[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Tablet Fire Sale: 5 Cheap Tablets here

[xiromisho]

I wouldn't ever recommend the HP solution to anyone... HP is leaving the market, and the WebOS is dead with HP going down... which means 0 new apps will be written for it.

Apps make the tablet, because a tablet without apps is completely and fully useless (more so then they are normally useless but then again I'm not the target market for tablets.)

[slamdunk]

Laughable!!

The Asus Transformer has always been $399 for 16 GB and is as good or better than any Android Honeycomb tablet...even at these firesale prices.

$380 for a Thrive vs Asus? Not even a competition.

Asus rivals the Galaxy tab and ipad 2. Its a bit thicker (waaaay thinner than the Thrive) but updates and performance easily outweigh that issue.

Try it for yourself.

[Evildave]

I don't think a tablet would be 'useless' without apps. You could still browse the web and check email and that sort of crap. So it has SOME use, no matter what. In fact, 'web browser' is 99% of what these things are made for.

And it's not like the collection of apps already written for WebOS will all stop working. So long as HP keeps the app store running long enough to get the apps you want, it should be fine, at least until someone ports Android to it.

So none of these things are quite 'useless', but that said, I think the price collapse has only just begun.

They're STILL overpriced, compared to where they will be.

Black Friday isn't even close. If you're paying more than $250 for one of these things by then, you're allergic to money.

If you're dead set on buying a tablet, I might even recommend waiting until early 2012 to do so.

Unless the collapse comes sooner when everyone scrambles to get their inventories sold off for Christmas. But it still won't be clear which ones are circling the drain, but if they're at least 'Android', the market place will still be open after you buy it.

[Evildave]

The Kindle Touch costs $99, $149 or $189, according to WiFi only, 3G (FREE - no service charges) with ads, or 3G (FREE - no service charges) with no ads, respectively.

If you don't mind the Kindle Touch 3G showing an ad when it goes to sleep, it's $149, and if you don't want the 3G at all, it's $99. And if you drop the touch screen, it's $79, but I don't recommend going that far for $20. The interface will be virtually un-navigable with just that d-pad. Way more than $20 worth of endless irritation.

The Nook doesn't offer a 3G version at all. So it's a $99 Kindle Touch versus a $139 Nook, if you compare them HONESTLY. Or a $249 Nook Color versus a $199 Kindle Fire.

Though that's today. The nook prices will probably drop to match.

And admittedly, Amazon's pricing scheme is crazy.

Kindle Prices
http://www.amazon.co...=famstripe_kt3g

Nook Prices
http://www.barnesand.../nook/index.asp

This post has been edited by Evildave: 01 October 2011 - 10:45 AM

[TsarNikky]

How much do you want to spend on, what in essence, is a high-tech toy?

[TsarNikky]

[quote name='Evildave' timestamp='1317447953' post='537127']
You are right, tables do have some utility, albeit somewhat limited. But, to read all the Microsoft hyperbole, Windows-8 is oriented to tablets with its Metro interface. Nothing is being said for how Windows-8 is going to be useful for those people who have real work to do on their laptop or desktop PCs. Nothing is being said on how one can use a Control Panel element to disable the Metro interface and use the still mysterious improved desktop interface.

[boblearigq4a]

How good is the Samsung Galaxy ?

[BiCyclegts8]

Lenovo should come out with the IdeaPad A1 - 200$ ( Camera, GPS, Android etc. ) like any other tablet.

Then again, I still prefer laptops.

[JouleJaeger]

I believe they would have been at or dropped to these price points without the Fire. And they may still go lower.

[KLanD]

With the exception of the Flyer and Thrive, (cause I'm still waiting for my demo model.. wtf Toshiba..) I've had some hands on with all of these, and honestly.. for the price the BB Playbook is the best of all of those. However, it does fall short in the apps department. If you really want a budget android tab (under $300) I'd recommend the gTablet ($250) (for those who like to tinker a bit you can get Honeycomb working really smoothly)

[KLanD]

slamdunk, on 30 September 2011 - 09:15 PM, said:

Laughable!!

The Asus Transformer has always been $399 for 16 GB and is as good or better than any Android Honeycomb tablet...even at these firesale prices.

$380 for a Thrive vs Asus? Not even a competition.

Asus rivals the Galaxy tab and ipad 2. Its a bit thicker (waaaay thinner than the Thrive) but updates and performance easily outweigh that issue.

Try it for yourself.

I agree, I played with a demo unit for a couple of weeks and I was quite surprised at how smooth it was. The touch was not as nice as the iPad 2 or the Playbook, but it wasn't far off. Actually, the transformer, because of it's features was the first tablet I felt I would actually use on a daily basis.

[KLanD]

onehere, on 01 October 2011 - 09:55 AM, said:

B&N is coming out with Nook Color 2 shortly that will have Netflix app among others. Kindle Fire is no more media tablet than even current Nook Color, most specs are the same, just a bit faster. Kindle Fire doesn't have microSD slot that Nook Color has thus it is stuck with 6 GB usable internal storage unlike Nook Color that can get up to 32 GB card in. Nook Color still has the best on the market anti-glare coated screen that is better for reading/viewing outside. Also, current e-Ink Nook Simpletouch is still better designed than even the new Kindle Touch with battery lasting two months with ONE hour reading with Wi-Fi off thus it's still twice as long as new Kindle's two months with HALF and hour a day with Wi-Fi off. It looks like Kindle didn't get any battery improvement in the new model. More, Kindle Touch still flashes black on each page turn while Nook Touch reduces the flashing by 80%. If you walk in with the Nook to Barnes & Noble store, you’re allowed to read ANY available eBook for free while in the store via free provided in the store Wi-Fi.
Also, the prices that you hear around for the new Kindles are all for models that force you to look at advertisements. Normal units cost $30-50 more. For example, Kindle Touch goes for $139 that is the same as Nook Touch while Kindle Touch 3G goes for $189.

The only problem I have with the Nook, is that it's US only.

[PeterRohn]

This article is, again, a perfect demonstration of the media's bias against the little well known asus transformer. Apple has spent a quarter of a billion each year convincing people that tablets are nothing more than fun and game devices. This is why all the people at my work who have the ipad 2 would promptly put those away and take out their clunky laptops when it was time to work. I just continue working with my transformer docked in. My laptop has been collecting dust for 4 months now. I have not touched it once.

The transformer is a great fun and games as well as productivity device. Especially now that there are compilers available on the android market, those of us who want the on-the-go work devices can do a lot of things with the transformer. This is not to mention te 16 hour battery life that comes with it. I've never had to think about recharging my transformer during the day.

Yes, we all know that the ipad and ipad2 are the most popular tablets out there. But I have not found a single ipad user that have figured out a way to incorporate the ipad into their professional life. They would carry around the ipad for fun and games and their clunky laptop for work. To me, $500 for a fun and game device is a waste of money. The $380 I paid for my transformer and keyboard dock was a much better investment.

I'm an engineer. We regularly use astm and aci references in the field. I regularly use the transformer to look up references in my pdf files. And here is another example how ipad users can't think outside what apple has told them. ASTM and ACI books are thousands of pages thick. Ipad users I know would actually carry around those books on top of their ipad 2s and their laptops. I carry one thing, the transformer and the keyboard dock, for everything.

So, again, it's amazing how biased the tech media is against the only tablet-notebook hybrid on the market. Even when they do a comparison of the transformer beside the ipad 2, they'd completely ignore the huge advantage of having the ability to transformer into a notebook and the extra 6 hour battery life on top of the 10 hour from the tablet. They'd only compare things that the ipad can do, like web surfing and playing games. They'd ignore all the productive things that the asus transformer can do that the ipad 2 can't. For instance, at work we use pre-written excel spreadsheet programs to calculate concrete mixtures and beam dimensions. Again, ipad 2 users at work would have to carry around their clunky laptops to use these excel programs even though they all got an ipad 2. I use the transformer for all those calculations.

The media bias is getting ridiculous here. You guys only say what apple wants you to say. Apple wants you guys to ignore the productivity advantages of the transformer, so you completely ignore them. Apple wants you guys to make everybody believe the tablet platform is strictly for gaming, so you only mention gaming and web surfing in your reviews.

So, let's recap.

What ipad2 users carry around:
-Big clunky laptop for report writing, calculations, etc.
-huge astm and aci books that are thousands of pages thick for references
-ipad 2 for fun and games
-working folders for work files

What I carry around:
-Transformer + keyboard dock to do all the above

Obviously, this post will go unnoticed because apple doesn't want you guys to think the tablet platform could be anything other than fun and game.

[RobertBetancourt]

Viewsonic Gtablet, a 10.1 inch Android tablet with an active community, goes for about $250. Worth a mention.

Viewsonic Gtablet, a 10.1 inch Android tablet with an active community, goes for about $250. Worth a mention.

[halfbeer]

Fire is not a "looming threat" anymore. It is a real threat, and can be pre-purchased for $199.

[nonseq]

halfbeer, on 03 October 2011 - 09:21 AM, said:

Fire is not a "looming threat" anymore. It is a real threat, and can be pre-purchased for $199.

In my opinion, Fire is no threat. Fire is an opportunity to those who want to experience the Amazon ecosystem. It's not promoted as an Android tablet at all. Amazon is using the OS but has crafted a device that lives in a 'walled garden" of its own without the huge downsides of the plethora of Android crapware and malware.

Amazon will do very well with it.

[AveryMontacruz]

I'm surprised the archos gen9s didn't make this list. I'm always searching for some clear, quality reporting on them (& on the company) that ISN'T fanboyish or dismissive.

PeterRohn's comments are almost interesting, if one can get through the media-paranoia taint.

[PeterChipman]

Viseo has a 7" for $240 at Costco

[PeterRohn]

@AveryMontacruz

What part of my comment don't you agree with? It's not anti-media paranoia. Do you or do you not agree that the media tend to downplay the huge advantage of the transformer's option to become an ultra-portable notebook? Do you or do you not agree that the media tend to compare all tablets to the ipad based on what the ipad can do?

In other words, the media tend to ignore all the strengths of non-ipad tablets and instead focus in on their weaknesses and compare them to the ipad.

The fact remains that ipad 2 users carry around their ipad 2 along with books and laptops in order to be productive during the day. I've been only carrying my transformer+dock around.

On my way home today, I was listening to NPR on point. The topic was tablet wars. Both of their speakers completely ignore the real brand name android tablets and instead only mentioned the $150 cheap android tablets to compare to the ipad and ipad 2. The woman commenter even said right now there is no tablet out there that you can do real work on because of the lack of keyboard option. And then she went on to say that the ipad 2 is the closest thing to a work station you can carry around.

It's not paranoia. It's observation. Go ahead and google reviews on the transformer. See how often you find them mentioning the advantages its ability to turn into an ultra portable notebook.