10" tablet (no phone) recommendation please
Discussion
I have a turbo trainer in the garage, and use a 10" tablet for music and radio whislt exercising.
I have tried a couple of cheap android tablets, but they have very s l o w responses. On the current one, I've given up. Sometimes it even reports it's own home screen isn't responding and do I want to wait! Very few apps installed basic Samsung bloat ware spotify and BBC sounds.
I have tried to find a replacement generic android system for it but failed.
What tablet has a decent response time, or would a chromebook do a better job? This thing will live in the garage, I don't need the latest anything.
It doesn't have to be new.
I have tried a couple of cheap android tablets, but they have very s l o w responses. On the current one, I've given up. Sometimes it even reports it's own home screen isn't responding and do I want to wait! Very few apps installed basic Samsung bloat ware spotify and BBC sounds.
I have tried to find a replacement generic android system for it but failed.
What tablet has a decent response time, or would a chromebook do a better job? This thing will live in the garage, I don't need the latest anything.
It doesn't have to be new.
Mentioned this on another thread recently.
Lenovo M10 FHD 2nd Gen, bought one for my kid last week.
It costs £149 for the 64gb one which also comes with 4gb ram and Android 11, minimal bloatware so it's near enough stock android.
Dolby Atmos speakers and it's plenty loud.
It's very slick and fast and really good value.
Only issue is finding one as they were available most places last week and it looks like you can only get them from Lenovos website now.
Lenovo M10 FHD 2nd Gen, bought one for my kid last week.
It costs £149 for the 64gb one which also comes with 4gb ram and Android 11, minimal bloatware so it's near enough stock android.
Dolby Atmos speakers and it's plenty loud.
It's very slick and fast and really good value.
Only issue is finding one as they were available most places last week and it looks like you can only get them from Lenovos website now.
iPad the basic 10" one is £329 from John Lewis, its a false economy to mess about with a nasty android device when the cost difference is so small.
https://www.johnlewis.com/2021-apple-ipad-10-2-inc...
I have just bought my niece a new iPad as her old one was no longer really working... it was almost 9 years old.
https://www.johnlewis.com/2021-apple-ipad-10-2-inc...
I have just bought my niece a new iPad as her old one was no longer really working... it was almost 9 years old.
I use a 10inch Lenovo tablet which is fine for my needs.
Some apps are not optimised for tablet use in android which means using in portrait rather than my preferred landscape. (Facebook has this issue, for example)
Most media stuff is fine though (Netflix Amazon prime, iPlayer etc.). Everything else I just use the web browser which is fine. My wife has a similar aged iPad and I am not disappointed.
For reference I bought this almost two years ago for £220, so although it has been great it feels a little overpriced now. Lenovo website sometimes has 10% off for new shoppers.
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/tablets-an...
Some apps are not optimised for tablet use in android which means using in portrait rather than my preferred landscape. (Facebook has this issue, for example)
Most media stuff is fine though (Netflix Amazon prime, iPlayer etc.). Everything else I just use the web browser which is fine. My wife has a similar aged iPad and I am not disappointed.
For reference I bought this almost two years ago for £220, so although it has been great it feels a little overpriced now. Lenovo website sometimes has 10% off for new shoppers.
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/tablets-an...
Paul Drawmer said:
I have a turbo trainer in the garage, and use a 10" tablet for music and radio whislt exercising.
I have tried a couple of cheap android tablets, but they have very s l o w responses. On the current one, I've given up. Sometimes it even reports it's own home screen isn't responding and do I want to wait! Very few apps installed basic Samsung bloat ware spotify and BBC sounds.
I have tried to find a replacement generic android system for it but failed.
What tablet has a decent response time, or would a chromebook do a better job? This thing will live in the garage, I don't need the latest anything.
It doesn't have to be new.
What model of Samsung tablet is it? LineageOS is available for quite a few Samsung devices, I loaded it on to an old Samsung Galaxy S5 work phone and gave it to my 8yo for his birthday last month and it runs pretty slickly for a 7+ year old handset.I have tried a couple of cheap android tablets, but they have very s l o w responses. On the current one, I've given up. Sometimes it even reports it's own home screen isn't responding and do I want to wait! Very few apps installed basic Samsung bloat ware spotify and BBC sounds.
I have tried to find a replacement generic android system for it but failed.
What tablet has a decent response time, or would a chromebook do a better job? This thing will live in the garage, I don't need the latest anything.
It doesn't have to be new.
But seeing as it's only solely for music/radio then a factory reset will do a world of good - remove everything you can you don't need then find a guide for your tablet telling you what bloat is safe to remove via ADB (android device bridge - download it to a PC, connect tablet to PC, enter the codes from whatever guide you find to remove/disable the bloat, you'll likely need Samsung android drivers installed on the PC, again any guide will say what you need) Then add a launcher from the play store like Nova etc - Lineage Os would be the preferred route as it's very lightweight but the above will make a big difference.
I use a 2018 Fire HD8 tablet. Bit smaller than you are asking, but it was £45 in 2018 from currys on a prime day matching deal and I had a 10% off voucher, so £41.
It is slow, but much improved with the Fire device tool that strips out all the amazon bloatware (you'll find it on XDA developers site and it's very easy to use) and leaves it like a normal android device (ironically I run the Microsoft launcher UI on it).
It is slow when first turning on and loading a given app, but once running it seems to be fine with my TT, and also works fine for HD TV streaming from all the normal services.
However, I have a Tacx and the android app is a bit basic and crap, so I often prefer to use a laptop to get the route videos and the pedal power meter display. I was planning to look at a surface go tablet so I can get the windows Tacx app on a tablet like device.
It is slow, but much improved with the Fire device tool that strips out all the amazon bloatware (you'll find it on XDA developers site and it's very easy to use) and leaves it like a normal android device (ironically I run the Microsoft launcher UI on it).
It is slow when first turning on and loading a given app, but once running it seems to be fine with my TT, and also works fine for HD TV streaming from all the normal services.
However, I have a Tacx and the android app is a bit basic and crap, so I often prefer to use a laptop to get the route videos and the pedal power meter display. I was planning to look at a surface go tablet so I can get the windows Tacx app on a tablet like device.
I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite for watching films and TV while turbo training. I have no WiFi in the garage, so use the download functionality of the BBC or Amazon Prime Apps.
It does the job with some cheap waterproof bluetooth ear buds.
It would be great if I was still flying loads for work too. I prefer a Kindle screen for reading on though.
It does the job with some cheap waterproof bluetooth ear buds.
It would be great if I was still flying loads for work too. I prefer a Kindle screen for reading on though.
Thank you everyone for your responses.
I haven't got a Samsung (old fool's brain fade) It's an Acer 10.1. I have not been able to find a replacement OS for it.
I have tried a factory reset, it's better but not much. The bloody thing hangs when booting up with the message "Acer Home isn't responding" If I leave it long enough, it will sort out.
I'm sorry, but there's no way I will be spending £350 on this tool, and I personally do not need an apple device. This is only for Spotify and BBC sounds in the garage. For the Turbo Trainer, I am a do it by numbers rider, as at 74 I don't need group rides or simulated roads. I use the Power, cadence, speed and HRM functions into the Wahoo app on my phone, which works fine. It's just the entertainment I need sorting - hence the cheapo tablet.
Basically I'm just reading the figures off the phone, but need the bigger screen on the entertainment device for the buttons to swipe to skip tracks, change playlist etc.
My budget for the upgrade will be about £150 - so I've wondered about refurbed chrome book, but I'll have to re-think the support bracket. I'll have a look at Fire devices.
I haven't got a Samsung (old fool's brain fade) It's an Acer 10.1. I have not been able to find a replacement OS for it.
I have tried a factory reset, it's better but not much. The bloody thing hangs when booting up with the message "Acer Home isn't responding" If I leave it long enough, it will sort out.
I'm sorry, but there's no way I will be spending £350 on this tool, and I personally do not need an apple device. This is only for Spotify and BBC sounds in the garage. For the Turbo Trainer, I am a do it by numbers rider, as at 74 I don't need group rides or simulated roads. I use the Power, cadence, speed and HRM functions into the Wahoo app on my phone, which works fine. It's just the entertainment I need sorting - hence the cheapo tablet.
Basically I'm just reading the figures off the phone, but need the bigger screen on the entertainment device for the buttons to swipe to skip tracks, change playlist etc.
My budget for the upgrade will be about £150 - so I've wondered about refurbed chrome book, but I'll have to re-think the support bracket. I'll have a look at Fire devices.
You could look at a second hand TV on Gumtree and use Chromecast to put the media on the TV. That would let you use almost any Android Device to control things, so you could pickup a second hand rubbish phone simply to do the Media. But you could also get the newer Chromecast with Google TV and simply use the remote control it comes with.
That approach would get you a much bigger screen, better sound, more options and come under your budget.
Presuming you have WiFi in your pain cave?
That approach would get you a much bigger screen, better sound, more options and come under your budget.
Presuming you have WiFi in your pain cave?
Radec said:
Mentioned this on another thread recently.
Lenovo M10 FHD 2nd Gen, bought one for my kid last week.
It costs £149 for the 64gb one which also comes with 4gb ram and Android 11, minimal bloatware so it's near enough stock android.
Dolby Atmos speakers and it's plenty loud.
It's very slick and fast and really good value.
Only issue is finding one as they were available most places last week and it looks like you can only get them from Lenovos website now.
I have one of these and they are indeed most excellent.Lenovo M10 FHD 2nd Gen, bought one for my kid last week.
It costs £149 for the 64gb one which also comes with 4gb ram and Android 11, minimal bloatware so it's near enough stock android.
Dolby Atmos speakers and it's plenty loud.
It's very slick and fast and really good value.
Only issue is finding one as they were available most places last week and it looks like you can only get them from Lenovos website now.
AJB88 said:
If your wanting to spend as little as possible, get the latest Fire tablet from Amazon, use the bloatware removal tool from XDA.
I've got an old 2017 Fire 7, I've stipped it out and it runs fine for occasional use. For your usage I really wouldn't be spending much.
It's a valid point, and Black Friday isn't that far away, there'll be some decent deals on Amazon branded stuff, there always is.I've got an old 2017 Fire 7, I've stipped it out and it runs fine for occasional use. For your usage I really wouldn't be spending much.
As noted above I was able to get the current-at-the-time Fire HD8 tablet for £41 on black friday / prime day (albeit at Currys who were matching amazon).
Looks like the current Fire HD8 tablet drops to £55 when they discount:
https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07WDF13WC?...
Looks like the current Fire HD8 tablet drops to £55 when they discount:
https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07WDF13WC?...
Bill said:
FPWM!
I still think a Bluetooth speaker is the way forward for the OP though.
Just to reiterate: I use the phone as a readout for the turbo trainer. I do not want to use this to fiddle about with the entertainment. I'm looking at the speed/time distance figures constantly and do not want to interrupt it to sort out the music. In any case, whilst puffin' away with the hour of exercise, the phone screen is difficult to hit accurately whilst exerting myself. Hence the requirement for the 10" tablet.I still think a Bluetooth speaker is the way forward for the OP though.
The Spotify/BBC sounds player is run via a headphone jack to a separate sound system, so the music quality is pretty good.
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