7+ Inch Tablet Devices

[kuru]

Now that there's an increasing number of tablet devices hitting the market I feel the need and want for one growing slowly.
My expected usage scenario would include lots of e-reading, surfing, some video and VPN and last but not least some sketching if feasible.
It's meant to be a couch/bed/balcony device, nothing to put in a bag and take out of the house.

There's a few devices which caught my interest while researching:
Archos 7 (used)
Archos 7 Home Tablet
SmartQ V7
Fujitsu Siemens Stylistic ST5112 (used)
-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYzsj2YMYAE

I have a hard time deciding what to get.
The cheaper alternatives SmartQ V7 (slow ARM11, graphics acceleration yet to be implemented properly, comes with 3 OSs preinstalled though) and the yet-to-be released Archos 7 home tablet are available at under 200EUR. Previews of the latter seem rather promising, though I haven't seen a proper review on it yet.
The older yet more powerful Archos 7 is pretty expensive and somewhat hard to find used. But it seems a lot more responsive on the youtubes.
And there's one X86 candidate, the FSC Stylistic, which I am not easily willing to pay over 400EUR for a used unit. But it has got an integrated digitizer (pen tablet drawing thingy), which would make sketching on the device a blast! The downsides are comparatively low uptime (about 4hrs compared to 7+ on the other devices), larger size and no touchscreen.

If you can comment on any of the above devices please drop me a few lines!

 

[mali]

Another important factor is weight. I prefer my N800(4.1") for ebook reading. It's just 200g and I can hold it in one hand without getting tired while lying on the back. FBreader is very comfortable on the small screen. In portrait mode the device fits perfectly in my left hand and I can flip pages with the index finger which rests on the zoom buttons. When I hold it in the right hand, the thumb does page flipping.

For ebook reading alone I wouldn't go higher than 5", as the additional weight would make it uncomfortable to hold. The Archos 5 IT is 195 Euros at Amazon and might be the best deal for a cheap ebook reader plus additional functions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykmGNnKq0_g

 

[kuru]

Another important factor is weight. I prefer my N800(4.1") for ebook reading. It's just 200g and I can hold it in one hand without getting tired while lying on the back. FBreader is very comfortable on the small screen. In portrait mode the device fits perfectly in my left hand and I can flip pages with the index finger which rests on the zoom buttons. When I hold it in the right hand, the thumb does page flipping.

For ebook reading alone I wouldn't go higher than 5", as the additional weight would make it uncomfortable to hold. The Archos 5 IT is 195 Euros at Amazon and might be the best deal for a cheap ebook reader plus additional functions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykmGNnKq0_g

I checked out the Archos 5 and other 5 inch devices, too. I just don't want to get something with about the same screen size as the Pandora, it feels like a stupid idea. Hence the "7+" in the title. I guess I'll have much more fun reading PDFs in portrait mode on a device which comes close to a book in terms of screen estate/size. But easily turning pages with the hand you're holding the device in sounds pretty cool though.

I thought about having to hold that kind of device for a long time, that's a very valid point. I guess I'd just let it rest on my legs if it gets to heavy. Lying in bed reading isn't an option as I will most likely fall asleep anyway. Sitting up halfway would be fine again.

Damn, so many factors. And I'm not good at making decisions Worst thing is I don't really know how important the sketching is to me, which I used to do a lot years ago. Neither have I had the possibility to try out a big touchscreen for sensitivity/handling/accuracy concerning sketching on it.

 

[bnolsen]

There's also the WITS A81 7" tablet for $200

http://www.jiongtang.com/shop/a81w1060-ti-omap3-cortex-7-wifi-bluetooth-wince-gps-p-181.html

Problem with this tablet is that it has WINCE on it, with a beta android.
Apparently they plan on also adding a linux version to it.

Note the CPU here is the same as pandora. The sgx part is one step below.

 

[Ravnos]

I'm looking forward to more information on the Dell 10" tablet as it gets closer to release, but right now there's not a lot out there that really appeals to me so I can't really make a recommendation. What I'd really like is a tablet running Meego or Maemo on a larger scale, ideally with a capacitive screen and some sort of capacitive stylus. I don't expect anything like that to come out any time soon though, so I'll settle for a nice Android one when they start hitting the market. With the tablet market being in its infancy at the moment, that's what I'd suggest you do as well. Right now, the only decent option is the iPad, and if you're like me and don't really care for Apple products, then your best bet is probably to just wait.