Need helping with 10" tablet for reading

[The0ne]

Would like to purchase low cost tablet that is at least 10", high resolution and fast enough to play some movies. It has to be 10" because I like to have the size for reading. My eyes aren't that great Priorities of features are,

1. 10" or greater
2. MicroSD slot for expansion
3. Smooth UI
4. Fast enough for normal video playback

I saw a retina display china brand somewhere but don't have link anymore or can recall the info. Was wondering if that would be ok for my needs. I don't play games, don't care about gps, camera, etc. Just read my books, view my photos and play the occasional movies.

Any advice would be great! Thanks.

Probably going to get this on Friday,

http://www.onda-sale.com/onda-v972-quad-core-a31-retina-9-7-inch-android-4-1-tablet-pc-16gb.html

 

[bloodlover]

If you want something that you will be using mostly for reading, I'd say get an ebook reader. It's the best thing for your eyes and you can increase the size of the font if the letters are too small. Ebook readers have e-ink technology that mimics the ordinary ink on paper so it's the best thing for your eyes. I have a Kindle Touch and it's awesome for reading.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I'd say give up on the micro SD slot and consider an iPad 4 or Nexus 10. Both have great high resolution tablets with very clean crisp text. iPad apps already seem to scale great on that high DPI screen. Many Android apps aren't nearly as prepared for the high DPI screen, so I think you'll see some tiny fonts in some apps. But pretty much any browser or book reading app will allow you to increase the font size easily.

I like 10 inch tablets fro reading websites. But I don't like them much for reading ebooks. The problem is my eyes have to move around quite a bit on that large screen. I think a 6 inch ereader or 7 inch tablet would be much better choices for reading books, even with bad eyes, the fonts should still be large enough to read I think.

Again the better 7 inch tablets don't have micro SD slots. But a Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD or B&N Nook HD (which does have micro SD) are good choices.

 

[The0ne]

I agree but still like to have the larger screen size to have more text for reading. Two of my co-workers have a Kindle and Nook, the e-ink models and they are fantastic for reading. The problem I have is that if I increase the font size too much then I end up flipping pages too often, which is touching the screen too often. That's really why I would like the 10" screen.

Since I sold my Kindle Fire last year all I have to use is my Note 2 for reading. The screen sharpness is great but I flip pages a lot I've looked at the Nook HD+ and it's great too but decided not to purchase it, even though I had one pre-ordered.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

you can probably do without a microSD slot unless you have an extremely large collection. ebooks file take up very little room so even an 8G device should suffice.

 

[Red Storm]

you can probably do without a microSD slot unless you have an extremely large collection. ebooks file take up very little room so even an 8G device should suffice.

And they're small enough to easily be transferable with cloud storage apps.

 

[Midwayman]

You sound like an idea candidate for the fire hd 8.9 except for the micro SD.

In the 10" range there are only a couple tablets that have higher than the 1280x800 standard resolution

In order of price.
1) Nexus 10- Great, but spendy and no mSD
2) asus tf700t- Great, but spendy
3) Acer a700- Had a rep as laggy in reviews, but the JB update has supposedly fixed that.
4) Amazon fire hd 8.9- No mSD, but great for what you want otherwise. No play store without root. However their video is great, app store is mediocre.
5) BN nook hd+- mSD, but very poor ecosystem if you don't plan on rooting.

IIRC acer has another one slated for march

 

[The0ne]

Thanks for the reply. Will have to check out the Nook HD+ again tomorrow after work. It'll be my third time doing it so may it is the one for me. MicroSD slot is mainly for my music, photos and video. It's not a necessity for ebooks as they are quite small for each. Weight is not too big of a concern since I read in bed or on the bed (weekends) mostly.

 

[Roland00Address]

If you can root it, I think the Nook HD+ 9 inch is perfect for you.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Am I the only one that hates the big plastic bezel around the Nook tablets though? Really wish BN would go with a flat glass surface.

 

[The0ne]

Bought the Nook HD+ to try out for the weekend. Hope I like it enough to keep it. Was $269 with free $30-$40 GC so not too bad. The bezel is most likely for someone like me who doesn't want to tough the display while holding and reading. So in this case the border is a feature I like

 

[CuriousMike]

I've owned the Nook HD+ since Christmas.

The size, weight and *display make it a fine ereader; my only prior experience is with the original Kindle Fire.

Also note that folks on XDA have rooted it, so you can put the full Google Apps on the stock OS.
Alternatively, if you have a micro-SD card you can throw CM10 (Jelly Bean) on the device and it works pretty well.

It's definitely an inexpensive way to get 64GB+ of storage ( using 16GB stock + 64GB microsd card).

* The display is 1920x1280, which is somewhat unique. It makes the device a smidge wider in portrait mode (which for reading is nice.)

 

[The0ne]

I've owned the Nook HD+ since Christmas.

The size, weight and *display make it a fine ereader; my only prior experience is with the original Kindle Fire.

Also note that folks on XDA have rooted it, so you can put the full Google Apps on the stock OS.
Alternatively, if you have a micro-SD card you can throw CM10 (Jelly Bean) on the device and it works pretty well.

It's definitely an inexpensive way to get 64GB+ of storage ( using 16GB stock + 64GB microsd card).

* The display is 1920x1280, which is somewhat unique. It makes the device a smidge wider in portrait mode (which for reading is nice.)

Did the SDcard flash and it works ok. Laggy once in a while in UI though. Initially it had set the CPU down to 300 so things were quite bad. Had to then root the device, install system tuner and bump it up to 1500 and manage it. I'm wondering if Jelly Bean is smoother?

I agree with you on the display, I like in portrait as well. Didn't sleep until 5AM this morning reading on it I dd compare it to my Note2 display and I have to say the Note2 display is far better. It has less glare and is sharp. This may be because of it's size but now I'm having second thoughts.

 

[CuriousMike]

It is mandatory that you use the right micro-SD card for Cm10.
There are a multitude of threads that explain what "right" means.