPU and resistive compared to the capacitive! But it is bigger than the small 7" one!
hmmm!!

I would personally go for the one on mp4nation, only because I've dealt with them a few times and had a good service, they had problems with postage times back in the day but I chilled out at their forums learning a fair bit about MIDS and such.

I think they have a shipping contract set up now though as postage is no longer per item.

It's free ( well prices averaged out over everything I imagine but still cheapest place with decent support I've found.)

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Sounds good too me!

I will just have to make the decision about the specs on both items!
Thanks for the advice!

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Sorry for double posting, but this cheaper!!
http://www.pickegg.com/wholesale/ap...droid-2-2-touchpad-with-2mp.html?currency=EUR