8 ms·

I loved my nexus-7, and the 2nd gen nexus-7 even more. Inexpensive, pure android, decent hardware spec, and a usefully larger display than a phone. Anyone kno

by sliken 8y ago

I loved my nexus-7, and the 2nd gen nexus-7 even more. Inexpensive, pure android, decent hardware spec, and a usefully larger display than a phone. Anyone know of a current table that avoids the adware, crapware, and 3d contact managers where each card flies around in 3D? I just want android with the current security updates and 7-9" display.

toomuchgov 8y ago
Nvidia Shield from eBay?
atomi 8y ago
Nexus 7 2013 is still a great tablet.
- Too 8y ago
  While the Nexus7 gen 2 was, and to some extent still is, a great tablet. I don't think i would recommend anyone to buy it today. It's stuck on Android 6.0 with known security vulnerabilities and the performance is starting to fall a bit behind the software "development".
  - phjesusthatguy3 8y ago
    True, but you can get a refurb unit for about $100 and put LineageOS on it. We've had five of them through this house (the kids use them) and I haven't seen anything they want to do that it can't.
gruez 8y ago
go over to https://download.lineageos.org/ https://download.lineageos.org/ and find a supported tablet. pros: no crapware (nearly stock android), weekly updates cons: needs unlocked bootloader, not the newest and greatest (manufacturers take their sweet time to release kernel sources), weekly rolling release
- trumped 8y ago
  It would be nice if there was a law forcing manufacturers to unlock your bootloader if you request it for a device that you own 100%... it's getting harder and harder to find unlockable devices (without having to resort to bugs in the system).
- matt_heimer 8y ago
  https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ lets you easily ctrl-f for tablet
shasheene 8y ago
Samsung Chromebook Plus satisfies my needs for a tablet: mainly media consumption (web browsing, YouTube, reading long articles, and watching movies). 1. Incredibly nice screen 2. Gets security updates (ChromeOS devices are great for this compared to the dumpster fire that is Android security) 3. Haven't had any issues with Android support (I use mainly apps like RBDigital, Instapaper, Wikipedia) 4. Works well for movies (I watch in laptop mode using stock media player) 5. No bloatware 6. Really good battery life. It also has a stylus which works well, but I've returned to paper exercise books for note taking. I can't recommend the device enough. My biggest gripe is I need to carry a USBC->USBA adapter to be able to charge my phone, or connect USB drives. They're cheap, but it's a bit annoying.
- komali2 8y ago
  >It also has a stylus which works well, but I've returned to paper exercise books for note taking. So, I'm very curious about this. Were you taking written notes on electronic devices? What apps and devices have you tried? I ask because a couple years ago I tried using a surface for taking notes when I got into a coding bootcamp and it was a mind blowing experience for me - finally, infinite paper space. Swapping between whatever color pen/highlighter I needed. Throwing pics into notes. I thought time and time again, "if I had this thing in college I'd have had a 4.0" (I had, like, a 3.2 lol) For me it made taking notes so easy that I learned better. Now it's two generations old and I'm looking to upgrade, but I can't justify 2k on the new model or the surface book, so I'm wondering if you explored other options, or what your experience was with the Chromebook plus. I've also considered switching to pen and paper but that means carrying around a fuckload of pens and highlighters, which would annoy me.
  - SomewhatLikely 8y ago
    I've had good experiences with the Samsung Note tablets with the s-pen and the third party Squid app (formerly Papyrus). But even this experience is lesser now. The former gen had the s-pen embedded into the tablet itself so you just always had it around. It doesn't do that anymore and you have to lug it separately. I haven't tried a iPad with pencil, but if I have to replace my tablet I'll buy anything that brings back that embedded stylus approach.
kbd 8y ago
I still use my Nexus 7 (2nd gen) as my main tablet. That thing is a trooper. It's my book reader, Chromecast runner, Sonos controller, etc. It's big enough to comfortably watch Twitch on. It fits in my back jeans pocket so I can easily bring it with me, which lots of tablets including the ipad mini don't. I'd love to find a modern replacement for it, ideally just a little bit bigger.
- jotux 8y ago
  I still use my Nexus 10 when traveling to watch movies. The screen looks amazing and even after ~5 years I can watch 6+ hours of video on it without a recharge.
  - purrcat259 8y ago
    Same here. N10 is the perfect travel tablet. I even have a POGO charging cable which soon enough could be worth more than the N10. :)
  - superflyguy 8y ago
    My one's gone yellow and the battery lasts about 30 minutes.
- miguelrochefort 8y ago
  Xiaomi Mi Max 2 It's not as big, but you can carry it everywhere. And it's only $200. https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size#/phones/size/Xiaomi-Mi-Max-2,Google-Nexus-7-2013/phones/10541,8021 https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size#/phones/size/Xiaomi-M...
- icebraining 8y ago
  The Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus seems reasonable, and it is one inch bigger.
- SideburnsOfDoom 8y ago
  I would do the same, but as of this year battery recharge times of my Nexus 7 tablet got longer and longer until it died by running out of battery while charging. Hardware doesn't last forever. It will be missed. The article is correct that tablet replacement rates are low. But that's not zero. And there is a lack of modern replacements. I've been looking around but I expected there to be a "this years model" with a new-ish processor, high-res screen, USB-C and a recent build of Android.
namibj 8y ago
Slightly below the range, you find e.g. Lenovo's Phab 2 Pro, on which i yo date don't remember encountering crapware (of any kind). I can comfortably run an 80-column terminal on it (wireless even), and it still (barely) fits in my front pocket.
- throwawy2018 8y ago
  > don't remember encountering crapware (of any kind) Lenovo Motorola, Huawei and others have plenty of spyware on them. Years ago there was Superfish, later Adups Technology spyware and Allwinner's root backdoor. Not the kinds of devices you want to be doing your banking on.
  - namibj 8y ago
    Yes. Probably. Which is why I only said that I don't remember encountering any, not that one should presume there is none.
joshamania 8y ago
I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab A from Costco for $220...10" (9.7?) screen, decent processor...not totally vanilla Android but close. I've been very pleased with it.

by sliken 8y ago

toomuchgov 8y ago

Nvidia Shield from eBay?

atomi 8y ago

Nexus 7 2013 is still a great tablet.

Too 8y ago
While the Nexus7 gen 2 was, and to some extent still is, a great tablet. I don't think i would recommend anyone to buy it today. It's stuck on Android 6.0 with known security vulnerabilities and the performance is starting to fall a bit behind the software "development".
- phjesusthatguy3 8y ago
  True, but you can get a refurb unit for about $100 and put LineageOS on it. We've had five of them through this house (the kids use them) and I haven't seen anything they want to do that it can't.

gruez 8y ago

go over to https://download.lineageos.org/ https://download.lineageos.org/ and find a supported tablet. pros: no crapware (nearly stock android), weekly updates cons: needs unlocked bootloader, not the newest and greatest (manufacturers take their sweet time to release kernel sources), weekly rolling release

trumped 8y ago
It would be nice if there was a law forcing manufacturers to unlock your bootloader if you request it for a device that you own 100%... it's getting harder and harder to find unlockable devices (without having to resort to bugs in the system).
matt_heimer 8y ago
https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ lets you easily ctrl-f for tablet

shasheene 8y ago

Samsung Chromebook Plus satisfies my needs for a tablet: mainly media consumption (web browsing, YouTube, reading long articles, and watching movies). 1. Incredibly nice screen 2. Gets security updates (ChromeOS devices are great for this compared to the dumpster fire that is Android security) 3. Haven't had any issues with Android support (I use mainly apps like RBDigital, Instapaper, Wikipedia) 4. Works well for movies (I watch in laptop mode using stock media player) 5. No bloatware 6. Really good battery life. It also has a stylus which works well, but I've returned to paper exercise books for note taking. I can't recommend the device enough. My biggest gripe is I need to carry a USBC->USBA adapter to be able to charge my phone, or connect USB drives. They're cheap, but it's a bit annoying.

komali2 8y ago
>It also has a stylus which works well, but I've returned to paper exercise books for note taking. So, I'm very curious about this. Were you taking written notes on electronic devices? What apps and devices have you tried? I ask because a couple years ago I tried using a surface for taking notes when I got into a coding bootcamp and it was a mind blowing experience for me - finally, infinite paper space. Swapping between whatever color pen/highlighter I needed. Throwing pics into notes. I thought time and time again, "if I had this thing in college I'd have had a 4.0" (I had, like, a 3.2 lol) For me it made taking notes so easy that I learned better. Now it's two generations old and I'm looking to upgrade, but I can't justify 2k on the new model or the surface book, so I'm wondering if you explored other options, or what your experience was with the Chromebook plus. I've also considered switching to pen and paper but that means carrying around a fuckload of pens and highlighters, which would annoy me.
- SomewhatLikely 8y ago
  I've had good experiences with the Samsung Note tablets with the s-pen and the third party Squid app (formerly Papyrus). But even this experience is lesser now. The former gen had the s-pen embedded into the tablet itself so you just always had it around. It doesn't do that anymore and you have to lug it separately. I haven't tried a iPad with pencil, but if I have to replace my tablet I'll buy anything that brings back that embedded stylus approach.

kbd 8y ago

I still use my Nexus 7 (2nd gen) as my main tablet. That thing is a trooper. It's my book reader, Chromecast runner, Sonos controller, etc. It's big enough to comfortably watch Twitch on. It fits in my back jeans pocket so I can easily bring it with me, which lots of tablets including the ipad mini don't. I'd love to find a modern replacement for it, ideally just a little bit bigger.

jotux 8y ago
I still use my Nexus 10 when traveling to watch movies. The screen looks amazing and even after ~5 years I can watch 6+ hours of video on it without a recharge.
- purrcat259 8y ago
  Same here. N10 is the perfect travel tablet. I even have a POGO charging cable which soon enough could be worth more than the N10. :)
- superflyguy 8y ago
  My one's gone yellow and the battery lasts about 30 minutes.
miguelrochefort 8y ago
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 It's not as big, but you can carry it everywhere. And it's only $200. https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size#/phones/size/Xiaomi-Mi-Max-2,Google-Nexus-7-2013/phones/10541,8021 https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size#/phones/size/Xiaomi-M...
icebraining 8y ago
The Lenovo Tab 4 8 Plus seems reasonable, and it is one inch bigger.
SideburnsOfDoom 8y ago
I would do the same, but as of this year battery recharge times of my Nexus 7 tablet got longer and longer until it died by running out of battery while charging. Hardware doesn't last forever. It will be missed. The article is correct that tablet replacement rates are low. But that's not zero. And there is a lack of modern replacements. I've been looking around but I expected there to be a "this years model" with a new-ish processor, high-res screen, USB-C and a recent build of Android.

namibj 8y ago

Slightly below the range, you find e.g. Lenovo's Phab 2 Pro, on which i yo date don't remember encountering crapware (of any kind). I can comfortably run an 80-column terminal on it (wireless even), and it still (barely) fits in my front pocket.

throwawy2018 8y ago
> don't remember encountering crapware (of any kind) Lenovo Motorola, Huawei and others have plenty of spyware on them. Years ago there was Superfish, later Adups Technology spyware and Allwinner's root backdoor. Not the kinds of devices you want to be doing your banking on.
- namibj 8y ago
  Yes. Probably. Which is why I only said that I don't remember encountering any, not that one should presume there is none.

joshamania 8y ago

I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab A from Costco for $220...10" (9.7?) screen, decent processor...not totally vanilla Android but close. I've been very pleased with it.