There's no such thing as a good 10" Android tablet

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
07/06/2015 at 14:09 • Filed to: None

I have an old iPad 2 that has become pretty worthless at basic multitasking, but still plays video fine. I’ve been more of an Android than Apple phone guy lately, so I’ve been looking for a 10” Android tablet. There’s just one problem with this idea: there are no good 10” Android tablets.

I don’t want anything super fancy. Just give me something that’s a reasonable alternative to an iPad Air. That means a 1920x1200 (or better) 10” screen, above-average CPU, 2 GB of RAM, and not too much bloatware.

Here is a list of 10” Android tablets that supposedly meet my criteria and why they actually suck:

Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A20FHD - weak CPU
ASUS MeMo Pad FHD 10 - weak CPU, buggy/unreliable
ASUS Transformer Pad TF701 - buggy/unreliable
Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 10” - too chunky (has this stupid kickstand that makes it all thick)
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 - shitty bloatware
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 - shitty bloatware
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 - shitty bloatware
Sony Xperia Tablet Z2 - only sorta kinda sold in the US and therefore too expensive
Sony Xperia Tablet Z4 - only sorta kinda sold in the US and therefore too expensive

I found the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which seemed to have everything I wanted. Best Buy dropped their price from $199 to $179 for July 4th weekend, so I took a flyer and bought the last one at my local Best Buy.

At first, everything looked good. Nice screen, good sound, snappy performance, minimal bloat. Benchmarks showed it has similar CPU power to phones like the Galaxy S5 and LG G3. GPU is mediocre, but I figured this wouldn’t matter since I don’t play 3D games on a tablet anyway.

Everything was going swimmingly...until I started watching videos.

This tablet with its 1920x1200 screen, will not play any video at any resolution higher than 720p . I know I’m not crazy and this is actually the case, because a select few !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! have !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I can only conclude that everyone else who is really happy with this tablet either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care about the video maxing out at 720p.

But I notice! Video just doesn’t look very good on this tablet, and that’s very much a dealbreaker for me. One of the main things I use a tablet for is lying in bed watching stuff, with the screen pretty close to my face. The lower resolution is quite literally staring me in the face.

I’m so annoyed part of me wants to just return it ASAP. The only thing keeping me from doing so is Lenovo says they’re updating it to Lollipop soon. When exactly that is, who knows. I’m crossing my fingers the update will happen before my return window closes, and that update magically fixes the video. But I kinda doubt that will happen.

DISCUSSION (47)

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:13

Personally, I'm fine with 480p. HD is a luxury.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:19

This might not be the most popular opinion, but I’ve had 2 Samsung Galaxy tablets and both of them died premature deaths. To say the quality on them is lacking would be an understatement. At least that has been my experience.

AndyG_UK > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:20

Get a Windows tablet then, it will do whatever you want it to, cos it’s an actual pc in your hands, not a strangled mobile operating system.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:22

No video apps that give you full HD? The native video player on my phone is garbage but MX Player is much better.

Moves-Like-Senna > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:23

Don’t trust Lenovo’s updates. Honestly, you’re best best for what you’re saying is to go with a Galaxy Tab and root/custom rom or go iPad. It sucks, quite frankly, every time I have to recommend a tablet to someone I have to default to iPad as no one else has done it quite as right :/

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:23

And this is why I own a Windows 8 tablet. The new low-power Atoms are more than adequate for noodling and have good video acceleration and very low power dispersion. ASUS Vivo Tab Note. Try one.

(also, i’m still running CyanogenMod on my Hp TouchPad...)

Azrek > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:26

I have a Nexus 7 (2012 edition) and it was freaking awesome till 5.1.1 which essentially turned it buggy as hell, laggy as dial up and constantly crashes. I’ve dubbed it the “Please buy a new tablet” update. Trying to find a way to go back to an older edition of Android as it was flawless till these updates.

sebdel > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:29

Can’t you install some custom rom like cyanogenmod or something? I like the amazon kindle and B&N Nook, great screens (they’re made for reading) cheap and all they need is a custom rom to work great. The big nook it’s too old, but the kindle hdx is a good option.

Xyl0c41n3 > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:30

I know you’re looking for 10 inch tablets, but have you thought about a 9 inch? Here’s the Nexus 9 . It runs Android natively, so absolutely no bloatware.

Kinja'd!!!

I got my dad the 2013 version of the Nexus 7 for Father’s Day last year. The screen resolution isn’t as good as Apple’s Retina display, but it’s pretty decent. I imagine the Nexus 9 is similar.

tromoly > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:34

I had the older ASUS Transformer Infinity TF100T and it was rock solid, haven’t personally used the TF701 so can’t comment on that model.

dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:36

We have a kindle hd9, which has been pretty solid. The hdx 9 might be a good shot. Otherwise I might recommend a rooted tablet. Pick one with good support, and go after it. A

dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter > Xyl0c41n3
07/06/2015 at 14:37

This. This is the one you want.

uofime-2 > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:40

Why are you resisting the Ipad? If all you want to do is browse and watch videos it is perfect.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
07/06/2015 at 14:48

Transformer Book 10?

Bytemite > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 14:49

I bought a Windows 8 tablet. A 7” HP Stream. It was like 80 bucks and it runs exactly like a computer. I really like the multitasking functionality (windows) and the ability to do pretty much anything a computer can. You can pretty much hook up a USB hub and stick on a mouse and keyboard and it will be a laptop. The Atom quad core processors are great and the price makes it so stupidly worth.

An Android tablet works more like a phone but with just a bigger screen. They do have the windowing and multitasking ability now but you can’t trust it to run programs that are meant for computers. With all that said, the Windows tablets do not seem to have the power management part down. They drain the battery so much faster while the screen is off and idling.

sebdel > uofime-2
07/06/2015 at 14:57

Yeah, I don’t like the ipad but if that’s all you need it’s perfect.

duurtlang > uofime-2
07/06/2015 at 14:59

I can’t speak for AtlasM, but I can list multiple reasons for myself:

Way too expensive for what it offers, lack of freedom in iOS, fragile, Apple stigma. Primarily the first two. I own an older (2011) Android based Galaxy Nexus phone and use an older model iPhone for work, provided by my employer. I prefer the former, the iPhone feels more like a toy.

Textured Soy Protein > Azrek
07/06/2015 at 15:03

My gf also has a N7 2012 that was rendered useless by Lollipop. I got her a cheap Acer Iconia Tab 8 on sale at Best Buy for $119. Acer has way too many slight variations on the same theme, but the main models AFAIK:

Iconia One 8 (B1-810-11TV) - 1280x800, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB storage - $129

Iconia Tab 8 (A1-850-13FQ) - 1280x800, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB storage - I got the gf this one for $119 but it’s now back up to $139 at Best Buy

Iconia One 8 (B1-810-1193, B1-810-15HD & B1-810-15HD) - 1280x800, 1 GB RAM, 32 GB storage - the different part #s are different colors (1193 - black, 15HD - red, 17KK - white) - $149ish in various places

Iconia Tab 8 FHD (A1-840FHD-various suffixes) - 1920x1200, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage - $179-199 depending on suffix but they’re all the same

Textured Soy Protein > Bytemite
07/06/2015 at 15:03

Don’t want Windows.

Do want 10” screen.

Textured Soy Protein > uofime-2
07/06/2015 at 15:04

Price and lack of customization, mostly.

Textured Soy Protein > Xyl0c41n3
07/06/2015 at 15:05

Yes. Yes I have. It’s not 10”. But I suppose the best 10” Android tablet may well be a 9” Android tablet.

Textured Soy Protein > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
07/06/2015 at 15:05

Windows 8 makes me want to punch things when I use it on a laptop, I doubt I will like it much more in tablet form.

There are now Android tablets that use some of the newer low-power Intel chips which are pretty good. I got my gf a cheapie Acer 8” tablet with an Intel Z3745 and it works nicely. It also has a 1280x800 screen so it’s not going to do full 1080p anyway, but when you play video on it you at least get the full, native resolution of the screen.

Textured Soy Protein > Moves-Like-Senna
07/06/2015 at 15:06

I don’t trust Lenovo’s updates.

I also don’t feel like root/custom. I want something that works well enough out of the box. I don’t mind doing minor tweaks, like for example this Lenovo’s stock launcher is garbage and I installed Nova. But I just want to be able to use the thing without screwing around too much with getting it how I like it.

Textured Soy Protein > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
07/06/2015 at 15:07

I haven’t actually loaded any files on it to watch in the video player.

But all the streaming video apps I’ve tried max out at 720p.

Textured Soy Protein > sebdel
07/06/2015 at 15:08

I don’t want to screw around with rooting and installing custom ROMs. I want something that is good to start with and requires minimal customization.

Textured Soy Protein > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
07/06/2015 at 15:08

Video looks better even on my old iPad 2. I don’t want a new tablet where video looks noticeably worse than the one it’s replacing.

Textured Soy Protein > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
07/06/2015 at 15:17

You don’t need to convince me to avoid Samsung tablets. I picked one of them up in the store (I can’t remember which, they make too many different models) and very quickly wanted to put it down after messing with it. Samsung’s software customizations on top of Android are straight garbage. It amazes me how they ever managed to become so popular.

Textured Soy Protein > dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter
07/06/2015 at 15:19

I have no interest whatsoever in the Kindle Fires. I don’t want to be stuck with all Amazon everything for app store and media options.

I also don’t want to mess around with rooting something. I just want something that is close to ideal out of the box where I don’t have to do much to get it how I like it.

If this Lenovo didn’t have this stupid 720p video handicap it’d be perfect, which is why it’s so frustrating.

Textured Soy Protein > tromoly
07/06/2015 at 15:19

All I know is there were a high percentage of user reviews for both ASUS models listed where people are complaining about quality problems with both software & hardware. I don’t want to roll the dice.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 15:24

Original Microsoft Surface Pro? It’s Windows instead of Android and is pretty pricey but it’s durable as hell and powerful enough even for mid-level gaming if that’s your thing. Windows 8.1 is very usable on a tablet, as well.

tromoly > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 15:27

Whatever device you decide to go with, be sure to get very hands-on with it before committing.

Textured Soy Protein > tromoly
07/06/2015 at 15:33

I actually did that with this one. Just in the store I didn’t quite catch the 720p video issue because I didn’t do much video streaming on their slow wifi. It was only once I went to watch a movie on it at home did I discover the issue.

uofime-2 > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 15:45

Yeah, they definitely aren’t cheap.

Genuinely curious, what customization do you want to do to it?

Skamanda > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 15:48

If you’ve still got that N7, there’s a suite of super simple tools for flashing it back down to 4.x. that’s what I did when 5.x tanked the performance on mine. I highly recommend giving it a look...

Skamanda > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 15:49

If you’re OK with customizing, why not get the Samsung and flash a different ROM onto it, so you don’t have to deal with Samsung’s awful Android customizations or bloat?

Textured Soy Protein > Skamanda
07/06/2015 at 16:02

We do have it still, but she’s happy with her Acer and wants to sell the N7. She likes the bigger screen and snappier performance (even compared to how the N7 was on KitKat).

Skamanda > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 16:06

Fair enough. I loved my N7 before a thunderstorm zapped it a couple weeks ago - but I was noticing a lot of games I was pretty sure it wouldn’t have a chance of playing...

crown victor victoria > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
07/06/2015 at 16:33

Unless I am misinterpreting your statement (possible and even likely!), I would disagree. Maybe 10 years ago HD was a luxury but now it’s as close to ubiquitous as we’re likely to see. Can you even buy a SD television anymore? Nearly every cellphone on the market* shoots video in HD resoultions, and 4K is starting to get affordable in line with content proliferation (netflix, youtube and others).

Though I do agree that, like you, a lot of people are probably fine with 480p.

*I’m sure there are some very low-end handsets that don’t support HD anything, but I don’t know of any off the top of my head that are from major brands and available domestically. Walk into any AT&T/Verizon/TMobile/Sprint store and I think pretty much anything you see should shoot and run HD just fine.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > crown victor victoria
07/06/2015 at 16:34

Fair enough. I’m just not used to the latest and greatest technology.

sebdel > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 16:41

Doing all that stuff is the main selling point of android for me, but I get what you want. I hope that lollipop comes soon

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 17:13

It works much better on a touch interface, but if you really can’t deal:

http://www.classicshell.net/

Textured Soy Protein > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
07/06/2015 at 17:39

Or I could just not buy something with Windows 8 on it.

crown victor victoria > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3
07/06/2015 at 18:01

I don’t think you’re alone in this, necessarily.

The development cycles, especially in cell phones, is so short that if you were to keep a phone for even 4 years, instead of taking the 2-year contract renewal + phone upgrade that most people do, you’ll have have missed a pretty substantial number of changes.

Even if you just take one of the “free” phones every time, you’re staying current with the most important technology, and might see a thumbprint scanner, wireless charging and other stuff trickle down at the next 2-year interval.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 19:42

A valid, if somewhat narrow strategy, I suppose...

Textured Soy Protein > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
07/06/2015 at 19:57

It’s not narrow at all. I hate Windows 8. Every time I’ve tried it, it’s been extremely irritating. You may like it fine. I don’t. I see no reason to think about spending money on a device with an OS that I have hated every time I’ve tried.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Textured Soy Protein
07/06/2015 at 20:06

I myself am rather un-fond of Android, so I suppose we can agree to disagree.

Naylo > Textured Soy Protein
02/13/2016 at 16:59

Try a Asus Zenpad S 8.0 I know its not a 10 inch buts it’s cheap $99-$299 depending on the variant. But it comes with a super powerful quad core intel, 2k display resolution and 2GB of ram on their 32GB model and 4GB on their 64GB model. GPU is fairly mid range, enough to keep the device snappy, but lags with 3D games because of the super huge resolution. The sound is superb with the dual DTS enabled speakers and I find my self picking the tablet speakers over my Bluetooth skullcandy speaker because it sounds nicer and is louder. I own the p01m or the 32GB+2GBRAM version, and the only thing I find wrong is that there is dev support, so there isn’t a custom ROM or recovery yet :(