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Best Device To Try Android

panda bear

panda bear

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 5, 2010
1,664
1
I've been pretty much an all-Apple person for a while now..

But i'm curious about Android and I want to try it.

I kind of feel like getting an Android phone would be a little too much of a hassle if I don't like it. Plus, my phone is my main device and i'd like to stick with iOS as my main device (for now).

I have an iPad Mini already, so i'm kind of thinking another 7" tablet.

I'm not really sure which tablet is the best one to get to have a legit comparison.

I was thinking the Nexus 7, but i'm not fully aware of all the choices available.

I'd prefer for it to be on the most recent OS (Jelly Bean, I think?) and noticed that the Tab is on Ice Cream Sandwich.. would I be able to upgrade one of these other devices to the most recent OS?

I'm not really sure how all that goes with Android.

Thanks :)
 
aerok

aerok

macrumors 65816
Oct 29, 2011
1,491
139
panda bear said:
I've been pretty much an all-Apple person for a while now..

But i'm curious about Android and I want to try it.

I kind of feel like getting an Android phone would be a little too much of a hassle if I don't like it. Plus, my phone is my main device and i'd like to stick with iOS as my main device (for now).

I have an iPad Mini already, so i'm kind of thinking another 7" tablet.

I'm not really sure which tablet is the best one to get to have a legit comparison.

I was thinking the Nexus 7, but i'm not fully aware of all the choices available.

I'd prefer for it to be on the most recent OS (Jelly Bean, I think?) and noticed that the Tab is on Ice Cream Sandwich.. would I be able to upgrade one of these other devices to the most recent OS?

I'm not really sure how all that goes with Android.

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

If you want to try Android, your best bet is the Nexus 7 for a pure stock experience.
 
panda bear

panda bear

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 5, 2010
1,664
1
Is that the only tablet that I can get Jelly Bean on? Or could I upgrade a Galaxy Tab?

It seems like the 16gb Nexus 7 is harder to find in stores.
 
aerok

aerok

macrumors 65816
Oct 29, 2011
1,491
139
panda bear said:
Is that the only tablet that I can get Jelly Bean on? Or could I upgrade a Galaxy Tab?

It seems like the 16gb Nexus 7 is harder to find in stores.
Click to expand...

With the Galaxy Tab, you don't get the stock experience and you might never get the Jellybean update.

The 16GB is harder to find but the 32GB one is very easy.
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
I used a Nexus 7 with Jelly Bean on it a few months back for just a weekend. It was a nice device, but crippled until you signed in with a Google account. Once I signed in, I was able to do anything it could offer.

I don't remember much now, except that I did like the non-slip back on it. It wasn't bad at all though, but I still liked iOS better.
 
TacticalDesire

TacticalDesire

macrumors 68020
Mar 19, 2012
2,286
23
Michigan
Some tablets such as the Xoom have been updated to jellybean. As well as some samsung tablets I believe. The best way to try android out is through a nexus device though.
 
aerok

aerok

macrumors 65816
Oct 29, 2011
1,491
139
TacticalDesire said:
Some tablets such as the Xoom have been updated to jellybean. As well as some samsung tablets I believe. The best way to try android out is through a nexus device though.
Click to expand...

The only Samsung tablets that are Jellybean are the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 I believe. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
panda bear

panda bear

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 5, 2010
1,664
1
Okay, thanks guys! I'll probably get a Nexus 7 soon, then. As long as I can find a 16gb in-store near me somewhere.
 
B

batting1000

macrumors 604
Sep 4, 2011
7,451
1,840
Florida
Yeah, your best bet is to get a Nexus device. I don't even think there are any non-Nexus devices running 4.2.x yet. It's ridiculous.
 
J

jamojamo

macrumors 6502
Feb 12, 2010
387
7
I have the Nexus 7 32GB Wifi only and I'd recommend the Nexus. The 16 can't be beat price-wise but I figured the extra $50 for the 32 wasn't so bad.
 
R

Rodster

macrumors 68040
May 15, 2007
3,177
6
jamojamo said:
I have the Nexus 7 32GB Wifi only and I'd recommend the Nexus. The 16 can't be beat price-wise but I figured the extra $50 for the 32 wasn't so bad.
Click to expand...

I also highly recommend the Nexus 7, great deal for the money but it looks like the next N7 may get the Tegra 4. If you need an android device NOW then you can't beat the value of the N7.
 
blackhand1001

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,599
33
aerok said:
With the Galaxy Tab, you don't get the stock experience and you might never get the Jellybean update.

The 16GB is harder to find but the 32GB one is very easy.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure jellybean has rolled out the galaxy tab 2 7.0 and 10.1 The nexus 7, and the Nexus 10 are both very good tablets (although android 4.2 is a little rough around the edges compared to 4.1 and chrome needs major work, wish they had the regular stock android browser in the stock firmware.) Rumor is that 4.2.2 is rolling out right now so that should iron out some of the issues in 4.2. The galaxy tab 2 (both sizes) is also fully supported in cm10 so if you don't mind installing custom firmware you keep up with the latest updates. The hardware is essentially the galaxy nexus's in a tablet so porting android versions to it is very straight forward. You can't go wrong with either. The nexus 7 is probably your best choice for the moment.
 
S

surjavarman

macrumors 6502a
Nov 24, 2007
645
2
Just get a phone with the best hardware on the market: nexus4, note2, sgs3, one x+ and run cyonogenmod on it.

You don't necessarily need a nexus device
 
T

taedouni

macrumors 65816
Jun 7, 2011
1,117
29
California
I just got Galaxy Note 2 to try out and I love it thus far. I rooted it then unlocked its boot loader and installed a custom JB ROM.
 
b166er

b166er

macrumors 68020
Apr 17, 2010
2,062
18
Philly
Back in the summer I decided to finally try android. I got a nexus 7 since its a contract free way to experiment with the platform. Turns out I love it. Gonna pick up a note 2 on Friday.
 
3bs

3bs

macrumors 603
May 20, 2011
5,434
24
Dublin, Ireland
strausd said:
I remember seeing a mid-range Android phone come out last month with Gingerbread.
Click to expand...

I think the only mid-range phone I know is the S3 Mini :p

----------
surjavarman said:
Just get a phone with the best hardware on the market: nexus4, note2, sgs3, one x+ and run cyonogenmod on it.

You don't necessarily need a nexus device
Click to expand...

There are usually some issues with running AOSP ROMs on non-Nexus devices. My international S3 had issues with camera not connecting, BSOD (black screen of death) where you can't wake up the phone and a hard reboot is needed, wifi tethering not working, memory leak which meant rebooting several times a day but this one was fixed. It's not as bad as I'm making it sound but it's definitely something to consider.

Not to mention that one of the CM team, I think it was Codeworkx, said he was going to stop developing for Samsung phones because of their lack of cooperation with developers.

Edit: here's the link where he discusses it http://www.androidnext.de/schwerpunkt/codeworkx-cyanogenmod-interview-english/
 
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