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Thanks Depot  I maybe should have mentioned I also want this to use with my Mavic Pro drone so the Android has to be close to stock to run the app reliably and unfortunately some of the Huawei ones use a lot of their own code. I will paste a copy of a post I have just made on a drone forum in case anyone finds this thread .....
For the benefit of anyone finding this thread and also as a bit of choice-supportive bias, I will update with my thoughts.
Spent ages looking for this new tablet and posted on various other specialist Android forums.
There is nothing at the moment with a nice clean Android like the old Nexus range (and my Hudl2) in the budget market. In fact the range of tablets is tiny compared to the phone market. I would love a Google pixel but it is just too expensive to use just for surfing.
I first discounted all the unheard of generic types as although there will undoubtedly be some crackers out there that are as cheap as chips, it is just too high risk to find one. Some of the smaller builders will switch components if there are any shortages/price rises in China making reviews hard to trust. That just leaves the big names.
Next to go was the biggest maker, Samsung. They have a model at lots of price points but they are all overpriced imo. Also, although apparently they work closely with Google, they have a reputation for including big chunks of their own code so they can offer extra functions. Some of this functionality can be implemented in future versions of 'official' Android but at first you don't know how this will fit in with the version that is on the tablet.
Next was Huawei who have been aggressively attacking the UK market. Judging by the number of reviews on Amazon they must have done very well which I find a bit surprising. They are very clever with their pricing but if you look closely, their models are not the bargains they appear to be. The specs are just a bit inferior to their competitors in various areas - slightly slower processor, cheaper screen, smaller battery etc, even in subtle areas like their GPS chip not supporting A-GPS. All this trimming costs cents but is loved by accountants. Then the main problem, their Android implementation which is very poor. Some of their models say they are Android but large chunks are actually run as an emulation. However, they are such a big player, especially in China, that Google gives them near full access to the Play Store, so if you are thinking of getting one, there is nothing to worry about there. There is also the old chestnut of the spyware.
That left Asus & Lenovo as active in the budget space. I quickly narrowed it down to the Lenovo Tab 4 HD 8 which is about the same price as I paid for my Hudl2 3 years ago. The Android geeks say that Lenovo have a used a light touch implementing it on this tablet and there is little bloatware. I think when I have put a launcher on like Nova it should behave exactly as I want. The only problem was then reading an article on a tech/gadget blog I follow. This guy also said how good this tablet is but emphasised that the Plus version is so much better in so many ways that getting it is a no brainer. So, I am sitting here now waiting for Amazon to arrive with a Tab 4 8 plus !
As a final inevitability, my Hudl2 which had been going offline every 10 or 15 minutes has remained rock steady ever since I made the first post in this thread a couple of days ago - grrr 
I would be interested to hear anyone's view on the Lenovo or any budget tablet. All the above is just my opinion and some of it is based on what I have read written by people I don't know. I would take all of it with a pinch of salt  |
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2-12-2019 05:43:46
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