PC I need a tablet.

[Acegadgets]

I've been thinking about getting a tablet for a while and with prices being quite reasonable , now could be the time to buy one.
I can't afford the iPads and other top of the range models, I'm looking for a 7 " budget one up to £150.
I've narrowed it down to 4 that are now in the price range . All are 16 gb storage, 1 Gb Ram, have Wi-Fi and use Android 4.2 Jelly bean.

Asus nexus 7 (2012),
http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/ASUS_NEXUS_7_WIFI_16GB
The latest Nexus 7 (2013) is top of most of the review charts as they now have 1.5ghz quad core proccesors and graphics at 1900 x 1200 res. However its still a bit much @ £199
Last years model have now been reduced to £99 and are quite tempting. There is a 1.3ghz quad core processor and battery life is good, around 9 hours , graphics are OK @ 1200 x 800, but the camera is only 1.2mps.

Lenovo yoga 8.
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/LENOVO-YOGA-59387730_1508052.html
This is currently the dearest on my list at £179.99 but you get £30 cashback (ends this week) So i could have one for £150. It appeals to me as I've had no bother with Lenovo stuff in the past, 2 PCs and a laptop have been brilliant. The design is excellent with a cylindrical hinge on the bottom which contains a longer life battery than the rest and 2 forward facing speakers will give excellent sound quality. Slightly slower proccessor than the other two with a 1.2ghz quad core. It has both front and back cameras with a decent resolution @ 5 mps rear facing one. The base forms a stand and the "lump " makes it easier to hold. The downside is the reviews regarding the graphics not being as good as its rivals, (1280 x 800) however these are compared to £200 + models like the 2013 Nexus 7 (1900 x 1200 mps).

Tesco Hubl ,
Voted the best budget tablet by a number of review sites. It is in the store at £119, but you can use your tesco clubcard and get it a lot cheaper. Plus points for specs 1.5ghz quad core is the best of the three as is the resolution @ 1440 x 900. Battery life is a bit dissapointing compared to the others, it could be flat in 5 hours. The 3 mps camera is also not fantastic
http://www.tesco.com/direct/hudl-7-16gb-wi-fi-android-tablet-blue/216-1899.prd?icid=spiffy_hubl_216-1899_hubl

I've also looked at the Samsung Galaxy tab 3 which is £119 at John Lewis. It dosen't really top any of the feature boxes though with a 1.2ghz processor, 3 mps + 1.2 mps cameras , 1024 x 600 res and only 8 gb of ram. I've not considerd the Kindle or Nook as they arent really Andriod tablets.

What would you go for and why?

 

[Martok]

I'd go for the Nexus 7 2012, basically because this is the one I have and use. I also got the 2012 version for my daughter this Christmas. Screen resolution is fine, you'll probably not use the camera much (I'll only be using it for Skype, I'll use my phone camera or proper camera for any photography). The graphics card is nVidia Tegra which is a good one and likely to be better than those in the other models.

The £99 price is very good. If it gets sold out then you can pick these up from Expansys: the 16GB model for £124.99 or the 32Gb model for £144.99. I bought the 32Gb model for my daughter from them and they delivered quickly. I went for the larger capacity so there was plenty of space for apps and even downloading movies from Google Play or iPlayer.

 

[SHROUD]

Lady Shroud has the Nexus 7 and more than happy with it. Did some review searches ourselves before deciding.

 

[Plaxinator]

Well I have an iPad 4, but out of those three I'd probably go the Nexus 7 as I've consistently heard good reviews about it.

 

[HERMAN_JELMET]

I too have a Nexus 7.

 

[jonnywombat]

Sack it Ace, get on ebay, make your purchase based on specs, not name, will bag yourself a tablet with as much processing power as the branded ones for half the cash... and they will have much the same gubbins inside...

 

[Martok]

@Acegadgets have you made a decision yet on what you're going for?

 

[zoob]

I could really go some Ibuprofen right now.

 

[Acegadgets]

Well, I had a look around for lower price tablets before I thinned it down to the ones mentioned. Most of the budget priced ones have a lot of negative reviews, hence my top 3 list.
being an impulsive type I went out on Sunday and bought myself a tablet. Initially I was trying to convince myself that I would get just as much for my money spending £99 on either a Hubl or Nexus 7 than I would spending £150 on the Yoga. So after your comments I went for the Nexus 7.
For the first couple of days I thought it was the dogs bollocks, but I must admit, I am now actually slightly dissapointed with it.
Yes it looks nice, feels great to use, everything is easy and it does seem like a quality piece of kit.
However there are a few things that I'm not that happy with.
My biggest one is the battery life, I am lucky to get 5 hours out of it in general use. I dont want to be using it stuck into the charger all the time, but find that If I stick it on at 12.30pm when I come home from work, then its going flat by half six, and thats taking into account my little nap in the afternoon.
My usage has been browsing the internet while playing spotify, Playing my first ever paid for game app, Assasins creed Pirates. Which incidently I think is excellent for the £2.99 that it costs. I'm also impressed with the companion app for Black flag, Kenways fleet thing.
It looks like companion apps for games come become quite popular with next gen games. My son uses the Battlefield 4 one, which is quite impressive.
Back to my little gripes about the Nexus7, there is NO CAMERA, the front facing one is a pretty poor quality webcam. I know that the latest Nexus 7 (2013 ) does have a proper camera but it hadn't really dawned on me that there wasn't a camera. I was going to use the tablet to put things on eBay, but looks like I'll be better off with my mobile phone camera /PC.
Next there is the sound. Its not bad, but not that good due the the design of the speakers in the side. from speakers would have given a better sound. Then there's the fixed memory of 16gb, others can be extended with a microSDXC . There's also the power button on the top,side somewhere, if you turn it upside down and switch the light on in the room it is a bit difficult to find compared with the lenovo which is stuck on the bottom left of the bulge.
I know that the newer Nexus 7 can be purchased for a similar price to the Lenovo yoga 8, but I think that even if the Yoga 8 and new Nexus were side I would go for the Yoga as it has a better design with the weighted edge and kickstand , better sound, better camera and much battery life.
So why dont I take it back and buy the Lenovo? Simple the price. The Yoga 8 deal has now expired, The Nexus 7 was very cheap and is excellent value for £99. There is now an £80 price differance between the one I possibly should have bought and the one I did buy and thats £80 towards my PS4.

 

[Martok]

I did mention about the camera in my review if you read it properly.

You really don't want front facing speakers. I don't think any of them do that anyway as that would make the tablet too bulky.

Personally I like all of the buttons being where they are - on the right to the side. Not hard to find if they are not there, they are bottom left as the device is upside down.

16Gb should be enough unless you stuff it full of crap. I did suggest the 32Gb model from Expansys though that would have been £45 more. The problem with expanding with microsSDXC cards is that, although it sounds attractive, if you don't get one with a decent read/write speed (and these are more expensive) then it slows things down. Having apps in the built-in memory is the best option.

Your battery life should be lasting longer than 5 hours, especially if you're having a nap during that time. Mine will last this sort of time with constant use playing something draining like Minecraft. When I'm not caning the battery then it lasts a lot longer than that. Chances are you've got a badly written app on your tablet that is draining your battery, so you need to find out what it is and bin it.

I've also got one of these bluetooth Nexus 7 keyboards. It's a handy thing to have if you want to do a bit more typing on your tablet, as on-screen keyboards aren't designed for writing lots. It also acts as a cover, clipping neatly onto the tablet when not in use. Do note though, it's not actually aluminium (none of them are), it's a reasonable quality plastic. Keys are small, especially for big hands like mine, but it does the job.

 

[Acegadgets]

My battery seems to be lasting a bit longer now. I turned the brightness down, stopped downloading so much stuff and closed apps that were running simultaneously. I got a case with built in speakers for 7.99 from Amazon.
In fairness, I didn't try the lenovo, perhaps I should have compared them at PC world, and if I had I wouldn't have had any doubts about my choice. Must admit, it really does perform very well.