[ale] [EXTERNAL] Ultra cheap tablet discussion. Are they useful or can they be made useful?

[Beddingfield, Allen]

Thanks for all of the input regarding the cheap tablets.  I didn't mean to post this question to the list and disappear for a few days.  Anyway, I've just read through all the replies and suggestions.  
It sounds like my suspicions are correct regarding these tablets being cheap junk.  The Amazon 7" tablet sounds like it would be of interest, if I an find the correct revision to purchase.  
I was not aware of the Pinebook and PineTab products at all.   I really like the idea of that 11.6" Pinebook, but it is out of stock.  Being able to load up openSUSE, instead of fighting the uphill battle against a manufacturer who doesn't want my custom OS their hardware appeals more to me.

Maybe I should have explained my reason for asking these questions.  I've recently decided to exit the smart phone world, and to go back to a simple feature phone.  However, it would be nice to have a small tablet or netbook sized laptop to easily grab and go for somewhere that I may want to access the internet by wireless.  
For the moment, I think I am going to replace the aging battery in my old iPhone 5, which runs IOS 12, and use it without a SIM as a mini-tablet.  It is in like new condition, since it has been in an Otterbox case since it was new.

Thanks.
Allen B.
--
Allen Beddingfield
Systems Engineer
Office of Information Technology
The University of Alabama
Office 205-348-2251
allen at ua.edu


________________________________________
From: Ale <ale-bounces at ale.org> on behalf of Beddingfield, Allen via Ale <ale at ale.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2020 5:28 PM
To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [ale] Ultra cheap tablet discussion. Are they useful or can they be made useful?

For a couple of years now, I have been seeing these really cheap ($40 to $50) Android tablets in Wal-Mart, dollar stores, and places that normally don't even sell electronics.  Most of them are some brand no one has heard of, or a shameless re-licensing of old school brands like RCA or Polaroid.  I know they are going to be the cheapest of Chinese made junk, but how bad are they?  Would they be usable at all for basic web browsing?  I notice that most of them are running Android 5.0 or 6 .0.  Have any of you played with any of these, or investigated upgrading the OS on them?
Allen B.

--
Allen Beddingfield
Systems Engineer
Office of Information Technology
The University of Alabama
Office 205-348-2251
allen at ua.edu
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