Best value android tablet

[xaeniac]

Moving from iPad 3 as it is slow on iOS 7. Looking for an android tablet this time. Looking for good value performance ratio with 9-10 inch screen. Like to, browse web and read PDFs. That's about it and I want it to be snappy to browse the web and not laggy. Thanks

 

[jacktesterson]

Nexus 9 suits the bill other than not being cheap.

 

[poofyhairguy]

9-10 inches? Ouch.

 

[xaeniac]

9-10 inches? Ouch.

ok then 8-10

 

[paperwastage]

8: probably the LG G Pad 8.3 GPE, can find it below $250
benefits: GPE, so hopefully you'll get lollipop soon

alternatives: Tab S 8.4 / Tab Pro 8.4, but it's Samsung touchwiz and above $300

>9: Nexus 9, Xperia Z (if it ever drops down to $250 again), ... if you don't mind chinese tablets and Intel Atom (and possible dualboot into windows) to tinker, http://slickdeals.net/f/7299786-tec...32gb-storage-wi-fi-189-99-support-windows-8-1 or the Onda v975/v9xx

 

[jacktesterson]

LG G Pad probably.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Best value period is the Nexus 7 2013. It is only a 7 inch tablet, but it is a great 7 inch tablet and that size does have some perks (great for reading books, using one handed).

For 8-ish inch tablets. I'd go with the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4. It's only $250 now at Best Buy, has the better Snapdragon 800 (IMO) processor (vs most of the other Galaxy Tab models with Exynos). And is pretty compact.

9-10 inch. Hmm, this is hard. Nexus 9 just isn't as good as I hoped. Neither am I excited about the Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 or S 10.5. And most other 10 inch tablets are a bit long in the tooth or just cheap POS.... I guess it's a toss up between the Nexus 9 and Tab S 10.5 (its slower but has the AMOLED display and expandable storage).

 

[poofyhairguy]

Best value period is the Nexus 7 2013.

Basically. Its the best Android tablet value ever, and I still get pissed at mine twice a week for reboots or off taps.

Why oh why didn't you nail the Nexus 9 Google?

If I was you OP I would hunt down one of those GPe LG G Pad 8.3's because I am pretty sure it will get Lollipop.

 

[Eug]

For 9-10":

Nexus 9 at half price in the HTC surprise sale.

Otherwise I'd just get an iPad Air refurb for $339 direct from the Apple Store (USA).

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD788LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD785LL/A/refurbished-ipad-air-wi-fi-16gb-space-grey
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD789LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD786LL/A

 

[Roland00Address]

There are starting to have some intel baytrail/mooresfield 8 to 10" android tablets with 1920x1200 screens. They all have come out in the last few weeks so there is not many reviews if any. These are faster than the nexus 7 roughly the speed of a a cortex a15 should as the nvidia shield tablet but not as fast as the nexus 9.

For example some of these tablets
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=36882630&postcount=3277

Lenovo also announced the Yoga 8 for $250 and Yoga 10 for $300 these are baytrail android tablets, with 1920x1200 screens, 2gb of ram, 32gb storage+micro sd, front facing speakers and batteries the size of or larger than comparable ipads.

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Lenovo-YOGA-Tablet-2-8-inch-Android_id8959
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Lenovo-YOGA-Tablet-2-10-inch-Android_id8960

Similar threads in the last 2 months
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2400991
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2401012
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2404935
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2404671

 

[Ravynmagi]

For 9-10":

Nexus 9 at half price in the HTC surprise sale.

Otherwise I'd just get an iPad Air refurb for $339 direct from the Apple Store (USA).

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD788LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD...6gb-space-grey
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD789LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD786LL/A

HTC surprise sale is over, and it seemed like pretty limited quantities, and the website was barely up when it was available. That was more of a publicity stunt than an actual deal.

 

[Midwayman]

Nvidia shield tablet- little on the smaller side, but that is a fireball of a tablet for the price.

 

[Eug]

HTC surprise sale is over, and it seemed like pretty limited quantities, and the website was barely up when it was available. That was more of a publicity stunt than an actual deal.

Yeah, it was just more of a comment really, that the Nexus 9 really isn't all that cheap. The refurb iPad Air is actually cheaper by a large margin.

 

[Midwayman]

Yeah, it was just more of a comment really, that the Nexus 9 really isn't all that cheap. The refurb iPad Air is actually cheaper by a large margin.

*and* you can get it with a reasonable amount of internal storage *and* it still has a superior ecosystem, especially for tablets.

 

[xaeniac]

Are all LG 8.3 tabs GPE? Also will this be faster than my ipad 3? I like how I can load a f.lux app such as twilight on my android phone, and is a huge swinging point for android. Sorry Im somewhat of a newb, but after IOS updates hurting an iphone and an update making the tablet an unenjoyable experience; I am somewhat done with apple. Sorry if some do not reason with me, but it has been bad experiences with the update process with apple devices, with no way to downgradek

 

[Eug]

Actually, when iOS 8 came out, you could downgrade for a little while. Apple usually allows this for several days.

I upgraded my iPad 2 to iOS 8, decided it was too slow, and then downgraded back to 7.1.2.

 

[paperwastage]

Are all LG 8.3 tabs GPE?

nope. there's a non GPE version (cannot flash GPE rom onto non-GPE version), and also a Verizon LTE version (which has a slower CPU, doesn't have custom ROMs and cannot load non-Verizon ROM on it)

all have kitkat upgrades


there's also (newer) LG G Pad 7.0, 8.0, 10.1 => all these are crappier successors... lower resolution screen, not worth looking at

EDIT: right now, you can also get the Tab Pro 8.4 (new) @ $250 (2560x1600 and qualcomm) @ bestbuy

or the Samsung Tab pro 10.1 @ $250 refurb(2560x1600, but it's exynos, not qualcomm)
http://slickdeals.net/f/7338280-bac...urbished-249-99-free-shipping-ebay-daily-deal

 

[xaeniac]

Actually, when iOS 8 came out, you could downgrade for a little while. Apple usually allows this for several days.

I upgraded my iPad 2 to iOS 8, decided it was too slow, and then downgraded back to 7.1.2.

ipad 3 on 7.1.2 has some performance issues imo

 

[pete6032]

Love my LG G Pad 8.3.

You could also get a non-GPE edition and just load cyanogenmod on it.

 

[richierich1212]

I also highly recommend the G Pad 8.3.

 

[xaeniac]

update: ordered an lg gpad 8.3; thanks to all;

 

[Midwayman]

update: ordered an lg gpad 8.3; thanks to all;

Snapdragon 600? Ick.

 

[gmaster456]

Snapdragon 600? Ick.

What can't the 600 do that an average tablet user would need? Still perfectly adequate for Social media, web browsing, video, and anything else an average user would need a tablet for.

 

[fr]

Buyspry via eBay has 16GB Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1" Android 4.4 Tablet (Refurbished: Black or White) on sale for $249.99

 

[Midwayman]

What can't the 600 do that an average tablet user would need? Still perfectly adequate for Social media, web browsing, video, and anything else an average user would need a tablet for.

If nothing else the snapdragon 800 had large increases in battery life. Plenty of grunt for casual use, but when the Samsung note pro 8.4 is almost the same price it doesn't make sense.