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Dave Lehnert
01-26-2015, 10:20 PM
Anyone have experience and can recommend a cheap tablet? I see them for $49.

Looking for something cheap to keep in my tool box so I can connect to the public Wifi. Check e-mail etc... when needed. Don't want to take my expensive table. 6" Kindle Fire can be had for $99.
Not 100% needed but handy to have just in case if something cheap will work.

Rich Engelhardt
01-27-2015, 8:33 AM
My wife picked up a 7" one from WalMart online for $49 that came with a keyboard/carry case. I had her get one for me too.

It's everything you think it would be & little to nothing more.
It runs Android 4.4 - which means a lot of the apps you'd like to run that are supposed to run - - don't.
The camera lens is only on the side facing you. You can take selfies all day long, but, taking a picture of something is more trouble than it's worth.

It does do email - both Gmail and Yahoo very well though.
A few of the apps are real winners and run fine.
The keyboard/carry case is great! It makes it so much easier to use.

I should also mention that I added a 16 GB micro SD to mine - about $8 to $12 on sale

Yeah - I'd buy one again for things like email and occasional hot spot use.

Curt Harms
01-27-2015, 9:12 AM
How's the readability in daylight, Rich? If I have this right (I don't have one) do Android 4.4 get updates directly from Google? One of the complaints about cheap android devices is that the manufacturers don't offer O.S. updates and upgrades. My impression is that If a 'landfill' android device is born with Android 4.1, it'll likely die with Android 4.1 and security flaws are not patched. I thought I'd read that 4.4 and 5 were supposed to address that.

Steve Rozmiarek
01-27-2015, 9:18 AM
Why not just use a bigger android phone? It's impossible to not have your phone around these days. I thought I'd use a tablet too, but turned out I never do, and it's always somewhere else with a dead battery. Either my S4 works fine, or I need a computer, not much in between. For $49 though, it's a pretty cheap toy.

Jim Matthews
01-27-2015, 9:36 AM
Why not just use a bigger android phone?

+1 on this.

If it's just occasional use, having one more thing around to break makes little sense.
I have an older generation Motorola from Consumer cellular.

It takes moments to turn on WiFi and check.
You do need to turn WiFi off when you're done -
it's a battery drain to keep it on.

https://www.consumercellular.com/Info/Phones?gclid=CMCl79iytMMCFQNk7Aod_H8AAA

Matt Day
01-27-2015, 10:28 AM
+2 to what Steve said. I have my iphone 5 on my all the time and it the go to for most of my internet/email needs because of the easy access. Do you have a smartphone? If not, I would definitely get one of those before any tablet.

We have an ipad that gets much more use by my 2 year old than by my wife and I. If I need to see something easier I'd rather sit in front of the computer with a keyboard.

But, that being said, for use on the go it's much easier to have a tablet than a laptop if your phone isn't up to the task. And for occasional internet use, a $49 tablet sounds like a good idea. And as far as it not being able to run certain apps, who cares? You're basically looking for internet access and to check email right? What apps do you really need to run?

John Huds0n
01-27-2015, 10:42 AM
BestBuy has a website where they sell off open box, returns, refurbished, damaged items etc. It's called "Cowboom"

Here is a link to their tablets under $49. You have to look at the condition of the item - fair, satisfactory, very good etc and what is not included to see if it is actually a good deal. (I have purchased several tablets from them and am very happy with them)

http://www.cowboom.com/Computers/iPads-Tablets-eReaders/?page=1&order=match&store=fixed&query=Sale_Price%3D20..49.99&view=grid&subkeywords=

Myk Rian
01-27-2015, 11:42 AM
Those all seem to be Kindles, B&N pads, or preowned.
Android 4.4 is followed by another number. Such as 4.4.2, 4.4.3, or 4.4.4 Anything with version 4.4.x is up to date.
Newest version is 5.x.x but not for older devices. My Samsung Galaxy S3 is at 4.4.2 and is at it's maximum version.

Rich Engelhardt
01-27-2015, 11:48 AM
Curt,
Readability is fine. No problems at all with the display.
So far. the OS has updated twice within the month we've had them. I believe they came right from Google. I didn't pay attention, I just said ok to the update.

The big problem w/Android 4.4 is that it's flaky. A whole bunch of apps refuse to recognize it as being installed and when you go to install the app, it tells you there are no supported devices.
I guess there's a work around for it - but - after spending the last 22 plus years in the computer field and screwing with all the work arounds, I'm done doing that.

BTW we went with the 7" tablet instead of the phone because our phone service is as basic as we could possibly find. My wife and I both have Tracphones and spend like $7 to $10 a month for them.
The tablet fills a niche and it does a decent job for the price.

The browser (Chrome) has some issues also that are taking some getting used to. I'm having troubles getting tabs to close. I think it might just be my fat fingers though.
The tablet also has Opera. I might switch over to that since I was always a big fan of Opera.

William Adams
01-27-2015, 4:50 PM
The thing that kills me about daylight viewability is no one is making anything

I'd 've given a lot to have been able to buy a replacement for the transflective LCD in my Stylistic ST-4121

Dave Lehnert
01-27-2015, 6:13 PM
Thanks for all the info so far.
yes, the guys at work say the same thing "just use your cell phone". "It's only $80- $100 a month" They seemed shocked when I say I only pay $100 a year for my phone. No, cant watch movies, can't surf the web. only calls and text.

Matt Day
01-27-2015, 7:57 PM
Could you get a smartphone with the same phone plan you have now, and only use the data while on Wifi? That's what I do outside the US, and use Skype for calls.

If not, sounds like a cheap tablet is the ticket.

Myk Rian
01-27-2015, 10:17 PM
The big problem w/Android 4.4 is that it's flaky. A whole bunch of apps refuse to recognize it as being installed and when you go to install the app, it tells you there are no supported devices.
Are your apps capable of running on 4.x.x? Many of the older ones aren't. Android 4.x.x is very stable.

Curt Harms
01-28-2015, 8:13 AM
Curt,
Readability is fine. No problems at all with the display.
So far. the OS has updated twice within the month we've had them. I believe they came right from Google. I didn't pay attention, I just said ok to the update.

The big problem w/Android 4.4 is that it's flaky. A whole bunch of apps refuse to recognize it as being installed and when you go to install the app, it tells you there are no supported devices.
I guess there's a work around for it - but - after spending the last 22 plus years in the computer field and screwing with all the work arounds, I'm done doing that.

BTW we went with the 7" tablet instead of the phone because our phone service is as basic as we could possibly find. My wife and I both have Tracphones and spend like $7 to $10 a month for them.
The tablet fills a niche and it does a decent job for the price.

The browser (Chrome) has some issues also that are taking some getting used to. I'm having troubles getting tabs to close. I think it might just be my fat fingers though.
The tablet also has Opera. I might switch over to that since I was always a big fan of Opera.

Thanks for the info, Rich. If you're a fan of Opera, you might want to keep an eye on a new browser being developed by the original Opera CEO. I installed the tech preview on Ubuntu. It still has bugs (it's a tech preview, no surprise there) and some things don't work yet - mail for one thing - but it seems quick. It's only available on Win, Mac & Linux so far, no android or iOS yet.

https://vivaldi.com/

Rich Engelhardt
01-28-2015, 3:34 PM
Are your apps capable of running on 4.x.x? Many of the older ones aren't. Android 4.x.x is very stable.
Yep - the apps all say 4. something or above & I'm running 4.4.
From what I gathered by doing a brief search, it's a known problem. There's a program - IIRC called Raccoon or something like that you can use to manually install the programs.
But - like I mentioned above - I'm done with that foolishness after having to do it for a living for 22 years.

Now, stuff either works like it's supposed to - - or -- it just doesn't exist.
If someone tells me, for instance, I can run an app on my tablet that allows me to access my U-verse menu I just tell them no such app exists.
When they try to tell me it most certainly does, I just tell them that the app writer or RCA (the make of the tablet) or Android or someone is lying and they are more than welcome to try to get it installed on my tablet! :D

I actually got a chuckle out of the fact that the Android was buggy like that. After years of people telling me how buggy Microsoft stuff was, I was half expecting some miracle with a non-Microsoft OS where stuff actually worked like it's supposed to :D.

Myk Rian
01-28-2015, 3:44 PM
Do a factory reset. Something went wrong with the last one.