Need suggestions. Internet Tablet under $300

[withoutn]

Hello,
I'd like to purchase an internet tablet for under $300 but my knowledge of the internet tablet market is close to zero. Can anyone of you please give me some suggestions.

I need something that will make it possible to have many different kinds of dictionaries installed to be used _offline_ . I had a G1 smartphone before and was quite satisfied with that. I could have bought an electronic dictionary but i'd like to do more than that, the OS to be more mainstream (android, ubuntu) and programmable as to allow me more freedom.

Im currently considering archos 5 internet tablet with android, and was considering smartq 5,7,v5,v7 (runs android and ubuntu, and wince triple boot) but abandoned the idea after seeing a few reviews on youtube.

Perhaps somebody can make a better suggestion.

All reasonable input is appreciated,

Thank you,

[wilee-nilee]

My suggestion is that you don't need a tablet to be cool, and having one might make you less cool. These device are ridiculous.

[juancarlospaco]

I dont know too much about Toys...

[LowSky]

My suggestion is that you don't need a tablet to be cool, and having one might make you less cool. These device are ridiculous.


I dont know too much about Toys...

these guys are tough, LOL.


Well tablets will continue to come out in the next few years. $300 isn't going to buy a very savvy one right now, and would be a waste of good money.

by next year there will be models form every large company, some running Android, some running Linux, some running Windows.

[gnomeuser]

You can probably find a used Nokia N810 cheaply. It would fit all your requirements and it's a fairly handy device.

It also runs a pretty bog standard Debian Linux and you can develop for it using pretty much the same stack as you would for your Ubuntu desktop.

You may want to look at the Mer project and MeeGo for future updates for this device.

[madjr]

http://www.archos.com/img/archos_5it/HD.jpg

archos5
http://www.archos.com/products/imt/archos_5it/internet.html

[chappajar]

The Archos 7: http://www.archos.com/products/imt/archos_7/index.html?country=us&lang=en

[Lightstar]

Yeahhh the Archos 5 is what i'm also considering getting.
The touch screen needs pressure though, not as smooth and sensitive as those ipod/iphone touch screens. But the rest is awesome.
Oh.. the other downside is that we don't have root access on those Archos, need to do a workaround to get it "rooted"

I wonder if there's a way to install .debs on android, I don't think it's based on any other linux...

[madjr]

Yeahhh the Archos 5 is what i'm also considering getting.
The touch screen needs pressure though, not as smooth and sensitive as those ipod/iphone touch screens. But the rest is awesome.
Oh.. the other downside is that we don't have root access on those Archos, need to do a workaround to get it "rooted"

I wonder if there's a way to install .debs on android, I don't think it's based on any other linux...

hmm. has support for dual os
http://www.archos.com/products/imt/archos_5it/dualos.html?country=es&lang=es

[lyricalpapa]

I've been using an Archos 5 Internet Tablet since December 2009. It's been great. It fits in my shirt pocket and I take it everywhere. It's sleek, solid, and well made.

It cost $295 from a nationwide electronics chain store. They are advertising it as just an MP3 and video player, but it's actually a fully capable touch-screen tablet PC. The store personnel are absolutely clueless as to its capabilities (so what else is new - they are generally clueless about anything from the Linux or open source world)

It runs the Android cell phone operating system that is based on the Linux kernel. The Archos crew appears to be dedicated to supporting both Android and Linux.

It's convenient and has a screen large enough to be readable. I can access the internet through open WiFi points while I eat during the day or browse the internet from my home WiFi router while laying in bed or sitting relaxed sideways in a chair.

It has a bright and clear 800x600 5" diagonal touch screen, WiFi, Bluetooth, internal speaker, mini-usb slot, stereo ear phone jack, micro flash disc slot, and a couple of proprietary slots for expansion docks that supposedly allow you to watch and record TV, etc. I've been able to easily sync with my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

I've moved my MP3 collection onto an 8-Gig micro flash disc now and use it to listen to my music during the day. When you register with Archos, they let you download a bunch of additional video codec's. I'm a Gleek and it's fun to watch video downloads from U-Tube.

I downloaded the free Aldiko ebook reader and use it to read epub format ebooks wherever I go. There are reportedly about a half million legitimate free titles available so far from sites such as www.Gutenberg.org, www.baen.com, etc. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm looking into checking new ebooks out from my local library internet site and purchasing new titles from the internet stores.

I also use it to access my e-mail now. It's a lot easier to read e-mail using the larger screen as compared to my cell phone or PDA.

The touch screen isn't as nice as the Apple's and I wish that it had 3G connectivity. But it's a great deal for the money. It doesn't have Flash support yet, but that's on the way I'm told.

I'm looking forward to checking out the Archos 7 and Archos 9 Internet Tablets when they are released. According to Archos, the 7 has a 7" screen and runs Android or Linux. The 9 has a 9.5" screen and runs MSW7 or Linux. New, faster tablet processors are also in the works.

People make a big deal about Apple inventing the IPad tablet. But it's just a copy - Archos has been making them and selling them (and supporting open source) for several years in Europe.:popcorn:

[madjr]

I've been using an Archos 5 Internet Tablet since December 2009. It's been great. It fits in my shirt pocket and I take it everywhere. It's sleek, solid, and well made.

It cost $295 from a nationwide electronics chain store. They are advertising it as just an MP3 and video player, but it's actually a fully capable touch-screen tablet PC. The store personnel are absolutely clueless as to its capabilities (so what else is new - they are generally clueless about anything from the Linux or open source world)

It runs the Android cell phone operating system that is based on the Linux kernel. The Archos crew appears to be dedicated to supporting both Android and Linux.

It's convenient and has a screen large enough to be readable. I can access the internet through open WiFi points while I eat during the day or browse the internet from my home WiFi router while laying in bed or sitting relaxed sideways in a chair.

It has a bright and clear 800x600 5" diagonal touch screen, WiFi, Bluetooth, internal speaker, mini-usb slot, stereo ear phone jack, micro flash disc slot, and a couple of proprietary slots for expansion docks that supposedly allow you to watch and record TV, etc. I've been able to easily sync with my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

I've moved my MP3 collection onto an 8-Gig micro flash disc now and use it to listen to my music during the day. When you register with Archos, they let you download a bunch of additional video codec's. I'm a Gleek and it's fun to watch video downloads from U-Tube.

I downloaded the free Aldiko ebook reader and use it to read epub format ebooks wherever I go. There are reportedly about a half million legitimate free titles available so far from sites such as www.Gutenberg.org, www.baen.com, etc. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm looking into checking new ebooks out from my local library internet site and purchasing new titles from the internet stores.

I also use it to access my e-mail now. It's a lot easier to read e-mail using the larger screen as compared to my cell phone or PDA.

The touch screen isn't as nice as the Apple's and I wish that it had 3G connectivity. But it's a great deal for the money. It doesn't have Flash support yet, but that's on the way I'm told.

I'm looking forward to checking out the Archos 7 and Archos 9 Internet Tablets when they are released. According to Archos, the 7 has a 7" screen and runs Android or Linux. The 9 has a 9.5" screen and runs MSW7 or Linux. New, faster tablet processors are also in the works.

People make a big deal about Apple inventing the IPad tablet. But it's just a copy - Archos has been making them and selling them (and supporting open source) for several years in Europe.:popcorn:

nice review

you can use your 3g on the archos (but you need to also have your phone handy)
http://www.archos.com/products/imt/archos_5it/internet.html?country=us&lang=en

i agree, apple thinks it invented everything, but they just have much more publicity and loads of iZombies.

Even Gizmodo (apple central) is saying the ipad acts like a big ipod touch

[Lightstar]

I've been using an Archos 5 Internet Tablet since December 2009. It's been great. It fits in my shirt pocket and I take it everywhere. It's sleek, solid, and well made.

It cost $295 from a nationwide electronics chain store. They are advertising it as just an MP3 and video player, but it's actually a fully capable touch-screen tablet PC. The store personnel are absolutely clueless as to its capabilities (so what else is new - they are generally clueless about anything from the Linux or open source world)

It runs the Android cell phone operating system that is based on the Linux kernel. The Archos crew appears to be dedicated to supporting both Android and Linux.

It's convenient and has a screen large enough to be readable. I can access the internet through open WiFi points while I eat during the day or browse the internet from my home WiFi router while laying in bed or sitting relaxed sideways in a chair.

It has a bright and clear 800x600 5" diagonal touch screen, WiFi, Bluetooth, internal speaker, mini-usb slot, stereo ear phone jack, micro flash disc slot, and a couple of proprietary slots for expansion docks that supposedly allow you to watch and record TV, etc. I've been able to easily sync with my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

I've moved my MP3 collection onto an 8-Gig micro flash disc now and use it to listen to my music during the day. When you register with Archos, they let you download a bunch of additional video codec's. I'm a Gleek and it's fun to watch video downloads from U-Tube.

I downloaded the free Aldiko ebook reader and use it to read epub format ebooks wherever I go. There are reportedly about a half million legitimate free titles available so far from sites such as www.Gutenberg.org, www.baen.com, etc. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm looking into checking new ebooks out from my local library internet site and purchasing new titles from the internet stores.

I also use it to access my e-mail now. It's a lot easier to read e-mail using the larger screen as compared to my cell phone or PDA.

The touch screen isn't as nice as the Apple's and I wish that it had 3G connectivity. But it's a great deal for the money. It doesn't have Flash support yet, but that's on the way I'm told.

I'm looking forward to checking out the Archos 7 and Archos 9 Internet Tablets when they are released. According to Archos, the 7 has a 7" screen and runs Android or Linux. The 9 has a 9.5" screen and runs MSW7 or Linux. New, faster tablet processors are also in the works.

People make a big deal about Apple inventing the IPad tablet. But it's just a copy - Archos has been making them and selling them (and supporting open source) for several years in Europe.:popcorn:

Awesome review, thanks!

Would it handle any usb thing plugged in?
I thought of getting a "mini-usb to normal usb" adapter so that I could use my usb flash drive.
I'm also wondering if we can add programs outside of the android market? Like normal linux apps, wether .deb or just zipped files?

[lyricalpapa]

My Archos 5 Internet Tablet came with a mini-usb to normal-usb cord, and I transfer files on a regular basis to/from my PC. Ubuntu mounts it just fine. Don't use a usb hard drive, but don't see why it wouldn't work as long as it has its own power supply.

You can download Android programs from sites other than Archos. I use a file manager called "AndExplorer" from Lysesoft that allows me to freely browse in the root directories. You can see the all standard Linux directory structure.

My machine has a 16 gig SD chip built-in. There are versions with more storage and you can buy a 500 gig version that adds a micro hard drive into a somewhat thicker case. Adds about $200 to the cost.

When I insert my 8 gig micro SD chips, the operating system mounts them automatically and I can browse them with any of the file managers or the programs

The Android OS uses the latest Linux kernel, compiled to use the ARM CPU. It has all the drivers for the touch screen and phone related hardware. The video players are optimized for the current generation of ARM cpu's.

You can download and install a special developer edition of Angrstrom Linux from the Archos that will run Linux programs. It's still developmental and some PC apps (eg video players) may not work yet.

[Lightstar]

Thanks!

now my craving for the archos has been boosted :P

[drewmat7]

A quick search on Ebay or google android tabet o rnetbook on youtube will show the flood of cheap devices from china that are Arm based
http://cgi.ebay.com/7-Inch-Netbook-Android-OS-WiFI-/250613070369 this one is typical and they have a cheap tablet too