Nevermind about having found a good 10" Android tablet

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
07/13/2015 at 12:28 • Filed to: None

Remember that Acer Iconia Tab 10 A3-A30 made me all !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ? Well, I’m returning it. The search for a mythical good 10” Android tablet maybe will continue and possibly is ending.

All the positive things in my review of the Iconia Tab 10 A3-A30 still apply, but its battery life is total crap so I’m sending it back. This is because:

The battery capacity is only 5910 mAh which is on the small side for a tablet with a large screen. The iPad Air 2, for example, has an 8820 mAh battery. I knew about the battery capacity before I bought it and thought I’d be able to manage, except...

The screen is dim. Depending on lighting, I tended to use it at or near maximum brightness. Maximum brightness kills your battery.

I’m now at the point where I may be giving up on the idea of a 10” Android tablet, even if a mythical good (and affordable) one actually existed. Why?

Amazon Instant Video

Amazon Instant Video on Android is a fucking joke .

Amazon refuses to put Amazon Instant Video in the Google Play Store. You can only install it through the Amazon Appstore. Here is the process for installing Amazon Instant Video:

Open your device’s security settings and check the box to allow !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (i.e. outside the Google Play Store).

Go to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! page and download the .apk file for Amazon Appstore.

Install the Amazon Appstore.

Using the Amazon Appstore, search for Amazon Instant Video and install it.

Go back to your security settings and un-check the box for allowing apps from unknown sources. This breaks automatic updates of Amazon Appstore apps but at least it doesn’t leave you as vulnerable to malware.

Ok, so the app’s installed, let’s watch some video! What do I want to watch? Hell if I know. But the Amazon Instant Video app doesn’t have an interface for browsing through content. When you open the app it opens the desktop version of the Amazon Instant Video website in Chrome. When you click a ‘watch now’ link, it kicks you back over to the Instant Video app for video playing.

This is stupid. Just put an interface for browsing content in the Instant Video app. I could live with this kludge, if it actually, you know, was good at streaming video. It is not. Video quality is garbage.

On every Android device I’ve tried to use this stupid nonsense Amazon Instant Video app, there’s a shitload of downgrading the streaming quality to buffer, and there’s random pausing and hiccups. On the rare occasion the app manages to stream at “full quality,” that’s 720p. It is, frankly, unwatchable.

The only way to get it to hold a steady stream is to enable developer options for your device, then go in to developer options and select “Force GPU rendering.”

There’s no excuse for this, because Amazon Instant Video works just fine on my PS3, Roku, and iPad 2 that I’ve been trying to replace with a 10” Android tablet. Essentially, Amazon Instant Video on Android is such a giant steaming pile of worthless shit, it might as well not exist at all.

Amazon waited a good 2+ years after they put out their iOS Instant Video app before they got around to supporting Android (outside of the Kindle Fire) and they might as well not have even bothered. They’re still not putting out a usable Android app, because they think having a shitty Instant Video experience will drive Android users to buy Kindle Fires. There’s no way in hell I would buy a Kindle Fire, so the only thing having a shitty Instant Video experience on Android will drive me to do is buy an iPad. Hey Amazon, Apple thanks you!

So, what to do?

My gf is totally happy with her 8” Acer Android tablet. It’s got a fine enough screen, minimal bloatware, the battery lasts, and at that size the lack of tablet-specific websites and apps is less of an issue. She likes Amazon Instant Video more than me, but she doesn’t care much about watching it on a tablet. She mostly uses it on our TVs with the aforementioned PS3 and Roku, which work fine.

As for myself, I’m pretty much down to deciding between:

Nexus 9 - It’s got a 4:3 aspect ratio screen like an iPad, which honestly I prefer over 16:10 for a tablet. It has powerful hardware and runs stock Android. Really the only downsides are the screen is a bit smaller than I’d like, and Amazon Instant Video will probably still suck on it.

iPad Air 1 or 2 - It has what is really the ideal tablet screen size IMHO. No worries about stutter/lag or bloatware. Amazon Instant Video should work just fine because hell, it works just fine on my old iPad 2. While I’m not opposed to iOS, I generally prefer Android if given the choice.

DISCUSSION (10)

PS9 > Textured Soy Protein
07/13/2015 at 12:36

Just get an iPad already.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Textured Soy Protein
07/13/2015 at 12:39

The issue seems to be that you want too much and don’t want to spend enough. It’s like wanting the features of a new S class, but only having the budget for a 10 year old C class.

The really good Android tablets, Samsung mostly, will set you back. But, they work. Very very well. If you want clean, pure Android, get a Nexus. They are my personal favorite.

duurtlang > PS9
07/13/2015 at 12:45

Yes, but iOS and $$$. Not worth it, imho.

Textured Soy Protein > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
07/13/2015 at 12:45

I would pay more money for something if it were worth the money. Money is not what’s stopping me from buying a Samsung tablet. Samsung’s terrible software is what’s stopping me from buying a Samsung tablet.

I’ve looked at the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1. Between their giant steaming piles of bloatware, and extra-high-res screens that their GPUs can’t quite keep up with, they are too herky-jerky in general use. Animations, scrolling, and touch response are all laggy.

Compare that to the mostly-stock software and “only” 1920x1200 screens on the Lenovo and Acer tablets that I’ve ended up returning, the Lenovo and Acer have been way smoother in general use than the Samsungs.

I’m not opposed to a Nexus 9 but since it doesn’t have a microSD slot I would insist on the 32 GB version.

But that doesn’t fix the problem with Amazon putting out a half-baked, essentially worthless Instant Video app for Android. They’re doing it on purpose because they mistakenly believe it will drive Kindle Fire sales.

Textured Soy Protein > duurtlang
07/13/2015 at 12:54

An iPad isn’t really much more expensive than a Nexus 9 32GB or Sony Z4.

I do prefer Android’s handling of notifications, widgets, and opening links in their dedicated app over how iOS does it.

Amazon Instant Video being worthless on Android is a legitimate concern for me though.

PS9 > duurtlang
07/13/2015 at 12:55

Every premium tablet has the $$$ problem. You’re gonna pay if you want something good. I don’t care much for the alcatraz style supermax prison walled garden that is iOS, but bloatware and stuttering were among Atlas’s chief complaints, and even a previous gen iOS device is guaranteed to be free of both of those things (until apple breaks a bunch of features in the next version of iOS to poke/prod you into upgrading, of course...)

Every other non-apple, non microsoft tablet from his perspective has a bunch of tiny unacceptable eccentricities to it. It’s time to either pick the least offensive among them, try a windows tablet, or just get the iPad.

Azrek > Textured Soy Protein
07/13/2015 at 13:08

I remember when tablets came out touting the video feature. I saw the first tablets in the store then glanced at the 42 inch TVs they also had for sale. Curious why anyone would ever use the tablet unless they were traveling constantly. I travel around the world frequently and I’ve used my Nexus 7 to view a video once since 2012. I use it to read (Books can take up alot of space), play horrible games and read email.

Generally, I don’t get Tablets as anything but cool E-Readers till those things from Star Trek come out. Listening or watching people try and do ‘work’ on them is hilarious to me. My 2005 Laptop is still faster.

Textured Soy Protein > Azrek
07/13/2015 at 13:27

A tablet is not my primary device for doing work. I do that on my computer.

A tablet is not my primary device for watching video. I do that on my TVs.

A tablet is a luxury that is for general putzing around on the internet when I don’t feel like using a laptop but want a bigger screen than my phone.

It’s also a luxury for lying in bed and watching streaming video. There are many different situations in which I find myself doing this. You might not, but I do.

Netflix works totally fine on iPads and Android tablets. Amazon Instant Video works totally fine on iPads, including my 4+ year old iPad 2. But it’s hot garbage on Android for no particularly good reason.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Textured Soy Protein
07/13/2015 at 13:48

Completely off subject, but on the subject of your last post:

http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/201…

Textured Soy Protein > PS9
07/13/2015 at 14:04

You’re pretty much on track with how I feel about large Android tablets at this point.

A Nexus 9 would really be just fine if not for Amazon Instant Video. The Nexus 9 has nice powerful hardware and stock Android, but Amazon Instant Video will likely be just as terrible on it.

My thinking at the moment is down to 2 options:

1. Nexus 9 so I can have my preferred OS and just live with only being able to watch Amazon Instant on my TVs but not my tablet.

2. iPad Air for Amazon Instant, and make do with iOS which I don’t like quite as much as Android but is still generally inoffensive.

I’m really just going to have to chew on what’s more important to me, because I’m at a loss to pick between those two options.

If I could find a store where I can try a Nexus 9, I’d at least be able to confirm whether Amazon Instant works on it or not. Because maaaybe Amazon Instant for Android just needs really strong hardware and the Nexus 9 can manage it. I’m guessing that’s not the case but hey I’d like to find out before having to buy and possibly return yet another device.