Android phones, apps and tablets

I want something like an iPad Air, but cheaper if possible.

Can somebody please recommend a tablet

• does not need to have a huge screen, but resolution should be decent
  
• will mostly be used just for showing photos to people, so good colour / display wanted
  
• does not need to have strong CPU and everlasting battery, would be nice to be able to do a bit of internet surfing and watching some videos occasionally though.
  
  

Thanks!

Nexus 4 is again desperate for me to bury it under the digital soil. Random shutdowns at various points of the day, false battery statistics (ie it's at 40%, turns off and after putting on charge and powering on is at 0%).

Sadface.

Replace the battery with an ebay special? Piece of piss and even though the last one only lasted about 7 months, at a fiver it still seems like decent economy to me.

Try flashing it with a new ROM.

Tesco hudl 2.

It's amazing for the money. Should be just what you want.

The Nexus 7 2013 32Gb was going for £120 or something silly in Argos recently. Worth checking if they've still got a few kicking about.

..thanks for your input @mashton & @TurtleRecall !

Anything in particular that's close to stock Android? I tried once but failed to do whatever I wanted and went back to factory defaults.

Moto X does look mighty tempting...

I use the Moto X.

It's a stock Android with latest updates, and there are a few extra Motorola apps just to fill in some gaps in stock Android rather than to try and change stock Android. The only one of those I cared about was the ability to customise voice control so that "OK Google" does not trigger it... mine is a custom phrase.

The hardware is great, the battery great, it looks good, and the only complaint I have about the Moto X is that the camera isn't as good as the iPhone (but then, very few Android cameras are).

How much screen time do you get out of it? Just reading a few reviews and it does seem good with the exception of screentime and camera, but like you say it's standard for it to be hit and miss. Might have to deal with it rooted for another month or so, already spent ££££ on getting a new Chromebook.

How do you select a focus point on the Moto X stock Camera app? I'm more used to the fully-featured one in CyanogenMod.

My wife and I both have one.

My wife is a super heavy user, from Solitaire on the train through to constantly checking email and researching stuff when she's at work, Google Fit constantly active, and notifications and auto-updating content for lots of apps, plus a fair amount of Instagram use. With very heavy use she can leave in the morning and arrive late in the evening and just have enough power to plug-in before it fails... say 14 hours of battery under heavy use.

I'm a light user, and use my phone to check email, receive some notifications, check Twitter, read news, listen to music, Google Fit. I generally have 1/4 to 1/2 battery left before I plug in at bedtime. On occasion I've forgotten to plug in and it survives with some spare capacity until I get to work the next day and can plugin. Say 24-28 hours of battery under light use.

Battery hasn't been an issue, though my wife has been thinking of a small power bank as the only time she every actually drains the battery is when she gets a train to Exeter, but this is a lot to do with the signal being really crap on that rail route and the phone constantly searching for a signal.

The Moto X camera doesn't preclude installing the Google Camera... I have both installed and tend to prefer using the stock Google one as I'm more familiar with that interface.

The only one of those I cared about was the ability to customise voice control so that "OK Google" does not trigger it... mine is a custom phrase.

did you go with "Hey Arsehole"?

No, "OK Computer".

I wanted "terminal", i.e. Culture Series Iain M. Banks.

But you are forced to choose a 4 or 5-syllable phrase and it also needs to be distinctive enough not to accidentally be triggered by similar phrases.

Eventually it learns your voice, and that way even when others use your phrase it won't trigger.

"Mother" a la Alien ftw.

Focal, on the app store is built and maintained by the dev who made the original CyanogenMod one

Wireless charging...
I don't want to wear out my usb port (or short it again) so is it worth getting a wireless charger? Will it overheat my phone and kill the battery?

Been looking at the Choetech ones. People seem to love 'em and most of the heat issues seem to be with older charging pads. Some first-hand info would be very appreciated.

I've used one on and off with a Nexus 5. It's a bit slower to charge than with a decent AC charger but didn't notice any other problems. Don't think it got as warm as when plugged into a 2A mains charger.

One annoying thing was it appeared to interfere with DAB reception (although I'm the only person who seems to have that problem so it could be something else).

Sweet. I use my old blackberry charger at the moment which seems to charge it pretty quickly. Wireless might actually put less strain on the battery by the sound of it.

Not sure if this is the right thread for it, but I'm getting rid of a Microsoft Wedge tablet keyboard that I've used about 3 times, with box/instructions etc.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-gb/p/wedge-mobile-keyboard

Any takers for 20 pounds?

P.S. It's UK layout

Interested. Whats battery life like?
(I suppose if you've only used it three times you don't necessarily know the answer to that!)

Is it good to type on otherwise?

Like you said I've not been pushing the boundaries of battery life with it! Can't seem to find any reviews that mention battery life either unfortunately.

I quite enjoy it but I'm used to typing of the Surface Type Covers and standard laptop keyboards as there's a fair bit more travel. Though I guess if you're used to standard keyboards it will take some getting used to.

I've got someone interested already that may be picking it up tomorrow but if that falls through I'll be sure to let you know!

Ah cool, hope it goes in a way. Another thing I don't really need

Probably also interested if neither the person tomorrow or branwen is.