Main Restorations Software Audio/Jukebox/MP3 Everything Else Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements Monitor/Video GroovyMAME Merit/JVL Touchscreen Meet Up Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing Woodworking Software Support Forums Consoles Project Arcade Reviews
Automated Projects Artwork Frontend Support Forums Pinball Forum Discussion Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board controls.dat Linux Miscellaneous Arcade Wiki Discussion Old Archives
Lightguns Arcade1Up Try the site in https mode Site News

Unread posts | New Replies | Recent posts | Rules | Chatroom | Wiki | File Repository | RSS | Submit news

  

Author Topic: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?  (Read 4343 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

BadMouth

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« on: October 23, 2017, 04:24:09 pm »
I'd like to have an android tablet that lives in my kitchen for the purposes of accessing recipes(Paprika app), cookbooks(Kindle app) and watching TV(Slingbox connected to my living room Tivo).

I've tried it with a couple cheap old tablets, but they are painfully slow and the speakers suck so bad they can't be heard over running water when washing dishes.
I want something that is always there and ready to go.  No fiddling with external speakers or waiting for the thing to boot up.

I was looking at the Fire tablets, but not having access to the full google play store is probably a deal breaker.
(I don't want to get into hacking it if it takes more than 10 minutes.)

Anyone have a recommendation in the $100 $200 range?

EDIT: Giving it more thought, a $100 android phone sucks so expecting to get a decent performing tablet at that price is probably asking too much (unless I want Amazon annoying me with ads). 




« Last Edit: October 23, 2017, 04:52:28 pm by BadMouth »

Titchgamer

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4222
  • Last login:December 17, 2023, 08:05:48 am
  • I have a gaming addiction.....
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2017, 06:34:20 pm »
Cant really recommend a tablet as I dont use one.

But I have a little portable bluetooth speaker that I use with my phone and thats brilliant!

Its a Phillips one, not very expensive but excellent sound quality and connects in seconds.

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2017, 08:16:53 pm »
Even apple tablets suck as far as speakers go.  You'll probably have to use some kind of Bluetooth solution.

05SRT4

  • Trade Count: (+5)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1092
  • Last login:Yesterday at 08:04:24 pm
  • Check out my Pow Pow
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2017, 04:24:08 am »
Dude get some LED Speaker light bulbs and just use a standard tablet. Cannot confirm the quality of the sound though.



BadMouth

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2017, 10:11:56 am »
Ok, so there are no affordable tablets with decent speakers.  Got it.

I don't want to use external speakers.  I have whole house audio with a Bluetooth connection, but I have to manually turn on the receiver and select the kitchen speakers.

I just want to pick up the tablet and use it.



Looks like I'll have to build a stand with a tiny amp powered by an OTG cable.....someday when I get to it.  :-\ 


BadMouth

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2017, 11:46:58 am »
Ordered a Lenovo Yoga Tab 3.  (2GB RAM version)



pbj

  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 10871
  • Last login:Yesterday at 11:58:22 pm
  • Obey.
    • The Chris Burke Band
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #6 on: October 24, 2017, 12:11:15 pm »
Ordered a Lenovo Yoga Tab 3.  (2GB RAM version)

I took a hard look at those.  My wife had one of their Yoga laptops and it ran laps around a comparable MacBook.  Unfortunately those in academia have a love affair with Apple, so after 3 years of brutalizing the Yoga, she replaced it with a MacBook.  Within a few weeks, we were buying a cheap Dell to run software incompatible with Macs....

 :banghead:

RayB

  • I'm not wearing pants! HA!
  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 11279
  • Last login:February 24, 2024, 12:00:13 am
  • There's my post
    • RayB.com
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #7 on: October 24, 2017, 10:24:46 pm »
Recently considered a Yoga pad, as I found its design and sturdy body appealing, but its specs are underpowered. Instead went with an LG Gpad III. At about $180 USD its the only tablet I could find at that pricepoint that did 1920x1080, 8" screen, octa-core cpu, and even supports sim cards.
NO MORE!!

BadMouth

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #8 on: October 25, 2017, 07:45:41 am »
Recently considered a Yoga pad, as I found its design and sturdy body appealing, but its specs are underpowered. Instead went with an LG Gpad III. At about $180 USD its the only tablet I could find at that pricepoint that did 1920x1080, 8" screen, octa-core cpu, and even supports sim cards.
Yep, the specs and it being a 2015 model did make me reluctant to pull the trigger, but the integrated stand and louder front facing speakers are perfect for how I plan to use it in the kitchen (recipes & watching TV with breakfast). I paid the extra $15 for the one with 2GB RAM (10").
« Last Edit: October 25, 2017, 07:48:11 am by BadMouth »

BadMouth

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2017, 12:21:25 pm »
Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 (10",2GB/16GB) came in yesterday.

Performance is satisfactory, no more, no less. 

1280x800 screen look better than expected.  I don't really see individual pixels.  It shows smudges horribly, but is getting covered with a screen protector anyway.
(I don't use screen protectors on my phones, but since this is going in the kitchen...)

I like having a bulkier side to hold onto, but it's also the one part of the device without a rubberized coating and is therefore slipperier.
The stand is perfect for the kitchen.  (referring to recipes while preparing them and watching TV while eating)

The speakers sound great for most things despite the built in dolby atmos EQ app crapping out and not working with most of the apps I use.
(sound still works, just no EQ, and the dolby app doesn't work again until the tablet is rebooted)
Teh Googlz would lead me to believe that the app worked fine before Android Marshmallow and has been a PITA since.

EDIT: Let me clarify "sounds great".  They sound great for a tablet. 
Without the processing they sound like an average laptop.
It's not going to replace music speakers, but it's much better than you would expect from a tablet.
They do remind me a bit of the speakers in my Alienware m14x.  Not as loud, but just as clear.

Unfortunately the one app I was hoping to benefit from the EQ doesn't sound so good.  With Slingbox Player the sound is actually noticeably louder than other apps, but if you turn the sound up more than 3/4 the speakers start crackling.  As high as it can go without crackling, it's loud enough to hear over running water when doing dishes, but I wish it was just a little bit louder.
If the dolby EQ worked it would be a simple matter of turning down the bass.
EDIT:  Odd, but the crackling goes away of I turn the slingbox stream down to standard quality instead of HQ.  Seems to be a slingbox issue and not a speaker issue.
I am on my home network.  Bandwidth should not be an issue.

Overall satisfied.  It met expectations (didn't exceed them).  Would buy again. 
There's not really any reason to recommend it over other similarly priced tablets unless someone wants a tablet for exactly the same purposes as me.
As was said, you can probably get better specs elsewhere for a similar price (but not the form factor).


« Last Edit: October 29, 2017, 08:09:50 am by BadMouth »

RayB

  • I'm not wearing pants! HA!
  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 11279
  • Last login:February 24, 2024, 12:00:13 am
  • There's my post
    • RayB.com
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2017, 01:21:07 pm »
BTW, here's what we do instead of blowing cash on a dedicated tablet for just one room:

Install this:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60238645/

Ipad sticks to it.

Remove ipad when done.

NO MORE!!

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2017, 02:52:10 pm »
Yeah that's a good idea.  They also sell nfc tags and if a tablet has a reader you can put a tag on each mount and have the tablet automatically load a particular app.  Been meaning to do that one.

Slippyblade

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3167
  • Last login:November 16, 2023, 11:39:51 am
  • And to the death god we say, "Not today!"
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2017, 03:39:34 pm »
I just use pair of $10 desktop PC speakers that I plug into.  I've got a pair in each room that I spend time in.

BadMouth

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2017, 07:01:47 pm »
Edited my above post.  The crackling when using slingbox goes away if I switch to standard quality video stream instead of high.  Seems to be a slingbox app issue and not a tablet speaker issue.  It goes full blast on standard quality which is louder than I'd ever want it playing.

fallacy

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 966
  • Last login:March 23, 2024, 12:27:45 am
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2017, 07:36:29 pm »
blutooth soundbarrs work great. you just hit the power button on the remote and it just picks up the device once it has been configured.

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #15 on: October 28, 2017, 04:04:20 pm »
Yeah it sounds like you are doing Bluetooth wrong in your home.  If done right, walking into a room with a powered device will automatically pair with Bluetooth speakers.  Walking out of range will disconnect. 

pbj

  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 10871
  • Last login:Yesterday at 11:58:22 pm
  • Obey.
    • The Chris Burke Band
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #16 on: October 28, 2017, 06:07:45 pm »
Don't get one without an HDMI input, though.  Not even sure why manufacturers are still churning out sound bars without them...


fallacy

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 966
  • Last login:March 23, 2024, 12:27:45 am
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #17 on: October 28, 2017, 08:44:57 pm »
That's true but any tv worth a damn will have a Digital Optical Audio Cable out anyway. Hdmi cables have become the one stop cable for everything even in the pc world.

BadMouth

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9226
  • Last login:March 25, 2024, 08:10:48 pm
  • ...
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #18 on: October 28, 2017, 09:51:27 pm »


Yeah it sounds like you are doing Bluetooth wrong in your home.

Don't tell me how to live man.

Music gets played over a Bluetooth stereo system and in-wall speakers, but for video I prefer that the sound come from the screen as I move it around in the kitchen.  I would rather it be localized to the immediate area of the tablet.  Also seems wasteful to fire up a 500w receiver to watch the local news on a 10" screen.

I have a small Bluetooth speaker I used with the last tablet.  It was annoying keeping it charged and moving it around with the tablet.

Howard_Casto

  • Idiot Police
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19399
  • Last login:March 16, 2024, 05:59:16 pm
  • Your Post's Soul is MINE!!! .......Again??
    • The Dragon King
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #19 on: October 28, 2017, 10:28:47 pm »
I'm not telling you how to do anything.  You are complaining about a problem you created yourself.  You ask us about speakers on tablets, we tell you they all suck and to use an external speaker again, then you say that is too annoying due to the odd way you have your house wired.  Don't ask for advice and then complain that the advice you get isn't what you wanted to hear. 

pbj

  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 10871
  • Last login:Yesterday at 11:58:22 pm
  • Obey.
    • The Chris Burke Band
Re: Android tablet with decent speakers for the kitchen?
« Reply #20 on: October 28, 2017, 10:47:59 pm »
Also seems wasteful to fire up a 500w receiver to watch the local news on a 10" screen.

You - out.