Help me choose 'big' Android tablet

ajf

ajf

ajf

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Was looking at the Nexus 7 but now not sure if it is quite as big as I would like.
So looking at the bigger alternatives and would like opinions:

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
Nexus 10
Lenovo Ideatab A2109

Price wise the Tab 2 and A2109 look the best.
Not sure how any of the four compare on performance though? Assume the two cheapest are the least powerful?
Not especially wanted for gaming but do want a fluid and responsive experience!
Would also like the ability to easily root and add custom ROMs for Android 4.2.
Nexus 10 obviously has that part covered but unsure given all the issues posted here plus not sure overall it is good value?
The potential extra features of the stylus on the Note appeal, but is this something that the others can do with apps? Not sure how much is the hardware here?

All comments and feedback welcome :)
 
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Performance wise:

1) Nexus 10
2) Note 10.1
3) Lenovo
4) Tab 2

Screen wise:

1) Nexus 10
2) Note 10.1
3) Tab 2
4) Lenovo

Other than the fact you may get a Nexus with backlight bleed I don't think there's really any other problem with it, latest update has made it more solid and the screen and performance are great, speakers are also awesome as they are front facing. Not used the speakers on the samsungs much but I'm sure they'll be pretty good too.

It's not really easy to emulate the multiscreen & note stuff on the note 10.1, not so much hardware as it is samsung's os tweaks.

Personally I would say go for the Note 10.1 or the Nexus 10.
 
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I can't believe no one has mentioned rooting yet. Spec wise there ain't much between them all but the Nexus is wide open for custom ROM's. My vote is for the Nexus, you'll understand why when you get the itch and decide you want to root your tab.

For clarification I've got 3 Samaung Tabs and they're a b ache to root and flash.
 
Mitzy said:
Spec wise there ain't much between them all
Click to expand...
There is a LOT of difference spec wise.

The Lenovo is about 2x as powerful as the Tab 2 and the Nexus and Note about twice that.

The Tab 2 & lenovo have 1gb of ram whereas the Nexus and Note have 2GB.

The Nexus 10's screen is also a very large spec difference.

:)
 
Thanks for the feedback so far.
I was surprised to see the Lenovo is a better performer than the Tab2, although I noted the low result for the screen. Think I have read it's only TN?
Might see if I can see one though and try it.
How does the performance compare to the original Tab 10.1? It would be a useful benchmark as have used one and felt it was a little 'sticky'.

With the other two I guess the Note is only worth it if I keep the Samsung OS and the 'Note' features then. If I am going to root it, given the potential problems might as well get the Nexus 10. I am assuming custom ROMs would loose any of the Samsung custom OS gestures that gives the Note its benefits?

I've not added the screen res of the Nexus 10 into the mix as to be honest I am happy with the res of the others I have seen. Whilst I am sure it is nice, I am not sure it should affect my choice.

Having said that I suspect my final choice will be the Lenovo (screen permitting) or the Nexus 10. Lack of internal expandable storage is the only downer there.

I mis-compared prices earlier and looked at the 32Gb Nexus 10 against the 16Gb Note 10.1 so it does appear a lot better value when comparing the 16Gb version.

P.S
Just to add another to the mix. Where would the Archos 101 XS Gen10 fit?
 
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To be honest the tab 2 and the lenovo are probably not that much different screen wise. Nothing spectactular on either but most reviews seem to hate on the lenovo more than the tab 2.

The tab 10.1 would fit between the lenovo and the tab 2, the lenovo is tegra 3 and the Tab 10.1 was Tegra 2 so much more powerful but there's probably not much in the performance of the tab 2 vs tab 10.1.

I don't have much experience with note roms nor how easy it is to root I'm afraid, probably best to look on xda and ask in that respect but it's likely that there are custom roms for the note that keep those features.

Power wise the Archos is probably more powerful than the lenovo but not as good as the note or nexus. No idea about the screen but those Archos devices do look interesting.

Personally I would not recommend the lenovo at all, tab 2 is a good budget tablet but it is underpowered by most of todays standards.
 
Thanks again!
Out of interest why would you particularly avoid the Lenovo, given it is more powerful, similar screen, and cheaper than the Tab2?

Might see what more I can find out about the Archos though as on paper it seems good value. I guess one concern with this and the Lenovo is the ability to root etc? The bigger manufacturers obviously seem to have a bigger following for mods.
 
Mitzy said:
I can't believe no one has mentioned rooting yet. Spec wise there ain't much between them all but the Nexus is wide open for custom ROM's. My vote is for the Nexus, you'll understand why when you get the itch and decide you want to root your tab.

For clarification I've got 3 Samaung Tabs and they're a b ache to root and flash.
Click to expand...

Rooting the Note 10.1 is a one button affair, there's an app for that ;)

The expandable storage in the Note was what made my choice easy.
 
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